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Sprout 100 ? NAD D 3020 ? Vidar ? Stellar S300


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if you just rip a CD onto your mac it is very little work - just use iTunes; rip it to Apple Lossless, then get an Apple TV # (an older one) and plug it in to your DAC - that's what I do and it works well

 

you can just do this with your favorite albums - at least at first

 

generally, I think a DAC will make a bigger difference than different amps (as long as they don't clip)

 

Apple products usually have fairly good DACs - it is all relative, but I expect $500 would get you a DAC that makes the SQ a lot better (get one you can return and send it back if not)

 

One big caution - Ken Rockwell is not a good source, esp. for photography if you are a photographer

 

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re: a purported need to save up first... he said "My budget for electronics is: $2300"

 

so I think he is fine

 

also, modularity is only needed if you plan to upgrade piece by piece in the near future - there is something to be said for a single unit like the Creek (less clutter, aesthetics, etc.)

 

Parasound is also highly regarded (John Curl)

 

but really... get the best masterings of CD quality or better material; and do room treatments - those 2 things make big differences in SQ

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often, "hard to drive" speakers have a non-linear complex impedance with frequency and dip down to a very low value at some point - amps often have a hard time dealing with that

 

what about Linhof ??  Hassy ??  and today, Canikon has competition from Sony, Fuji, Panasonic, Oly for most areas of pro photog....

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2 hours ago, MikePM said:

I have been looking at amps as well, especially ones that handle 4 ohm loads.  The ones I would suggest are the PS-Audio S300, or if you want to skip class D, the Audio by Van Alstine (AVA) Synergy 300 and 450.  They also have their Ultravalve line if you are interested in tubes.  Finally, I have heard nothing but praise for the Cambridge Audio 851W which has recently been featured as various online retailers at about the same price as the Stellar S300.  I hear it runs a little warm, but has great sound and a lot of power.  And of course there is always the Odyssey Stratos.  To bad it is almost impossible to compare amps side by side anymore.

 

Here is a list of power amps in the +/- $1500 range that will handle the Elacs.

 

PS Audion Stellar S300

AVA Synergy 300 (450 for about $500 more)

Cambridge Azur 851W

Odyssey Stratos

 

If you want an integrated you might look at the Rogue Audio Sphinx V2

 

Have you compared the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell S300 to other amps in a listening session?  If so, were there any sound differences you can describe?

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OP - lots of people are telling you to get a sub with the Maggies (and lots of people do that and are very happy)

 

but Magnepan will try to talk you out of that due to interface concerns as they cross over; after many years, they introduced the DWM bass panel (they say it gives you "more bass" but not "deeper bass" - which may mean it doesn't go all that low, but reinforces the downslope of the SPL vs. freq. response plot) - those should go 1 ft. in front of the normal panels, so that is more space

 

- for the record, I have a pair of 3.7i Maggies, which replaced 1.5QRs (which in turn replaced Vandersteens - perhaps a better speaker for rock n roll with a big back beat)

 

George - I hope they have a color besides blue for the big Maggies

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9 hours ago, RMMN said:

 

@Ralf11 thanks! Could you recommend a couple subwoofer models ?

 

I hear a lot about the REL, but don't use subs myself - the bigger Maggies don't "need" them as much.

 

Be sure to hunt up some posts by @wgscott who had a sub catch on fire in his home.

 

2 subs are useful - one xlnt idea is the Swarm sub system, which uses several - this allows one to really control room nodes - setup problems/complexity can be ameliorated with modern software analysis

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