[Geardaddy]

I assume the 7 figure system would be with Cessaro speakers?

Correct.  The big boys....

[Geardaddy]

When comparing totally diff mediums at least have a price point in mind. A 100k vinyl rig with the best pressings is going to beat digital I presume and at 10x the price of a B7 it should be staggering IMO. The vinyl guys that play in the 5-10k area, what are they achieving in relation to SOTA in digital at that same price point? That to me is a much more valid question, then talking merely about the 1% of the world and there 6 and some 7 fig rigs.

I find even modest vinyl rigs can sound pleasing while you have to throw more money at digital.  There is a reason why you see so much vinyl and master tape at shows.  If digital has truly arrived (which it has not), those things would be dust. 

[bonzo75]

Correct.  The big boys....

I have heard the Liszt many times. Excellent midrange because of the tad compression drivers, but poor at crossover, so major problems with full symphonic. Also very unreal sounds of piano and other instruments. For a quality horn, recommend the Tune Audio Anima. It's from Greece, much cheaper than cessaro (though still expensive). My favorite speaker with another Greek speaker that Rollo here sells, the Analysis audio

[Geardaddy]

On the extreme end, I have friends who say vinyl sucks and is a poor facsimile of master tape.... 

I find digital just as tweaky (or even more so) than vinyl....    For example, power matters.  My rig sounds better at 3 am (I have young ones so I am often up at that ungodly hour) than 9 pm.  I have nerdy engineer friends who insist on battery power for digital (and I don't completely disagree).  Electrical grounding apparently matters.  I have lunatic audio friends who insist on fancy grounding boxes and how they make digital more "analog."  I presume that has something to do with EMI/RFI busting?  The chassis of said dac matters.  The CAD guy out of the UK insists on an acrylic chassis for these and other reasons.  Mechanical grounding (Starsound, Stillpoints, etc) apparently matters.  Cabling matters.  My Totaldac USB cable made a huge difference.  Transports matter.  A Macbook air or stock Mac mini into my B7 sucked.  The Aeries was much better, and that is still probably substandard compared to other more tricked out servers. 

The amusing thing for me is to blame one component on my "sound" and find out its something(s) else entirely.  What a schizophrenic hobby.....

[Geardaddy]

I have heard the Liszt many times. Excellent midrange because of the tad compression drivers, but poor at crossover, so major problems with full symphonic. Also very unreal sounds of piano and other instruments. For a quality horn, recommend the Tune Audio Anima. It's from Greece, much cheaper than cessaro (though still expensive). My favorite speaker with another Greek speaker that Rollo here sells, the Analysis audio

What speakers do you use?   I am fan of horns and considered the Voltis at one point along with the Sadurnis.  I am also a planar fan.  The Analysis stuff looks like the second coming of Apogee?  I just looked them up and see they are made in Charlotte NC where I live!  Will have to go check them out....

I know horn speakers have issues (but most do....mine do....).  I have some video footage of full symphonic music via the Litz speakers, and it sounds pretty good.  That is the main speaker in the AE showroom, and many cost-no-object asian audiophiles say its the best sound they have heard anywhere.  Who knows.

Have you heard the CAD dac?

[loving_it]

For the record, the Lampizator L7 is the dac of choice for analog only types who hate digital.  I think the transport has a big impact on how "close" you can get to recreating "analog" sound (density, fluidity, ease, etc).....that and the digital cable.  The Auralic Aries is great but I feel I can take things much further with other higher end alternatives....

The last 2 Dac's I have bought are the Auralic Vega paired with Auralic Aries and my current setup Totaldac D1 Dual paired with Totaldac D1 Server .

The Auralic products I feel are the best for the price that one can do , the Totaldac walks all over it but at a much higher price . I went back and forth with
vinyl vs digital and after hearing the Totaldac I was hooked , I am now 100 % digital . It is the only DAC I have heard that I really enjoy its that good .

I also invested and maybe a little overboard in  a dedicated router and NAS /SSD powerd by 2  SR-5 linear PSU units

The Dacs are getting better and better everyday 

[bonzo75]

What speakers do you use?   I am fan of horns and considered the Voltis at one point along with the Sadurnis.  I am also a planar fan.  The Analysis stuff looks like the second coming of Apogee?  I just looked them up and see they are made in Charlotte NC where I live!  Will have to go check them out....

I know horn speakers have issues (but most do....mine do....).  I have some video footage of full symphonic music via the Litz speakers, and it sounds pretty good.  That is the main speaker in the AE showroom, and many cost-no-object asian audiophiles say its the best sound they have heard anywhere.  Who knows.

Have you heard the CAD dac?

The Analysis were inspired by Apogees, and look similar, but are much better. Apogees are more about only the bass, but the AA are beautiful throughout. I owned Martin Logan Summits. The AA modded by the US distributor, which Rollo sells, are awesome. Check out Rollo's reference system in Queens, NY, with the AA Amphitryons and the Lamms. Yes I would replace the Weiss medea in that system with the Big 7;), but that apart, the speakers are great.

You should also check out the GT Audio Planars which are very good and cost only $6k. Essentially a hybrid like the ML but with Ribbon and magnet sweetness, high quality material. The neodymium magnets in there are better quality than Apogees.

As for the Cessaro, the piano I hear from them is pretty weird, not at all real, and their bass is poor. I don't like the brass from them as well, and horns usually excel at brass. I think cost no object audiophiles often like costly objects.

The Tune Audio Anima was voted by one of the reviewers as sound of the show at Munich a few years ago. I find it the most real of speakers. By far the best on jazz, once you listen to brass there, you just can't hear brass on anything else. The brass and the drums on jazz together are spectacular. It could do with a sub for church organs but I find the 40hz sufficient for the rest. Mind you the tonality of the Anima is very different, it is more raw and real. You have to listen to it, and a show is not the best place. Ideally Paris is a good place to fly out for a listen.

Here are some horn speakers I auditioned. The first was the best with the Anima, but unknown seller, i,.e. DIY guy

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?16602-Horn-Porn-tour-III-JBL-awesome-Western-Electric-Berlin

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?17150-Horn-Porn-IV-Tune-Audio-Anima-with-Aries-Cerat-integrated-amp

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?16600-Horn-Porn-tour-1-Voxativ-Ampeggio-Due

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?16601-Horn-Porn-tour-II-BD-Oris-Horns-Netherlands

Visiting Avantgarde factory on the 4th

[Geardaddy]

The last 2 Dac's I have bought are the Auralic Vega paired with Auralic Aries and my current setup Totaldac D1 Dual paired with Totaldac D1 Server .

The Auralic products I feel are the best for the price that one can do , the Totaldac walks all over it but at a much higher price . I went back and forth with
vinyl vs digital and after hearing the Totaldac I was hooked , I am now 100 % digital . It is the only DAC I have heard that I really enjoy its that good .

I also invested and maybe a little overboard in  a dedicated router and NAS /SSD powerd by 2  SR-5 linear PSU units

The Dacs are getting better and better everyday

Good for you.  I looked at the Totaldac all in one unit and did not go with it partly due to the (at that time) crappy exchange rate.  The USB cable kicks butt....i know that much.

[Geardaddy]

The Analysis were inspired by Apogees, and look similar, but are much better. Apogees are more about only the bass, but the AA are beautiful throughout. I owned Martin Logan Summits. The AA modded by the US distributor, which Rollo sells, are awesome. Check out Rollo's reference system in Queens, NY, with the AA Amphitryons and the Lamms. Yes I would replace the Weiss medea in that system with the Big 7;), but that apart, the speakers are great.

You should also check out the GT Audio Planars which are very good and cost only $6k. Essentially a hybrid like the ML but with Ribbon and magnet sweetness, high quality material. The neodymium magnets in there are better quality than Apogees.

As for the Cessaro, the piano I hear from them is pretty weird, not at all real, and their bass is poor. I don't like the brass from them as well, and horns usually excel at brass. I think cost no object audiophiles often like costly objects.

The Tune Audio Anima was voted by one of the reviewers as sound of the show at Munich a few years ago. I find it the most real of speakers. By far the best on jazz, once you listen to brass there, you just can't hear brass on anything else. The brass and the drums on jazz together are spectacular. It could do with a sub for church organs but I find the 40hz sufficient for the rest. Mind you the tonality of the Anima is very different, it is more raw and real. You have to listen to it, and a show is not the best place. Ideally Paris is a good place to fly out for a listen.

Here are some horn speakers I auditioned. The first was the best with the Anima, but unknown seller, i,.e. DIY guy

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?16602-Horn-Porn-tour-III-JBL-awesome-Western-Electric-Berlin

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?17150-Horn-Porn-IV-Tune-Audio-Anima-with-Aries-Cerat-integrated-amp

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?16600-Horn-Porn-tour-1-Voxativ-Ampeggio-Due

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?16601-Horn-Porn-tour-II-BD-Oris-Horns-Netherlands

Visiting Avantgarde factory on the 4th

Very interesting.  What do you think of the Trenner stuff out of Austria?

[bonzo75]

Good for you.  I looked at the Totaldac all in one unit and did not go with it partly due to the (at that time) crappy exchange rate.  The USB cable kicks butt....i know that much.

The Totaldac USB is superb. . No idea about Trenner

[bonzo75]

Very interesting.  What do you think of the Trenner stuff out of Austria?

Do you mean Trenner or Haighner - Haighner is well known in Austria

[loving_it]

Good for you.  I looked at the Totaldac all in one unit and did not go with it partly due to the (at that time) crappy exchange rate.  The USB cable kicks butt....i know that much.

USB is awesome for sure just like the exchange rate now , the exchange rate on my Psu was not good at all

[sfox7076]

I use a Dana Cable USB cable.  It is really great.  It is the first USB cable I have had that made a big difference.  I am also interested in the Uptone Regen that just came out.

[rollo]

  Bonzo75 thanks for the kind words. We would love to try a Lampi big 7 in our ref. systems. Fred is a fellow Audiosyndrome club member. although we have not seen him in awhile. New busines, new home and family are keeping him busy.
     Now we use two respected digital sources to demo. A modified Lector 7T and a weiss Medea DAC and CEC 01 transport. Fred lets get together for a spin.


charless

[wisnon]

Very interesting.  What do you think of the Trenner stuff out of Austria?

Andrea's stuff? (he knows me from several shows now and a long tel call in the past.)

The tiny ART is magnificent and the larger RA needs a big room. I also heard the Pharoahs, but never the Duke or Ella.

[wisnon]

Do you mean Trenner or Haighner - Haighner is well known in Austria

Trenner & Freidl.

[wisnon]

I use a Dana Cable USB cable.  It is really great.  It is the first USB cable I have had that made a big difference.  I am also interested in the Uptone Regen that just came out.

Yup,

I am going to try the Regen with the Corning Optical USB, a Lampi USB cable, an iFi Mercury cable and various other USB cables I have. I DONT have TotalDac cable nor Light harmonic.

Regen may obviate the need for pricey USB cables.

[bonzo75]

Trenner & Freidl.

Please send link, will try to visit them Saturday

[bonzo75]

Just checked, not a horn horn. Want to check out Kendrick sound in Japan one day

[wisnon]

USB is awesome for sure just like the exchange rate now , the exchange rate on my Psu was not good at all

I had an extensive demo with a TotalDac server/Dac+Voxativ 300b amps and Ampeggio Due speakers setup and 2.5 albums of my choosing..