#21
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Quote:
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Jazz Junkie Magico M3s; Vitus Masterpiece Components; TechDAS Air Force One; 2 x SME 3012-R; Airtight Opus 1 and MSL Platinum Signature; Taiko Audio Extreme + Switch; Albedo Metamorphosis Signature cables. |
#22
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Quote:
Here too, great brush.
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Tony D'Agostino Momentum S250 MxV & HD pre; Linn Klimax Organik DSM, SonicTransporter, EtherRegen; Acoustic Signature Typhoon Neo, Koetsu RSP, Boulder 1108; Sf Il Cremonese; Shunyata Everest, Altaira, Sigma & Alpha v2 |
#23
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BEST: Back in April I got a new McIntosh C2700 to go with my MC611's. No worse so far.
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My System: Amp-McIntosh MC611(2) :Pre-McIntosh C2700, MP1100 :CD/SACD-McIntosh MCD600 :Speakers-McIntosh XR100 :Power Controller-McIntosh MPC1500 :Turntable-VPI HW40 Ortofon Cadenza Black :Cables-Morrow PH5,MA5 and Elite Speaker Cables :Headphones-McIntosh MPH1000 :Record Cleaner Klaudio KD-CLN-LP200T Thanks, Bill |
#24
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Esoteric Grandioso C1X solo preamp.
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#25
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There have been a few good acquisitions in 2023 for me.
The best would have to be the purchase of a used Kenwood integrated amp to use in a horizontal bi-amp configuration to drive just the woofers on my speakers. That led to an inexpensive active crossover, bypassing of the stock low pass crossover, and resulted in great bass improvement. It also cleared up the mids and treble of the tube amps up top. Win/win for < $100. The worst was probably the ART DJ PREII. At first it sounded clear and pleasant, then I realized it was missing room ambience, and just didn't sound right, so I returned it and fixed my modified Bugle 3.
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Nuance can be tough to measure, but easy to appreciate... Last edited by knotscott; 12-09-2023 at 11:06 AM. |
#26
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Best:
1. 3rd KEF Blade 2 Meta for center channel. 2. Merging Hapi II 16 channel DAC. Worst: ?? Last edited by Kal Rubinson; 12-09-2023 at 06:50 PM. |
#27
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Upgrading my Momentum amps to MxV version.
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#28
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2023 seems to be a Best trend year!
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Main System: Sf Amati Tradition, B&W DB1 sub, McIntosh C2300, MC501s, MA12000, MCD500, HiFi Rose RS150B, Oppo 105, Niagara 5000, AQ Tornado/Thunder/Blizzard PCs, Robin Hood BiWire (zero+bass), Gibraltar SCs, Water ICs, Cinnamon RJ/E, Solidsteel HF-3 racks. 2nd System: Sf Cremona Auditor M, McIntosh C50, MC275(VI), MA6600, Node 2i, Oppo 95, AQ NRG-4 PCs, Robin Hood Zero SC, Cobra/Nordost Heimdall ICs. |
#29
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My system was pretty stable this year other than a few mostly resolved service issues. (I'm still running a backup servo/xover with my Infinity woofers.) I did finally replace the original feet on my VPI TNT III with feet from MNPCTech that I adapted with a few bits of hardware. I'm not sure there's any sonic improvement, but these maintain alignment much better than the tired springs in the old feet. And they don't look kludged.
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Primary sources: VPI TNT III/SDS turntable, SME-V arm; Bryston BDP-3 digital player; Bryston BDA-3 DAC; McIntosh MVP-881 disc player; McIntosh MR-80 tuner. Preamplifier Audio Research Ref 5SE; Audio Research Ref Phono 2SE; Moon 430 HA. Amplifiers Conrad Johnson Premier 1B; Audio Research D-300; Bryston 4B. Speakers Infinity IRS Beta. Recorders Tandberg TD20A; Crown SX-822; Nakamichi 670ZX; Alesis Masterlink ML-9600. Power Tice Power Block/Titan (x2); McIntosh MPC1500; API Ultra II-20; multiple 20A derated dedicated lines. |
#30
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Since I stream from my network server and the internet, a friend recommended an EtherRegen between the DAC and the network switch. At this same time, I was investigating the benefits of high precision clocks and decided on going another route.
We live in Florida and have a lot of lightning here so I also decided to optically couple the internet modem to the network switch. Yes, it required two pieces of gear but now there is no copper in the path to the internet. So I chose a Netgear GS510TPP at the modem end and an LHY SW-8 at the stereo end. The improvement was immediate and huge with vast improvements in the size, shape, and layering of the sound stage. But there were a few things that bothered me, like a small HF resonance in the upper vocal range. Tearing apart the SW-8 I found a lot of issues from ground loops to poor bypass [aka shunt] supply capacitors. After a few weeks of tinkering, all was cleared up. It appears that the SW-8 with its precision OCXO basically removes timing errors introduced by network packet retransmissions thereby restoring correct audio phase to the DAC input. While I would not recommend this unit for a seriously high end system, it did clearly demonstrate the need to correct these types of digital errors. I would encourage anyone to audition a similar but higher quality OCXO-based device. Borrowing a friends would be one option. |
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