I just got a new (to me) pair of In-Line Monoblocks (thank you EricB) delivered yesterday and after spending the entire evening listening I have to say they are surprisingly good. It's nothing short of amazing that the tiny box housing each monoblock, which is smaller and much lighter than its companion 48V power supply, seems to be a better match on my system than my Wyred4Sound ST250.
Tidal (lossless "Hifi") was streaming through an iMac connected via Toslink to a Benchmark DAC1 Pre (which replaced a Doge 8 preamp and Moon 100 DAC), hooked up via RCAs to the ILMs, which then fed a pair of old Von Schweikert VR3. The previous amp was the Wyred4Sound ST250 (and a Golden Tube Audio SE40SE before that). All cabling is generic so that will probably be the next upgrade.
My first impression is that the ILMs present a large and spacious soundstage, noticeably more so than I was getting with the W4S. Listening to some familiar vocal and live performances, I got the feeling that the singers presence and imaging on the soundstage was more palpable. I was pleasantly surprised that absent was some of the brightness I had experienced upon the addition of the W4S/Benchmark combination. This makes me think that the ILM is a tad warmer than the W4S, and in my system this is an improvement. But I also noticed less bass when I played Matoma's Old Thing Back. There's this bass note they play that reverberates as it decays and it's got more body when played through the W4S. Through the ILMs it's still there but not nearly as much.
So I get more space and "thereness", slightly better imaging, less brightness with no apparent loss in detail, and on the down side I lose a little bass at the extremes. And this is totally ok, since the Von Schweikerts are still able to deliver a full bodied sound that sounds very balanced and engaging to me.
I'll listen through this same set-up to get more seat time and get a good feel for the sound before switching speakers. Next will probably be the Zu Omen, then Magnepan 0.6QR, & I'll save my favorite Apogee Stage for last.