What's the best IC you have heard?

treitz3
treitz3 Posts: 19,027
edited March 2010 in 2 Channel Audio
I know, I know, IC's change with your system as it evolves and I understand that while one particular IC may work wonders for one setup that it may not work so well in another. That said, is there one particular IC that you have ran across that you have kept in your rig for more than a couple of changes throughout your audio journey?

Has anybody brought over an IC that you wished you had because of its performance?

Once again, if you would like to say what equipment the IC was working on or where it shined the best in your rig or what you heard it on? I'm not holding you back... ;)
~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
Post edited by treitz3 on
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited March 2010
    Well, I have MIT Shotgun S3 ICs on all my components and they are not going anywhere for a long, long time. However if I could have afford it I would replace them with S1s as I've heard Jesse's and the bass response is nothing short of spectacular.

    VPI HW19 Mk IV tricked out

    Spectral DMC 10G used as a phono pre

    Raysonic CD 168 CDP with NOS tubes

    My lest expensive of all Denon 2900 for SACD playback.

    All feeding a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300 hybrid integrated amp.
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited March 2010
    MIT AVt MA.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • jaxwired
    jaxwired Posts: 201
    edited March 2010
    Chord Company Crimson. $60 if you buy it from the UK ebay (new). Outstanding. Sounds like it cost 10X the price. It's their entry cable.

    In general, some of the best deals in hifi can be had in the UK because, unlike the USA, they still have a broad hifi market with plenty of midrange products. The USA market is mostly polarized into very expensive and best buy cheapo stuff.
    2 Channel
    NAD C545 -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Bryston BP6 -> Bryston 4B SST2 -> Dynaudio Contour S1.4
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  • MillerLiteScott
    MillerLiteScott Posts: 2,561
    edited March 2010
    For me MIT S3.
    I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
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  • fbm211
    fbm211 Posts: 1,488
    edited March 2010
    For me it was the Accoustic Zen silver reference II a friend let me borrow to compare against my DH Labs revalations which are pretty darn good themselves.
    I plan on selling the revelations and getting the silver reference IIs in a few months.
    SDA-2BTL with custom IC
    Adcom 565 monoblocks--Monarchy Audio M-10 preamp
    Theta Data Basic Transport--Stello DA100 Signature DAC--Camelot Dragon Pro2 MK III
    Harman Kardon T-55c TT
    DH Labs Q-10 Signature Speaker Cables With Furez silver plated copper bananas
    Revelation Audio Labs Prophecy Cryo-Silver Reference AES/EBU
    Revelation Audio Labs Prophecy Cryo-Silver i2s digital cable
    4 Furutech FP-314Ag with FI-11cu Plugs/FI-11AG IECs--- Power Cords
    DH LABS REVELATIONS ICs-amps
    Revelation Audio Labs Paradise cryo-silver ICs-Source to pre
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  • Knucklehead
    Knucklehead Posts: 3,602
    edited March 2010
    Rat Shacks finest.....Thats all I can afford. NXG Black Pearl
    Polk Audio Surround Bar 360
    Mirage PS-12
    LG BDP-550
    Motorola HD FIOS DVR
    Panasonic 42" Plasma
    XBOX 360[/SIZE]

    Office stuff

    Allied 395 receiver
    Pioneer CDP PD-M430
    RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]

    Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited March 2010
    I'm using some IC's I got from my dealer. I think they're made locally by a small company. I haven't felt the need to change them for a year and half now. Sounds great on all my gear. And the price is excellent. $60 a set.
    They replaced two sets of Audioquest cables. One was a Diamondback and the other was the Cheetah or something like that. The AQ cables were great on my Polks but way too bright with horns and my other speakers.
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  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,788
    edited March 2010
    Chicken wire. Rolled tightly to fit into the inputs and covered with asphalt.
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  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited March 2010
    MIT Shotgun S1 XLR's throughout my 2CH. The best I've heard.
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
    NORTH of 60°
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  • rubin
    rubin Posts: 565
    edited March 2010
    Tributaries
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  • headrott
    headrott Posts: 5,496
    edited March 2010
    lightman1 wrote: »
    Chicken wire. Rolled tightly to fit into the inputs and covered with asphalt.

    I thought I was the only one doing that...........;)

    Greg

    I have not heard very many "high end name brand cables" as I have used mainly independant companies' cables. the best I've heard are the "Aural Thrills Air XLR" silver cables. They are very good and have a great soundstage. I am upgrading my cables for the other pair of XLR cables I have to "Aural Hamonies' Cryo Gold Sonnet II's XLR" and look forward to hearing them. They are a combination of copper, silver and gold alloy.

    Greg
    Relayer-Big-O-Poster.jpg
    Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
    "I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion." :\
    My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....

    "Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson

    "Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee
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  • raidersrule76
    raidersrule76 Posts: 471
    edited March 2010
    I know this is about the best ones that you have heard but I would like to express my opinion on some that I have not had great luck with. Now with saying that I am not brand bashing just my experience.

    I had bought some used (I know used) MIT AVT 2 IC's loved them from the get go. Switched out some parts of my system and for some reason 3 of the five will not work anymore? Not sure what happened but I will have a hard time trying MIT again at least for a while. I would really like to try out some of the audio quest IC tho I hear some good things on them. Well like I said just my .02


    Mark
    Sig to be updated after dealing with the insurance company:(:(:(
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  • Knucklehead
    Knucklehead Posts: 3,602
    edited March 2010
    lightman1 wrote: »
    Chicken wire. Rolled tightly to fit into the inputs and covered with asphalt.

    Thats some imagination!:D
    Polk Audio Surround Bar 360
    Mirage PS-12
    LG BDP-550
    Motorola HD FIOS DVR
    Panasonic 42" Plasma
    XBOX 360[/SIZE]

    Office stuff

    Allied 395 receiver
    Pioneer CDP PD-M430
    RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]

    Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited March 2010
    raidersrule76 wrote: »
    I know this is about the best ones that you have heard but I would like to express my opinion on some that I have not had great luck with. Now with saying that I am not brand bashing just my experience.

    I had bought some used (I know used) MIT AVT 2 IC's loved them from the get go. Switched out some parts of my system and for some reason 3 of the five will not work anymore? Not sure what happened but I will have a hard time trying MIT again at least for a while. I would really like to try out some of the audio quest IC tho I hear some good things on them. Well like I said just my .02


    Mark

    Try calling Joe Abrams here;

    http://www.equusaudio.com/

    I'm willing to bet he'll hook you up with sending them either to him or to MIT directly and they will fix them for the cost of shipping. I believe they have a lifetime warranty.
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  • inspiredsports
    inspiredsports Posts: 5,501
    edited March 2010
    For me it's MIT Shotgun 2 IC's and cables on both rigs. One feature I especially like is the adjustable impedance settings on the IC control boxes.
    VTL ST50 w/mods / RCA6L6GC / TlfnknECC801S
    Conrad Johnson PV-5 w/mods
    TT Conrad Johnson Sonographe SG3 Oak / Sumiko LMT / Grado Woodbody Platinum / Sumiko PIB2 / The Clamp
    Musical Fidelity A1 CDPro/ Bada DD-22 Tube CDP / Conrad Johnson SD-22 CDP
    Tuners w/mods Kenwood KT5020 / Fisher KM60
    MF x-DAC V8, HAInfo NG27
    Herbies Ti-9 / Vibrapods / MIT Shotgun AC1 IEC's / MIT Shotgun 2 IC's / MIT Shotgun 2 Speaker Cables
    PS Audio Cryo / PowerPort Premium Outlets / Exact Power EP15A Conditioner
    Walnut SDA 2B TL /Oak SDA SRS II TL (Sonicaps/Mills/Cardas/Custom SDA ICs / Dynamat Extreme / Larry's Rings/ FSB-2 Spikes
    NAD SS rigs w/mods
    GIK panels
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited March 2010
    I've never tried MIT cables of any kind, but I recently switched from sh!tty, cheap-****$ ICs to these CarverAudio Oxygen-Free ICs, made by James Sauter (Toy Maker @ carveraudio.com); I'm really diggin' 'em--

    Build quality is outstanding & they sound great~

    Before:
    DSC02539.jpg

    After:
    DSC02555.jpg
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited March 2010
    My Kimber Hero's have been in-system for about 5 years. I like the locking WBT connectors and build quality. I have no desire to change them out.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited March 2010
    steveinaz wrote: »
    My Kimber Hero's have been in-system for about 5 years. I like the locking WBT connectors and build quality. I have no desire to change them out.

    WBT connectors are the bomb. I still have some from the '80 that have stamped on them, "Made in West Germany." They definitely have stood the test of time.
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited March 2010
    MIT Shotgun S1
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • TG Meat
    TG Meat Posts: 159
    edited March 2010
    For me the AVT MA for MIT...
    Anthem D2v
    NAD M50 Music Server
    B & K Reference 200.5
    Parasound A21
    B & W 804 (Mains)
    B & W HTM1 (Center)
    Polk Rti4 (Surrounds)
    PS3
    Seaton Submersive HP
    Pioneer PDP 6010FD Kuro
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    edited March 2010
    kci silkworms
    6sonsaudio manitou windigo
    grover sx
    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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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited March 2010
    Currently using MIT Shotgun S3's. Best so far, but can't see myself spending anymore money than that.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited March 2010
    steveinaz wrote: »
    My Kimber Hero's have been in-system for about 5 years. I like the locking WBT connectors and build quality. I have no desire to change them out.

    There are many high end cables out there that can outperform these cables but not by much. When I owned a full system of them I had to go to a 350.00 now 400.00 IC to just squeak by them in performance. I used the Audioquest Jaguars. Honestly it still was a pick em type shootout. I remember going back and forth just smiling on how the Kimbers stood there ground.

    I'm gonna say the Kimber Hero's are the very best IC on the market for the money. Nothing outperforms them anywhere near their price. When you include the WBT RCA ends you have a IC thats near perfect.

    I'll take it further with their speaker wire. Same kinda deal. You really have to dig deep into your pockets to get better. Really I see any system out there stopping at the TC series speaker wire mated with the Hero IC. It's the match.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • stone of tone
    stone of tone Posts: 78
    edited March 2010
    Kimber Select 1030 IC with 3033 speaker cable. Breathtaking.... .
    Sony Tport>Illuminati D-60>Audio Alchemy DTI-Pro>Prophecy Cryo-Silver Reference i2s>Audio Alchemy DDE 3.0 w/remote wand>Kimber Select 1030>Decware Zen Select Amp (SE84CS)>Kimber Select 3033> SDA 1/in Stereo only

    Sony Tport>IllumD-60>AA DTI Pro 32>AudMagicMysticRef i2s>AA DDE 3.0> Kimber Hero Int>Rotel RA-1062>Kimber Timbre>EmotivaXPA2>Kimber 8TC Speaker Cable>SDA SRS 1.2/use SDA always>Kimber 9033 to/hi Pass jumpers> Kimber PK10 Palladian Power Cord to Rotel
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  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited March 2010
    My Scarlet Vipers.
    I don't read the newsssspaperssss because dey aaaallllllllll...... have ugly print.

    Living Room: B&K Reference 5 S2 / Parasound HCA-1000A / Emotiva XDA-2 / Pioneer BDP-51FD / Paradigm 11se MKiii

    Desk: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / ISK HD9999

    Office: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Dynaco SCA-80Q / Paradigm Legend V.3

    HT: Denon AVR-X3400H / Sony UBP-X700 / RT16 / CS350LS / RT7 / SVS PB1000
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  • Conradicles
    Conradicles Posts: 6,081
    edited March 2010
    Currently I am running these in my 2 channel rig from CD player to Pre and they sound wonderful. I bought some MIT Terminator 2 that should arrive in a couple of days and I'll compare the two as they are in the same price bracket used (my price bracket:)).
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  • lanchile
    lanchile Posts: 560
    edited March 2010
    treitz3 wrote: »
    I know, I know, IC's change with your system as it evolves and I understand that while one particular IC may work wonders for one setup that it may not work so well in another. That said, is there one particular IC that you have ran across that you have kept in your rig for more than a couple of changes throughout your audio journey?

    Has anybody brought over an IC that you wished you had because of its performance?

    Once again, if you would like to say what equipment the IC was working on or where it shined the best in your rig or what you heard it on? I'm not holding you back... ;)

    Well, I have build some integrated amps using LM3875/LM3886 IC from National semiconductor, excellent sound!!!.
    Make it simple...Make it better!
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,067
    edited March 2010
    Recently put MIT Terminator 3's in my 2-channel rig. The best I've heard to date.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    TWELVE year old post, but relevant IMHO

    Lampizator has a new engine/chip called ELEVEN
    I want one. ... my mind is all over the planet .... ... but I digress.

    I’m wondering if anyone has thoughts on the Kimber Kable 1136 line ...

    There’s a local brick n mortar closing its doors after 42 yrs. Lots of vintage stock and some newer stuff

    6r3wh0pnveeg.jpg



    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    r7t65n75j0x9.jpg
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
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