Odyssey has its following, just not me. I spent a week with one of Klaus' amps and have even met with him. His taste in sound just isn't mine... My 2 cents.
Pulling myself out of old, broken equipment, one hesitant step at a time...
My father purchased Klipschorns in 1976, ran them with various McIntosh components, so it was only natural that I would look for my own version of hi-fidelity, starting around 1992. That brought me in touch with Vandersteen 2Ci's and 205wpc parasound HCA1200ii. The amp still functions; the 2Ci's are in the shop. They want $400 for the re-coning of one driver and re-edging another, on one speaker. This would also imply another $400 for the other speaker, which was the shop's recommendation and it makes common sense to refresh both speakers, as doing only one would create a kind of lop-sided musical affair. So, I can spend $800 on the 2Ci's, but this means I'm working with a thirty-year-old set-up and who knows when other drivers will pop. Truthfully, the shop is giving me a deal, even at the $400 mark; I know, because he waved some of the labor charges that he included initially. Apparently, Vandys are not easy labor, but Vandy lovers would like to keep the 2C experience rolling as long as possible...
Anyway, I also snatched a sale pair or RP280's for less than $500. They are lively and have provided many memorable music moments over the past nine months. Nevertheless, I find myself wanting to move on and up with things, so here is where I have gone and invested probably hundreds of hours reading reviews, few of which offer much in terms of direct comparison to other equipment (I might want to buy)... So, here is what is standing out for me:
Odyssey Kismet in the Stratos case.
Van Alstine Vision SET 120 or 400
Nuforce STA 200
So, any useful way of discriminating between the three, recognizing that the amplification of the STA 200 and 120 are about 80wpc, with the other two closer to 200wpc. I'm particularly interested in a 3-D soundstage. Subtlety and dynamics, authentic highs, sweet midrange and bass control are also on the top of my list. Before pointing me to tubes, I'll note that I live in one of the warmer parts of California. We are in the midst of 100 degree days here, so tubes will not fit well for me, until about November 1st.
And finally, the idea is to pick a sweet amp, followed by a speaker upgrade. I'm interested in the excitement surrounding Tektons. I don't imagine spending more than 2K on any particular element of my new system...
Thank you for your thoughts!
Anyway, I also snatched a sale pair or RP280's for less than $500. They are lively and have provided many memorable music moments over the past nine months. Nevertheless, I find myself wanting to move on and up with things, so here is where I have gone and invested probably hundreds of hours reading reviews, few of which offer much in terms of direct comparison to other equipment (I might want to buy)... So, here is what is standing out for me:
Odyssey Kismet in the Stratos case.
Van Alstine Vision SET 120 or 400
Nuforce STA 200
So, any useful way of discriminating between the three, recognizing that the amplification of the STA 200 and 120 are about 80wpc, with the other two closer to 200wpc. I'm particularly interested in a 3-D soundstage. Subtlety and dynamics, authentic highs, sweet midrange and bass control are also on the top of my list. Before pointing me to tubes, I'll note that I live in one of the warmer parts of California. We are in the midst of 100 degree days here, so tubes will not fit well for me, until about November 1st.
And finally, the idea is to pick a sweet amp, followed by a speaker upgrade. I'm interested in the excitement surrounding Tektons. I don't imagine spending more than 2K on any particular element of my new system...
Thank you for your thoughts!
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- 26 posts total
the room is 12 x 14.5 Cathedral ceiling. One Side of the room spills into a stairwell, so the walls step back into the stair space and above... Lower bass tends to fill-out into these areas. I understand a 20hz wave takes over 50 feet to generate, and I hear lower bass notes when I’m in adjacent rooms. The front grill of each speaker is 33" in from the back wall; the side of each speaker is 22" from the side-walls. Across the room from the speakers, so about 12’ away (from the front of the speakers), a large curtain overhangs the window. There is a sofa, before the window treatment; the back of the sofa is maybe 2 feet from the large window. A large bookcase in the room. Three small tables. A pile of pillows about midway through the room, along the wall, which is constantly jumbled, roughly across from the bookcase. There is nothing in the way of treatment around the speakers themselves. In fact, I haven’t intentionally treated the room in any way. What other information is useful in this kind of analysis? Also, someone mentioned the possibility of an updated pre-amp stage... I will mention that I’m running the pre-amp out of the AVR, a Marantz SR 5013. I did take note of the Schiit Frey Tube Pre today... I hear it can help with the "holographic" presentation I’m looking for... any insights, anyone? Thanks, in advance... |
I don’t think it’s worth repairing the Vandies when you can buy the whole speaker in good used condition for less than the cost of repair. And you'll still have your old speakers around for other replacement parts if needed in the future, or you can just sell them to lessen the net cost of the new used Vandies. That's of course assuming you want to stick with that speaker. https://www.ebay.com/itm/264436438739?ul_ref=https%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F... Frankly, I think you’re doing this backwards. Finalize what speakers you want that do all the 3D stuff, etc. you’re looking for and then find the amp and preamp (or integrated amp) that can drive them properly and that also have sonic properties you’re looking for. And yes, for heaven’s sake get that AVR preamp section out of your system as it will be a significant bottleneck to the level of sound quality you can potentially achieve. A good integrated may well be the best and most cost-effective way to go since you need both an amp and pre. Some other speakers you might consider are Joseph Audio and ProAc just to name a couple alternatives. Best of luck. |
- 26 posts total