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Component recommendations for Wilson Audio Alexx

hi forum - i'm especially interested in opinions from fellow Wilson Audio Alexx owners on this topic.

I took delivery of my Alexx a couple months ago and am looking at upgrading my streamer/DAC and pre-amp. I feel all set on my amp, which is a Soulution 710 and my cabling, which is purist audio for speaker cables and XLR interconnects. I only listen via streaming and use Tidal hifi, which has masters/mqa, so would prefer a DAC that could support that.

my main dilemma is while my local dealer is fantastic, they carry a relatively narrow range (at the upper end) for streamer/DAC and pre-amp. Their main lines for streamer/DAC are dCS and Linn. I think they also carry Naim but to be honest it's never in the reference room for some reason. In the pre-amp space, it is ARC and D'Agostino. I have read lots of reviews on MSB, CH Precision, Aurender, Lampizator on the DAC side and Soulution, CH, ARC, Kondo on the preamp side, but it's very difficult to actually demo any of these brands.

On the specific questions, I'd love input from other Alexx owners on 1) what setup you've landed on for your digital source and preamp, and 2) what options did you explore (or have) and decide against?

Budget is not a big deal, but if it gets spend-y I look at the pre-owned market first for electronics.

Thanks forum!
kantian22
jafox
1,445 posts
 
DCS is the best for digital front end. Boulder or Ayre for electronics, or AR if you want tubes.
Any reference as best is of no value and such a claim is either a sales pitch or personal preference. There are far too many product lines out there for anything to be the best.

I always found any system with DCS to be sterile. Maybe it was other system components or DCS, but sooner or later, I would have expected at least one system "builder" to get it right. I tried an Ayre amp in my system some years ago....same experience! No experience with Boulder but there are many reports here about their amps being the same. One exceptional product line comes to mind: Symphonic Line. Go take a serious listen to this and report back.

AR is best if one wants tubes? Please elaborate what other tube product lines you have owned, compared, auditioned.

I laugh when I see things like Lampizator - the unintended consequences of the internet.
What is there to laugh at? You see things? Have you heard this product line, either at an audio show, a dealer, or in your home?
I have owned the Lampi B6 for 6 years now, and the sound is truly amazing with some tube rolling efforts in the audio and PS sections. I admit, it does look like a DIY assembly, but there are many people who claim direct wiring is superior to PC boards. And such a layout allows for much easier update of passive components as they come along.

And what are the unintended consequences of the internet here? What exactly does this mean?
mdp632
54 posts
 
@kantian22

The EMM Labs DV2 is worthy of your consideration. A reviewer on Enjoy the Music paired with the Soulution 511 and had great success. See the YG Hailey 2 review.

Agree with the other post. Be wary of posters on this thread who are hyperbolic in their "Best " of claims. Most likely a dealer posting only the brands they represent. Too bad you don’t have to disclose that here like in other forums.

There is no "Best" of anything in this hobby. However, finding the best synergy that you subjectively prefer is what matters.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,229 posts
 
I agree with the above posts, I don’t see how one can proclaim that any single audio product is the "best". My listening encounters with DCS mirror the description of jafox  of. But I also understand that the DCS could sound astonishing good to poster mtdining based on his particular taste.

Again a matter of taste but some listeners would prefer the Lampizator Pacific to a DCS product. It just depends on what you want in terms of sonic character. There's truly something for everyone. 
Charles
kantian22 OP
6 posts
 
Thanks @jackd and @mdp632  for the endorsement of EMM. I’ll do more reading on them, Spectral and CEC as contenders for the 3rd brand to shortlist. 
I agree with @jafox and @charles1dad that “best” as an absolute is unlikely. I think there is definitely a premier tier and then many variables play into what would be a person’s favorite in their room and in their system.

it will likely be a while before I’ll get all of this together for bake off and a decision, but I will post back when I do!

i have a call tomorrow with MSB’s nat’l sales manager so I’ll get the ball rolling with them.

happy listening everyone, and most importantly stay safe!!

cheers
kantian22 OP
6 posts
 
@jackd , @mdp632 , @jafox , @charles1dad , @georgehifi  - just a quick update on this one. The decision is in and my dCS Rossini will be arriving in a couple weeks! I'm very excited. I really tried to get a demo of an MSB Reference DAC, but in discussion with MSB and a couple dealers, they required that I pay full price upfront for the demo, be liable for any damages to the unit and cover shipping. On top of that, MSB pushed me to a dealer where I had a bad experience, but when I told them this, did not match me with another dealer.

My local dealer went out of his way to secure me a reviewer sample of the Rossini at thousands off list, full warranty, product not registered, can still apply toward the dCS trade-up program in the event I want to go to Vivaldi, and allowed me to trade my existing preamp and streamer.

So, even if MSB is a little better, it would need to be substantially better than dCS to overcome the economic and customer service difference.

Thank you again everyone for your great input!! 
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