Ok Gentlemen, I thought I'd post a new thread as the whole show down went completely topsy-turvy!
The comparisons went all the way through to Sunday and ended up at my place with a few additions.
1. The c-j MV60SE held on pretty dam well with the big contenders, it handled the "musicality" factor to the top! It was outstanding with the ribbons and drove the Omega's to a certain point, since we all don't listen to music loud, mostly soft to moderate, it was more than enough to drive the Omega's to a listenable scale with a relaxing sound, similar to driving the big Quads, and driven with c-j are listenable for endless hours... At the end we all agreed that the much smaller Omicron's would be a perfect match.
2. The Pass Labs XA160.8, well I guess this was the least engaging in terms of musicality, plenty of head-room and great dynamics but the overall sound sounded very flat, and nearly "life like." We were not impressed at all, however the chap who brought in his Pass amps also has SF Amati's which sound far better. So I guess it's upto speaker matching for Pass but as far as the Omega ribbons were concerned, not a very good match for the what's out there.
3. The VTL 750's which we have heard before were great, and then also came along the top of the line, which drove them to glorious levels, all the power needed and wonderful dynamics, nothing seemed lacking until...
4. The formidable MC452, one word WOW! now that's what I call an amplifier! Holy smokes this thing drove the Omega's like a rocket engine fitted to a mini cooper! It basically thrashed all the notions of so called SS sadness, and took the listening session for a spin. It was partnered with his VTL preamp, musicality, detail, inner details, loud crescendo, sharp, focused, full of snap and thunderous impact when required, it had it all. And most of all it was smooth! So smooth that it felt like a tube amp but with all the virtues of a SS and tubes and hybrids put together. We all agreed that this was clearly the winner by a far margin and ended up at my place since I took the MC452 with me!
We then hooked this up to my Quads and used my other chap's McIntosh preamp instead of the c-j ACT2, and now the sound is totally different. Far more robust, strong and solid details with greater emphasis on transients, makes the whole Quad stat experience totally dynamic at a level I hadn't experienced before. The ACT2 is a wonderful preamp but I think the overall sound is very laid back compared to the Mac, that's why it makes for easy listening. Similarly the Mac combination was as smooth as the c-j combo, the only difference is it sounds far more lively!
Apart from that my ACT2 shut down again! and is on its way to Queensland for a check up. I have told David at Caxton to take his time and go through it for as long as it takes. I am not fussed at all since I am now listening to a Mac preamp with the c-j MV60SE and it sounds awesome. Totally live, like a shot in the arm with a steroid or something that just breathes new life into the system. Great stuff indeed, I intend to hang onto this preamp as long as I can until the chappy wants it back. He is currently off on vacation and won't be back till end of Feb! Great news for my Quads, I must say.
So there you have it gentlemen, the clear winner is the MC452, and with it's matching preamp, it's one combination very hard to beat. Now at least we have something of true greatness in terms of "value" other than Naim Statements...
The other thing is, the chappy who was about to upgrade to the top of the line VTL's is totally confused... Good luck to that and cheers to all you music lovers!
RJ
The comparisons went all the way through to Sunday and ended up at my place with a few additions.
1. The c-j MV60SE held on pretty dam well with the big contenders, it handled the "musicality" factor to the top! It was outstanding with the ribbons and drove the Omega's to a certain point, since we all don't listen to music loud, mostly soft to moderate, it was more than enough to drive the Omega's to a listenable scale with a relaxing sound, similar to driving the big Quads, and driven with c-j are listenable for endless hours... At the end we all agreed that the much smaller Omicron's would be a perfect match.
2. The Pass Labs XA160.8, well I guess this was the least engaging in terms of musicality, plenty of head-room and great dynamics but the overall sound sounded very flat, and nearly "life like." We were not impressed at all, however the chap who brought in his Pass amps also has SF Amati's which sound far better. So I guess it's upto speaker matching for Pass but as far as the Omega ribbons were concerned, not a very good match for the what's out there.
3. The VTL 750's which we have heard before were great, and then also came along the top of the line, which drove them to glorious levels, all the power needed and wonderful dynamics, nothing seemed lacking until...
4. The formidable MC452, one word WOW! now that's what I call an amplifier! Holy smokes this thing drove the Omega's like a rocket engine fitted to a mini cooper! It basically thrashed all the notions of so called SS sadness, and took the listening session for a spin. It was partnered with his VTL preamp, musicality, detail, inner details, loud crescendo, sharp, focused, full of snap and thunderous impact when required, it had it all. And most of all it was smooth! So smooth that it felt like a tube amp but with all the virtues of a SS and tubes and hybrids put together. We all agreed that this was clearly the winner by a far margin and ended up at my place since I took the MC452 with me!
We then hooked this up to my Quads and used my other chap's McIntosh preamp instead of the c-j ACT2, and now the sound is totally different. Far more robust, strong and solid details with greater emphasis on transients, makes the whole Quad stat experience totally dynamic at a level I hadn't experienced before. The ACT2 is a wonderful preamp but I think the overall sound is very laid back compared to the Mac, that's why it makes for easy listening. Similarly the Mac combination was as smooth as the c-j combo, the only difference is it sounds far more lively!
Apart from that my ACT2 shut down again! and is on its way to Queensland for a check up. I have told David at Caxton to take his time and go through it for as long as it takes. I am not fussed at all since I am now listening to a Mac preamp with the c-j MV60SE and it sounds awesome. Totally live, like a shot in the arm with a steroid or something that just breathes new life into the system. Great stuff indeed, I intend to hang onto this preamp as long as I can until the chappy wants it back. He is currently off on vacation and won't be back till end of Feb! Great news for my Quads, I must say.
So there you have it gentlemen, the clear winner is the MC452, and with it's matching preamp, it's one combination very hard to beat. Now at least we have something of true greatness in terms of "value" other than Naim Statements...
The other thing is, the chappy who was about to upgrade to the top of the line VTL's is totally confused... Good luck to that and cheers to all you music lovers!
RJ