New System Decisions

[Katzky]

I use a torus avr...the largest of their non wall/ground mounted ones. it was a big help to me in my nyc apartment because they don't put enough outlets in the apartments here and electrician work is super expensive. i was quoted $800 for them to put a bunch of holes in my wall to figure out if they can put in 20amp outlets...then you have all the issues with the whole building using electricity etc.

so the torus for me was practical and i did get a sound benefit and interestingly i also got a little visual benefit on my tv image. color me surprised. now prior to buying the avr i had googled around a bunch and i liked the topology of it (its just a massive transformer) and its ability to deliver tons of current, something that seemed to be a limitation for a bunch of power conditioners in my budget. the reviews were overwhelmingly positive and some said it was even better than an amp upgrade.

my personal take: it works, it does what it does well, and it did improve the sound by lowering the noise floor. i think the reviews were overstating the difference the torus made but everyone's system and powergrid etc are different. i can't not use the torus due to the outlet issue to begin with so for me it was a very worthwhile purchase plus i have the mental relief of knowing that i'm doing something about the power coming in to my system. i would rec it as a purchase because it works well and in the context of the gear is not crazy expensive. i personally have gotten better/more impactful results from nice power cables and i'm not a huge cable guy. just my $0.02

The Torus AVR is also on my list. That’s probably the best approach to cheaply clean the power.

 

[Katzky]

I'd rather step up to Magico M series with a $1000 rack. Racks are poor investments and hard to sell/trade.

Well I’ve never sold or traded anything before so I’m probably in luck? The dealer came out to measure the space and it’s not wide enough for a 3x2 configuration. He recommended I take down a wall to make space. I assumed he was joking. But...

The A5 is to get a taste for Magico with possibility Of moving up next year when the S5 mk3 are introduced. Personally I think the HRS SXR racks have a great industrial design and 65% of reasoning is aesthetic. I’m sure they work very well but I wouldn’t spend such a % on Most racks. Currently I use Quadrspire SVT in bamboo which is nice but I can’t hear any benefit from the $9k clock I bought unless it’s on a $5k shelf

 

[Katzky]

No my electric co. did not install a transformer on my property. Everything I've done or had done electrically starts at the service panel.

BTW, I'm too lazy as well. That's why I gave you the lazy man's errr ummm smart man's strategy.

You should contact them they’ll do it and it’s not ridiculously expensive. You’ll be completely isolated from your neighbors.

 

[Katzky]

Congratulations! That is a terrific choice.

Now the hard part... the amps. I talked with several dealers and each had a recommended best amp for the A5:

1. Boulder 1110(? The pre) + 1161
2. Soulution 310 integrated
3. CH Precision separates
4. Diablo 300
5. Pass X250.8

I really like what I’ve seen about CH Precision. Boulder is a classic. Don’t know much about Soulution. My neighbor is a Gryphon dealer. The Pass is “cheap” but good?

My budget can handle the CH preamp + the pass x250.8 but not the Boulder combo. There’s a Soulution 310 on the usual site at a reasonable price I think.

Are any of these combos worse than the others? Is Pass stable down to 2 ohms? They only list 4 ohms. Is there any reason the pass power amp wouldn’t work well with the CH pre? Is CH as amazing sounding as the build quality suggests?

Maybe the Boulder 866 integrated would be sufficient to hear the Boulder sound?

Kind of don’t want the Diablo.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Now the hard part... the amps. I talked with several dealers and each had a recommended best amp for the A5:

1. Boulder 1110(? The pre) + 1161
2. Soulution 310 integrated
3. CH Precision separates
4. Diablo 300
5. Pass X250.8

I really like what I’ve seen about CH Precision. Boulder is a classic. Don’t know much about Soulution. My neighbor is a Gryphon dealer. The Pass is “cheap” but good?

My budget can handle the CH preamp + the pass x250.8 but not the Boulder combo. There’s a Soulution 310 on the usual site at a reasonable price I think.

Are any of these combos worse than the others? Is Pass stable down to 2 ohms? They only list 4 ohms. Is there any reason the pass power amp wouldn’t work well with the CH pre? Is CH as amazing sounding as the build quality suggests?

Maybe the Boulder 866 integrated would be sufficient to hear the Boulder sound?

Kind of don’t want the Diablo.

you cart go wrong with Boulder.everything they make sounds stunning.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Now the hard part... the amps. I talked with several dealers and each had a recommended best amp for the A5:

1. Boulder 1110(? The pre) + 1161
2. Soulution 310 integrated
3. CH Precision separates
4. Diablo 300
5. Pass X250.8

I really like what I’ve seen about CH Precision. Boulder is a classic. Don’t know much about Soulution. My neighbor is a Gryphon dealer. The Pass is “cheap” but good?

My budget can handle the CH preamp + the pass x250.8 but not the Boulder combo. There’s a Soulution 310 on the usual site at a reasonable price I think.

Are any of these combos worse than the others? Is Pass stable down to 2 ohms? They only list 4 ohms. Is there any reason the pass power amp wouldn’t work well with the CH pre? Is CH as amazing sounding as the build quality suggests?

Maybe the Boulder 866 integrated would be sufficient to hear the Boulder sound?

Kind of don’t want the Diablo.

These are all excellent brands and the best is to listen to them.

 

[Katzky]

These are all excellent brands and the best is to listen to them.

Unfortunately I can’t travel so I’m left to speculate. I’m not technical at all re amp design. My primary concern is buying two different brands that have some kind of electrical mismatch. Like the pre impedance doesn’t work with the power impedance or whatever it is. Do you know how to determine if they’re a good match from specification?

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Unfortunately I can’t travel so I’m left to speculate. I’m not technical at all re amp design. My primary concern is buying two different brands that have some kind of electrical mismatch. Like the pre impedance doesn’t work with the power impedance or whatever it is. Do you know how to determine if they’re a good match from specification?

i wish I did but specifications won’t tell you nothin if there’s a mismatch.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Specifications won’t tell you how a component will sound or match with another.

 

[Mdp632]

Unfortunately I can’t travel so I’m left to speculate. I’m not technical at all re amp design. My primary concern is buying two different brands that have some kind of electrical mismatch. Like the pre impedance doesn’t work with the power impedance or whatever it is. Do you know how to determine if they’re a good match from specification?

I also share your concern Re: mixing and matching diff pre+amp brands to find a "subjective" synergy. Of course, many disagree with that and they love the chase. So, to say, chasing an ideal sound, gear swapping etc.

That said, why, not remove separates and just focus on a integrated to drive your A5s? That way, you are comparing apples to apples. Integrated to Integrated.

You'll get a taste of the amp + speaker synergy and if you desire to go that respective brands separates in the future you can. Or, perhaps, not at all.

 

[TDX]

Now the hard part... the amps. I talked with several dealers and each had a recommended best amp for the A5:

1. Boulder 1110(? The pre) + 1161
2. Soulution 310 integrated
3. CH Precision separates
4. Diablo 300
5. Pass X250.8

I really like what I’ve seen about CH Precision. Boulder is a classic. Don’t know much about Soulution. My neighbor is a Gryphon dealer. The Pass is “cheap” but good?

My budget can handle the CH preamp + the pass x250.8 but not the Boulder combo. There’s a Soulution 310 on the usual site at a reasonable price I think.

Are any of these combos worse than the others? Is Pass stable down to 2 ohms? They only list 4 ohms. Is there any reason the pass power amp wouldn’t work well with the CH pre? Is CH as amazing sounding as the build quality suggests?

Maybe the Boulder 866 integrated would be sufficient to hear the Boulder sound?

Kind of don’t want the Diablo.

CH
Pilium
Boulder

pick one. But don’t go Boulder integrated

 

[TDX]

Gryphon is also good but if your room is small it makes your room very warm.
Pass quite pleasing, I had 260.8 before.

 

[ctydwn]

Fun thread. One other quick thought on rack. I too use the SV2T bamboo quadraspire but rather than trying to transition all at once to a HRS rack, I started adding HRS shelves one by one as budget allowed. Now have 6 M3X2 shelves on the bamboo rack. I love the results sonically, as well as aesthetically, and the option to someday place the 6 shelves on an actual HRS rack but for now prioritizing other areas of the system. Looking forward to your ultimate decisions on rack and amps!

 

[Barry2013]

Now the hard part... the amps. I talked with several dealers and each had a recommended best amp for the A5:

1. Boulder 1110(? The pre) + 1161
2. Soulution 310 integrated
3. CH Precision separates
4. Diablo 300
5. Pass X250.8

I really like what I’ve seen about CH Precision. Boulder is a classic. Don’t know much about Soulution. My neighbor is a Gryphon dealer. The Pass is “cheap” but good?

My budget can handle the CH preamp + the pass x250.8 but not the Boulder combo. There’s a Soulution 310 on the usual site at a reasonable price I think.

Are any of these combos worse than the others? Is Pass stable down to 2 ohms? They only list 4 ohms. Is there any reason the pass power amp wouldn’t work well with the CH pre? Is CH as amazing sounding as the build quality suggests?

Maybe the Boulder 866 integrated would be sufficient to hear the Boulder sound?

Kind of don’t want the Diablo.

IME the latest integrated are very good and cut down the box count and cable costs.
It's a pity that you are limited to what you can hear locally.
Relying on reviews and recommendations has its risks because until you hear how they sound you can't be sure whether you will like the sound of a particular amp or not. Will dealers in the USA let you try one at home? You will probably have to pay the return shipping if you don't like a particular amp, but well worth it to avoid potential costly mistake.

 

[microstrip]

Unfortunately I can’t travel so I’m left to speculate. I’m not technical at all re amp design. My primary concern is buying two different brands that have some kind of electrical mismatch. Like the pre impedance doesn’t work with the power impedance or whatever it is. Do you know how to determine if they’re a good match from specification?

The solid state units you list will not show any electrical mismatch - considering you have a small room you do not need a lot of power. The classical mismatch is usually connecting a tube preamplifier with relatively high output impedance to a solid state amplifier with low input impedance.

IMHO you should focus on the dCS Rossini - amplifier match. Does any of these manufacturers use dCS gear for amplifier development or systematically for demos/shows? I have seen a reasonable number of dCS / CH Precision users along the years in the net, but I do not have serious experience with CH.

 

[_Alchemist_]

Now the hard part... the amps. I talked with several dealers and each had a recommended best amp for the A5:

1. Boulder 1110(? The pre) + 1161
2. Soulution 310 integrated
3. CH Precision separates
4. Diablo 300
5. Pass X250.8

I really like what I’ve seen about CH Precision. Boulder is a classic. Don’t know much about Soulution. My neighbor is a Gryphon dealer. The Pass is “cheap” but good?

My budget can handle the CH preamp + the pass x250.8 but not the Boulder combo. There’s a Soulution 310 on the usual site at a reasonable price I think.

Are any of these combos worse than the others? Is Pass stable down to 2 ohms? They only list 4 ohms. Is there any reason the pass power amp wouldn’t work well with the CH pre? Is CH as amazing sounding as the build quality suggests?

Maybe the Boulder 866 integrated would be sufficient to hear the Boulder sound?

Kind of don’t want the Diablo.

Hi Katzky,

I recently put up a system together comprising of a dCS Bartòk, Diablo 300 and Magico A3, so maybe I can chime in on my experience.
First, I think you made a good decision with the A5, well set up, these are precise speakers.
I had listened to the Soulution integrated with Magicos, it was very clean but maybe lacking engagement, and I think it will be a bit light with the A5.
Boulder, I listened to the 866 on YG carmel just after some Nagra amps. I prefered the Boulder, it was punchy and lively.

Now about Gryphon. I've been living with this setup since March and I'm quite happy with it.
If your neighbour is a Gryphon dealer, ask if you can try the Diablo and I would also consider the Essence but without a pre, connected directly to the Rossini. I think this would be a good solution. Don't be fooled by the low power rating of the Essence, it has plenty of current and it would be great with A5's.

Another point.
I installed two dedicated lines, one for the Bartok and one for the Diablo and trust me, you should view this as being a component in itself.
It completely changed the dynamics and noise floor. It is a must. IMO this is money better spent than in a rack.

Second, I don't know if you stream, but I installed a Nucleus with a proper LPS and cables and I replaced the power unit on my router, put in some certified ethernet cables (not audiophile ones - I tried, wasn't impressed) just get cables that were actually tested and certified, and an "audiophile switch" and this has yielded good results as well for a reasonable expense.

I don't remember if you asked about cables but I've been using siltech and been very happy with them. Very balanced sound and zero noise.

Last, consider the box count. IMO the less the better. Less cables, less elements in the equation.

 

[heihei]

I would worry that Magico + dCS + CH would sound a bit....dull. The CH are incredibly neutral and don't tip into either warmth or lean, and to my way of thinking, you would want something with a bit more "meat" to it when it comes to amplification. Gryphon class-A would fit the bill, and the Humboldt is a saturated sound and would work well. Just my 2c worth.

 

[bonzo75]

I would worry that Magico + dCS + CH would sound a bit....dull.

Understatement of the year

 

[Mdp632]

I would worry that Magico + dCS + CH would sound a bit....dull. The CH are incredibly neutral and don't tip into either warmth or lean, and to my way of thinking, you would want something with a bit more "meat" to it when it comes to amplification. Gryphon class-A would fit the bill, and the Humboldt is a saturated sound and would work well. Just my 2c worth.

What do you mean by “saturated” sound? Doesn’t have the channel separation/refinement of seperates?

 

[_Alchemist_]

I would worry that Magico + dCS + CH would sound a bit....dull. The CH are incredibly neutral and don't tip into either warmth or lean, and to my way of thinking, you would want something with a bit more "meat" to it when it comes to amplification. Gryphon class-A would fit the bill, and the Humboldt is a saturated sound and would work well. Just my 2c worth.

I second that. Magico's are very precise speakers and gryphon is a good match because it is bringing some "warmth" to it as well as being quite transparent and bring some heft to it.