my quest for the "perfect" amp continue ...

brianle
brianle Posts: 572
edited March 2013 in 2 Channel Audio
Tried:
Musical Fidelity nuvista m3 pretty good, bored with the sound after a year
Ayre ax-7 a bit thin in mid range and vocal
Unison Research s6 lush , full body, sweet but lack of bass punch
Arc vs55 very good with Cary slp 98, a bit thin and lack of bass slam
Vtl st150 close to the unison s6 goodies + bass punch and slam. Hum noise through speakers :(
Rogue m180 a bit thin in body but excellent bass and quickness
20130327_162819.jpg


And now the musical fidelity kw500. So far the best one is rogue m180 + Cary slp98 combo. Too bad the rogue belong to one of my buddy. When is it gonna end? :)
Post edited by brianle on
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  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    edited March 2013
    Maybe you need better interconnect or speaker cables, or speakers, or preamp, or power cords, or power conditioner. There is more than just the amp in the chain. Then again, there is Emotiva.
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited March 2013
    What's the rest of your rig look like? I'm particularly interested in your source and/or DAC.

    Try a BAT!!! (Balanced Audio Technology). They make both tubed and SS amps. Mine is SS, and it is open, airy, highly dynamic, and has excellent separation and soundstage.
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    edited March 2013
    Speakers: Usher Dancer Mini 2 diamond. Probably not going to change for a while.
    DAC: EE Minimax
    Source: Squeezebox Touch
    Pre-amp: Cary SLP-98

    Since my Usher is staying for a while, I figure the next most significant upgrade would be the amp/preamp. I like transparent sound but with sweet high, full body, deep and tight bass. Is that too much to ask for? :cheesygrin:
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,965
    edited March 2013
    BlueFox wrote: »
    Maybe you need better interconnect or speaker cables, or speakers, or preamp, or power cords, or power conditioner. There is more than just the amp in the chain. .

    Gonna agree with Fox here, every gear switch requires a venture into cables. Synergy can be elusive, but some cables seem to bring out more in a piece of gear than others. Finding "your sound" and rolling higher end pieces can be costly. Try diving into cables, at least you'll have a few pairs on hand to see what gells with what.

    On a side note and just an observation, The Cary slp pre imho was never a big low bass producer. Maybe a change in tubes is in order too ? There's more to consider here than just an amp.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    edited March 2013
    what types of music do you listen to? ever thought about grabbing a pair of the Be tweeters?
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • usp1
    usp1 Posts: 207
    edited March 2013
    For solid state try McCormack amps. I am not sure about the newer models but the old DNA-1 (Deluxe or with SMC upgrades) are excellent. There are some DNA-2 s as well but they are extremely rare.
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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    edited March 2013
    tonyb wrote: »
    Gonna agree with Fox here, every gear switch requires a venture into cables. Synergy can be elusive, but some cables seem to bring out more in a piece of gear than others. Finding "your sound" and rolling higher end pieces can be costly. Try diving into cables, at least you'll have a few pairs on hand to see what gells with what.

    On a side note and just an observation, The Cary slp pre imho was never a big low bass producer. Maybe a change in tubes is in order too ? There's more to consider here than just an amp.

    I would like to settle for the amp/preamp combo first before other subtle improvement. Agree that the Cary is not that great in bass but I would be satisfiedwith the Cary+vtl if the vtl didn't have the hum.
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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    edited March 2013
    marvda1 wrote: »
    what types of music do you listen to? ever thought about grabbing a pair of the Be tweeters?

    Mostly jazz, classical/pop/rock once in a while. I do like the diamond tweeters in most tube setups.
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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    edited March 2013
    usp1 wrote: »
    For solid state try McCormack amps. I am not sure about the newer models but the old DNA-1 (Deluxe or with SMC upgrades) are excellent. There are some DNA-2 s as well but they are extremely rare.

    Thanks for your recommendation.
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited March 2013
    Ushers are a little "bright" in my brief exposure to them so that might be a difficult set to match up with an amp if you like "warm" like I do?

    On the other hand, if you wait long enough, your ears will "age", you'll lose your high end and many of the amps you've tried will sound somehow "different, perhaps "better" since you can't hear above 14 khz anymore. lol

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited March 2013
    d'oh, posted to wrong thread; sorry! :-P
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  • bobsauto49
    bobsauto49 Posts: 973
    edited March 2013
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    What's the rest of your rig look like? I'm particularly interested in your source and/or DAC.

    Try a BAT!!! (Balanced Audio Technology). They make both tubed and SS amps. Mine is SS, and it is open, airy, highly dynamic, and has excellent separation and soundstage.
    +1 I own BAT also,and from what ur explaining that u hear,and what u want,I think u will nail it with a BAT!
    "Everything I ever did in my life worthwhile I caught hell for"
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  • lanchile
    lanchile Posts: 560
    edited March 2013
    Have you ever try Bryston? I have had so many commercial amps that I lost count, but the one that sounded better from all the others was a Bryston!. I remember long time ago having the same problem like you, The only amp that I was a little happier with was the Bryston, But again I was not 100% happy with it!.There was always something that I did not like in the sound so I went the diy way and I started to build amps until I got the one that I was 100% happy. The end.
    Make it simple...Make it better!
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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    edited March 2013
    cnh wrote: »
    Ushers are a little "bright" in my brief exposure to them so that might be a difficult set to match up with an amp if you like "warm" like I do?

    On the other hand, if you wait long enough, your ears will "age", you'll lose your high end and many of the amps you've tried will sound somehow "different, perhaps "better" since you can't hear above 14 khz anymore. lol

    cnh

    lol ...

    I don't have the "bright" issue when matching them with tube amps
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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    edited March 2013
    bobsauto49 wrote: »
    +1 I own BAT also,and from what ur explaining that u hear,and what u want,I think u will nail it with a BAT!

    thanks, I might have to give bat tube amp a try
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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    edited March 2013
    I'm afraid bryston + usher diamond tweeter may not be a good match
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    edited March 2013
    believe me, NOT A GOOD MATCH! what about usher r 1.5 or plinius?
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
    Puritan PSM156
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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    edited March 2013
    yeah, been wanting to try the plinius class A amp. Haven't seen an affordable one on agon lately
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  • charley95
    charley95 Posts: 908
    edited March 2013
    www.decware.com He has some pretty interesting suff.
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  • bthogan
    bthogan Posts: 151
    edited March 2013
    My son, you must try a McCormack. it is your destiny.

    (The older-model DNAs, mentioned above, are both affordable and magical.)
    Marantz CD6004
    Adcom GFP-750
    McCormack DNA-1
    Polk LSi9s
    Signal Cable ICs
    Blue Jeans cables
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  • Oldfatdogs
    Oldfatdogs Posts: 1,874
    edited March 2013
    Maybe something Belles ?
    Dan
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