So, I have been reading the posts of these people on the site who are "done". A year ago, I would have sold any piece of gear I had, just to try something else. I had no direction. I was waking up from a nightmare which involved Michael Green and friends, and I could have taken any direction, as long as it was AWAY from that.
But today, I wouldn't change one piece of my system, without hearing the replacement in my system first. I have been that way for a few months, and that's longer than ever! My system has real synergy now, and I don't want to do anything but listen.
So, I thought. . . "I'll just try a few tweaks here and there and play a bit.". . . So I got some ERS, and it was good. I got the Cryotweaks demo kit today, and was going to play around with it this weekend. I've been thinking about power products, and I was going to get that, and be pretty much done for a while.
I called a dealer I know and I ask him what he thinks of the Stealth, and whether he still carried it. He says, he does not like the Stealth any more, and has something new from Running Springs Audio called the Haley. He says if I come down and check out his new place, I can take it with me and play with it for a while.
Having not been to this dealer's place in a while, I thought I'd make the trip. I drove down today, and the trip wasn't too bad. About 1 hr. and 45 mins. . . That's how it is around these parts to hear some good gear. You got to drive!
I pull up to this place and was not prepared for what I experienced, and it pisses me off!
This guy has one of these, and he's been raving about it for months:
I handed off my discs to this dealer, and he proceeded to load them one by one into this PC. I was thinking: "come on man! Go ahead and hook up the Audio Note 3.1x Balanced. You know that a freaking PC is NOT going to do what I need!". He assured me that it would be worth the wait. And it was.
I started off listening to
The Pizza Tapes. This is a disc that I have listened to daily for 4 years, and I know it well. Now, I have heard several $100K+ systems in the past few years, and I have heard this disc sound pretty damned good. I was unprepared for what happened. I couldn't move. I sat there the entire first and second tracks, and could barely move the mouse to hit track 8. I can honestly say this was the single BEST I have EVER heard this EVER.
I didn't know what to say. I thought this must be some kind of mistake. There was no way this could be the BEST I had ever heard this on some $5,500 speakers! NO WAY! I heard this on Wisdom M-75's! That HAS to be better!!! I am blown away. As I type this hours later, I still have a look of disbelief.
I turn over to some live Dark Star Orchestra with Steve Kimock. I thought, "this'll really tell me if what I am hearing is for real or not!".
It was. This was the best I have ever heard this disc as well. It was so amazing, again, I could not even say anything, or get up. I let it play through to the next track.
Changing to the new Dave Matthews, I was again blown away. This Dave Matthews is a great disc, and always sounded a bit compressed, and not like a great recording on my system. I'm wrong. This is a GREAT recording! This is a GREAT disc! What the hell?
Continue with Pink Floyd
The Wall. Same results. How much was I hearing in ALL these discs that I had not heard before? How REAL was this? This is too cool! I had to go outside for a second. I simply could not believe it. NOR did I want to dammit! I just came to get a power conditioner! Don't turn my freaking world upside down man!!!!
Of all the systems I have heard, this was the best. I can definitively say that I would take THIS one over ALL other systems I have heard. Forsaking all others, and taking this system would be no problem. Well. . only a little problem. Although the speakers were only $5,500, the rest would be a stretch.
This system was:
Cain and Cain Ben's (single horn) $5,500
VRS Audio Systems front end $7,900
Butler Audio Hybrid monoblocks $12,000
All Audience AU24
If you haven't heard of the Butlers, you will. After CES this year, you will hear about them. You HAVE to hear them. They are a freaky design that only Butler could explain.
Apparently they are supposed to be zero feedback, single-ended, OTL, hybrid amps that get 120 watts per channel into 8, and 200 into 4, and use a single 300B. They don't use the entire 300B. In fact, you can't really see it light up. But it is in use, and is DC coupled. We had KR Audio tubes in there, and what sound we heard!!! These amps had everything the Art Audio Diavolo had, but they had slam! Amazing dynamics, and great bass! He tells me much of the dynamics comes from the VRS front-end. I believe it.
Anyhow, I don't want to bore anyone, but I just had to share my hell. Why does this happen? It all started out so innocent, and it's going to end way differently. I can tell. hehehe
B
