4season
Well-known member
I haven't got a McIntosh amp, just a little FM radio:I've been lusting for a McIntosh amp for a long time.
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I haven't got a McIntosh amp, just a little FM radio:I've been lusting for a McIntosh amp for a long time.
Yummmm....I haven't got a McIntosh amp, just a little FM radio:
that is one clean and mint piece of gear!! I wish I can keep mine that clean!!I haven't got a McIntosh amp, just a little FM radio:
I use an Apogee Duet to drive a Balanced Headphone amp into my UE Columbia Reference in ear monitors.Beautiful setup!! I just sold my KRK VXT 8's due to the bad RF pickup and got myself some Dynaudio's. Not as high end as your setup perhaps but it works great in small spaces. Now looking to upgrade my audio interface (DAC) Thinking about the Apogee Duet 2
4season: How's that AMB Gamma 2 working out for you?
The Almarro is definitely a dark horse in affordable SET amps, I heard one and then found one used here in Brooklyn. It really had that magic that we are all looking for, and it plays well with the efficient Zu's. I could see it being a lifelong partnership. I think it just gets better with better inputs. The guy I bought it from had the same Zu's and some crazy TT which I can't remember the name, near 10k with arm, and it really sounded even better.I did not expect the development of the class D amp. I did read a couple of favourable reviews from credible reviewers, but we all know that if we look long enough we will find somebody that will praise any product so it sounds like it is the best buy out there.
I wasn't prepared that class D has come this far! It sounds almost rediculous if I say it sounds tube-like, but it has texture and character that you would not associate with class D.
Matt, I have had an unforgettable evening with Apogee Divas and Dark side of the moon on vinyl.
Robert, I would have like to listen/try that Almarro....
I tried Tidal HiFi for a while. The quality is good, but selection of HiFi standard music limited. I gave it up because most of the (third world) countries I travel to don't have fast enough internet for streaming.If anyone here has listened to the Tidal streaming service, what do you think of it?
I've been paying for the CD quality Tidal tier and like it a lot. I compared Apple Music with Tidal and you can hear the difference between the different quality streams, mostly in the size and depth of the sound image. Where the difference comes in also is in the provenance of the original, true also for all music, if the source file that they are streaming is good, it sounds good and the compression issues are less important. The problem with all online music services is that you can't tell where the file came from, basically as I understand it Tidal and Spotify etc get their material from another aggregator, and those people don't go around the world looking for the best masters, as say, a label might do in releasing a box set for example. So its a crap shoot. You get in to the debate about Vinyl vs. digital, a lot of it comes back to that, you can actually tell where the disc is from, the mastering chain. In a streaming service you have no idea. So the black stuff can easily outperform the 1/0's in a good system if the original is superior.If anyone here has listened to the Tidal streaming service, what do you think of it?
Class D is a really clever idea. Transistors make excellent fast switches and terrible linear amplifiers. Glad to hear yours sounds wonderful.
Twenty years ago as a bachelor, I had just purchased (used) Apogee Divas in faux orange marble :shocked::shockedwhat can I say, they were almost free), with external crossover, two BAT VK500 amps, a VK5i tube preamp ... when I met my future wife. Difficult to come up with a less spouse friendly setup. The preamp is still with me 20 years later, but a humble Bryston with Audiophysic Virgos has replaced the monsters.
But ... I do most of my listening these days off youtube, where otherwise unpublished live recordings of pianists from the late 19th and early 20th century keep popping up, and the sound quality is terrible. The *music*, on the other hand, makes mdern performance look like joyless gymnastics.
Enjoy!
Matt
I did not expect the development of the class D amp. I did read a couple of favourable reviews from credible reviewers, but we all know that if we look long enough we will find somebody that will praise any product so it sounds like it is the best buy out there.
I wasn't prepared that class D has come this far! It sounds almost rediculous if I say it sounds tube-like, but it has texture and character that you would not associate with class D.
Matt, I have had an unforgettable evening with Apogee Divas and Dark side of the moon on vinyl.
Robert, I would have like to listen/try that Almarro....
Sorry to hear, Matt. At least you had a set. In my circles, no one even knew what Apogees were.No, the Divas long gone.
--Matt
I have never had the Divas myself, but I have a friend who did. Very nice indeed.Do either of you still have the Divas?