Popular Post Ralf11 Posted April 19, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted April 19, 2018 Welcome - the first rule of computeraudio.com is to ignore GUTB, or take his posts with many grains of salt... You are going to want an external DAC at some point. And it will make a bigger SQ difference than the amp. Now, amps - the 3020 is highly regarded but is not a newer design. The PS audio gain cell amps are also highly regarded and I have been looking into them myself. Schiit is famed for high performance at reasonable prices, but at least some people have had mechanical noise from the Vidar. I crossed it off my list. But my list is not your list... You didn't post a budget but on would help people help you. If it includes a $3,000 amp then the Benchmark is formidable. Lot of posts in various threads but you'll need to search them out. Do you have mp3 files? If so, can I convince you to replace them with Apple Lossles or replace some of them? Ron Scubadiver, ds58 and gridlock74 1 2 Link to comment
Popular Post Ralf11 Posted April 19, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted April 19, 2018 I like the Creek - great idea. 100W version also - Creek Evo series. RMMN and mwb 1 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Here is a thread on $200 DACs: you don't need it if you get the Ruby plugin for the Creek Evo 50 or 100 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 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 RMMN 1 Link to comment
Popular Post Ralf11 Posted April 20, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted April 20, 2018 I almost bought the Creek Evo 100 - to give you an idea of its 'level' I decided to stay with a tube pre-amp and got an Audio Research LS25 Mk II (used for $2,500 - new it was about $5k) I am not sure my setup sounds better than the Creek... RMMN and mwb 1 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 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 Ajax 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 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.... Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 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? Link to comment
Popular Post Ralf11 Posted May 1, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted May 1, 2018 5 hours ago, RMMN said: I’m going to demo some Magnepan 0.7 speakers at a dealer today. Would these be a good choice if I went with the Vidar? Yes, Maggies are always a good choice. Try to set them out 3 ft. from a wall in your room. The key is to use an amp that has good current delivery into a 4 ohm load. They will lack low bass but outperform most speakers within 2x or 3x their price in the treble and mids. RMMN and gmgraves 1 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 they want to impress people like you Link to comment
Popular Post Ralf11 Posted May 1, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted May 1, 2018 24 minutes ago, mav52 said: There you go again, writing crap without facts. nowhere to be seen FYI 2018 Axpona, Magnepan room 506 and Martin Logan ( Prosperity room, room 404 and 670 . Why don't you research before you spout off on so many false facts. Why is that ? it appears that the GUTBot is based on a very limited AI system with no research or analysis capabilities RMMN and Fluffytime 1 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 also, please stop mis-spelling nutotypical Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 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 RMMN 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 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 RMMN 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 On 5/1/2018 at 1:33 PM, GUTB said: What was your favorite room at AXPONA? This one: RMMN 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 I keep telling you guys, it is a very limited bot - not much AI is running that thing RMMN 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Double your Pleasure Double Your Fun RMMN 1 Link to comment
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