woodcans
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2004
- Posts
- 2,241
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- 571
Well, I sent my maxed out MPX3 back to Mikhail about 6 weeks ago in search of a more open soundstage and more 'speaker-like' experience. Not that I was displeased in any way with my MPX3. Quite the contrary - that amplifier was, until now, the best audio purchase I had ever made. It rejuvinated my Senn 650's and completely redefined my take on high end audio. To say the least it brought me back to the music and in turn allowed me to appreciate significant differences in cables, sources etc. For better or worse, hehe.
The first half of my Supra XLR shipment arrived early this week. And boy, what a package accompanied the unit. A custom made crate using particle board, 2x4's and lots of screws. As I told Mikhail, this was the first piece of equipment I have ever had to unscrew to gain access to.
Needless to say the amp arrived in perfect condition without a scratch. Not surprising, given the large amount of bubble wrap, wood etc. that was protecting it.
The first thing I noticed was the size and weight. This amp is huge ! I, for some reason, assumed it would be of similar dimension to my MPX3. Maybe this was based upon the pics on the SP website. Boy, was I wrong. The Supra is much, much larger than the MPX3. The caps on this thing are easily larger than a 12oz. can of soda!!!
The next thing I noticed was the beauty of the unit. The chasis, layout, and tube lineup just scream quality and artistic design.
After admiring this piece or a bit, I finally plugged in 4 Sylv. 6sn7w's and 2 TS RP's and got down to business. At this point, I was expecting an upgrade to my MPX3. What I got was more than an upgrade. This experience, while in the same family as the mpx3 is on a completely different level. The amount of detail, treble extension and instrument seperation is phenomenal. To be perfectly honest, I never even considered this level of reproduction was possible. The lack of noise and completely black, black background is really indescribable for someone, like me, who has never experienced fidelity on this level. The soundstage is phenomenal. I find myself looking to the left, right, and behind me to see where all these sounds are coming from. Additionally, there are layers of musical texture and instrumental detail that I thought were only fodder for high end audio magazines. This thing is incredible!!
Up next: tuberolling and the addition of the tube-rectified power supply.
woodcans.
The first half of my Supra XLR shipment arrived early this week. And boy, what a package accompanied the unit. A custom made crate using particle board, 2x4's and lots of screws. As I told Mikhail, this was the first piece of equipment I have ever had to unscrew to gain access to.
Needless to say the amp arrived in perfect condition without a scratch. Not surprising, given the large amount of bubble wrap, wood etc. that was protecting it.
The first thing I noticed was the size and weight. This amp is huge ! I, for some reason, assumed it would be of similar dimension to my MPX3. Maybe this was based upon the pics on the SP website. Boy, was I wrong. The Supra is much, much larger than the MPX3. The caps on this thing are easily larger than a 12oz. can of soda!!!
The next thing I noticed was the beauty of the unit. The chasis, layout, and tube lineup just scream quality and artistic design.
After admiring this piece or a bit, I finally plugged in 4 Sylv. 6sn7w's and 2 TS RP's and got down to business. At this point, I was expecting an upgrade to my MPX3. What I got was more than an upgrade. This experience, while in the same family as the mpx3 is on a completely different level. The amount of detail, treble extension and instrument seperation is phenomenal. To be perfectly honest, I never even considered this level of reproduction was possible. The lack of noise and completely black, black background is really indescribable for someone, like me, who has never experienced fidelity on this level. The soundstage is phenomenal. I find myself looking to the left, right, and behind me to see where all these sounds are coming from. Additionally, there are layers of musical texture and instrumental detail that I thought were only fodder for high end audio magazines. This thing is incredible!!
Up next: tuberolling and the addition of the tube-rectified power supply.
woodcans.
