Augsburger

I have a modded Dac Ah as well, though not by PAV and mine has no distortion what so ever. Most probably if it isn't a source issue then it is an errant soldering iron.

Well then I guess tight QC standards have their privileges.

What happened to the 3930? Or is that Denon in the "universal" player room?

New kids or cables?

If anything comes of your inquiries please let us know. Bruno Putzey has acquired quite a reputation for the UCD design and I have been really hot on the idea for a while. For me right now it is between the Hypex/UCD modules or the ICE....now by D-Sonic.

When you say UCD, do you mean the Hypex modules?

He has you there David. It is all based on your point of reference. Compared to other forums, HC is quite cordial at times.

Wow, quite compelling evidence. Thanks Tkam, I guess these are back on my short list....and the price for the 500s are? Same even down to the ferrites on the speaker wires. Hmmm..

Bill Evans Trio XRCD- #JVCXR-0036-2 Dave Brubeck- CK-65122 The rest require Homeland Security Clearance first

Star Audio APCD2 discs- a bit over priced for what they are at $35 for a set of four. You can find them at Audio Advisor

Dusty, I appreciate the information regardles of the method of delivery because you post from knowledge, experience and resonable judgement. Thanks for cluing me in because I have wrongly assumed all these years that omnis excelled at sound stage imaging. That is why I appreciate HC because here you get useful opinions not just pratter someone heard on an infomercial.

Deepak- I will provide the XRCD serial numbers this evening. Dusty, my needs are quite simple (to me). I just want speakers to create a live soundstage with the detail of live music. I was not in the market for a particular type of speaker whether omnidirectional or planar full range or whatever. I was just interested in hearing the music presented in the manner I prefer. My earlier post was intended to share my overall experiences that day and specificaly to ojnih's statement that luckily "i use my computer as my source". My point was the store owner used his computer as a source with a high end system and to me that combo was not a panacea. Perhaps someone else could do better with the same or other components. In this case, being unrealistic has saved me $70K and based on your opinion I probably should stay away from omnis. For that I thank you. Opps! Sorry for the thread hijack.

Well I understand your point, but for that kind of loot I would expect the 101s to perform superbly in every category. True enough that omnis are probably not a good match for my listening preferences, but I was not in the market for MBLs anyway so my audition wasn't a major disapointment to me. I was expecting that for $21K in amps and $50K in floorstanders there would be nothing that this system couldn't excel at. Pehaps I am a bit unrealistic and niave but the cost return slope seemed to have flattened out at their price point. Again for me the midrange was precise but lacking in emotion. I feel both Thelonius and Bill recorded in those two clubs should create a feeling and atmosphere which the midrange should help convey...... but the whole package was a bit flat. There could have been many reasons why this system disappointed me, ie the HD or MBL source, the room acoustics, the rain outside, so everyone needs to hear for themselves.

Sorry, a long stressful day with way too little sleep. Let me try to expand a little further. By any and all means, visually the MBLs are impressive to look at and their music dispersion is great. We demoed them in a 35 by 25 foot room and in most places the music filled the room very well. As one would guess, sitting on a couch positioned between the two towers and about 10-12 feet away was the best location for soundstage. Again the speed and power was impressive but not at the level I was expecting for what they cost. I have heard multiple versions of the Monk and Bill Evans CDs from MP3 to XRCD to vinyl so I believe I am familiar with the sound of the instruments and how the music plays on different systems. I chose the Monk CD because it is a live club recording at the Five Spot in NY with interesting ambients of the audience in the recording as well as the piano Monk plays has a distinctive texture to it. The Roy Haynes drum work is prominent when it needs to be and subtle otherwise. Most importantly you can hear the drums and bass notes as well as the reverb off the instruments, in short the instruments sound real.... on these recordings and in some home and HF systems. It was just that in the MBLs I was expecting much more for the price and was a bit dissappointed.

Well what can I say? (Rhetorically) They are an impressive system to see, anyone that has them in their home or palace immediately announces to people that they are the big dog. Please do not get me wrong regarding my prior post, the MBLs do sound very good but not awesome. I was expecting for the uber deutch marks they charge for the pair that they would bring Thelonius Monk into the listening room, but they didn't. Granted I had only about an hour and one half to hear the MBLs through a HD system, an MBL CDP, and a pair of the Dali Concept Tens, probably not enough real time to thoroughly evaluate the system but that was not my intention anyway. I really didn't want to demo the MBLs because I knew that I couldn't afford them if I liked them and I might be ruined after the experience. We played Thelonius Monk Misterioso, Dave Bruebeck Take Five (20 bit Remaster) and Bill Evans At Shelley's Manne Hole XRCD. The MBLs just seemed to be one notch away from something, and something was missing. The sound stage filled the room but felt like the band was lined up one next to each other. In short I felt the MBLs had plenty of power and speed but not the detail and texture I was expecting.

Well I auditioned an MBL system last week using a hard drive source ripped to lossless and one with the MBL cdp. The HD system seemed less lively and detailed so of course software protocol in a HD system is paramount and I suspect this retailer may not have had everything ironed out as yet. I just wanted to offer my opinion that HD systems are not a panacea for beautiful music, as with every bit of gear synergy and correct implementation can make a huge difference. I am ashamed to admit that I tried the Auric Illuminator, Zerostat gun, demagnitizers and the famed green pen..... none made as much difference as upgrading to MFSL or XRCD's or a better source. Were there "subtle" differences? Perhaps, but so close it may have been attribitable to placebo to me and I don't bother with them anymore. Now I feel better that I have shared my dark secret with the HC.

It is probably too late, but if it ever happens again try one of these hey are called an ah so...http://www.winestuff1.com/acatalog/AH___SO_Cork_Puller_Double_Prong.html

aerius, you crack me up. ;D

Happy belated birthday! Now go enjoy some of those tunes you have stashed away.

Interesting. I have tried three different HD650's at different times and they all had very similar characteristics, ie. good bass lacking in midrange detail. The difference is always the most noticeable in the amp. to mea anyway.

Don't forget the ALO cable mod mod. "Augs piles on them leaves"

So can you explain to us how you can afford your gear?

Thanks for the amp suggestions guys, but the first part I need some opinions on is whether the TRS outs of the PreSonus, if connected to XLRs on a balanced amp setup will mean I have a true balanced system.

Hi David, Thanks for the FW reco but the amp is a whole differerent issue. In my living room the speakers are 88db Infinity's or 90db Fostex 166es back loaded horns with Fostex T90 tweeters, but the speakers have probably fiftyfive to sixty feet of speeker wire between them and the amps so even though I can used to be able to drive the speakers with my late Flying Mole 18 watt amp, I really think I need 50 to 100 watts to get the umph and detailout of them. Ergo, I need more power.......I think. Thanks anyway.

For primarily budget reasons, I am using a PreSonus Central Station as a pre amp in my living room speaker system. The PCS has a pretty decent built in dac which I am feeding with a modded Onix cdp via spdif. Due to the fact that my Flying Mole custom amp that had been providing amp duties over this past year has suddenly decided to take the vow of silence, I am in the market for a new sub $1.8K amp and perhaps going balanced if that is doable at that price point. The PCS has TRS outputs so I was thinking that if I had a pair of TRS to XLR connectors to a "balanced" amp(s) I would have a true balanced speaker system. Am I right or am I blowing smoke? (Leaves self open for a thrashing)