A Fun Time on a Saturday Night!

[killdozzer]

Like I mentioned previously, there were quite a few "audiophile" recordings and I really did not pay much attention. The tone was stupendous, the music, meh. I assure you, if something really caught my ear, I would have asked! This happened in the "budget" room several times with the Dynaudios playing. The only other record of note on the big rig was Talk Talk's It's My Life. The presenter really made a big deal of it, telling the story of, after their success, how they were able to record what they wanted and produced an incredible (if not as successful as previous releases) album. It's My Life is not that album. I believe he was mistaken and was actually talking about The Colour of Spring, which is really good.

Thanks. Yeah, I like Talk Talk.

 

[John Parks]

Very cool. I would love me a Rogers EHF200 Mk2 amp, Conrad Johnson phono amp and VPI Prime Signature TT, perhaps on some KEF Blade 2, YG, or Raidho speakers. I would also have to have a new home and a new wife as I would be ejected from the current setup if I ever did anything like that. Fun to listen to, can't ever bring anything like that home though.

Hey Ken! So... I've been thinking (dangerous, I know). You and I love our KEF speakers and product. Of all the speaker lines at our level (B&W, etc.) KEF is my favorite "house sound" and I think the Reference and Blade are stupendous. Unfortunately, the event that I went to kind of ruined my R500s for me. Don't get me wrong: the R500s are awesome and I love the way they sound. It's just that the GamuT speakers seem to have set me on another tack. Of course, at this juncture, there is no way I can afford any Gamut product, but I am going to start looking for something in a similar vein like Harbeth or maybe even Devore Fidelity (i.e., not necessarily the most accurate, but more "organic" [that's my favorite word these days]). One of the best things about the KEFs is that they are extremely transparent will play whatever one feeds them, so maybe my first steps will involve different sources or introducing tubes (and certainly a lot cheaper than the $20K GamuT introductory price!). Well see where it goes...

Don't GamuT and Raidho belong to the same parent company?

 

[KenM10759]

You just might be impressed with Harbeth 40.2, I know I was. Spendor has some really nice stuff too.

 

[John Parks]

Well, since last Saturday night kind of ruined my setup for me (not that bad, but now that I know what I am missing…) I went out again this weekend for what can be called A Fun Time on a Saturday Night II: This Time it’s Personal!

I visited an audio boutique in Dallas that carries several high end brands: Wilson Audio, VTL, Linn, dCS, to name a few. I talked to the salesperson and tried to describe what I was hearing with the GamuT speakers to see if they had anything with a similar approach to the sound that did not start at $20K. The guy seemed to be knowledgeable and had an idea. He kicked me out of the room while he set up and I poked around the shoppe, looking at all the (expensive) pretties. When he called me in, he had set up a pair of ProAc D Twos ($3600). I was excited because I remember how impressed I was with the tiny 1SC fifteen+ years ago. He asked me what I wanted to hear via Tidal, but first started things off with "Tin Pan Alley", which I made him change immediately (he also wanted to play Miles and Brubeck - but if I am not going to listen to them at home...). They sounded very nice. I really liked the treble as it was very delicate, but they really did not have anything on my KEFs and in no way sounded like the GamuTs. The salesperson was bragging on how deep the bookshelf ProAcs played while my mind was wandering. The Rogue Audio integrated was nice, though... On to the next! I met a guy on FB that is the local Harbeth dealer, and I may go see him this week or the next.

Note 1: This shop did not really have anything else that I was interested in save the Devore Fidelity Orangutan 0/96, which are freakin' gorgeous and priced as such at $12K (a bit out of my range). Maybe I'll go back some time and have a listen, but I think they were tired of me by that time.

Note 2: I won't go into amplification, but it was pointed out to me that my Yamaha A-S801 was probably the weak link in my audio chain. Take that for what you will.

Note 2: I was corresponding with the guy that brought his pair of GamuTs from Santa Fe to the event last week and he said he had never heard them sound worse. He did not know if it was due to the amplification (PS Audio) or the room acoustics. I believe the latter (though I heard nothing wrong - quite the contrary!) because the Gamut rep told me in an email that they would be moving another pair to a room with a lot less acoustical treatments. I mean really - that is pretty scary if they could sound even better than they did! Crap, there goes another kidney...

 

[KenM10759]

A little off target, but I can tell you that when I demo'd the NAD Masters M10 this past Sunday it was driving a pair of the new R5's. I am the first one to tell you I don't take stock in "all amps sound different", yet in that room with those speakers and on that amp, it really sounded SO MUCH better than my own R500's that I was dumbfounded.

Are the new KEF R series a quantum leap over the previous? Yes, I believe they are. Did the M10 add that much to the mix? I want to doubt it but I took one home anyhow.

Listening to my LS50's on it tonight with some decent volume, I'm hearing things like I never have at home before. I can't tell you if it's the new DAC (ESS Sabre over Burr-Brown), the better amps (100w/ch vs. 60w/ch), or the psychoacoustics of it all, but I know I love it.

 

[John Parks]

A little off target, but I can tell you that when I demo'd the NAD Masters M10 this past Sunday it was driving a pair of the new R5's. I am the first one to tell you I don't take stock in "all amps sound different", yet in that room with those speakers and on that amp, it really sounded SO MUCH better than my own R500's that I was dumbfounded.

Are the new KEF R series a quantum leap over the previous? Yes, I believe they are. Did the M10 add that much to the mix? I want to doubt it but I took one home anyhow.

Listening to my LS50's on it tonight with some decent volume, I'm hearing things like I never have at home before. I can't tell you if it's the new DAC (ESS Sabre over Burr-Brown), the better amps (100w/ch vs. 60w/ch), or the psychoacoustics of it all, but I know I love it.

That is an awesome find and I am glad you are enjoying it. That NAD looks very interesting - food for thought...

Yeah, talking about amplifier sound signatures is a bit verboten around these parts. No, I do not subscribe to the "all amps sound different" school of thought, because that is just silly. However, I have been in the game long enough to have experienced some amps sounding different as many are voiced differently and, of course, there are differing levels of refinement. The same goes with DACs. I think I'll shut up now...

 

[<eargiant]

That is an awesome find and I am glad you are enjoying it. That NAD looks very interesting - food for thought...

Yeah, talking about amplifier sound signatures is a bit verboten around these parts. No, I do not subscribe to the "all amps sound different" school of thought, because that is just silly. However, I have been in the game long enough to have experienced some amps sounding different as many are voiced differently and, of course, there are differing levels of refinement. The same goes with DACs. I think I'll shut up now...

Isn't it a shame that you feel compelled to shut up? Anyone that says that all DACs sound the same has been reading too much and has not lived with enough equipment to know any better. Of course, you need the entire system to be at a level that will allow you to easily appreciate the improvements offered by the better DACs.

 

[John Parks]

Isn't it a shame that you feel compelled to shut up? Anyone that says that all DACs sound the same has been reading too much and has not lived with enough equipment to know any better. Of course, you need the entire system to be at a level that will allow you to easily appreciate the improvements offered by the better DACs.

It's cool and I understand, so it really does not bother me all that much. I've gone through several phases during this strange hobby, from naive gullibility, to "Consumer Reports" objectivism - both highly misguided - to where I am now: pragmatic, but open minded.