[Orlok]

http://www.thxstereo.com/

Mine will supposedly be delivered by the end of the month. We’ll see. Unfortunately the dealer is basically powerless to do anything about it.

The Abyss vids on YouTube lead me to believe they got a crazy run of orders for 1266’s (they recently bought 2 new multimillion dollar CNC machines to effectively double production). It is what it is I guess.

Yeah, our business is kind of experiencing the same thing with high-end electric guitars. We have more than doubled our production over the past year and we are essentially sold out through the remainder of the year. It is kind of weird to think that the pandemic has actually helped create a boom for products like high-end audiophile gear and musical instruments. Besides us, the likes of Fender, Taylor Guitars, Gibson, Sweetwater retailer, and Guitar Center, etc. are doing 30% over before the pandemic started with no signs of letup.

 

[Orlok]

I think what Ken was pointing out was that (a) the AIC-10 is starting to fall off it's pedestal a bit, where people are finding more faults with it, and giving feedback like preferring it off the speaker taps. Which means you may be over paying for the performance, even from a subjective perspective. And (b), reverb if you do want it, you can find it cheaper used. There's one is our FS forum right now, so maybe you could jump at it and net one for substantially less money, this better positioning it's value due to (a).

Not that I'm a fanboy, but I've seen enough of Ken's kit across the threads to know that he also drops stacks on components he finds subjective value in. So that even sets a better context for his insights above.

+1 about nabbing that 1/2 price AIC-10 in the Amplifier FS forum.

But from my guess, I just kinda fell a different amp would work better with the TCs...

Okay, I understand. I'm very curious about the AIC-10 myself and would love to at least try it some time. Well, I guess I can say that about many things but I do have an affinity for amps (including guitar amps) in particular - more so than DACs and other components. No disrespect intended whatsoever or me trying to stir the pot. Many people have lots of very high-end gear here so I'm just all for people getting what they feel is the best for them without having to explain themselves. And that includes me! Haha. I certainly have quite a list of stuff to get over the next few years.

 

[JLoud]

Well Orlok, I got something for you to put on your list. After saying I could never see myself dropping the coin necessary for the Super Conductor cable I went and bought one. Very happy with it. After a couple days of listening it is definitely an improvement over stock. My one complaint of the TC was the mids sounded a little thin. The SC fixes that problem.

 

[JLoud]

Also, as someone mentioned earlier in the thread the SC seems to loose a little bass quantity compared to stock. But after playing with fit that is fixed. I basically rotated the pads one notch and adjusted slide in a little. This restored the bass while keeping the midrange improvement. The TC now feels more musical, I always felt it could be a little analytical.

 

[JLoud]

I also have the Norne Silvergarde S3. It is more balanced compared to stock, stock feeling V shaped. The SC feels like a combination of the two. If that makes sense. Of course cost to performance ratio is completely out the window at this point, but I think most of us have come to accept that.

 

[Orlok]

Well Orlok, I got something for you to put on your list. After saying I could never see myself dropping the coin necessary for the Super Conductor cable I went and bought one. Very happy with it. After a couple days of listening it is definitely an improvement over stock. My one complaint of the TC was the mids sounded a little thin. The SC fixes that problem.

Thanks for the feedback. I actually do have it on my list and it is probably my very next item after I get the SC RCA hooked up from the TT2 to the TToby. Forgot to mention it. After I get the SC for the TC, then it's moving onto the front end to optimize the HMS/TT2.

This all reminds me of the days when I was putting together my first guitar "Rig of Doom". A 180w custom-built tube guitar head to drive the center two speaker cabinets, a huge rack of state-of-the-art digital effects processors, another tube stereo power amp to drive more speaker cabinets on the side that was "wet" with delay/reverb/echo/chorus effects, and a ton of pedals. Of course, all the cables were TOTL as well. Check out the attached pics. It was really so over-the-top that even my pro artist friends were in awe of it. Yes, this is just one guitar rig and it sounded like god! Haha. So I'm now taking this experience building mega guitar rigs to an audio setup but, just like this guitar rig, it will take time.

 

[Orlok]

I also have the Norne Silvergarde S3. It is more balanced compared to stock, stock feeling V shaped. The SC feels like a combination of the two. If that makes sense. Of course cost to performance ratio is completely out the window at this point, but I think most of us have come to accept that.

Very promising. If the stock sounds/feels V-shaped to you, then I guess you'll hate the Silver Dragons, which sound even more scooped than the stock. I couldn't help but notice a thread on the Sound Science forum with people saying that, basically, cables don't and can't sound different. If we claim that two or more cables sound different from each other, we should be able to prove such conclusions with measurements or we are just imagining things. Interesting...

 

[Benny-x]

Thanks for the feedback. I actually do have it on my list and it is probably my very next item after I get the SC RCA hooked up from the TT2 to the TToby. Forgot to mention it. After I get the SC for the TC, then it's moving onto the front end to optimize the HMS/TT2.

This all reminds me of the days when I was putting together my first guitar "Rig of Doom". A 180w custom-built tube guitar head to drive the center two speaker cabinets, a huge rack of state-of-the-art digital effects processors, another tube stereo power amp to drive more speaker cabinets on the side that was "wet" with delay/reverb/echo/chorus effects, and a ton of pedals. Of course, all the cables were TOTL as well. Check out the attached pics. It was really so over-the-top that even my pro artist friends were in awe of it. Yes, this is just one guitar rig and it sounded like god! Haha. So I'm now taking this experience building mega guitar rigs to an audio setup but, just like this guitar rig, it will take time.

Back about the AIC-10 bit, you're totally right and sorry for stepping on your toes about that. I appreciate your kindness in talking about that. I hope you're able to get one and find out it sounds just like you're saying. It slipped my mind for a bit about the comparative and "questing" side of all this.

I think one amp or brand of amps I want to try like that are the Aries Cerat ones. I've always just sorta thought they were cool and must sound great.

As for your guitar rig, that's hilarious. I feel like I'm in good company now. I get caught up in that approach a lot too and my brothers have been making fun of me about it my whole life. When I read the part about "pro artist friends" checking out your rig and saying it was over the top even for them, I felt a kindred spirit. Hahaha. I loved it.

 

[ken6217]

Honestly, I’m curious about the AC-10 as well, but I can’t bring myself to spend the kind of money that they are asking for. Don’t get me wrong, my reasoning isn’t because it’s expensive, it’s because it’s not justifiable, except for crazy markup. Maybe part of it has to do with scale, but when you see it’s priced out higher than well regarded speaker amps like Stereophile Class A amps such as Mark Levinson, Gryphon, Audion Research, Simaudio, Bricasti, Constellation, to name a few, it really puts it into focus that Rivera’s pricing strategy is throw crap on a wall and see what sticks.

Hell, it’s the same price as dCS Bartok. There is not a scratch my head emoji big enough for that one.

 

[JLoud]

Very promising. If the stock sounds/feels V-shaped to you, then I guess you'll hate the Silver Dragons, which sound even more scooped than the stock. I couldn't help but notice a thread on the Sound Science forum with people saying that, basically, cables don't and can't sound different. If we claim that two or more cables sound different from each other, we should be able to prove such conclusions with measurements or we are just imagining things. Interesting...

My thoughts when people say “show me the measurements” is the brain is far more sensitive than any test rig. And I listen with My ears and My brain, Their test rig doesn’t matter. My Schiit Modius tests far better than my WA33, but you can guess which one I think sounds better. To each his own I guess.

 

[Spawn300Z]

But as mentioned in a previous post the other day, it supposed to sound better off of the speaker taps than the headphone out. You're spending $17K for basically an overpriced speaker amp. Make that a vastly over priced speaker amp,

Btw, go to the For Sale forum. You can pick one up for $9k. It's been up for sale for 2 1/2 months.

I understand, but I would like a tube amp to add to my setup. i have a line on one already from my dealer at a great price. The Riviera would end up costing less them the WA-33 Elite. Especially when you consider the cost of tube rolling. So that’s my train of thought. The only other one I think I would be interested in is the Primavea. But the same thing applies.

 

[OceanRanger]

My thoughts when people say “show me the measurements” is the brain is far more sensitive than any test rig. And I listen with My ears and My brain, Their test rig doesn’t matter. My Schiit Modius tests far better than my WA33, but you can guess which one I think sounds better. To each his own I guess.

Indeed. Brains are complex. I don’t believe that oscilloscopes can capture all that is involved in the enjoyment of sound equation.

 

[Stereolab42]

I understand, but I would like a tube amp to add to my setup. i have a line on one already from my dealer at a great price. The Riviera would end up costing less them the WA-33 Elite. Especially when you consider the cost of tube rolling. So that’s my train of thought. The only other one I think I would be interested in is the Primavea. But the same thing applies.

As I always say... if you're gonna pay that much, get a PURE tube amp, not something with MOSFETs in it. The biggest attraction of the tube amp experience to me is in avoiding the last 60 years of technology and having something that could have been made generations ago. I think the best place for hybrids is at the lower end of the cost scale like with the Schiit Lyr.

 

[Gadget67]

Very promising. If the stock sounds/feels V-shaped to you, then I guess you'll hate the Silver Dragons, which sound even more scooped than the stock. I couldn't help but notice a thread on the Sound Science forum with people saying that, basically, cables don't and can't sound different. If we claim that two or more cables sound different from each other, we should be able to prove such conclusions with measurements or we are just imagining things. Interesting...

Let me know when the sound science forum comes up with a way to measure what happens after sound enters your ear and gets “translated” by your brain...
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/how-do-we-hear

 

[mammal]

Let me know when the sound science forum comes up with a way to measure what happens after sound enters your ear and gets “translated” by your brain...

Wait a second, I thought my hearing is digital