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Would you go all 1 brand for electronics?

When I was younger I used to dream of stacks. Especially Tandberg. The sexy black and chrome gear was amazingly sexy, and sleek. Ahead of it’s time really in that respect. Kyocera, Studer, Sumo, Amber, Hitachi, Yamaha, Technics, were all making gear that stacked beautifully together. Of course, so was McIntosh.

Then I got to hear a demo of Conrad Johnson gear driving a Martin Logan single panel speaker. It was good, but as soon as the CJ amp got switched out for a solid state amp, it was absolutely magical. That broke the spell for me. When I got older I found myself mixing and matching more and more, as well as often wishing there wasn’t a single damn cable in the system and it all just worked. :)

I tried going all 1 brand with Parasound, but then I discovered great sounding digital amps and instead of going with many Parasounds I went with little monoblocks, and the whole stack idea was broken. They don’t make sources anyway.

So my question for all of you, especially those of you who do not have all 1 brand stacks of gear. If you had to choose, from source to amp, a single brand, what would it be? Of course your paying for it, so keep the cost in mind. :)

I think we should reasonably exclude record players, though some like McIntosh DO make them.


Best,


Erik


erik_squires

Showing 3 responses by jmcgrogan2

jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Well your post is a bit confusing, as it asks a couple of different questions:

Would you go all 1 brand of electronics?
No.

Though I am currently running a VAC integrated amp, I am using a Allnic phono stage because it is better than the internal VAC phono stage.

So my question for all of you, especially those of you who do not have all 1 brand stacks of gear. If you had to choose, from source to amp, a single brand, what would it be?
If I had to go with all one line, I guess I would stick with VAC, though there is no way I could afford their Statement Phono stage. I would hope that maybe their Signature Mk IIa preamp had a better internal phono stage than my 160iSE integrated amp.

VAC used to make DACS (Phi Alpha DAC), though they don’t anymore.
I’ve never heard the Phi Alpha DAC, but I’m sure that I could probably be very happy with one, as I enjoy most of Kevin’s work.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
@erik_squires , well on your original post you said:

If you had to choose, from source to amp, a single brand, what would it be? Of course your paying for it, so keep the cost in mind. :)

Since most folks are paying for it, that is probably why you are having more mentions of Parasound, Bryston, Bel Canto, etc.
Some may like Boulder, Vitus, or others, but not if they are paying for it. ;^)
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 

 stringreen4,007 posts08-28-2016 2:51pmI bought, I connected, I conquered.....all Ayre

stringreen4,007 posts10-10-2016 10:10pmI have all Ayre electronics....amp, preamp, silver disc player....all designed to work and sound the best they can when wired together.

Yes, I believe everyone here knows that already, yawn.

Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,
Ayre, VPI, Vandersteen, Clear Day,


I think we all got it now..... ;^)
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