Put simply, Ed Meitner is a genius. I thought my system sounded pretty good after I converted it to a total Shunyata Zitron system with a Triton for distribution. I had what I was pretty sure was the best sound I have ever had, even compared to my pre-divorce custom designed and dedicated room where I spent $150K on the acoustics and dedicated construction to the point of absurdity where it exceeded many recording studios from a construction standpoint and another $100k on equipment.
While my system sounded great (post Shunyata) in my standard ole large living room with some attempt to calm the room using tricks I have learned over the years, inserting the Meitner MA-1 into the system and replacing a Bryston BDA-1 was totally transformational. As happy as I was with the Bryston prior to the change, I had no idea what was about to happen. I was told by my best friend, whose opinion I highly respect, and esteemed member of this Forum that I am "crazy" to spend $7k on a DAC for a system with a Bryston 4BSST2 amp and Martin Logan Montis's (7 feet from the rear wall), two JL F113's, a BAT VK-32-SE and an OPPO BDP-93 and about $28K of Shunyata A/C cords, a Triton and signal cords, because my system is not resolving enough to benefit from the improvements that the Meitner could bring to the party.
Well let me tell you, the insertion of the Meitner MA-1 has produced the single best improvement per dollar I have EVER heard in 50 years in this game. As good a value as the Bryston DAC is, the Meitner is just in a whole other league. It is like comparing a great analog system to early digital voice synthesis. My true audio test, "sonic visualization" occurred within seconds and has only gotten better over the past 24 hours. Perhaps the most important indication is that I listened for 9 hours last night without stop.
I can't remember the last time I did that, and did it before midnight and with a totally clear "unenhanced" head. What's even better is that it sounded even better today and I have logged another 10 hours listening today.
What truly amazed me was not just the massive increase in enjoyment and musicality, but the difference in the representation of the audio spectrum, especially the bass. My JL F113's and woofs in the ML have never sounded so good. The speakers are totally invisible and without any panel/bass dissociation. Also very interesting is? how loud the ML's will play without any edge or fatigue.
Once again, nothing against Bryston because they build incredible products that offer amazing value and the 4B SST2 is their best 4B yet by a significant margin in the upper range, but it is not a reference piece, and yet look how much I listened in the past day. There was a lot of hooting to go along with the total experience because I was so happy. I cannot even imagine how the system will sound when my Spectral DMA 260 arrives in 4 weeks.
Before I put the Bryston pieces on Audiogon, if anyone is interested, please contact me because they are for sale, 10/10 in black without rack mounts. They were bought directly from Bryston and have more than 18.5 years left on their warranties.
While my system sounded great (post Shunyata) in my standard ole large living room with some attempt to calm the room using tricks I have learned over the years, inserting the Meitner MA-1 into the system and replacing a Bryston BDA-1 was totally transformational. As happy as I was with the Bryston prior to the change, I had no idea what was about to happen. I was told by my best friend, whose opinion I highly respect, and esteemed member of this Forum that I am "crazy" to spend $7k on a DAC for a system with a Bryston 4BSST2 amp and Martin Logan Montis's (7 feet from the rear wall), two JL F113's, a BAT VK-32-SE and an OPPO BDP-93 and about $28K of Shunyata A/C cords, a Triton and signal cords, because my system is not resolving enough to benefit from the improvements that the Meitner could bring to the party.
Well let me tell you, the insertion of the Meitner MA-1 has produced the single best improvement per dollar I have EVER heard in 50 years in this game. As good a value as the Bryston DAC is, the Meitner is just in a whole other league. It is like comparing a great analog system to early digital voice synthesis. My true audio test, "sonic visualization" occurred within seconds and has only gotten better over the past 24 hours. Perhaps the most important indication is that I listened for 9 hours last night without stop.
I can't remember the last time I did that, and did it before midnight and with a totally clear "unenhanced" head. What's even better is that it sounded even better today and I have logged another 10 hours listening today.
What truly amazed me was not just the massive increase in enjoyment and musicality, but the difference in the representation of the audio spectrum, especially the bass. My JL F113's and woofs in the ML have never sounded so good. The speakers are totally invisible and without any panel/bass dissociation. Also very interesting is? how loud the ML's will play without any edge or fatigue.
Once again, nothing against Bryston because they build incredible products that offer amazing value and the 4B SST2 is their best 4B yet by a significant margin in the upper range, but it is not a reference piece, and yet look how much I listened in the past day. There was a lot of hooting to go along with the total experience because I was so happy. I cannot even imagine how the system will sound when my Spectral DMA 260 arrives in 4 weeks.
Before I put the Bryston pieces on Audiogon, if anyone is interested, please contact me because they are for sale, 10/10 in black without rack mounts. They were bought directly from Bryston and have more than 18.5 years left on their warranties.
