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Starting from Scratch -Please Help Pick 1 out of 3

Dear Friends,
Hope that all of you are well, in a moment of transitional evolutional state of mind i sold off my Rogue Cronus Integrated, my Tannoy Stirling Speakers ; well pretty much the spine of the entire system.

I wanted to start over, i listen to a lot of varied stuff ; usually very complex stuff ; i love the weight of solid state gear and the resolution of their baselines and the treble which intermittently sound "filled" ; i also love the midrange liquidity of tubes especially on vocals and the natural timbre of orchestras and drum snares.

So i had gone on a spree to audition some gears, some which couldn't be heard are also included as a part of the system (say, i listened to the power amp but not the pre) i couldn't get to some of these due to various difficulties but generally i've put a package of 4 different set ups - i hope learned pundits here can guide through this to build a good system which i will use for a long time.

I am not the type for frequent upgrades.
Thank you!

The Candidates

Group 1
------
Pre : Rennaisance Preamplifier MKIII by VAC (Valve Amplification Company)
Power : VAC Phi 200 Power Amplifiers (Valve Amplication Company)
Speakers : Harbeth SHL5 [or] Devore Fidelity The Nines (Please Pick)

Just love the look of this system!

Group 2
------
Pre : Modwright LS 100 or Ls36.5
Power : Pass Labs XA 60.5 (Class A 60 wpc) but can take a few months to save
up for Pass Labs XA100.5 (Class A 100 wpc) if it really matters.
but evidence shows otherwise :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXGf3AonFCQ
Speakers : Magnepan 1.7
Which sounds great!

But Will the Modwright (semi-tube) impedance match with the pass'?

Group 3
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Pre : Leben RS28CX Premium Preamplifier
Power : CS-660P Separate Power Amplifier
Speakers : Harbeth SHL5 (or) Devore Fidelity The Nines (or) Devore Fidelity Orang Utan

Group 4
-------
Pre : Modwright LS100
Power : Pass Labs XA30.5 Monoblocks (30 watts Class A)
Speakers : Devore Fidelity Orang Utan

Also Please Feel Free to Mix-Match and Advice.

Music will be fed from my MAC to my DAC and to these.

Thank You!
thegoodarcher

Showing 3 responses by charles1dad

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,229 posts
 
Well since this is a forum solicitation for opinion/speculation of sonic results I`ll join the fun. My choice would be the VAC electronics driving the the Devore Orangutan speakers.High quality tube amplification with high effiency-easy to drive speaker(high load impedance/sensitivity). Your music will soar with dynamics and sound very natural.
Regards,
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,229 posts
 
The goodarcher,
What type of sound/music reproduction do you really want?
The Pass Maggie combo is quite different from VAC with Devore. I doubt you`d like such different systems equally.

All VAC with full range Devore is getting many votes for a reason. Pass is a very good SS amp but if won`t duplicate a good tube power amp(nor will the tube amp mimic the Pass) if in fact that`s what you desire. They`re two different camps for sure.Warm SS amp does`nt = organic tube sound.Which one appeals to you more?
Regards,
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,229 posts
 
Thegoodarcher,
I understand your circumstances and dilemma more clearly. In your case and given your desires, the Pass amp could be best for you(hard to say without actually hearing all this stuff).
I have a lot of experience with VAC components so I`m confident in suggesting them(with a tube friendly speaker). IMO this combination will play any and everything very well.It won`t do SS type bass'slam' if that is what you seek(you`ll get beautiful tube bass instead).Which do you prefer? Rogue is decent tube gear and value. However, VAC is simply on a higher sonic plane(and should be for the cost premium).

You`d likely be happy with any of the system choices you listed.
Best of Luck,
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