TAD CR-1's - Just Beautiful with Burmester 911mk3 mono amps ...
 

I thought my CR-1's were pretty special before I hooked up my Burmester amps. But now I am blown away how insane these "little" guys are performing. At times, I felt they may have been a little forward. But now I realize they are very revealing of everything upstream. I know system matching is important, but until you live it and hit a combination that just flat out exceeds anything you have heard before, it can be breathtaking. Well here I sit cranking the CR-1's with the 911mk3 monos and I am in awe. There are some room and system tweaks I can do, but right now I am :banana:- one happy banana.

Awesome Joe - great to hear it and very happy for you! :thumbsup:

Thanks JJ,

I appreciate it very much.

Joe.......I can feel your joy. I am very happy for you.


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Dan,

Thank you. I think my dedicated outlets brought the goods and really helped everything out.

Joe.......You know the old saying. Nothing is stronger than the weakest link. So true. :thumbsup:

Joe,

I'm very happy for you too. Your joy is palpable. :thumbsup:
So, what will you do with the Dart ? :D

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Joe, enjoy all your hi fi pearls fully!
You've gathered some of the finest gear in the world. :thumbsup:

Jerome,

I am seriously thinking about selling the Dartzeel (although it works beautifully with the CJ GAT) and possibly the CJ Premier 350. I don't see myself swapping gear too often and I hate to see everything just sit there.

I need a stand out, stellar source. Either a Burmester 111 or cd/sacd/dac. AMR, Playback Designs, MSB dac or M2Tech dac. I do not know yet.

Bart,

Thank you. I am starting to focus on a few core pieces and enjoying that gear more. Too many pieces gets a little overwhelming. If I had more room it would not be a problem.

Joe, the Playback is stunning.

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Ooooooh that's great to know. From all reports, that seems like a great unit.

Burmester + TAD = :chillin:

Congrats Joe!

Remember the playback has a special connector for the Dart preamp :scratch2:

howie

Congrats Joe:thumbsup: Enjoy the 911 monos!

Just incredible.

Thanks Howie. I know, but I can't keep everything :scratch2:.

Thanks Cyril. I am.

I spotted Joe early this morning..........


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In your price range, I would go with the Playback Designs. It's both a superb Universal disc playar and will support "streaming" digital files up to 384 KHz. Plus it sounds fantastic.

Joe, for your source component, do you mainly play CD's, do you plan to use a macmini, or a dedicated music server such as the Aurender?

Wait, aren't you getting the 111?

Dan,

Good one !

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Dan,

I'm still wiped out, but the music was flowing "all night long" to quote Lionel Ritchie :)

The PB design seems like a great unit. :thumbsup:

Joost,

Once I am done ripping my cds to a music server, I will have less and less need for a good transport or player unless I start buying more SACDs because of the content. I am seriously looking at the 111 but don't have any reports on it's sound or how well it works as a preamp. If the preamp section is as good or close enough to my 077, then all is good. It's fun to look around.

Joe.......The Burmester Reference 111 Musiccenter includes a fully functional preamplifier unit that serves as the central element of your sound system with three analogue and six digital inputs. The preamplifier in the 111 consists of balanced circuitry with a fully DC-coupled signal path and no coupling capacitors. This music server should easily provide your new 911 Mk3 mono blocks with the control functions you need for any source, and the Burmester signal quality demanded by your amplifiers.

Some other interesting things I discovered about the Burmester 111 are quite interesting. The high-resolution 7" display was originally conceived as a display for use in the aviation industry, and used in the Airbus A380. This attention to high quality ensures a long and reliable service life. Also, the two 1TB hard drives are SSD solid state drives, with one drive as a mirrored back up to ensure no loss of music files should a drive failure occur. What I found very impressive is the Burmester 111 also includes an internal uninterruptible power supply (UPS). This ensures your data remains safe in the event of a power outage. The server will undergo a controlled system shutdown with the aid of the UPS, ensuring protection of your music files. Of course all of the amazing features found in the Burmester Reference 111 Musiccenter come at a premium price, $50k MSRP.


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While the MBL 111 is impressive, I doubt that it's preamp section is as good as a GAT's

Dan,

The specs, looks and functionality of the 111 are amazing. It would certainly cover ALL my musical needs quite nicely. I am hoping the preamp section is reference quality like they say it is, the same as my 077 is what I've been told. Kind of hard to believe but even if it's close, I could be very happy. I'd like to use that as my only source, well maybe an MR88 as well :yes:. As the unit get into users hands, I am dying for some feedback. We'll see. My 077 seems like a little overkill for just 1 or 2 sources but it does sound superb.

I am looking forward to hearing/seeing/reading more about the 111.


:D

Hopefully close enough .... :scratch2:

Joe...I have been meaning to ask how the GAT compares to the 077 driving the 911 monos? My guess is the 077 is the better match but curious to know your thoughts.

---Wow, this ain't High End, it's Ultra-High End!

* That Burmester MBL 111 Music Server/Preamp, with "aviation" features! :cool:

Joe.......Overkill is an elusive term. In my humble opinion it does not apply to desire, joy, or satisfaction. Live your dream.

I'd never have expected to hear the phrase "close enough" around here. :D :lmao::lmao: :D

Great question Cyril. :thumbsup:

Mike

Cyril,

I do not want to say this yet because of the short time with the amps but I think you were/are correct about the 077 matching better with the 911 monos. I have a feeling that because the 911 only accept XLR cables, using an adapter is not the ideal solution. There are some discussions going on in regards to how the RCA, single ended output from the GAT is interfacing with the XLR only balanced inputs of the 911's. I do not think this is an optimal connection and do not yet know if I am getting the full performance that way. The 077 is simply superb on the 911's. There is no forwardness, it is even across the board. The CR-1's simply disappear. With the GAT, while it is extremely enjoyable, I can tell something seems forced and more forward. I do not know how to fully describe what I am hearing yet but the 077 is certainly interfacing better with the 911's.

On the other hand, I simply love to death the GAT with my Dartzeel 108. That combination is breathtaking as well as the 077/911 combo. A different flavor for sure but equally satisfying. I am sure two Dartzeel 108 amps run as mono with my GAT is and will be a force to reckon with. Will that match up take place? Sadly not in the foreseeable future but I would love to try it. The 911's are fuller and ballsier than the Dart but can be just as satisfying when the Dart is used with the GAT.

Whew, confused?

I can't believe I said that myself but I am at the point where I can pick anything from my "closet of toys" and enjoy the heck out of them.

:music:

Joe...thanks for the response. I am sure either combo (077/911 monos vs. GAT/Dartzeel) is killer SOTA sound :thumbsup: A big congrats again.

Well said Dan. Everything is coming together quite nicely.

Good points, Cyril. Joe has got an embarrasment of riches right now! I think we're at the level where it's like comparing fine single-malt scotches. Do you want Talisker or Lagavulin or Glenmorangie tonight? All depends on what you're in the mood for.

For me, cartridges for the TT are like that.

I would go for the 111 / 911 combination..... this is how I have setup the my system (MCD1100 / MC601's) and it sounds great. Let us know what you decide!! :D

Josh,

Thank you! No one is more eager than I but supply for the 111 will be short for a while. I am sure user reviews will be slow to trickle in but hopefully soon we should get more details.

I was wondering if there is a surround through function in the 111 as in Burmester's other (pre-)amps. That would make this unit even more complete!

Joe, I'm happy that you're happy & happy is as happy was with both systems.:D
At the mo I really wanted to give you some feedback on the MSB side of things as a controlling pre-amp & dac, it will happen for me but another 3 wk's to get the build that I want & in-home trial.
For you from my point of view, that would be the synergy thing, "111 oooh yeah" in a Barry White accent. Then it all gets boring because you have it .......:yahoo::yeeea::whistle::naughty: :naughty: