Seeking advice building stereo system with Sabrina X

[Blackfield]

Originally Posted by all2ears

Welcome to the site ... one of the keys to a great set up is balanced components - Great speakers with a lesser quality amp is only gong to let you hear what great speakers sound like with a lesser quality amp - No fun there

At the level of components you are considering might be a good ides to factor cable costs into your budget - Quality equipment need quality cabling

Everyone has a preference and mine is WireWorld Silver Electra (I got mine from MasterLu) - You may want to think about replacing the standard issue power cords and interconnects - Quality cables aren't cheap but the plus side is they don't need a lot of updating for audio

If you do go the Mc452 route a dedicated 20 amp line is a McIntosh recommendation - Another component is a quality power conditioner .... dirty electricity is your enemy - It will make a measurable difference ... I mean you can actually have it measured

Anyway congratulations and enjoy the journey

Thank you. Here is what I got so far.
* Audioquest Robin Hood Zero speaker cable - worked out a deal with my Wilson Audio dealer.
* Shunyata Research Alpha USB to feed opticalRendu to MA12000 - just purchased it used from a forum member.
* Future - still need power cord for the MA12000 and perhaps ethernet cable.

At this point I need to prioritize what comes next, it is likely going to be room treatment first vs. cabling. Any thoughts on the order of importance?

[all2ears]

Rotation wise I start at the circuit breaker and go to the socket then to the power conditioner and move forward to the components bearing in mind weak cables limit good upstream component performance .... power cords are key

For room treatment check out GIK .... they are forum members - Basic panels that do the job and their quality far exceeds their price - For a room your size it won't be a lot of $$$$ .... they'll help you design a treatment plan

[Blackfield]

Christmas comes early... the MA12000 arrived two days ago.

It is currently paired with KEF LS50 and it never sounds better, really happy with the amp. I can't wait to pair it with SabrinaX.

Happy holiday everyone.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Blackfield

Christmas comes early... the MA12000 arrived two days ago.

It is currently paired with KEF LS50 and it never sounds better, really happy with the amp. I can't wait to pair it with SabrinaX.

Happy holiday everyone.

Super congrats! For looks, sonics, build quality, and value, McIntosh remains THE BEST. This really is a stunning piece of gear.

Best

Charles

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by Blackfield

Christmas comes early... the MA12000 arrived two days ago.

It is currently paired with KEF LS50 and it never sounds better, really happy with the amp. I can't wait to pair it with SabrinaX.

Happy holiday everyone.

Congratulations! How the heck did your dealer swing such a quick turnaround on the MA12000 order?

A few of us poor saps have been in Mc delivery limbo on our orders for a while now.

Any news on the Wilson's?

[dkorbal]

Congratulations blackfield! Did you end up with the opticalrendu? If so, did you notice the noise floor drop?

[Blackfield]

Originally Posted by Charles

Super congrats! For looks, sonics, build quality, and value, McIntosh remains THE BEST. This really is a stunning piece of gear.

Best

Charles

Thank you Charles, really appreciate the advice I have gotten thus far from you and everyone else.

Originally Posted by FreddieFerric

Congratulations! How the heck did your dealer swing such a quick turnaround on the MA12000 order?

A few of us poor saps have been in Mc delivery limbo on our orders for a while now.

Any news on the Wilson's?

Hi FreddieFerric,
I purchased the MA12000 used (1 year warranty) from a well known McIntosh online dealer. The amp is in excellent condition that I don't think I can tell the difference vs. new one, no blemish anywhere that I can find.

Their service is excellent as you can see from the packaging, it took only 5 days to ship the amp from Northeast to TX.

Time will tell if the amp will be trouble free and worth the serious saving that I got; I am counting on McIntosh reputation for the amp to last a lifetime!

I assume you are ordering a new 1502, I hope you get yours really soon.

Still no news on the Wilson. I originally I was quoted 12 weeks time so it will put it to some time in early March.

Originally Posted by dkorbal

Congratulations blackfield! Did you end up with the opticalrendu? If so, did you notice the noise floor drop?

Hi dkorbal, thank you again for your pointer on the DAC streamer thread. Yes - I got the opticalRendu.

To be honest, I can't provide my impression just on the opticalRendu since I upgraded the amp, the Shunyata Research Alpha USB cable and opticalRendu all at the same time. I am still using generic speaker cable that will be replaced by AudioQuest RobinHood Zero.

My previous system was Computer -> generic USB cable-> ~$100 DAC (I can't remember the brand) -> RCA cable -> NAD C372 ->generic speaker cable -> KEF LS50.

In comparison to previous system, my KEF LS50 now sounds leaps and bounds better. I listened to the Dark Side of the Moon album recently, there are so many details that I missed before. The improvements are so great that I regretted that it took me this long to upgrade my 2 channel stereo.

If SabrinaX can give this much SQ improvements on top what I have, I will be a very happy man indeed.

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by Blackfield

...My previous system was Computer -> generic USB cable-> ~$100 DAC (I can't remember the brand) -> RCA cable -> NAD C372 ->generic speaker cable -> KEF LS50...

My Gosh! When you got upgradeitis you really got it bad.

The new gear you have and have ordered is miles ahead of where you started.

Again, congrats. Hopefully this new system will keep you smiling for years to come.

FWIW, McIntosh equipment is top notch in build quality and is made to be generational gear. Should the need arise to contact Mc, I have found their CS to be superb and their parts department very helpful as well. Overall, just a solid company from the ground up.

[beantownT]

Hi all - just started lurking on this forum since yesterday. i'm looking to "potentially" upgrade from Gershman Acoustics Avant Garde LCR to Sabrina X. A big decision point right now is that i only got my amps 4 months ago and dont want to change right now.

I've noticed that most of you are running Mcintosh, Lux or just stereo power amps or monoblocks.

Any one running a 3 or 5 channel amp on their sabrina X? Can you recommend a 3 or 5 channel amp that would have Sabrina X as LR and some easier to drive 8ohm bookshelf for my surround backs?

thanks in advance. I dont have permission to create a thread so semi-hijacking this one...

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by beantownT

Hi all - just started lurking on this forum since yesterday. i'm looking to "potentially" upgrade from Gershman Acoustics Avant Garde LCR to Sabrina X. A big decision point right now is that i only got my amps 4 months ago and dont want to change right now.

I've noticed that most of you are running Mcintosh, Lux or just stereo power amps or monoblocks.

Any one running a 3 or 5 channel amp on their sabrina X? Can you recommend a 3 or 5 channel amp that would have Sabrina X as LR and some easier to drive 8ohm bookshelf for my surround backs?

thanks in advance. I dont have permission to create a thread so semi-hijacking this one...

Welcome to AA beantownT.

I can't answer your question but I'm sure someone will be along with some good advice for you.