[zybar]

Dan,
   Trust your ears. Opinions are like A$$holes-everyone has one. I have wasted soooo much money it's ridiculous based on other people's opinions. System synergy is, in my opinion, the most important aspect. You will always find someone that thinks an item is the holy grail and someone that thinks it's garbage. We all have different tastes and are trying to accomplish different things in our systems. I bought Gallo 3.1's, Dali Heicon 400's, Thule IA 350, Modwright swl 9.0, Genesis I60 monoblocks, Channel Islands D200's etc...based on other people's opinions. I don't own them anymore. They all had merit but aren't my cup of tea. Synergy is my highest priority and if I trusted my ears I would have already put a reference system together.
Dave

Couldn't agree more.

That's why I try to borrow or buy used so I can try it in my system and decide with my ears.

George

[AliG]

Excellent point Dave. Which is why I may take you up on your very generous offer - so I can judge for myself. My AVA Fet Valve Ultra 550 is awesome. Perfect? Of course not - I imagine no amp is. I'm just interested in moving a little closer to what sounds perfect in my system and room to my aging, flawed ears.

What's wrong with your AVA amp? If you can articulate what you like or dislike about that amp, it can help people to guide you better - there are chances that Odyssey is not the solution to your problem and you will have to look elsewhere.

While I 100% agree that nothing can replace your own ears, opinion in itself is not A$$hole, it's just an opinion. Instead, what you do with other opinions shall determine whether you're an A$$hole or not.

I for one, benefited a great deal from people's opinions, I would not have built a system that sounds as good as it is to me without the opinions from people like Zybar. Do I always agree with him, of course not 

[lazydays]

Lazydays wrote:

... I've heard one solid state amp that will run withese things, and it's made in Japan at five or six times the price.



Hi Gary

Just curious: would the SS Japanese amp be the Accuphase or Luxman? The Accuphase is quite popular in Germany and has been favourably compared against the Symphonic Line (I understand the Odysseys share similarities).

Best Regards
Dennis

Accuphase is the only other one; Period!
gary

[rockadanny]

AliG - It is possible that there may be nothing I dislike about my AVA amp. I cannot actually say that there is anything I dislike about it. It is highly possible that changing out the amp would not result in achieving my goal.

I am trying to achieve a slightly different sound from my system. A slightly more laid back or relaxed sound, but not much – just a wee bit. I really enjoy the clean, clear presentation I’m getting for vocals, acoustic, jazz, piano, chamber, opera, classical, bluegrass, etc., but for me it’s a little too clean/clear for rock and blues, much of which is not well recorded. Though I don’t want to lose much, if any, detail in the process. I love the way my system can growl. I just wish to add a pinch of purr as well.

For various reasons I would prefer to NOT change out my speakers, preamp, and CDP, at least not at this time. That leaves me with very little to change: amp, speaker wire, ICs, and power cables. And of those, the only piece worth any dough to fund a change is the amp.

So, there ya go. I just thought I'd play a bit with different amplification. But I'll only sell the AVA if I can replace it for near its value and still meet my sonic objective. It would not surprise me if that turns out to be impossible as the AVA amp is a gem, especially for its price.

[AliG]

Well... I was kind of in exactly the same situation as you are right now. I thought my system sounded a little too clean and clear, the image is too precise or focus, I wanted to 'diffuse' it a little bit, and smooth out the edges a little while not losing too much of the resolution, I also wanted the vocal to sound a little thicker. I can't tell you what gear to buy, but I can tell you what I did to achieve this kind of effect. First I replaced the BlackSand Silver Ref Mk IV on my DAC with a virtual dynamics Power-3 (cheap $60), it reduced the top end glare. I then got myself a better power conditioner (a Running Springs Haley), which got rid of even more edginess while allowing me to hear more into the high frequency details. I then changed the interconnect between my DAC and amp to a gold interconnect which again shifted the sound towards a more relaxed presentation. I then switched my speaker cable (Synergistic Research Tesla) to Acoustic Zen Satori Shotgun which added more weight to the sound. I then added a Dodd preamp between my DAC and amp which added a little bit of tube bloom and bottom end authority. Every step of change I have managed to change the sound significantly in the direction that I desired. All of these is achieved without changing my amp.

I'm not telling you to get a Virtual dynamics power cords or Gold interconnect or Dodd audio. The BlackSand is a wonderful power cord and I haven't yet sold it. I was just trying to illustrate that there're a lot of things you can tweak in your system to change the sound. I have seen a lot of people buying and selling equipments in a rush and yet could never find the sound they desired. I would certainly suggest you take your time and carefully analyze what can be done to improve your system.

AliG - It is possible that there may be nothing I dislike about my AVA amp. I cannot actually say that there is anything I dislike about it. It is highly possible that changing out the amp would not result in achieving my goal.

I am trying to achieve a slightly different sound from my system. A slightly more laid back or relaxed sound, but not much – just a wee bit. I really enjoy the clean, clear presentation I’m getting for vocals, acoustic, jazz, piano, chamber, opera, classical, bluegrass, etc., but for me it’s a little too clean/clear for rock and blues, much of which is not well recorded. Though I don’t want to lose much, if any, detail in the process. I love the way my system can growl. I just wish to add a pinch of purr as well.

For various reasons I would prefer to NOT change out my speakers, preamp, and CDP, at least not at this time. That leaves me with very little to change: amp, speaker wire, ICs, and power cables. And of those, the only piece worth any dough to fund a change is the amp.

So, there ya go. I just thought I'd play a bit with different amplification. But I'll only sell the AVA if I can replace it for near its value and still meet my sonic objective. It would not surprise me if that turns out to be impossible as the AVA amp is a gem, especially for its price.

[rockadanny]

AliG - Thank you. You have given me much to consider.

[fsimms]

Every step of change I have managed to change the sound significantly in the direction that I desired.

I have heard AliG's system through his journey.  Now that he has gone vinyl, he has possibly the best system that I have ever heard.  Each of his steps have improved the sound.

Bob

[richidoo]

Danny, maybe try some system tuning with cheaper swappables before amp hunting. If you want to turn down the treble and otherwise the same, try one pair of Blue Jeans Cables Belden 1505 coax interconnects. They are very high quality and sound very nice, but they are 1% less resolute than silver ribbon hypercables. Cheap too.
Rich

[rockadanny]

Richidoo - I use cables from BJC: Belden 1694A. Do you think 1505F or LC-1 would be better?

[warnerwh]

Rockadanny: All you need to do is change tubes. I run NOS Mullards you can get for 40.00 a pair. They are significantly more softer and mellower than stock tubes.  You may want to try different tubes than the Mullards also.