[Spirit]

What a great day!
For those of you who were not aware, The TAAS Amp Comparo event was spread over 2 days due to the tremendous interest expressed and also due to the large number of amps offered for comparison.
Unfortunately, I could not devote both days and was able to attend Saturday (yesterday).  As I write this post, the Sunday event is certainly still ongoing.
Although I moderate this Circle, I had no input into the planning, coordinating and execution of this TAAS event.  This initiative was solely brought to fruition by one great TAAS member - Daygloworange (Denny) who almost single handedly put this whole sucker together.  I would personally like to express my deepest and sincere thanks for a job well done!!! 
I know Denny's fingers will need first-aid after the conclusion of the Sunday event, due to the constant tightening of binding posts on all the amps!
May I also take this opportunity to thank another charter member - DonnieW - for offering his time and assistance to Dayglow over the last few weeks. Donnie: never lose your good nature and your sense of humour!!
May I also thank the following 2 amp manufacturers for offering to come to Toronto and be part of this event:
Gage Rommel - Vice President of Moscode Corporation who braved the winter driving conditions and drove up from Upstate New York to attend both days!!
Song Kim - President of Song Audio.  Unfortunaely, we had a gain/volume issue with Song's amp.  Song agreed to come back Sunday as he figured out how to rectify the compatibility issue.  I trust that Song's amp will sing, just as I heard it at the 2006 RMAF in Denver.
Also, a special thanks to Ed Wilkow, owner and engineer of Foundation Reserach, known the world over for producing arguably the finest line conditioner and filter systems.  It was great hearing Ed's inputs and opinions between amp breaks.  Ed will be invited back to speak at an upcoming TAAS event.
Just to clarify how things were conducted:
Dayglow was in charge of the whole operation. 
A screen was propped up between the 2 speakers so that no one could see which amp would be playing.
Dayglow chose a playlist of songs that addressed the frequency band from high to low.  The same playlist was played for all amps.  A Sound Pressure meter was adjusted each time to keeps things at an even db level.
Speakers used:  GR Research OB5's (amazing!)
Digital electronics: Dayglow streamed the Playlist wirelessly from his laptop to his Squeezebox 3 unit (modded by Bolder Cable; thanks Wayne). 
Every person seated was given a pre-printed form which contained all the necessary criteria for evaluation for each amp:
Turn on Noise
Noise Floor
Detail or Resolution
Dynamics
Distortion
Top-end Quality
Vocal Range
Bass Quality
Instrument Clarity
Imaging Placement
Overall Sound
and finally at the bottom:
Total Score.
A space for "Comments" was also provided for each amp.
Each amp was referred to solely by a number given to each amp by Dayglow.
It was not Dayglow's intention to tabulate all the members scores, but only to do our own personal evaluations.
We were only told the names of each amp at the end of the long day
My results, you ask?
Odyssey Extreme Monoblocks
Moscode
Dynaco ST70 - modded
ATI 1202
McCormack 0.5 Deluxe
Kalista Audio Symphonia 300
Bryston 9B ST
And how did I feel at the end of a seven hour day? Fantastic!! Why? Because the Odysseys are mine! 
A great day all around.

[DonnieW]

It was a great time!

Denny put on another good show and maintained his game face the whole way through.  Those who couldn't attend missed out on an awesome time, despite Denny's taste in 'sample' music.  As simple as it sounds it took a lot of work for Denny to pull this off and no doubt cut into his day ($$) job.  I almost regret busting his chops during the midnight hours... and all day Saturday 

Definitely worth thanking are all the guys who brought gear!  We know how audiophiles are... it truly is a BIG thing for them to displace their beloved amps, truck them over and leave them in the hands of another 'man'.  We'd sooner give up our first born than let someone tinker with our gear.

[Spirit]

It was a great time!

Denny put on another good show and maintained his game face the whole way through.  Those who couldn't attend missed out on an awesome time, despite Denny's taste in 'sample' music.  As simple as it sounds it took a lot of work for Denny to pull this off and no doubt cut into his day ($$) job.  I almost regret busting his chops during the midnight hours... and all day Saturday 

Definitely worth thanking are all the guys who brought gear!  We know how audiophiles are... it is truly a BIG thing for them to displace their beloved amps, truck them over and leave them to hands of another 'man'.  We'd sooner give up our first born than let someone tinker with our gear.

You are so right about the sample music.  If I had heard that clip with the rushing water one more time I probably would have upchucked the pizza we had for lunch!

[DonnieW]

I know I shouldn't talk... Denny's a musician and brings a different aspect to the group.  His music choices we're admittedly personally motivated but I won't hold it against him.  More than a couple people extracted sections of the songs to which they could analyze from amp to amp.  I did just that with the damn 'water splashy' song.

[bolly]

hey spirit, I liked that rushing water one!! 

[Rafal]

Hi Guys,

It was great meeting bunch of you today

Can you let me know what amps correcponded to which #'s today?

by the way, those OB5's were pretty sweet.

Cheers,

Rafal

[Spirit]

Hi Guys,

It was great meeting bunch of you today

Can you let me know what amps correcponded to which #'s today?

by the way, those OB5's were pretty sweet.

Cheers,

Rafal

Hey Rafal:
By "today" I hope you mean Saturday.
Here are the Saturday amps:
64 and 87  -  ATI
121  -  Odyssey Mono's
280  -  Bryston
16  -  Moscode
317  -  Kalista
49  -  McCormack
29  -  Dynaco

[Daygloworange]

You are so right about the sample music.  If I had heard that clip with the rushing water one more time I probably would have upchucked the pizza we had for lunch!

You guys can stop riding me about the rushing water now, it's over.      BTW, both of you check your voicemail, I left you both a message so that you can remember me by.....

Cheers 

[Spirit]

You are so right about the sample music.  If I had heard that clip with the rushing water one more time I probably would have upchucked the pizza we had for lunch!

You guys can stop riding me about the rushing water now, it's over.      BTW, both of you check your voicemail, I left you both a message so that you can remember me by.....

Cheers 

No voicemail on my phone!

[hoosier21]

would like to read the amp comparasions, but would love to hear what you all thought about the OB5s

[Spirit]

would like to read the amp comparasions, but would love to hear what you all thought about the OB5s

A superb sounding speaker!
Highs are pristine due to the ribbon and the bass is so tight.
Excellent value.  Dayglow's cabinet build quality is superb.

[Daygloworange]

No voicemail on my phone!

It's not on there? Ok, I'll just burn you DonnieW and endless loop of that 10 second rushing water intro on a CD and mail it to you guys then. 

BTW, do you want that in a FLAC file, or a WAV file?

Cheers 

[Yorgi]

First I have to thank Denny for organizing this event and letting us use his shop once again.  He put a huge amount of work into setting this up.

I have to say I was amazed at how different each amp sounded.  The biggest difference I heard was in the bass reproduction.  Some amps were flabby and had poor control of the woofers, some had very little bass output and others managed loud tight bass.  The extreme highs and imaging were other areas where large differences could be heard.

The surprise of the day for me is how good Spirit's Odyssey Monoblocks sounded.  In my notes I wrote that they were clearly in a class of their own.  The music was so much more alive though these amps.  They had the deepest and best controlled bass with no boominess, amazing detail and imaging and a nice even reproduction of the entire frequency range without harshness.  Who would have guessed that solid state could beat out tubes?

I’m interested to see what you guys think of the amps on Sunday.  I really wish I could have made both days.

[Daygloworange]

Yorgi,

Thanks for coming out, and bringing your Bryston. It was nice to hear one again. I used to own a 2B years and years ago, wish I never sold it. (sigh)

Cheers

[95bcwh]

There is no surprise at all. This is what we call "system synergy". If you match the right solid state amp with the right speaker, it can blows any tube amp out of the water.

Now if you switch to a different speaker, the results can be entirely different. All of these are good amps, but none of them are "perfect" amp, you need to right system to bring the best out of each of them.

It's certainly a hell lot of fun to do these A/B test, however, we must understand the limitation.

 

The surprise of the day for me is how good Spirit's Odyssey Monoblocks sounded.  In my notes I wrote that they were clearly in a class of their own.  The music was so much more alive though these amps.  They had the deepest and best controlled bass with no boominess, amazing detail and imaging and a nice even reproduction of the entire frequency range without harshness.  Who would have guessed that solid state could beat out tubes?

I’m interested to see what you guys think of the amps on Sunday.  I really wish I could have made both days.

[Spirit]

There is no surprise at all. This is what we call "system synergy". If you match the right solid state amp with the right speaker, it can blows any tube amp out of the water.

Now if you switch to a different speaker, the results can be entirely different. All of these are good amps, but none of them are "perfect" amp, you need to right system to bring the best out of each of them.

It's certainly a hell lot of fun to do these A/B test, however, we must understand the limitation.

 

The surprise of the day for me is how good Spirit's Odyssey Monoblocks sounded.  In my notes I wrote that they were clearly in a class of their own.  The music was so much more alive though these amps.  They had the deepest and best controlled bass with no boominess, amazing detail and imaging and a nice even reproduction of the entire frequency range without harshness.  Who would have guessed that solid state could beat out tubes?

I’m interested to see what you guys think of the amps on Sunday.  I really wish I could have made both days.

Great points.
Synergy is what it is all about.
One thing comes to mind - the GR Research OB5's were mated with Dodd tube amplification when Danny displayed them at the Rocky Mountain show.  That is one reason why hearing the Odyssey Mono's perform so well was a revelation to me.

[95bcwh]

Great points.
Synergy is what it is all about.
One thing comes to mind - the GR Research OB5's were mated with Dodd tube amplification when Danny displayed them at the Rocky Mountain show.  That is one reason why hearing the Odyssey Mono's perform so well was a revelation to me.

One other thing that may surprise you is, if Danny was in that session, he may still prefers the Dodd tube amp instead of the Odyssey Mono. Does that means that he's wrong or he cannot appreciate "good" sound? No.. everyone has a different definition of "good" sound. At the end of the day, "system synergy" is also "taste dependent".
 

[TheChairGuy]

The term 'synergy' is so non-specific, isn't it?  I hear it a lot and can't quite wrap my mind around it fully - ever.

I think 'synergy' is nothing more than one part electrical compatibility of each component in the chain (inlcluding all wires, particularly if they are of high capacitance) and one part subjective preferences. 

Subjective preferences can run the gamut from folks that value imaging, or tone, or bass weight, or even tinnitus suffers (who would naturally gravitate towards tube gear as it's more forgiving on the ear - at the expense of outright dynamics and sharp transients).

Use the term 'synergy' all you want if it pleases you, but it seems too shrounded in mystery for use. That said, a large group that all choose the same amp as #1 best sounding is pretty darn good evidence of something especially excellent about the Odyssey Stratos Mono Extremes 

[95bcwh]

It's "shrouded" in mystery because people expect the term "synergy" to means something absolute. By the time people realize that there's hardly anything "absolute" about this hobby, they shall learn not to take words too literally, and be more open minded.

No doubt, the Stratos Mono Extremes is a great amp. I have listened to it in my system. Sounded really good!

The term 'synergy' is so non-specific, isn't it?  I hear it a lot and can't quite wrap my mind around it fully - ever.

Use the term 'synergy' all you want if it pleases you, but it seems to shrounded in mystery for use. That said, a large group that all choose the same amp as #1 best sounding is pretty darn good evidence of something especially excellent about the Odyssey Stratos Mono Extremes 

[Russell Dawkins]

The surprise of the day for me is how good Spirit's Odyssey Monoblocks sounded. 

There is no surprise at all. This is what we call "system synergy". 

... could also be what we call "a really great amp" aa

I think the best components make their own "synergy", i.e., work well with a greater variety of associated equipment.