Hi Rayden, being where you are (Switzerland?) why not audition the FM Acoustics gears. No more debate as to tubes or SS sound, there'll be just you and the music! I respect and do love the AR, going back to their D115, SP10mkII, M300, SP11mkII, also quite recently lived with their Ref.600mkIII and Ref.3 for about 3yrs, alternating the amp with my 15yrs old FM611. But ultimately, after a dealer loaned me an FM pre-amp and some of their cablings earlier this year, i come to realize just how much better the FM combos in synergy are, to me, in my system. Since you are living there, you owe it to yourself to at least give them a listen in yours.. Goodluck!
What should I change
Hello everyone,
I currently have a 2 channel setup consisting of all Audia electronics (Audia Flight Pre, 100 AMP, CD-One), peak consult empress speakers, 2 stereo subs (audio data soutien 2s). ICs and PCs are made by my consultant.
While I can't complain about any aspect of the sound (soundstage, timber, impact etc is all good) I am stuck with the most intangible problem. Lack of or low on emotion. I can't seem to be able to get drawn into music.
I changed from all ARC an year back and although its been a long time I don't recall having this problem so consistently. Sure I had my bad days due to stress etc where music was not enjoyable but I don't remember this being a long streak.
Maybe I am just tired as it took me a year to get to my present system and it has been a long and hard journey. Or maybe its the tubes that I am still missing.
My consultant has a view (similar to many others I have read on the forums) that these days a well set up system sounds more or less the same as during the last 5 years or so SS and tubes have become very close if not the same. However tube maintenance is a pain. Therefore he is now a pure SS camper. However one twist is that he himself has a tube amp :-)
One question I have is that if I decide to try tube gear which one makes most difference in your experience. This will help as I can't test it with all tube gear to begin with but if one component would take me in the right direction I will move back into tube territory gradually again.
I also heard once that low damping factor (12) of ARC Ref110 was the part that gave it the distinct sound I seemed to enjoy so much. Any comments on that?
Personally I am not an expert and does not have decades of fideling experience with either tubes or SS but I know what I like.
In this thread I hope that people with more experience/knowledge will share some with me.
Thanks,
-Rayden
I currently have a 2 channel setup consisting of all Audia electronics (Audia Flight Pre, 100 AMP, CD-One), peak consult empress speakers, 2 stereo subs (audio data soutien 2s). ICs and PCs are made by my consultant.
While I can't complain about any aspect of the sound (soundstage, timber, impact etc is all good) I am stuck with the most intangible problem. Lack of or low on emotion. I can't seem to be able to get drawn into music.
I changed from all ARC an year back and although its been a long time I don't recall having this problem so consistently. Sure I had my bad days due to stress etc where music was not enjoyable but I don't remember this being a long streak.
Maybe I am just tired as it took me a year to get to my present system and it has been a long and hard journey. Or maybe its the tubes that I am still missing.
My consultant has a view (similar to many others I have read on the forums) that these days a well set up system sounds more or less the same as during the last 5 years or so SS and tubes have become very close if not the same. However tube maintenance is a pain. Therefore he is now a pure SS camper. However one twist is that he himself has a tube amp :-)
One question I have is that if I decide to try tube gear which one makes most difference in your experience. This will help as I can't test it with all tube gear to begin with but if one component would take me in the right direction I will move back into tube territory gradually again.
I also heard once that low damping factor (12) of ARC Ref110 was the part that gave it the distinct sound I seemed to enjoy so much. Any comments on that?
Personally I am not an expert and does not have decades of fideling experience with either tubes or SS but I know what I like.
In this thread I hope that people with more experience/knowledge will share some with me.
Thanks,
-Rayden