[Tarheel]

Big change was Spatial M4 Saphire from Spatial M3 Turbo S.  Bought two phono preamps recently to replace the Schiit Mani.  Sent the first one back to AVA Hifi for repair.  That was the Vision Q.  The next was a new in box Rega Fono Mk-3 and still in shipping.  I'm at the point where vinyl has to get better or it's out of here which would be a shame as I have many, many albums.

[Mariusz Uszynski]

In june.2021, when stores got re-opened, I purchased Bryston gear: BCD-3, BP-17³ and 4B³.Waited over 4 months, but it was worthed it.In meantime, I sold my 5.1 Arcam home theater.Never had any regrets about switch, re-discovering my music ever since.

[vinyldavid]

That Bryston gear is absolutely spectacular, isn’t it?

I’d love to afford some 7B3s…but no way can I sustain that!

Lately I mounted a Stanton Epoch II HZ9S to my JVC QL-10 turntable and am really surprised at how good it is.
I


had the same cart on my VPI Aries/SME V and didn’t like it.  I’ve come to the conclusion that VPIs aren’t for me.  I’ve heard five VPIs now and haven’t really been enamored with any of them.  Technics and JVC correctly figured out drive systems, I think.  The SME V is staying for sure though.

[Freo-1]

Just got these back online after some repairs.  Replaced the output tubes with Smoked Glass 1625 from 1944.  Sounds better than ever with the Chord digital front end. 


 


 

[NAD Tom]

My best friend Mike gave me his Pioneer Elite DV-45 DVD/SACD player. I connected it to my Denon 2802 home theater receiver. It sounds great, but I messed up a connection somewhere. I can turn the source selector to any position... tuner, CD, phono, etc. and  the Pioneer plays through all of them.

 

My built-in wall unit is a PIA to connect the components, so I haven't jumped back in to play around with it.

Wish me luck!

Tom

[BPT]

I wondered if I could hear any sonic advantages to these newish super low noise power amplifiers like the Benchmark AHB2 or  Purifi 1ET400A but didn't want to part with $1500-$3000 to find out. Along came the Topping PA5 at $349 (new), so, I'm willing to part with that to satisfy my curiosity. It's around 75 watts into 8 ohms of super clean amplification and to make a long story short--YES, you can hear these improvements in transparency, resulting in better clarity deep into the soundstage, improved separation of instruments and overall musical enjoyment. This amp is a bit different having an external power supply, so opportunity for a little DIY tweaking is present. I tried a few things with good results you can read about here. Overall, a winner at this low price point and recommended if you have moderate to high efficiency speakers. There have been comments about the reliability of this amp, so be aware of this. Anyone local that wants to hear it driving my KEF LS50 Metas over servo subs, let me know.
Chris H.

[vinyldavid]

I wondered if I could hear any sonic advantages to these newish super low noise power amplifiers like the Benchmark AHB2 or  Purifi 1ET400A but didn't want to part with $1500-$3000 to find out. Along came the Topping PA5 at $349 (new), so, I'm willing to part with that to satisfy my curiosity. It's around 75 watts into 8 ohms of super clean amplification and to make a long story short--YES, you can hear these improvements in transparency, resulting in better clarity deep into the soundstage, improved separation of instruments and overall musical enjoyment. This amp is a bit different having an external power supply, so opportunity for a little DIY tweaking is present. I tried a few things with good results you can read about here. Overall, a winner at this low price point and recommended if you have moderate to high efficiency speakers. There have been comments about the reliability of this amp, so be aware of this. Anyone local that wants to hear it driving my KEF LS50 Metas over servo subs, let me know.
Chris H.

Yep.  Once I heard the Hypex, it's amazing just how much you miss from other, more traditional amplifier designs.  I'm using a stereo Hypex NC400, and except for some Thiels that are known amp-eaters, it's driven every speaker load I've thrown at it with aplomb.

I'm hoping to buy a PA5 sometime soon, but my audio budget is spent and I don't have a use for it.

[dcbingaman]

I finish my Linkwitz tribute speakers for a speaker show in May.  They were fun and well received.

Linkwitz LX521's in Mini-me size ?  How cool is that ?  I went up to see Dr. Frank's LX521'a at AXPONA.  He had them set-up perfectly and they sounded great.  MUCH better, IMHO, than the boomboxes everywhere else. 

I gotta say, I do not get what people see in Magico's, Focal's, Von Scweickert's, etc., or a bunch of the other crap that was there, but these LX521's sounded really good.  The other set-up that was really cooking were a pair of the big power ATC Pro Monitors set-up across the Expo Hall set up in a medium size ballroom.  Nothing fancy looking, but these puppies sounded great and had tons of power.

For what is worth, the golden ears have voted on some simple systems for their now use.  Pass is now using Maggie LRS's with some bass augmentation of his own design.  The Madisound guys who sell almost all the OEM's drivers and electrical parts are all Linkwitz fans.  Not too many industry guys using the mega speakers......they know better.

[JohnH12]

As a DIY builder it's fun to try different stuff. We follow the science and measure everything. I've done full open baffle (OB) and hybrid OB, horns and traditional box speakers. I think the cool smaller stuff is appealing to buyers and builder's alike. I'm waiting to see what Andrew Jones does with MoFi, supposedly he has a design completed.

[Mr Peabody]

I recently tried a Clarus Duet power block in my system and was amazed at the improvement it provided in sound, even over the power product I was currently using from Surgex.  This is from a local dealer if anyone would be interested in trying one.  I am not affiliated just like passing on things that worked really well for me like Herbie's or my Aurender.  I ordered the Concerto so I can plug all my 2-channel gear into it.

Importantly, the Duet and the high current outlets on Concerto do not limit current, so should work well with all but the most beastly amplifiers.

These power products do not come with a cord, of course, you can purchase one of theirs.  I already use Clarus Crimson for all my cabling.  I suppose I should do some experimenting there to see what could be gotten away with for a cord.

What it did for me, I did get quieter and darker background which I find is typical of good power products.  This is not like noise you heard in your system, it's like you didn't know it was there until it was gone.  As I mentioned the Duet went further in this than what I was already using.  I noticed more depth of sound stage and better spatial cues which I hadn't experienced before with this type of product.  Instruments and especially vocals became more natural.  Some aspects of improvement I can't put into words but the overall sound improved by a good margin.

FWIW there are a few reviews out there