[Jay S]

Glad you were able to meet Bill and try out the MiniMax pre in your home.  I think it is a great pre.  We tried it in my system, where I normally use a Joule Electra tube pre.  The MiniMax was a bit clearer and cleaner, and had more high frequency energy, but the Joule was more musical overall.  At the time I was using a Mensa DI/O.  With a Scott Nixon Tube Dac (which has a more polite top end and fuller mids) it may have been a different story.  The Joule pre lists for $3.8k so in my book the Minimax is a giant killer.  Based on this comparison and the comments I've read about the Minimax cd player, I think it must be a killer player and a must-audition at the price.  No wonder Bill didn't have any left!

[John151]

I have done a lot of listening this weekend.  Most recently, I did an A/B using Govt Mule, as this is one of the CDs that just doesn't sound good on my system.  It is hard to explain the difference in words, other than to say Govt Mule  (Deep End Vol 1) is enjoyable with the MiniMax, and fatiguing with the NAD.  

I mentioned prev that I thought I had lost some bottom end.  I have not done an A/B, but the stuff I have been listening to this weekend has exhibited great bass, so I think I was mistaken on this prev.

One problem I am having with the MiniMax is that I keep getting lost in the music, and forget all about paying attention.  I have even fallen asleep a couple of times.  

Bill called my on Sat and told me that he had a CD player returned, so I will be picking that up on Monday.  I am really looking forward to this.  It will be interesting to hear the two together, and then the CDP with the NAD.  I guess I am hoping, but not optimistic, that the CDP feeding the NAD is a great combo (as it is the simplist set up, and fairly affordable).

[John151]

I picked up the CD player last night, and, wow, it sounds great thru the pre-amp.  The combo of the pre and CPD was really nice sounding.  The music sounded supple, smooth, and oh so sweet.  Hard to describe, but it sounds different, and better, than ever before.  

I ran the CPD thru the receiver (using analog connections) and I got a hum, and the sound was not nearly as good as thru the pre.

[John151]

KarlDL invited me to his home this past Saturday for a comparison between Mono Extremes, Stereo Extreme, and Stereo+ (former is mine , older model, with green board).  The source was a Marantz SACD, fed into a Tempest pre, with a beautiful pair of Silverline Sonata IIs downstream.

First off, let me say how excellent Karl's system sounds.  His Silverline Sonata IIs really sing with all of the Juice from the Stratos.  Secondly, it was a great learning experience for me.  Karl is extremely knowledgable about music and electornics.  I am very grateful for his hospitality and generousity.  

The difference between the amps was audible, but subtle, and required a complex piece of music to bring out the difference.  This was not the best A/B test as I kept asking Karl questions while he was setting up the various configurations, which increased the elapsed time between listenings. Also, I am just not a very good A/B listner.  It takes me a while to relax to the point where I am really into the music, especially in strange surrounds.  Regardless, this gave me the answer I was looking for.  I think I have much bigger gains to me made by changing components upstream from the amps.  

I also brought several CDs for the purpose of testing the musicality of the Tempest.  These are CDs that my NAD receiver, serving as a Pre, does not handle well, but the MiniMax Tube Pre onloan from Morningstar handles very well.  Specifically, Stacey Kent and Jane Monheit come across a bit harsh at times on the NAD. These are also typical of the music I listen to, so this was an important test for me.    On Karl's system, everything was clear and very musical.  No hint of fatigue.  

As much as I like the MiniMax Tue Pre, it does not have an HT bypass, or a remote.  I will mostly likely start working on acquiring a Tempest with HT bypass.  I also will most likely keep the MiniMax CD Player.  Hopefully, the CDP and the Tempest will be a good match.  

Again, a big thank you to Karl for hosting the audition!  

[speedcenter]

just my $0.02 on the amps - I run Magnepan 3.5Rs and the regular mono blocks were far from powerful enough to handle the speakers. I kept blowing tweeter fuses on a regular basis and everything sounded pretty compressed. The Mono extremes though make them sing, so well that I am running with the fuses bypassed - no fear of clipping....

The difference on the rather inefficient Magnepan speakers is less than subtle. 2.5s should be similarly inefficient, so go for the power or get different speakers. I'm still on the fence re biamping with 4 mono extremes, mostly because the amps finaly sound very much like they are fully up to anything I dish out, effortlessly, so the addition of active crossover and more amps may turn out to hit the "diminishing return threshold," especially since my system currently sounds well beyond of what I have invested when compared to other local big-$ systems.


Peter

[TjMV3]

I picked up the CD player last night, and, wow, it sounds great thru the pre-amp.  The combo of the pre and CPD was really nice sounding.  The music sounded supple, smooth, and oh so sweet.  Hard to describe, but it sounds different, and better, than ever before.  

What CD Player are you referring to?

[John151]

I picked up the CD player last night, and, wow, it sounds great thru the pre-amp.  The combo of the pre and CPD was really nice sounding.  The music sounded supple, smooth, and oh so sweet.  Hard to describe, but it sounds different, and better, than ever before.  

What CD Player are you referring to?

MiniMax by Eastern Eletronics (http://www.morningstaraudio.com/

[John151]

just my $0.02 on the amps - I run Magnepan 3.5Rs and the regular mono blocks were far from powerful enough to handle the speakers. I kept blowing tweeter fuses on a regular basis and everything sounded pretty compressed. The Mono extremes though make them sing, so well that I am running with the fuses bypassed - no fear of clipping....

The difference on the rather inefficient Magnepan speakers is less than subtle. 2.5s should be similarly inefficient, so go for the power or get different speakers. I'm s ...

Peter - Just curious, what kind of music do you listen to?

[speedcenter]

just my $0.02 on the amps - I run Magnepan 3.5Rs and the regular mono blocks were far from powerful enough to handle the speakers. I kept blowing tweeter fuses on a regular basis and everything sounded pretty compressed. The Mono extremes though make them sing, so well that I am running with the fuses bypassed - no fear of clipping....

The difference on the rather inefficient Magnepan speakers is less than subtle. 2.5s should be similarly inefficient, so go for the power or get diff ...

anything that's done well and doesn't annoy the heck out of me

lemme give you a cross section:

Michael Hedges, Pat Metheny, Radiohead, Klaus Schulze, Pete Namlook, Steve Roach, Al di Meola, Laurie Anderson, Led Zeppelin, Coldplay, Roger Waters, Steve Tibbetts, Holly Cole, Talk Talk, Pink Floyd, U2, Dire Straits, Nine Inch Nails, Keith Jarrett, Philip Glass, Depeche Mode, Neil Young, Tori Amos, etc etc

especially the electronic material will push the amps to actually getting warm, while something like Michael Hedges won't even get the amps above idle temp, however, it stills sounds better on the new amps than original monos.

[John151]

I returned the Eastern Electric Tube Pre, but kept the CDP.  The difference between the CDP sending an analog signal to the receiver, and the DVD Player sending a digital signal to the Receiver, was amazing.  I can't imagine any other change would result in this big of an improvement.

I just ordered an Etasian Pre from Klaus.  With his upgrade policy, this was a no brainer.  I am hoping this will get a good combo with the tubed CDP, and the tube sound will flow right thru.

I also just sent my Strereo Stratos to Klaus for the Extreme upgrade.  This will replace all of the older components, so I will basically have a brand spanking new extreme amp.  Longer term, I plan on going with Mono Extremes.

I also learned recently that SpeedCenter is right about the power issue.  I have been listening to smooth jazz, which has not been very demanding on the system.  I just put in the sound track from Les Mis, which seemed to sound best when really cranked up.  The volume knob has never been higher than when I was playing this CD.  I had the HT-3 amp maxed out!

One thing that I find interesting is that the HT-3, whish is barely broken in, has a noticably different sound than the older Stereo Stratos (both have cap upgrades).  The HT-3 is warmer, and the Stereo is brighter.  I actually prefer the HT-3 sound over the Stratos.  I did not notice a difference in brightness when I compared my Stereo Stratos to KarlDL's Extreme Monos.