Today I got a chance to try the (excellent and not pictured) MSB Reference DAC at Sound by Singer in NYC. I'm now seriously tempted to buy the MSB, assuming that I can liquidate some gear and work out a deal on it.
What really surprised me, though, was the Absolare Integrated, a hybrid design rated at 150wpc at 8 ohms. Andy had some issues with his CH power amp so he asked me to put the SR1a on the Absolare. This is a fantastic amp - it's not the first hybrid design that I've listened to with the SR1a's, but it's definitely the best execution in terms of combining the great things about tube and solid state. In particular, you get almost all of the speed and control of a high end solid state amp, and yet the treble tonality and vocal presentation is entirely tube-like. Compared to warm solid state designs (Pass), this amp pulls off the "euphoria" characteristic of strong tube setups much more convincingly. Outside of the fantastically expensive Thrax Spartcus, I would say this amp has the best femal vocals of any SR1a system that I've ever listened to.
That and it's a beautiful amp. The leather is supple and the color is blindingly rich in person, in a good way. If price were no object I would definitely want one - but I'm not a huge fan of tubes (other than the 300b) personally, and I want to prioritize upgrading my DAC if possible. If any of you happen to be in NYC (
@llamaluv ), I would recommend checking out Andy's showroom. He's a New Yorker and can come across as a bit blunt, but if you know what you're doing and am serious about buying gear, he's a great person to talk to. We had a nice conversation about DAC topology and the MSB vs. DCS debate.
