[FLTWS]

Day; it makes sound / Night; it makes no sound.
I find the recorded listening experience to be one of subtleties not absolutes until I get to the HP (or speakers) where it becomes fairly obvious most of the time and more connected to my preferences to a much higher degree and any absolutes are my own and not representative of another listener's.

 

[Benny-x]

Day; it makes sound / Night; it makes no sound.
I find the recorded listening experience to be one of subtleties not absolutes until I get to the HP (or speakers) where it becomes fairly obvious most of the time and more connected to my preferences to a much higher degree and the absolutes are my own and not representative of another listener's.

I can't recall if you shared your input on your aftermarket cables before, but can you tell me about the differneces/benefits of the Phi's sound with your:
1. JPS Labs SC
2.DanaCable Ultra & Nirvana and Stock (these are 3 different cables?)

And how you found the cable differences worked vs. just using a completely different amp?

 

[FLTWS]

I did just that back on 3/3 check the showcase, and I used 1 tube and 1 SS amp.

 

[matthewhypolite]

I've learned to treat the forum as a chat room rather than a place for factual research. I bet the number of people that have bought and sold Utopias, Daves, Ragnaroks and the like, because they bought off head-fi community hype would be staggering if you could get honest information out of people.
If you're tossing up between $30k dacs then I would make time - same as you make time to spend probably thousands of hours with your gear. If you were as pressed for free time as you say, then you would have no time for your gear and it would be pointless owning it.
You're not that far from the 'States - you could make it a one day trip if you wanted. If your wife and family are understanding enough to let you spend $100k on headphone gear, then I'm sure you could swing a weekend away.
On top of differences in subjective opinions, when you're talking products of that calibre, you don't know who has a vested interest in what, and who's friends with who, and who just gushes about their gear to ensure the maximum resale value. etc. etc.
As you say though, we all have our methods. Agree to disagree I think.

You some how seem to have figured out my life and my timing and what i am and am not able to do lol. For the record, i rarely just sit and listen to music and do nothing else, im usually always working whiles i listen. Also, wisking away to audition a product is not as easy as you're making it sound. Audition a product, where, when? When i have time to fly , will an audition just be sat waiting for me, aligned with my availability? I actually booked a ticket for an event one time, and had to cancel due to work.

Please dont presume to know what someone else's life is like, and what they can and cannot do.

That being said, i believe their are several honest folks on the forums that will give you a fair opinion. And you can easily see who's biased to a particular brand, or sound and gauge inputs from multiple sources (not just head-fi).
I've never bought a piece of hifi gear based on proper research and has been disappointed with it.

Anyways, let me know where and when i can go audition all these products side by side, and ill see if it's possible for me to make the trip at that time.
Dave+Mscaler, MSB Discrete, Nagra, Rossini.

 

[Articnoise]

It's allways best to test gear at home under wellknown condition IMO.

 

[matthewhypolite]

It's allways best to test gear at home under wellknown condition IMO.

Agreed. With well known music. And sometimes even a short demo of gear isn't enough unless you have a very trained ear.

 

[bfreedma]

You some how seem to have figured out my life and my timing and what i am and am not able to do lol. For the record, i rarely just sit and listen to music and do nothing else, im usually always working whiles i listen. Also, wisking away to audition a product is not as easy as you're making it sound. Audition a product, where, when? When i have time to fly , will an audition just be sat waiting for me, aligned with my availability? I actually booked a ticket for an event one time, and had to cancel due to work.

Please dont presume to know what someone else's life is like, and what they can and cannot do.

That being said, i believe their are several honest folks on the forums that will give you a fair opinion. And you can easily see who's biased to a particular brand, or sound and gauge inputs from multiple sources (not just head-fi).
I've never bought a piece of hifi gear based on proper research and has been disappointed with it.

Anyways, let me know where and when i can go audition all these products side by side, and ill see if it's possible for me to make the trip at that time.
Dave+Mscaler, MSB Discrete, Nagra, Rossini.

I believe all of those are available in New York City, though not at the same store. I know travel takes time, but that might be achievable in a weekend.

I'll be in the city next month and can scout it out if you're interested. My guess is with the budget you're looking at, the stores can get anything not normally available for a pre-arranged demo.

 

[matthewhypolite]

I believe all of those are available in New York City, though not at the same store. I know travel takes time, but that might be achievable in a weekend.

I'll be in the city next month and can scout it out if you're interested. My guess is with the budget you're looking at, the stores can get anything not normally available for a pre-arranged demo.

Appriciated, let me know what you find.

Thanks

 

[bfreedma]

Appriciated, let me know what you find.

Thanks

As if I needed an excuse to visit the high end audio stores

Will let you know.

 

[Allears79]

As if I needed an excuse to visit the high end audio stores

Will let you know.

What are your favorite stores in NYC where you would be able to audition these? Much of the stores I know in the city sells the entry / mid hi-end gear but I find very difficult to locate a dealer with a Dave+Mscaler for testing, as an example.

Would be glad to get some recommendations once I live in NY

 

[bfreedma]

What are your favorite stores in NYC where you would be able to audition these? Much of the stores I know in the city sells the entry / mid hi-end gear but I find very difficult to locate a dealer with a Dave+Mscaler for testing, as an example.

Would be glad to get some recommendations once I live in NY

In no particular order:

Lyric Hi-Fi
Audio 46
Sound by Singer
Park Ave Audio
Devialet/Sonos (if you're looking for those brands specifically)
Woo Audio

Stereo Exchange - they have a lot of great gear, but I really dislike this store due to the sales reps. Be prepared to be sized up and blown off if you don't appear wealthy.

 

[erpguru]

Anyone with experience of a LCD-4 (presently own) vs an Alpha Phi TC? As someone else also stated, I am a recovering bass-head and have come to really appreciate the planar bass sound..how would one compare the Phi TC vs the LCD-4, is the Abyss darker in presentation overall? Has anyone experienced sibilance with the Abyss, is the high end brighter or about the same as the LCD? I am going to do the rental through cableco once they are available as they currently only have the phi but not the tc and want to be sure to listen to the exact model as it appears that the sound signature can vary quite a bit with their revisions...

 

[lambdastorm]

In no particular order:

Lyric Hi-Fi
Audio 46
Sound by Singer
Park Ave Audio
Devialet/Sonos (if you're looking for those brands specifically)
Woo Audio

Stereo Exchange - they have a lot of great gear, but I really dislike this store due to the sales reps. Be prepared to be sized up and blown off if you don't appear wealthy.

Agreed. Those folks at Stereo Exchange are douchebags.

LyricHiFi carries Magnepans and that's always a plus. I demoed the Mini Maggies there a year ago and that's hands down the best 2.1 desktop system I've ever heard. They might lack bass but the soundstage and imaging is every bit as wonderful as Magnepan's more premium offerings.

Park Ave Audio on the other hand has both a nice selection of gears and some of the friendliest folks around. Regardless if your a newbie on the look out for a pair of $50 headphone or an experienced audiowizard owning millions worth of gears they would turn on each and every equipment for your entertainment. The store owner is very easy-going and would talk with you for hours even if you aren't looking to buy gears. Great selection, zero pressure. You'll walk out with a smile on your face.

 

[mulder01]

Onya bfreedma!
Yes I would imagine with that budget, any reseller/retailer would be more than accommodating. I'd say you would probably need to call and make some appointments beforehand so that it was set up and ready before you got there, as they are probably not your usual requested demo items. At the HIGH high end, dealers may have to organise loan units off the manufacturers for you.
Extended in home audition would be great if you had the cash to splash on buying them all and taking a $50% loss on whatever you sell, but man, that's an expensive audition with the gear you're talking...

 

[bfreedma]

Onya bfreedma!
Yes I would imagine with that budget, any reseller/retailer would be more than accommodating. I'd say you would probably need to call and make some appointments beforehand so that it was set up and ready before you got there, as they are probably not your usual requested demo items. At the HIGH high end, dealers may have to organise loan units off the manufacturers for you.
Extended in home audition would be great if you had the cash to splash on buying them all and taking a $50% loss on whatever you sell, but man, that's an expensive audition with the gear you're talking...

Thanks,

Agree that the stores will probably need some lead time to get specific units, but figure if they see someone doing legwork for an out of town visitor, it will make for more of an appearance of a serious buyer and motivate the stores to get on it.
Would it appear any less magnanimous if part of the reason I was doing it was to have an excuse to break away while my wife does her shopping?. Not that I mind touring the NYC hi-fi scene and would do it anyway, but this looks like a win for me as well as helping out a fellow head-FIer...

It's gonna cost @matthewhypolite though - at least one beer and possibly two!