Hi Eli,
How's your amp audition going? Or are some of the candidates still in break in phase?
I hope you have narrowed down the choices a little, but this surely must be a very enjoyable personal adventure.
Hi HP,
I have the 250 right now in the system for the last week and a half or so. I really like them. Very musical, and big dynamic sound. Nice tonality. Not sure the most realistic one, but very pleasant to listen to and emotional, so do not really care. Has improved on the bass a lot with regards to the 210. Still not the same as SS on the lows, but a big improvement from previous versions.
Strings are fantastic, specially in chamber representations. WHen things get big, like symphonies or concertos the sound is very dynamic and also enjoyable, although in these cases i think there may be needed a bit more power for my speakers. Things get a bit confused in very complex passages on the back of the scene, as if the amps were not fully able to control the drivers when things go really big.
Nevertheless I think it is a very pleasant sound. One that I can listen for hours as it has something magical to it. Overall, and this is a surprise I guess, I like it better in my system than the momentums. I have really enjoyed them.
Not to the extend of buying them, I do not think, since I do feel they are a bit short of muscle for some situations; but makes me wonder and really consider the 750 as a candidate. If it wan't for the trillion tubes up there and the amount of heat I think they would be very much on top, for what I have heard of the 250s. But even with that, I still consider them as one of the main alternatives. If so I would keep my SS amps to change between them. Problem is I do not think I will be able to listen to the 750s. I am more interested in having the 750s home to see in person how bad the heat gets, since sonically I think I have an idea of what they could sound like after hearing the 250, although I may be surprised.
So in short, the 250 were a pleasant surprise and highly recommended. An all ARC with REF40 makes a very nice team and invites you to listen for hours and hours.
I think it may be today that I will get the TAD M600. Nad next week I may hear the Mephisto stereo but in an all Mephisto system at a show, so more for curiosity than anything else since I do not think that will give me any clue of how it will perform in my system. Later in the year I think I may be able to listen to the Monos, if I do not take a decission before.
Had not made any progress on CJ or Boulder. CJ single ended is a problem for me right now. And boulder they are not bringing the new 2150, so I do not see how I am going to do anything blind at those levels... We will see.
