WC,
All the tube products I mentioned have widely varying types of sound. Because of this, I think people need to be specific about sound character, rather than saying something is "tube-like." I believe the common perception of tubes is that they are mellow and laid back with that "magic." By this definition, you could say that the ref 10 is more tube-like than ref 6, the Lampi Pacific with the PX4 tube is more tube-like than with the 300B. But is the Pacifc with 300B still "tube-like" compared to SS DAC's such as the Ayre, or is the Pacific/300B more precise and upfront than the Ayre? Then that would made the Ayre more "tube-like" than the Pacific/300B. So, since there are tube products like ref 6 and Pacific/300B with upfront, sharp and snappy qualities, I think this common definition of "tube-like" should be scrapped in favor of more informative descriptions of sound.
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@viber6
When I was trying to help a fellow audiophile decide between 2 amps he was interested in (Plinius vs Simaudio) that I have owned recently, and used the term "The Sim is very detailed and has an almost tube like mid and top end". The key words are "ALMOST TUBE LIKE". I thought that term (without getting too wordy or technical) would best describe the sound of the midrange and top end. I guess I could have said the mid and top end are smooth, liquid, non fatiguing, easy on the ears....or possibly the mid and top end frequency range could be attenuated by a few db making it easier to listen to for long periods of time. I thought by simply saying "The Sim is very detailed and has an almost tube like mid and top end" would be descriptive enough to understand by most posters on this thread.....well except you I guess.
Perhaps you should put together a list of adjectives and audiophile terms that we all can use on this thread.
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whitecamaross OP
Thanks for your feedback. I owned the X350.5 for about a year and now own the X250.8 for last 3 months or so and like the X250.8 a little better.
They are close but at lower/normal levels I find the 250.8 a little more dynamic and offers a little better control and the 350.5 was warmer but both are pretty warm.
I am huge fan of Nelson's amps and the person. I got to know him a little over the years having him upgrade some of my First Watt amps and that sort of thing. Great guy...
So please in your opinion you would go for the Luxman?
Do you think I should go for the preamp also?
My preamp is a product that really surprised me. It's an older ss preamp and when I bought it I was not thinking it was going to be best the preamp I have ever owned and better then Pass XP-30, ARC REF 5SE and others but the
Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8 is an incredible preamp.
It is the quietest and most dynamic with huge and laser focus sound stage with a sheen of warmth.
I can sit here and tell anyone for the money this thing is a total giant killer. It is an older unit and sort of rare but man it is good.
Now I assume the C-900u being new and more money should be better but wanted to see if anyone has heard it and more to the point to the two together?
Would love to hear from anyone that heard the combo?
Do you think the Luxman amp will have enough power for my Magico S5 MK II Speakers? I def cannot afford to buy 2 as mono's. The Lux combo is a big stretch money wise as it is?
I am not a loud listener. I listen to normal levels and sometimes a bit louder but not into real loud music except at very rare times and then it is for a short time only.
I would love your thoughts on the Lux combo to go with my new speakers.
I think I am going to go for it if the power will be enough for my speakers which I am pretty sure it is but again just trying to get all the info I can before pulling the trigger?
Here is a quick copy and paste of my virtual system for reference and a couple pics if it helps to see what the Luxmans will be paired with.
Thanks
Associated Equipment:
* Loudspeakers:
Magico S5 MK II Speakers MCast Pewter
* Preamplification:
Preamplifier: Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8 Reference, Antique Sound Labs AQ-2004DT Tube Linestage
Phonostage: Sutherland Engineering Duo Phonostage.
* Power Amplifiers:
Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier
* Digital:
DAC: Bricasti Design M1 Special Edition DAC;
Digital Transport: Bricasti M12 Built In Ethernet Network Player, Re-Clocker: Wyred 4 Sound C Remedy Femto (for cable box - huge upgrade)
USB: Uptone Audio ISO Regen (for USB attached network HDD)
* Power Supplies:
Power Supplies: Uptone Audio JS-2 (2-Rail) Linear Power Supply, (powers SGC sonicTransport and Version Fios Router) The Linear Solution LPS-912 Linear Power Supply (Powers OCXO Switch), Breeze Audio 12v Linear Power Supply (2-units, powers WFS Remedy and HDD), iFi Audio iPower 9V DC Power Supply.
* Audio Network Server Hardware/Software:
Servers: Small Green Computer SonicTransport Roon server via Sonic Orbiter 2.7 power the JS-2.
PC: Qotom 190S Dual Port - Baytrail J1900 12v Micro-PC, Storage: WD My Cloud 12v 2TB NAS,
Network Switch: The Linear Solution OCXO Audiophile Switch, Audio Software: Sonic Orbiter 2.7, Roon 1.6, Windows 10 Pro, Audiophil Optimizer, Fidelizer 8.0 Pro, JPlay, JRiver MC23,
* Analogue:
Turntable: Rega Planer 8 & Neo PSU,
Tonearm: Rega RB880 Tonearm,
Cartridge: Rega Apheta 2 MC,
* Cables:
Interconnect Cables: Kubala-Sosna Research Emotion XLR 2.0M, Kubala-Sosna Research Emotion XLR 1.5M, Darwin Ascension RCA 0.5M, Audioquest Fire RCA 1.0M,
Speaker Cables: Kubala-Sosna Research Emotion 2.5M Spades, AC Cables : Kubala-Sosna Emotion 2M (2-cables),Kubala-Sosna Elation 1.5M, Audience AU24se LP 1.0M (2-cables), Audience AU24se MP 1.0M, Audioquest Tornado 1.0M, Zu Event MKI (3 cables), Zu Mission 2.0M,
DC Cables: Gent Audio Custom DC Cables (Canare/Oyaide) (6), USB: Audiocadabra Ultimus3 Double-Headed Solid-Silver USB Cable, Curious Cables 200m Regen link, Uptone Audio USPCB A/B Adapter,
Digital: Black Cat Silverstar 75 BNC/RCA, MIT Terminator-3 RCA, DH Labs Silver Sonic D-75 RCA (2), Tara Labs Prism 100dx-1 Tosilink,
HDMI: AudioQuest Chocolate 1.0M, AudioQuest Forest 3.0M, Ethernet: AudioQuest Vodka RJ/E 1.0M, AudioQuest Forest RJ/E 1.0 (2), Cardas Clear RJ/E 0.5M, The Linear Solution Reference RJ/E 1.5M.
* Sundries / Accessories:
Solid Tech Hybrid 3 Shelve Audio Racks (2 of these) w/White Shelves and Silver Pillars, Solid Tech Rack of Silence Reference Amplifier Stand, SRA Ohio Class Isolation Platform, Symposium Acoustics Svelte Plus Isolation Platform, Isoacoustic Iso-pucks (12), Red Dragon Audio Ceramic Cable Elevators (4), EdenSound Brass Vibration Weights (8), Bright Star IsoNode Footers, DROK USB Multi-meter/Tester, Audioquest Niagara 1000 AC Conditioner, PS Audio Noise Harvesters (6), PS Audio Juice bar MKII, Furutech GTX (R) outlet, Oyaide R1 Beryllium AC Wall outlets (2) ; Blue Circle Audio The Yalu Balula (Passive Room/System Protection) (3)
https://flic.kr/p/2cgEyrQ
https://flic.kr/p/2bZ2Bpz
https://flic.kr/p/2cgEy9f
https://flic.kr/p/2dnDTRM
https://flic.kr/p/2aB4VJm
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fsmithjack , I went from an x250.5 to the xa60.8 and was extremely happy. I'd still have the xas if I didn't have to downsize. Have you tried the xa? |
I'll chime in a bit as to the performance of the Luxman 900U.
The 900u paired with Sim Audio 330 and then a pair of 400M monoblocks had far less synergy than the ARC 5SE paired with the SIM amps. It wasn't even close. This supports WC's recommendation that the 900U should not be expected to perform at a high level UNLESS it is connected to a 900M. |
