At long last, I have my new Tempest and Extreme Monos up and running. Due to some shipping damage from our friendly goons at UPS, I had to send one of Monos back to Klaus for a little rework. Now that I have it back, I am trying to put some playing time on them.
My old amp/pre were the Parasound PLD-2000 and HCA-2200II ( a pair set up as monos). While these work just fine driving my OHM Model I speakers, I was looking for more clarity and just better sound. After I sent the amp back to Klaus, I paired the Tempest with the Parasound amps. WOW! That was my very first impression! Soundstage improvement was nothing short of incredible. As I sat in my chair listening, it was all I could do to keep my jaw off of the floor! I didn't even think this kind of sound was possible. Soundstage was at least double its previous size, and the music had a better balance than with the PLD-2000.
Now, I have had my extreme monos in and set up for about 10 days. Unfortunately, I have only been able to put about 20 hours on them. And they sit idle for days at a time. As of now, I can barely stand to listen to them. I can hear the potential, certain passages of music coming through with speed and accuracy I didn't hear with the HCA-2200II, BUT, they are so grainy in the middle. PLEASE, SOMEONE TELL ME THIS WILL GET BETTER!!!!! They sound just awful.. I just put in Jesse Cook's "Gravity". I had to leave the room.
Last weekend (when I played them last), they started to clear up some after 3-4 hours of constant playing. Hopefully this will occur again tonight.
So bottom line, Tempest = ecstatic... Extreme Monos = more than a bit unsure.
Can anyone tell me how long these take to break in???
Thank you