I would be inclined to agree based simply on instinct. If I ever went AG Trio G3 and you and I have discussed this offline…I would very much start with the expectation of keeping the Robert Kodas. At 15ohm impedance, we would be 70 watts pure Class A. Possibly a sweet spot for this speaker.
In Pursuit of the very best amplifier (to my ears!) money can buy...
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I felt that the Relentless -> Relentless -> XVX was so very accurate, crystal clear and balanced. For me what it lacked was the emotional presence factor. Admittedly, that is what I love about tubes - that rich, dense midrange. Were the Relentless->Relentless sweet? Yes. But when we added the tube preamp...wowza. Even the associate at LMC was surprised (apparently they had not done that combo before. That said, it wasn't a pure upgrade. We lost some lower frequency resolution, some dynamics, and some upper frequency resolution. But, for me, when I heard it I immediately smiled.
The elusive Kodas! Everyone who hears them, loves them.
As you know, Lloyd, I investigated them. I suspect they very might be (for me) the VERY best!
Alas, I was not in for another year+ wait and added 'squishiness' in obtaining the cult-status amps!
Thanks Pat, interesting. I asked the question about musical taste (i.e. leaning more rock / pop vs classical) as I often wonder whether that affects people's takes on these kinds of combos. I am a rock / pop guy, so transients / dynamics are very important, and would take precedence over warmth. As an illustration, I switched from Sonus Faber Stradivari G2s to the Alexx Vs. I suspect the front end -- and even, on something like the Varese, the map chosen, also has a very large impact when you are dealing with such neutral equipment downstream.
50 feet? They were 1m diameter each, and at AG factory with bass horns in between they sound fine you can keep the bass horns in other places.
I have asked a few owners to measure the overall distance of length and width on the floor of the main horns plus a sub. It was always about 4-4.5 feet x 5x deep. And that measurement does not include the extra space one needs to squeeze behind, vacuum,etc. so each channel is taking up around 25 square feet of floor space and 2 channels becomes 50 square feet.
nevertheless, I still find it a remarkably well designed and compact speaker for what it does.
And with the slightly smaller new powered sub they have (dual 12”) I suspect a bit more compact footprint overall but not enough to move the decision needle unfortunately.
OK, if you are calculating that way, if someone pulls out panels or cones, isn’t that similar, even though the actual foot print of the speakers is less? Between the three, I would still put horns closer to the wall/corner
In spacial terms, perhaps...but in real world terms no. Empty space behind a speaker is still different than all that space being taken up by an object. Different example,
you put a beautiful small 12" status on a pedestal...and keep it someplace with some space around it to admire. You substitute it with a 6 foot tall statue...same volumetric space. The latter is more visually imposing. The problem with the AG Trio G3 is it looks HUGE when its in your room in comparison with even an XLF. I have stood next to the Arrakis...and its still not like an AG Trio G3 with bass horns. TheTrios (to me) are beautiful but the entirety of the 3 dimensional space-take is simply too huge. The only ones that take up even more that I have seen in person are the Genesis Ones which are simply massive.
I listen to most everything...folk, rock, alternative, edm/house, classical, neo-classical, jazz, r&b. Not much pop (occasional ones - I like the song Exile from what's her name).
Given your notes, I suspect the Relentless would be a better fit.
seems to me that you always want to have the option to pull the speakers out into the room BEFORE you buy them, especially as an end game decision. or somehow demo them in the space. where they end up is less of an issue.
I hear you, though I have to say having heard very old school Goldmund and been very impressed I think you have assembled a truly incredible system.
My gut also tells me that your Varese is possibly the first DCS that could move me from admire to would really enjoy owning.
At the moment, the Zanden has never been beaten for pure enjoyment and listenability. It is so finely balanced across all of its attributes. And I am extremely happy and not inclined to look seriously or even audition. But the Varese has me intrigued at least to hear it having heard the Vivaldi (and the Vivaldi Apex stack on a system I knew something about…Wilson and Robert Koda).
Got it, thanks Pat. And out of interest, which map have you been (predominantly) using on the Varese? I've played a lot with them, and won't lead you by revealing with the ultimate result of my hemming and hawwing across them before hearing yours! Based on your preference for warmth, I can guess which one you like, but interested!
Thank you…good advice. After owning Zanden digital for 17 years, I can say that is one word that describes Zanden particularly well.
Problems unfortunately aside, people should be aware that the Soulution amplifiers take an inordinately long time to break in. 400 hours is no exaggeration. I was ready to get rid of mine at 200 hours but didn’t go audiophile crazy and kept the SACD player in repeat mode and kept adding time. I was definitely rewarded. The other thing is to keep it on all the time; otherwise, it takes a good day or more to start to hit its stride.
What obviously has influenced the decision making process is Ls driveability .
The RP lyra altough an excellent speaker needs quit a bit of power i assume .
The RP lyra altough an excellent speaker needs quit a bit of power i assume .
there is this thread about it. not sure anything to be learned. no head to head preamp in and out compares. maybe room size and Magico not an ideal favorable match to strut it's stuff.....Kondo a better fit.
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I heard the Mimesis Excellence. It was very good but I felt the Nagra Ref, VAC Statement and Relentless were all better. I did not take notes so I am going from memory here...the Excellence seemed like a SS pre acting like a tube pre but lacking the body of a tube pre.
Now, to be fair, I am told the Reference is a whole other kettle of fish!
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