TC_Shadow

I was totally turned off by any opamp-based amp after I got my Dynahi. Until I actually listened to Meier's stuff I totally wrote them off as another PPA. Now days I trust my own ears and do not based my decision solely on circuit schematics

In case OP gets lucky and scores a Dynahi for a reasonable amount, just note that dynahi runs extremely hot and takes about 20-30min to warm up from a cold start up; performance fluctuates (DC servo related) until the operating temperature (hot hot hot) is reached

I didn't care for M^3 all that much when I had it (with STEPS). In comparison with Presonus CS I thought both sounded roughly the same with M^3 provided a little clearer/less smeared sound, and CS had a little better bass and more forward midrange using the HD650. Ofcourse, Dynahi wiped the floor with both. Dynahi did well with HD650 but not so well with Grados (the midrange is not that sweet and the high were, at times, unbearable) 336/332/337 is very good with HD650 but not so good with Grados (no bass, and thrill highs) Corda Opera/Symphony is very good with HD650. Comparing to Dynahi, opera does not have as big soundstage, does not hit as hard/as deep; what it does have is a sweet and intimate midrange, which makes any music with a lots of midrange info (practically all jazz/classical/vocal) very seductive. The overall sound is more transparent, even though Opera/Symphony lags behind Dynahi in several aspects. Grado works surprisingly well with Opera/Symphony. No more shrill highs, what Opera/Symphony gave up in the deep bass slam through Dynahi is more than made up with the sweeter and more transparent mids. I feel Opera/Symphony is like the middle ground between all tubes (DV amps) and all discrete SS (Dyna-lo/hi) I know this does not answer your question, but now you know M^3/Dynahi/lo (e.g. G-lite; GS-1) is not no-brainer that some here are preaching. Buy used, listen for yourself, and make informed decision based on what you think sounds good.

looks great! I particularly like your DNM cable I love mine... :p

however let's first agree what I heard was correct that phonitor was smoother than auditor; let's further hypothesize the difference in sound was caused by the difference in amps and not just the sources. The probability of my hearing phonitor sounding smoother than auditor would be high (say >80%) if we assume my hypothesis is true; conversely the probability of my hearing phonitor sounding smoother than auditor would be low (say <20%) if we assume the negation of my hypothesis, which is the difference in sound was not caused by the difference in amp and was caused just by the difference in source. So with the above in mind, the likelihood ratio of the difference in sound was caused by the difference in amps and not just the sources given that I heard the phonitor sounding smoother than auditor would be 0.8/0.2 or 4. This means, without knowing more, it's 4X more likely that the difference in sound was not caused solely by the sources. so what I really want to say is it's not totally a face-palm moment

When I had listened to the auditor next to the phonitor I thought the phonitor had a more balanced frequency range with better extended highs; it sounds smoother I think. Although the differences I heard were probably due to the source entirely (Rega Saturn compared to DA10).

I enjoyed my time with a borrowed HD800 driven by Corda Opera (on low gain and z). The bass is deep and articulate, the soundstage is stable, almost speaker like (reminds me of the HE60) and the highs are extended and very detailed. There is some sibilance when playing back female voice with lots of "s". I don't think HD800 is as emotionally engaging as HF-2 on jazz and vocal tracks. I think the greatest strength of HD800 is the boundary-less soundstage; the sound just seems to extend outward forever (much like the HE60). I am still on the fence about getting the 800, since I either use my spkrs to listen to symphonic pieces or the HF2 for closely-miked jazz/pop stuff, leaving almost no room for the 800. I think between HD800 and HF2, HF2 is the warmer pair (I was quite surprised given my experience with HD650) Opera drove the HD800 just fine, I liked my opera better than the Phonitor/Auditor when I had them side by side. This post is stricly IMHO, and should be read/construed as such.

I do think Dynaudio makes great drivers. I had Dunlavy stuff made with Dynaudio drivers for several years and I think their drivers are among the best, particularly their midrange driver. However, as a complete speaker deal, I think you can do better in terms of musicality. I think I said these are technically very competent, so I am not surprised you like yours; I just don't find that type of sound appealing.

I find Dynaudio, in its quest to be more hi-fi, tends to make speakers that are highly competent in terms of all of the measurable parameters (plays louder, deeper, having wider frequency band, etc) but lack musicality of their British counterparts. I find that's true with the C1, C4 and Special 25, when I auditioned them on more than one occasion. The amp/preamp used were Ayre 5 series.

I wouldn't. It's much better to get an integrated with a separate DAC. Your DAC would be much happier if it didn't share the same main as the spkr amp. But if you must have 1 unit that does everything, I second either Peachtree or Naim.

used ProAc Tablette Signature 50 w/ outlaw receiver or used NAD 370/372 or any one of Rega's used offerings. your friend can add a sub in the future.

HF-1 with flats don't sound so peaky HF-1 on some songs does better in term of holographic imaging than HF-2