Thanks for the great summary of our listening session, Jay.
For me, the biggest lessons learnt were:
simple + synergistic = betterThe simpler the signal path, the more important it is that the various components synergise. The best sounding configuration only had one pair of interconnects, a digital cable and a single pair of speaker cable.
Tube pre's are not a universal panacea The tube pre initially helped the system sound fuller and bigger but eventually when we got the right combination, the tube pre acted more like a 'band-aid' and actually detracted from tranparency and the impression of a live performance.
FYI, this custom tube pre is a simple but quite transparent design acting like a tube buffer with two 12AX7s in the signal path and only one pair of inputs. My other tube pre is a large CR Developments Kastor with balanced inputs/outputs, 12 tubes and 400watt separate power supply. This preamp
is more transparent but I can
still hear the pre-amps signature compared to the passive DACT.
Equipment:eAR TwoInitially, I heard a little edginess and glare to the overall sound. So I thought, 'Aha!' it must be the digital amp as it was the new addition to the system. But that was certainly a premature comment. The amp just sounded better and better the more we played about with system configuration and speaker positioning. This amp is as close to a musical 'straight wire with gain' as I've heard. Very transparent, fast and coherent. Its performance is probably only limited by
matching electronics and speakers.
Tyler Linbrook SystemThe Monitors by themselves sound great. Coherent, smooth, musical and transparent. I believe that they are voiced to sound a touch softer and more forgiving than other more 'hifi' sounding speakers. This is probably a good thing with bright or lean sounding recordings and equipment. The treble is not as exposed sounding or prominent as my nOrh mini-9.0 and PMC LB-1.
But, I do think the Monitors have some integration problems with the matching Bass Modules. With the Bass Modules, the system gains depth, foundation and scale but loses inner detail (cymbal decay, emotion in voices, image height) and bass quality and texture. Jay played a Sting track (can't remember which) that had very deep bass... the deep bass rumbles were there but at one point the bass line was supposed to push and retract like a slow heatbeat. The push was ok but the 'pull back' was missing!
The output of the Bass Modules also feels subjectively less than that of the Monitors.
I consulted my friend who is a studio engineer and he said there must be some problems with phase, xo frequencies etc. He told me that it's not easy to make such a big speaker integrate properly using a purely passive xo. His solution was to have at least 4 amps and active xo's!
So more fun ahead with getting the best out of the Linbrook system. For those considering just the Linbrook Monitor. I recommend it highly
Quantum Symphony ProBeing a little embarrassed, I deliberately didn't draw Jay's attention to the small black box sitting on top of my DeZorel AR Senior ac filter. But his eagle eyes spotted it anyway and he queried me about it. I told him it uses QRT technology that was supposed to "enhance" the ac power and make it more "efficient". The manual doesn't tell you much more either. But I will say that it certainly does something very postive and pleasant to the sound. I'm glad Jay noticed it too. This 'black box' also improved the picture of my 29" flat screen tv and home laptop monitor...
Icefox: Sorry we didn't manage to include you but it was a very ad-hoc session. We'll arrange another get together soon and perhaps we can try your Symphonic Line mono's with the Linbrooks!
