Somewhat curously I also found the d'Ag to be a tick sweeter than the Nagra. For some stuff that was preferred but for other material it wasn't so much. Truth be told I had my girlfriend with me and she very much preferred the d'Ag. I realize this probably disqualifies my findings! For me, the VAC Statement, the Nagra Ref and the d'Ag were all perfectly great options.
In Pursuit of the very best amplifier (to my ears!) money can buy...
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Interesting, I've only heard D'ag Relentless with Wilson, sound was visceral but hard to judge being in a highrise with marble floors, I assumed tubes would make the Nagra a bit sweeter sounding than the SS D'ag pre. IME, tubes make a big difference with the Nagra, new Russian tubes sounded lifeless compared to NOS Amperex or Siemens from the late 50's. Good luck in your quest, hope we all find the sound we're looking for!
Dave
Dave
In fact I did a lot of listening and experiences and in the end I sold my old Taiko Extreme ... I was sorry to see it go, it had given me many years of great sound with the Vidaldi. With the Vivaldi, IMO it really made the difference.
Ironically, the Goldmund room in Munich this year had amazing live music from a real string quartet, playing expensive period instruments and had one of the worst sounds at the show for their HiFi
…Ironically, the Goldmund room in Munich this year had amazing live music from a real string quartet, playing expensive period instruments and had one of the worst sounds at the show for their HiFi
Why judge gear from bad sound at a show?
Something like this. Tubes with precision, finesse and slam
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I sell only the one brand, so it is something I believe in,. It seems the VAC is the only tube pre he tried, I am presenting an alternative, which Ron can confirm has plenty of merit as he owns an AC preamp.spoken like a true dealer.
Drive any length of cable or no matter how many power amplifiers. Extreme bandwidth.
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I was going to post a detailed response to the many comments about the Boulder 3060, an amp I have owned for nearly a decade. I was going to post it in the Boulder forum but it no longer exists. I expect we will see a Goldmund forum as there is now a Stellavox forum.
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take a deep breath
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I did not audition it. There were two reasons. First, the floor footprint is so large. Second, it really needs 2 dedicated 20amp lines per amp.
I did not ever listen to the system sans preamplifier. I have run a couple systems in the past without a preamplifier. In every single case I preferred the sound with a pre in the mix. I realize that the pre adds something to the sound. But, I am seeking a sound that is pleasant to me. Not some ethereal raw studio sound - I could go on and on about the falsehood of 'as the artist intended...' I know for fact and from experience with several top artists that is just not accurate or true. Anyway, I digress!
Another way I think about it is that the preamplifier does about 15-20% of the lifting gain and the power amplifier does the remainder. So, the in-series mix enables an interesting cocktail.
(fun fact: Metallica (and many fans) preferred the mix of one of their albums as it was done using the stems on Guitar Hero the videogame over the commercially available media.)
Well thats the whole point of listening to music at home
Music is art and the role of a home stereo system is to replay that art ( musicians intent ) over the stereo system .
4 years at munich ( both shows and 24 years being an audiophile ) showed me that the Hifi ( hyped reviewer /magz industry) is far removed from that , its all about expensive shiny boxes connected with nice looking cables but leave me boring and unimpressed after 20 - 30 min .
And yes i have the $$$ to afford the so called " high level " stuff.
Thats why i bought/ decided on the Hegel integrated in the end with a very nice integrated DAC .
good value.
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IF the Hegel ingratiated floats your boat who are we to argue otherwise?! So , you might be in the wrong thread then?Well thats the whole point of listening to music at home
Music is art and the role of a home stereo system is to replay that art ( musicians intent ) over the stereo system .
4 years at munich ( both shows and 24 years being an audiophile ) showed me that the Hifi ( hyped reviewer /magz industry) is far removed from that , its all about expensive shiny boxes connected with nice looking cables but leave me boring and unimpressed after 20 - 30 min .
And yes i have the $$$ to afford the so called " high level " stuff.
Thats why i bought/ decided on the Hegel integrated in the end with a very nice integrated DAC .
Can you expand a little more on the Relentless preamp vs the Audio Research with the Relentless power amps and the Wilsons? I am currently running the Relentless preamp with the D'Agostino MXV 400 monos, Alexx Vs and a Varese, so a similar system, and am interested in your views on the preamp switch-out. Also, what's your taste in music (i.e. leaning more classical or rock)?
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