Levinsons and Wilsons and Wels and Emm Labs can sing

Joey_V
Joey_V Posts: 8,552
in 2 Channel Audio
Well I have been taught a lesson tonight, tonight’s lesson was: Dynamic Range!

Dang son, I just got taken to school.

Will post more later.

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Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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Comments

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    Nice room
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  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    Glad you liked them Joey.

    I was disappointed in the Alexandria's that I heard at AXPONA a few years ago.

    Keep on keeping on with the demos!

    eh...cough....eh...ProAc....ack...cough...eh.....

    :D
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
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  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,117
    Wish I could ....
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,415
    I have a pair of crappy old Polks and some old tube amps that will dance all over them and still leave 200k in your kids college fund.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    Yeah I don’t play at this level... this guy is a little deep in the pockets.

    He just bought the Levinson 536 amps and replacing his Mcintosh 601. Now auditioning the preamp 526. A cool 50,000.

    I know one thing for sure, I’m not unloading 50k anytime for music reproduction with 2 components. I’m cheap as heck
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    edited March 2018
    So, the meet concluded. My friend is very happy with the Levinsons that he just purchased (326 pre and 325 monoblocks and Kimber Silver USB cable, I think even with discount it was north of $45K). Obviously the ML rep and the dealer were egging him on to keep buying, they pulled out some top of the line Kimber Select Speaker wire (silver like my Wels) and were pushing him to buy it, it was $35,000.

    I pulled my buddy aside after the demo, I told him it was not worth it and not to buy it. I told him, I have the Wels and I listen to it every day, and I can tell you "no cable on Earth is worth $30,000+). I felt like I just needed to be the voice of reason.

    Which is kind of funny, when I have to be the voice of reason - that's very worrisome situation.

    But, it was fun and it was cool to play with all that gear. My head begun to spin as we just kept switching components and wires.

    I am not the biggest Wilson fan, the demo did not turn me yet.

    I still think there are things my system does that are better, but for sure there were things that his system did better than mine.

    1. Dynamics - Wilsons really are capable of loud passages.
    2. Easy to listen to. Not very much different to Sonus Fabers that I've heard.
    3. Personalizable, those rakes and adjustments really tune the spot to your "head" position.

    Next group meet, I think we are visiting the biggest and baddest system of the group. Brian has a dedicated room that makes ours look like a hello kitty boombox. He runs a full Vivaldi stack with Boulder 2110 preamp and 3060 stereo. Will be fun to learn more.

    Thanks for reading.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    Were you guys listening to Jazz at the Pawnshop, or "Female Vocals"?
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Were you guys listening to Jazz at the Pawnshop, or "Female Vocals"?

    Everything from audiophile stuff to jazz to hip hop.

    I think sound is so personal and we all hear differently. I would say my system is more intimate than his but I have not heard dynamics like that in a long time.

    Beauty about these meet ups, you learn or appreciate something new each time...
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,934
    I can't get over that "hospital bedpan green" color of those Wilsons :D lol
    Joey_V wrote: »
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Were you guys listening to Jazz at the Pawnshop, or "Female Vocals"?

    Everything from audiophile stuff to jazz to hip hop.

    I think sound is so personal and we all hear differently. I would say my system is more intimate than his but I have not heard dynamics like that in a long time.

    Beauty about these meet ups, you learn or appreciate something new each time...

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,551
    Joey_V wrote: »
    So, the meet concluded. My friend is very happy with the Levinsons that he just purchased (326 pre and 325 monoblocks and Kimber Silver USB cable, I think even with discount it was north of $45K). Obviously the ML rep and the dealer were egging him on to keep buying, they pulled out some top of the line Kimber Select Speaker wire (silver like my Wels) and were pushing him to buy it, it was $35,000.

    I pulled my buddy aside after the demo, I told him it was not worth it and not to buy it. I told him, I have the Wels and I listen to it every day, and I can tell you "no cable on Earth is worth $30,000+). I felt like I just needed to be the voice of reason.

    Which is kind of funny, when I have to be the voice of reason - that's very worrisome situation.

    But, it was fun and it was cool to play with all that gear. My head begun to spin as we just kept switching components and wires.

    I am not the biggest Wilson fan, the demo did not turn me yet.

    I still think there are things my system does that are better, but for sure there were things that his system did better than mine.

    1. Dynamics - Wilsons really are capable of loud passages.
    2. Easy to listen to. Not very much different to Sonus Fabers that I've heard.
    3. Personalizable, those rakes and adjustments really tune the spot to your "head" position.

    Next group meet, I think we are visiting the biggest and baddest system of the group. Brian has a dedicated room that makes ours look like a hello kitty boombox. He runs a full Vivaldi stack with Boulder 2110 preamp and 3060 stereo. Will be fun to learn more.

    Thanks for reading.

    Your friend needs these, http://www.mitcables.com/available-in-stores/acc-268-articulation-control-console.html

    n84cmnbocbh9.jpg
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    Clipdat wrote: »
    I can't get over that "hospital bedpan green" color of those Wilsons :D lol
    Joey_V wrote: »
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Were you guys listening to Jazz at the Pawnshop, or "Female Vocals"?

    Everything from audiophile stuff to jazz to hip hop.

    I think sound is so personal and we all hear differently. I would say my system is more intimate than his but I have not heard dynamics like that in a long time.

    Beauty about these meet ups, you learn or appreciate something new each time...

    LOL

    Seafoam green he says.... a VERY custom color. Says he is getting the Alexx in the same color. These Sasha 2 were his "trial pair".
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • agfrost
    agfrost Posts: 2,428
    Joey_V wrote: »
    Seafoam green he says.... a VERY custom color. Says he is getting the Alexx in the same color. These Sasha 2 were his "trial pair".

    Couldn't quite get this to embed like I wanted...

    iuktpisu2jtt.png

    https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/b781130f-94cc-4ac8-af02-0c20641f63f8
    Jay
    SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
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    Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0
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  • dolbyd
    dolbyd Posts: 430
    edited March 2018
    Wilson and Kimber are both Utah companies so I see a lot of their stuff.
    I like being able to go see and be “Told” what we are missing. Lol
    I did like this setup with D’Agostino amps. Very clean and dynamic. I was told to listen as long as I liked. Cool salesman.
    The way I look at it you are only getting incremental increases in sound quality once you spend to a certain point. I don’t think it’s 4 times better then the system he had in the next room at 1/4 the price.
    But for the money ain’t a thing crowd go ahead.
    l2zpfp42g0c2.jpeg
    5a6qgej17cqo.jpeg
    Main room- RTiA9 x4, CSiA6, in ceiling Atmos RT-70 x4, SVS PC 4000 x2, Marantz 8805A, OPPO 203, Emotiva DR3 G3, Emotiva XPA-2 G3, Emotiva XPA-5 G3, Emotiva X300, Sony 75" 940E, Panasonic Plasma VT50, PS Audio Power Port X2, PS Audio AC-5 x8, AQ Rocket 33 Biwire speaker cables, AQ King Cobra XLR IC, Furman PFi20 W/Cullen cable, SoildSteel S4-4 rack, Gik room treatments

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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    edited March 2018
    dolbyd wrote: »
    Wilson and Kimber are both Utah companies so I see a lot of their stuff.
    I like being able to go see and be “Told” what we are missing. Lol
    I did like this setup with D’Agostino amps. Very clean and dynamic. I was told to listen as long as I liked. Cool salesman.
    The way I look at it you are only getting incremental increases in sound quality once you spend to a certain point. I don’t think it’s 4 times better then the system he had in the next room at 1/4 the price.
    But for the money ain’t a thing crowd go ahead.
    l2zpfp42g0c2.jpeg
    5a6qgej17cqo.jpeg

    That’s a baaaad system

    I was close to buying a momentum stereo s200 amplifier and had a deal lined up. I don’t recall now why I didn’t push through. It would’ve been nice.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    agfrost wrote: »
    Joey_V wrote: »
    Seafoam green he says.... a VERY custom color. Says he is getting the Alexx in the same color. These Sasha 2 were his "trial pair".

    Couldn't quite get this to embed like I wanted...

    iuktpisu2jtt.png

    https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/b781130f-94cc-4ac8-af02-0c20641f63f8

    Lol
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Legender
    Legender Posts: 478
    Looking at those pics I see what I'm missing for my sound... definitely need plants in the corners. There's a synthesis I'm missing :)
    Music: Oppo103 - Parasound JC2 - Parasound A21- SDA 3.1
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    Must the plants be fake or alive?
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    The plants would die from all the bass trapped in the corner
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    Ivan Dragoooo
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • Hermitism
    Hermitism Posts: 4,261
    Very cool room!
    Joey_V wrote: »
    4stn199ixrvv.jpeg

    @EndersShadow
    Hey Dan, is that a Dalek in the corner? I though you'd be the one to ask. You need a couple of those in your loft!

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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    Poor McIntosh 601 in the corner

    If anyone is interested in a pair of 1 owner McIntosh 601 amplifiers, he’s selling for a firesale

    $7500

    Pm
    Me
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    Joey_V wrote: »
    Poor McIntosh 601 in the corner

    If anyone is interested in a pair of 1 owner McIntosh 601 amplifiers, he’s selling for a firesale

    $7500

    Kerry! . . . Where's Kerry?
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    7500 for a pair... that’s cheaper than anything I’ve ever seen on audiogon or AA
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    Hermitism wrote: »
    @EndersShadow
    Hey Dan, is that a Dalek in the corner? I though you'd be the one to ask. You need a couple of those in your loft!

    tumblr_od28yvWWj11tq39joo1_500.gif

    giphy.gif


    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited March 2018
    Also, before I spend tons of cash on gear (at least THAT KINDA CASH), I'd want to make sure my room was acoustically treated, and if needed reconfigured (and even tore down and rebuilt) to get the most of out any speakers I put in there.....
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,133
    Joey_V wrote: »
    7500 for a pair... that’s cheaper than anything I’ve ever seen on audiogon or AA

    If I hadn't bought a pair of 1201's a week ago yesterday you'd be getting a pm from me. That's a good price on a great pair of amps
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  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    GlennDog wrote: »
    Joey_V wrote: »
    Poor McIntosh 601 in the corner

    If anyone is interested in a pair of 1 owner McIntosh 601 amplifiers, he’s selling for a firesale

    $7500

    Kerry! . . . Where's Kerry?

    If they're not tubes I'm not interested.
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    We did have an allnic dac there Kerry
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
    That is an unheard of price for a pair of 601s
    [
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    miner wrote: »
    That is an unheard of price for a pair of 601s

    Yep

    One of the club members bought it yesterday.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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