I am new enough to this dealer thing to still be in awe of really great gear when I hear it.Or maybe the more stuff I get to hear the more impressed I am by the really great gear?I have really been trying to maintain good relationships with other dealers in the area.I loan them stuff and they loan me stuff,like the RKV.We loan one another a lot of cables and these guys borrow records from me a lot since I have so many.I will mention only gear that I don't sell myself to avoid any obvious conflicts of interest.
Musical Fidelity 324 DAC($1200)-this is the absolute most amazing redbook digital I have yet heard(except for the Nu-vistor).all the things that I hated about standard digital(harshness,compressed dynamics,lifelessness)is gone with this DAC.If you have heard that this thing was a bargain at $1200.00 you heard wrong,it is a steal.It has the choke regulated power-supply and upsampling of the 308 and Nu-Vistor players.This is making me have second thoughts about taking delivery of the 308 that I ordered at the NY show.I have used it with all kinds of players as transports and the results are no less amazing.
Adcom GFP-710 preamp($799)-I have been using this with a few different amps,stereo and monobloc and have been left very impressed.This has an excellent built-in headamp and great phonostage.I usually stay away from solid-state pre amps and have never really been fond of any besides the legendary APT-Holman of the late 70s-early80s.This pre does a good job of making me forget about the Holman.The phono stage is not as good as some of the dedicated stand alone units i have heard but it is very good for a built-in.The headamp will be hard to beat.It sounds very similar to the Creek amps and has a little better midrange.Overall the headamp is a solid performer with all the headphones I tried it with but likes Senns the best.The stereo soundstage is just wide and deep,it seems that it could go on forever.I did notice that i had to move my speakers a bit when i first connected this pre to my system to narrow the projection of the stage,but this was expected.a very versitile pre that will disappoint few.
Parasound HCA1500A Stereo amp($995)-This monster is as about as clean a 225 watts as I have heard.This thing makes bass in bucketloads.Even my Dad, who should be a Krell stockholder, loved it.It had a nice midrange and fantastic treble detail without being harsh or bright.It is built to last two lifetimes and is not lightweight.This thing jams to all kinds of music and drove every speaker that me,my dad,My brother and members of an audio club threw at it.the only problem,as is with most solid states is that when it does distort it does so in the worst way.I doubt that any of us would ever drive this amp to distortion but my Dad's Quads are a monster load for any amp and did cause the Para to get really hot.It has a lot more muscle than the NAD amps that I have heard(C370,270,317,214) but is not as relaxed.Another killer amp and a steal as well.
Musical Fidelity M250 Monobloc amps($1200 each X 2)-Wow!!!I gotta say these are about the best sounding solid state amps that I have had in my system.These things rock,hard.I only had them for a day but that was loud day in my house.These things are truly nuclear.They were very clean sounding(not as clean as the parasound) and had the very best midrange I have heard in a solid state.If I ever disavow tubes, these are the amps that would do it for.They just sound so sweet.They can do things well at any volume,they don't seem to need to be driven hard to perform best.These amps make music with finesse.these amps are also really pretty and spiffed up my listening room despite being the only non tube amps in the room at the time.They didn't like some speakers and drove them to distortion even at low volumes.a great set of monoblocs for all but the most demanding speakers.I must mention the fantastic people at Kevro(the MF distributor and actually the MF owner)they are no less than great and have the very best customer and dealer relations I have ever encountered on any occasion.
Theil CS1.6 loudspeaker(price has changed three times?)-this new speaker was extensively hyped at the Ny show and I only got to hear them in the Sound By Singer room along with MF gear.I really wanted to get a set home and was able to do so last week.They are a lot smaller than they look but produce a big sound.They don't produce the really deep bass that one might expect for a speaker of this type but few people have a real need for it anyway.These are some really nice sounding speakers and offer a crystal clear presentation.The soundstage is very deep and wide as well.I think the ones I had were well broken in cause they lacked the midrange vibrations that some complain about in new examples.These are some of the most coherent and balanced speakers i have yet heard.I won't be trading in my PSB Stratus gold"i" but if I should ever need a great sounding speaker to place in a smaller room these will do nicely.
Denon D-M30s Mini system-($450.00)-I actually bought this off ebay for $275.00.This little system sounds great.I bought it for my 12 year old daughter's bedroom and if I did'nt already have so much gear myself,I would find a place for it.it is really compact but gets very loud and makes some nice music.The headphone jack doesn't completely suck either.It lacks any real bass power but does a great job of filling a mid sized(18'x 22.5') room with music.The remote is great as well and is easy to use.The mirror display really impresses the kids.really not bad fro the money.
Alpha Core Micro Purl AG interconnect($127.00)-I usually bash cables for screwing up my beloved tubed system synergy.This is a huge problem in the critical pre to amp connection.I usually won't skimp here and will spend big money to get the best results.This cable does this job great and at a good price as well.It is one the few cables that sounds really good in almost any application and with nearly all gear.I am really tying to get a dealer agreement with them.This cable is that good.I really want to sell these.I will try the rest of the line later this week.
these are my impressions of gear that I used briefly and now is all gone (except for the MF DAC and Denon).I think any of this stuff will sound great in most systems and think you should audition any of it if possible.
Musical Fidelity 324 DAC($1200)-this is the absolute most amazing redbook digital I have yet heard(except for the Nu-vistor).all the things that I hated about standard digital(harshness,compressed dynamics,lifelessness)is gone with this DAC.If you have heard that this thing was a bargain at $1200.00 you heard wrong,it is a steal.It has the choke regulated power-supply and upsampling of the 308 and Nu-Vistor players.This is making me have second thoughts about taking delivery of the 308 that I ordered at the NY show.I have used it with all kinds of players as transports and the results are no less amazing.
Adcom GFP-710 preamp($799)-I have been using this with a few different amps,stereo and monobloc and have been left very impressed.This has an excellent built-in headamp and great phonostage.I usually stay away from solid-state pre amps and have never really been fond of any besides the legendary APT-Holman of the late 70s-early80s.This pre does a good job of making me forget about the Holman.The phono stage is not as good as some of the dedicated stand alone units i have heard but it is very good for a built-in.The headamp will be hard to beat.It sounds very similar to the Creek amps and has a little better midrange.Overall the headamp is a solid performer with all the headphones I tried it with but likes Senns the best.The stereo soundstage is just wide and deep,it seems that it could go on forever.I did notice that i had to move my speakers a bit when i first connected this pre to my system to narrow the projection of the stage,but this was expected.a very versitile pre that will disappoint few.
Parasound HCA1500A Stereo amp($995)-This monster is as about as clean a 225 watts as I have heard.This thing makes bass in bucketloads.Even my Dad, who should be a Krell stockholder, loved it.It had a nice midrange and fantastic treble detail without being harsh or bright.It is built to last two lifetimes and is not lightweight.This thing jams to all kinds of music and drove every speaker that me,my dad,My brother and members of an audio club threw at it.the only problem,as is with most solid states is that when it does distort it does so in the worst way.I doubt that any of us would ever drive this amp to distortion but my Dad's Quads are a monster load for any amp and did cause the Para to get really hot.It has a lot more muscle than the NAD amps that I have heard(C370,270,317,214) but is not as relaxed.Another killer amp and a steal as well.
Musical Fidelity M250 Monobloc amps($1200 each X 2)-Wow!!!I gotta say these are about the best sounding solid state amps that I have had in my system.These things rock,hard.I only had them for a day but that was loud day in my house.These things are truly nuclear.They were very clean sounding(not as clean as the parasound) and had the very best midrange I have heard in a solid state.If I ever disavow tubes, these are the amps that would do it for.They just sound so sweet.They can do things well at any volume,they don't seem to need to be driven hard to perform best.These amps make music with finesse.these amps are also really pretty and spiffed up my listening room despite being the only non tube amps in the room at the time.They didn't like some speakers and drove them to distortion even at low volumes.a great set of monoblocs for all but the most demanding speakers.I must mention the fantastic people at Kevro(the MF distributor and actually the MF owner)they are no less than great and have the very best customer and dealer relations I have ever encountered on any occasion.
Theil CS1.6 loudspeaker(price has changed three times?)-this new speaker was extensively hyped at the Ny show and I only got to hear them in the Sound By Singer room along with MF gear.I really wanted to get a set home and was able to do so last week.They are a lot smaller than they look but produce a big sound.They don't produce the really deep bass that one might expect for a speaker of this type but few people have a real need for it anyway.These are some really nice sounding speakers and offer a crystal clear presentation.The soundstage is very deep and wide as well.I think the ones I had were well broken in cause they lacked the midrange vibrations that some complain about in new examples.These are some of the most coherent and balanced speakers i have yet heard.I won't be trading in my PSB Stratus gold"i" but if I should ever need a great sounding speaker to place in a smaller room these will do nicely.
Denon D-M30s Mini system-($450.00)-I actually bought this off ebay for $275.00.This little system sounds great.I bought it for my 12 year old daughter's bedroom and if I did'nt already have so much gear myself,I would find a place for it.it is really compact but gets very loud and makes some nice music.The headphone jack doesn't completely suck either.It lacks any real bass power but does a great job of filling a mid sized(18'x 22.5') room with music.The remote is great as well and is easy to use.The mirror display really impresses the kids.really not bad fro the money.
Alpha Core Micro Purl AG interconnect($127.00)-I usually bash cables for screwing up my beloved tubed system synergy.This is a huge problem in the critical pre to amp connection.I usually won't skimp here and will spend big money to get the best results.This cable does this job great and at a good price as well.It is one the few cables that sounds really good in almost any application and with nearly all gear.I am really tying to get a dealer agreement with them.This cable is that good.I really want to sell these.I will try the rest of the line later this week.
these are my impressions of gear that I used briefly and now is all gone (except for the MF DAC and Denon).I think any of this stuff will sound great in most systems and think you should audition any of it if possible.
