[John Casler]

I'll have to admit my friend and client Shaukat has the personal control, and patience seldom seen.

He is the proud owner of a pair of BCSE RM40's complete with the Bolder Silver wiring and all the trimmings.

Not too long ago he went from the CineNova power amp to the NuFORCE Reference 9SE v2's.  I wrote back then of the Audition between the NuFORCE and the Son of Ampzilla which was a tough decision, but NuFORCE finally made the grade.

Well now it was time to select a first class PreAmp since he had been using a Flagship Yamaha Received for that purpose.  Even so, it sounded very impressive with that combo.

Well he selected the BP26 from Bryston, having heard mine and knowing exactly what to expect.  But with all the positive press the BRYSTON BDA1 DAC has been getting, he also decided to shoot the moon, and get that too.

Additionally he had been using the CineNova as an amp to power his LARGER sub and we got him the 1000w Sub amp to finally be able to dial the sub in for the best 2 channel set up.

Over the last couple years of having the RM40's he has slowly been adding acoustic treatments and Heavy Drapes to the room so that now when you walk in you immediately notice that the room has very little sound of its own.  It is nicely damped.

Here comes the patience part.  We ordered the Bryston gear and it arrived just as he was entering a religious event (Ramadan?) that lasted about a month.  To his credit, he didn't even listen to one component until the Holy days ended.

That would have been very tough for me.

So anyhow I made the Sojourn to SIMI yesterday, and we began hooking it all up with the new gear.  We also had some VERY High End AudioQuest cables to add to the mix.

He had already purchased the AudioQuest Volcano Speaker cables and I delivered them, but we also had some AudioQuest SKY interconnects to run from the DAC to the Preamp and from the preamp to the NuFORCE 9SE v2's.

So here is what we were going to listen to:

Source: Sonos Music Server
Digital Cable: AudioQuest OPTILINK digital
DAC: BRYSTON BDA-1
Analog Cable: AudioQuest SKY XLR
Preamp: BRYSTON BP-26
Analog Cable: AudioQuest SKY XLR
Power Amp: NuFORCE Reference 9SE v2
Speaker Cables: AudioQuest Volcano's
Speakers: Brian Cheney Signature Edition RM40's

Also
Analog Cable: AudioQuest Jaguar RCA
Sub AMP: 1000w Sub amp
Speaker Cable to Sub: Custom AudioQuest Biwire.

Imagine the anticipation to hear this thing as we finished the "hook up".

So there we were, remotes in hand and we set the inputs and settings and Shaukat pressed play on the Sonos, and . . . . . .

NOTHING!!!!

We kept changing inputs, cables and settings and not a peep.  The Balloon of anticipation collapsed into bewilderment and disappointment

It appeared the BP26 was DOA.  In all the Bryston I have ever placed, and even read about I have never seen or heard of one arriving DOA, but we were truly stymied.

Shaukat's lovely wife came in and implored us to break away for lunch  which was "getting cold". So we did, discussing the disappointment of not being able to hear this remarkable collection of SUPER TOYS after all this time.

What a bummer, but we looked at just about every possible or potential cause and it didn't work

So after lunch the plan was to admit defeat and take the steps to find out what to do on Monday.

But..... We decided to uhook all the cables and try one more time.  After unhooking, we closely examined the BP26, and it was flawless.  No evidence of damage and nothing shaking when Shaken

OK, we re-connected all the cables and fired it up one more time and "hunk o'Junk" if the music didn't come pouring out in all its pure sonic glory!!!

Smiles all around

NOW we were THERE!!!

I have no idea what we did wrong, and can only guess that we reversed the inputs and outputs, but I was pretty sure we checked that multiple times.      But in any event we were now flooding the room with sonic purity.

So now that it was up and running we were going to A/B a cable that had been loaned to Shaukat that was supposed to be as good or better than the SKY.  He didn't know what the name was and I didn't see a name on the cable.

So we brought up a Josh Groban cut that we have used for years as a reference.

There is a single note that Groban hits that almost every system "hacks to death".

The SKY and System played it with a purity and clarity that I have not heard before.

Then we played the "contender".  At first it sounded quite good, but it seemed that some of the sound was missing.  Voice quality and tone were just great, but it seemed the fullness to the MidRange had been erased from this version.

Then we got to "THAT" note, and the edge and hacking quickly showed us that the AudioQuest SKY was unchallenged in that regard.

Due to our hook up adventure, we didn't have enough time to play with the BDA-1 and compare the upsampling and all, and we didn't get a chance to "dial in" the Subamp equalizer, so this system has even more room to grow in quality.

All in all, we had a great time (even with the emotional roller coaster of NO SOUND) and Shaukat no doubt has one of the best sounding systems in Los Angeles if not Southern CA.

[BaraBara]

John,

I have a similar front end Sonos to BDA-1 (in addition to a $5k CD player that I'm going to sell, the Sonos to BDA is that good). The difference is that I'm using a coaxial digital cable instead. Why did you chose optical?, have you compared different digital cables?

Thanks

[konut]

So we brought up a Josh Groban cut that we have used for years as a reference.

There is a single note that Groban hits that almost every system "hacks to death".

 

Curious as to the cut, and point in the cut, that the note occurs.  Thanks.

[lifewithmusic]

John,
Are you suggesting that the NuFORCE Reference 9SE v2 is typically a better amp for a tricked out pair of RM40s?

[John Casler]

John,

I have a similar front end Sonos to BDA-1 (in addition to a $5k CD player that I'm going to sell, the Sonos to BDA is that good). The difference is that I'm using a coaxial digital cable instead. Why did you chose optical?, have you compared different digital cables?

Thanks

We used the optical because I forgot to bring the "AudioQuest" EagleEye coax I use.

He is "re-filling" the Audio Kitty for some cable purchases.

[John Casler]

So we brought up a Josh Groban cut that we have used for years as a reference.

There is a single note that Groban hits that almost every system "hacks to death".

 

Curious as to the cut, and point in the cut, that the note occurs.  Thanks.

The cut is "To Where You Are" and the word is SMILE at 1:20 in.

If you have this playing "rather Loud" and it is pure, then it is a good test to your system.

[John Casler]

John,
Are you suggesting that the NuFORCE Reference 9SE v2 is typically a better amp for a tricked out pair of RM40s?

I like it, as does this client.

The RM40s make many amps "sound good" and vice versa.

Of the amps I carry, I like the AMPZILLAs, the NuFORCE, and the BRYSTONS the best, but there are many that have unique and pleasant qualities that shine through with the VMPS speakers.

If you like clarity, imaging, soundstage, Big Bass. richness of tone, and great dynamics, the above are good choices with VMPS.

[PLMONROE]

So we brought up a Josh Groban cut that we have used for years as a reference.

There is a single note that Groban hits that almost every system "hacks to death".

 

Curious as to the cut, and point in the cut, that the note occurs.  Thanks.

The cut is "To Where You Are" and the word is SMILE at 1:20 in.

If you have this playing "rather Loud" and it is pure, then it is a good test to your system.

On my system "SMILE" is clear enough, however it seems as if Josh runs out of wind just a bit sooner than he had planed or would have liked at the very end. The same phrase comes up again at 3:01 into the tack and here his attack is a bit firmer and more sustained. Interesting!

Paul

[John Casler]

So we brought up a Josh Groban cut that we have used for years as a reference.

There is a single note that Groban hits that almost every system "hacks to death".

 

Curious as to the cut, and point in the cut, that the note occurs.  Thanks.

The cut is "To Where You Are" and the word is SMILE at 1:20 in.

If you have this playing "rather Loud" and it is pure, then it is a good test to your system.

On my system "SMILE" is clear enough, however it seems as if Josh runs out of wind just a bit sooner than he had planed or would have liked at the very end. The same phrase comes up again at 3:01 into the tack and here his attack is a bit firmer and more sustained. Interesting!

Paul

You'd be surprised how many systems have issues with that specific passage.

Seems like tubes in particular.