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Post by julesd68 on Jun 12, 2020 14:10:35 GMT
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Post by Mr Whippy on Jun 12, 2020 14:35:53 GMT
I don't fancy the idea of those rubber dildos poking into my ears In the 70s when I had my Pioneer 508 amp with switching for 2 sets of speakers. I used to plug my openback Sennheiser HD-424Xs headphones in and have the speakers playing at the same time. Very entertaining! Give it a try if you have the means.
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Post by jandl100 on Jun 25, 2020 7:29:49 GMT
Whew - this is not the weather for a biggish valve amp. Out goes the PrimaLuna with 4x KT120 power valves, in goes the Bantam Stealth class D. 3 new power amps arrived yesterday (strictly, 4 - but two will be used as monoblocks). And some new speaker cables. In quarantine till next Monday. In the next couple of days 2 DAC/preamps are expected. A sudden surge of boxswap fever. Damn the quarantine! - Patience is a virtue.
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Post by MartinT on Jun 25, 2020 7:48:33 GMT
My music room was the only respite from the heat yesterday. I do NOT run valves
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Post by julesd68 on Jun 25, 2020 8:28:03 GMT
What a legend - King of the Box Swappers As ever, I'm intrigued to see what arrives.
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 1, 2020 8:35:19 GMT
OK, new amps and DAC/preamps are now out of their 5 day virus quarantine. A quick in and out of the system for the undoubtedly lovely looking Primare A34.2 power amp. Fabulous reviews and measured at 200wpc (8 ohms), 400wpc (4 ohms) - a beautiful powerhouse. Shame about the grainy scrim at high frequencies, rather smoothed over resolution and relative lack of transparency. Sold already, being collected by courier today. With less resolving speakers it may well be very impressive, but I'm cursed/blessed with the MBLs. Just prior to deciding to spend bigger bucks on the Primare some semi-pro power amps on ebay had rather taken my fancy. I've previously had very good results with pro amps, so for about £40 each I thought I'd have a play. I suspect the auctions had ended at a low price as they were listed as powered up but not tested beyond that. I tried all 3 amps in my 2nd system as I didn't fancy blowing up the MBLs, they all worked fine. First to be plumbed in was a Phonic MAX500. 90wpc 8 ohms. XLR and jack inputs. This showed the Primare the door immediately. Pure top end, obviously better transparency and focus. Not even a contest, really, a walkover. I enjoyed this a for a while, then plumbed in two Phonic MAX250, configured by a switch on the back to biwire monoblocks. 120w as monoblocks, 60wpc each (8 ohms). Even better; more control, a tighter sound while retaining the pure tonality and transparency of the MAX500, but a slight transformner hum was now to be heard from the chassis. Not unacceptable, but it made me wonder about running one of them as a stereo amp. Yay. Hum gone. And sound just a tad more transparent as well. So the single Phonic MAX250 is the winnah! Without a doubt one of the best amps I've had. Then the 2 DAC/preamps came up for attention. I've been a happy (nay, ecstatic!) user of Lexicon AV processors since the start of the year, but I just fancied trying some alternatives, as is my wont. First up, and I am not sure why I bought it I just fancied trying the brand, I think. Emotiva PT-100 DAC/pre/tuner! It even has a phonostage onboard if I ever get sufficiently brain damaged to go down that route again. Very very pretty in a hifi kind of way. Stock pic ... £450 rrp, but you wouldn't know it from the appearance or build quality. It should sound crap, let's face it - but some good online reviews had me interested and I'd always been curious about the brand. It doesn't sound crap at all. Very transparent and detailed and fast, a little leanness through the mids helps emphasise that a bit. A bit bass light - but guess what, it's got (horror/shame/humiliation) TONE CONTROLS. Yay. A couple of dB up on the bass and we are rocking. So the equipment shelves atm look like this ... Top left is a Topping D70 that I haven't even gotten around to trying yet. I'm enjoying the Emotiva too much to want to swap it out. I'll have to try the D70 today just to make sure it's working OK. Audiophile cred says it should trounce the Emotiva, and it may well do. But I'll not be putting any money on a wager!
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Post by MartinT on Jul 1, 2020 10:06:01 GMT
Interesting about the semi-pro gear. It mirrors my findings that they always seem, at the least, very competent.
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Post by John on Jul 1, 2020 13:02:01 GMT
Cheers Jerry it always interesting reading your findings I once had a dealer come round and he plumbed in the A30 I did not like it I thought a very coloured amplifier
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 1, 2020 13:21:45 GMT
The Topping D70 works AOK. Ebay feedback left.
Nearly blew my eardrums in when I set Qobuz to play. I hadn't realised the thing was set to DAC mode - so no volume attenuation. Whoosh! Took a few minutes doing the rtfm thing to figure out how to put it into preamp volume adjustable mode.
So started with it as a standalone DAC/pre straight into my power amp. Oooo, interesting. A bit stark, no flesh on the music's bones as it were. Very clean, clear, fast, articulate. But no musical warmth at all. Not keen. Not for me.
A rather different result to Jules, I fancy. Neither of us like the sound straight to our amp, but for different reasons. I suspect it all depends on how it interacts with the technical spec of the power amp.
So, back to DAC-direct mode and inputing to the Emotiva preamp via analog interconnects.
Ahhhhh, real sounding music pours forth! Lovely.
Hmm, yes, a bit better than using the Emotiva's DAC. More insight into the recording's acoustic space. Very nice. Early days, but I suspect that both the D70 DAC and Emotiva pre are keepers for now, they seem to work well together.
I'll try the D70 with the Chinese RVC passive pre sometime soon, but my guess is that it will be too stark for me.
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 1, 2020 13:25:42 GMT
Cheers Jerry it always interesting reading your findings I once had a dealer come round and he plumbed in the A30 I did not like it I thought a very coloured amplifier That's interesting, John. Yes, the A34.2 is defo coloured as well to my ears. I guess that works well with some folks' systems - hopefully the buyer of mine will be as pleased with it as some Wammers are with theirs. Still, that's Primare ticked off my bucket list. --- the wife, on looking at it, thought it said Primark.
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 1, 2020 13:28:38 GMT
Qobuz > D70 > Emotiva pre > Phonic MAX250 amp > MBL speakers ---- listening to Solti's Bruckner 2nd proper loud with a HUGE grin on my face. Sounds magnificent. And it no longer needs the +2dB on the bass, seems that was coming from the Emotiva DAC.
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Post by Slinger on Jul 1, 2020 13:41:59 GMT
Still, that's Primare ticked off my bucket list. --- the wife, on looking at it, thought it said Primark. How dare she? Primare kit is beautiful, not cheap-and-nasty tat.
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Post by MartinT on Jul 1, 2020 13:43:40 GMT
So, back to DAC-direct mode and inputing to the Emotiva preamp via analog interconnects. Ahhhhh, real sounding music pours forth! Lovely. Yes, I know that lesson well. My LKS direct to the power amp was similar: lightweight sound without authority. Through the Burson buffer: terrific. In both cases, using the LKS digital volume control.
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Post by John on Jul 1, 2020 13:58:21 GMT
The Topping D70 works AOK. Ebay feedback left. Nearly blew my eardrums in when I set Qobuz to play. I hadn't realised the thing was set to DAC mode - so no volume attenuation. Whoosh! Took a few minutes doing the rtfm thing to figure out how to put it into preamp volume adjustable mode. So started with it as a standalone DAC/pre straight into my power amp. Oooo, interesting. A bit stark, no flesh on the music's bones as it were. Very clean, clear, fast, articulate. But no musical warmth at all. Not keen. Not for me. A rather different result to Jules, I fancy. Neither of us like the sound straight to our amp, but for different reasons. I suspect it all depends on how it interacts with the technical spec of the power amp. So, back to DAC-direct mode and inputing to the Emotiva preamp via analog interconnects. Ahhhhh, real sounding music pours forth! Lovely. Hmm, yes, a bit better than using the Emotiva's DAC. More insight into the recording's acoustic space. Very nice. Early days, but I suspect that both the D70 DAC and Emotiva pre are keepers for now, they seem to work well together. I'll try the D70 with the Chinese RVC passive pre sometime soon, but my guess is that it will be too stark for me. I found grounding adds warmth
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 1, 2020 14:46:06 GMT
Ah, good point, John. I've not connected the grounding box to the new gear!
It's on my to-do list now.
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Post by julesd68 on Jul 1, 2020 14:51:03 GMT
Nice one Jerry, glad you are enjoying the D70!
Mine is a perfect match with the RVC - think I get the slight warmth I need from my power amp.
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Post by MartinT on Jul 1, 2020 15:35:46 GMT
I found grounding adds warmth Agreed, John. Grounding my master clock added a little warmth but what blew my mind is how grounding my router really added warmth and depth to the sound. This is for streaming, so relevant for Jerry.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jul 1, 2020 16:08:12 GMT
Why 5 days Jerry ? Thought 3 was safe and possibly over the top In desperation plug it all in when it arrives then wash your hands
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 1, 2020 16:29:24 GMT
Why 5 days Jerry ? Thought 3 was safe and possibly over the top In desperation plug it all in when it arrives then wash your hands I think you'll find 3 is a general minimum - some surfaces like wood and metal can support the virus for 5 days. www.webmd.com/lung/how-long-covid-19-lives-on-surfacesDifferent Kinds of Surfaces Metal Examples: doorknobs, jewelry, silverware 5 days Wood Examples: furniture, decking 4 days Glass Examples: drinking glasses, measuring cups, mirrors, windows Up to 5 days Ceramics Examples: dishes, pottery, mugs 5 days
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Post by jandl100 on Jul 1, 2020 16:38:12 GMT
In desperation plug it all in when it arrives then wash your hands I hope you're joking - that wouldn't help much, what with continual reinfection from using the gear, let alone having potentially contaminated gear in my living space. And no, I'm not going to wetwipe my gear all over with bleach! 5 days is fine and safe - patience, grasshopper.
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