[G8torbyte]

ZMF posted some pictures of their new solidstate amp with JDS on Insta/Facebook. It is looking real nice. Might release at the end of the summer. Will be at Camjam in Chicago. Hopefully we shall get some impressions.

Hello from the Jersey side of the Delaware River. I had a little bit of time on a prototype of this at the NYC CanJam in February. It was hard to get a good listen as the ZMF room was the main attraction and too many people were crowding the room. This prototype was still in development and the XLR connection was not yet wired. I will probably get one later especially if Zach offers some customizations and wood selections. I'm going for a wood theme to go along with a Decware CSP3 amp I have on order and the Geshelli Labs J2 DAC.

 

[Wes S]

I posted this in the VC thread, but feel like it belongs here too.

So, I just had the most amazing night with my system and VC's and wanted to share with you all.

We had a family dinner/get together last night, and my Brother and Sister in Law brought over a friend to join us. This friend just happened to be a professional violinist who has played in several bands, and who is also a teacher who teaches children how to play by ear. She teaches the Suzuki Method, which is basically a very old Japanese Theory that is all about total immersion starting at a very young age. She teaches very small children how to learn to play by ear, and is very talented and such a sweet and nice lady. Just to give her even more credit, her boyfriend of which she lives with, is a producer and mixes and masters, so needless to say this women knows what good sound is and how an instrument should sound. So, after dinner she pulled out her $30,000 one of kind violin and started taking request. We could play any song from our phones and she could immediately start playing along. It was as if she could speak with her violin, and she was so good at hearing the notes and knowing exactly how to play along. This was the first time in a very good while I had heard a live instrument and what struck me first was how warm and organic it sounded. It was not a hyper detailed sound at all, and in fact it was much warmer and grander sounding than I had remembered. Her violin filled the entire room and it was amazing how full it sounded for such a small instrument. Her violin was gorgeous by the way with tiger maple back and sides, and was a one off made by several famous luthiers at some festival, and basically each luthier made one part of the violin that they were best at. So, that's why this violin is so rare and expensive. She also had multiple bows all made of different woods with each weighing differently, and that's when I started geeking out, and we started talking about how the different woods change the sound. The talking of different woods and the effects, lead me to tell her about my headphones and how the different woods have an effect on those as well, and this really peaked her interest. Immediately after she was done playing live for us, we went back to my listening room and fired up my HA300mk2 with my VC's connected and to say her mind was blown would be an understatement. The first song I played for her was Agnes Obel - The Curse, and within a few seconds she literally started crying in amazement, and then the first words out of her mouth as she was wiping the tears away was, "I think I am going to melt". After she said that, she immediately wanted everyone to get a turn listening as she was amazed at how lifelike and right it sounded. She was blown away by the immersiveness, and wanted everyone to hear it. So, being the teacher she is, she had everyone line up and take a listen to experience it for themselves. Prior to this night, I had been the only one in my family to listen to my headphones, so nobody knew what they were in for, and to see the expressions on their faces as they took a listen was priceless. Lastly, at the end of the night when everyone was leaving she looked at me and said her life was changed, and you could see it in her face she was still in awe. The last thing she said to me was, I want to bring my boyfriend over to have a listen and I told her anytime.

Here is a pick of one of the little one's getting his turn to listen, and it was such a blast watching their expressions as they got to hear their favorite songs.

What I learned from this magical night, is that live instruments sound warm and full, and my system is everything I thought it was, and I am so content now I am not interested in any new gear anymore. I know what I have is legit, and the VC's when driven properly are perfection, and my Cayin HA300mk2 with the tubes I use does it just right. I was thinking about getting a solid state amp, but that's off the table now as I know they won't bring the warmth and "realness" a good tube amp can bring. Real instruments don't sound hyper detailed and in your face, they have warmth, texture, punch and a full open sound that only a good tube amp and a pair of ZMF's can reproduce correctly in my opinion.

Happy listening and back to musical bliss I go!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I posted this in the VC thread, but feel like it belongs here too.

So, I just had the most amazing night with my system and VC's and wanted to share with you all.

We had a family dinner/get together last night, and my Brother and Sister in Law brought over a friend to join us. This friend just happened to be a professional violinist who has played in several bands, and who is also a teacher who teaches children how to play by ear. She teaches the Suzuki Method, which is basically a very old Japanese Theory that is all about total immersion starting at a very young age. She teaches very small children how to learn to play by ear, and is very talented and such a sweet and nice lady. Just to give her even more credit, her boyfriend of which she lives with, is a producer and mixes and masters, so needless to say this women knows what good sound is and how an instrument should sound. So, after dinner she pulled out her $30,000 one of kind violin and started taking request. We could play any song from our phones and she could immediately start playing along. It was as if she could speak with her violin, and she was so good at hearing the notes and knowing exactly how to play along. This was the first time in a very good while I had heard a live instrument and what struck me first was how warm and organic it sounded. It was not a hyper detailed sound at all, and in fact it was much warmer and grander sounding than I had remembered. Her violin filled the entire room and it was amazing how full it sounded for such a small instrument. Her violin was gorgeous by the way with tiger maple back and sides, and was a one off made by several famous luthiers at some festival, and basically each luthier made one part of the violin that they were best at. So, that's why this violin is so rare and expensive. She also had multiple bows all made of different woods with each weighing differently, and that's when I started geeking out, and we started talking about how the different woods change the sound. The talking of different woods and the effects, lead me to tell her about my headphones and how the different woods have an effect on those as well, and this really peaked her interest. So, immediately after she was done playing live for us, we went back to my listening room and fired up my HA300mk2 with my VC's connected and to say her mind was blown would be an understatement. The first song I played for her was Agnes Obel - The Curse, and within a few seconds she literally started crying in amazement, and then the first words out of her mouth as she was wiping the tears away was, "I think I am going to melt". After she said that, she immediately wanted everyone to get a turn listening as she was amazed at how lifelike and right it sounded. She was blown away by the immersiveness, and wanted everyone to hear it. So, being the teacher she is, she had everyone line up and take a listen, as she wanted everyone to experience it. Prior to this night, I had been the only one in my family to listen to my headphones, so nobody knew what they were in for, and to see the expressions on their faces as they took a listen was priceless. Lastly, at the end of the night when everyone was leaving she looked at me and said her life was changed, and you could see it in her face she was still in awe. The last thing she said to me was, I want to bring my boyfriend over to have a listen and I told her anytime.

Here is a pick of one of the little one's getting his turn to listen, and it was such a blast watching their expressions as they got to hear their favorite songs.



So, what I learned from this night, is that live instruments sound warm and full, and my system is everything I thought it was, and I am so content now I am not interested in any new gear anymore. I know what I have is legit, and the VC's when driven properly are perfection, and my Cayin HA300mk2 does it just right. I was thinking about getting a solid state amp, but that's off the table now as I know they want bring the warmth and "realness" a good tube amp can bring. Real instruments don't sound hyper detailed and in your face, they have warmth, texture, punch and a full open sound that only a good tube amp and a pair of ZMF's can reproduce correctly in my opinion.

Back to musical bliss. . .

Great story Wes, bravo.

 

[Wes S]

Great story Wes, bravo.

Thanks brother!

 

[jinxy245]

I posted this in the VC thread, but feel like it belongs here too.

So, I just had the most amazing night with my system and VC's and wanted to share with you all.

We had a family dinner/get together last night, and my Brother and Sister in Law brought over a friend to join us. This friend just happened to be a professional violinist who has played in several bands, and who is also a teacher who teaches children how to play by ear. She teaches the Suzuki Method, which is basically a very old Japanese Theory that is all about total immersion starting at a very young age. She teaches very small children how to learn to play by ear, and is very talented and such a sweet and nice lady. Just to give her even more credit, her boyfriend of which she lives with, is a producer and mixes and masters, so needless to say this women knows what good sound is and how an instrument should sound. So, after dinner she pulled out her $30,000 one of kind violin and started taking request. We could play any song from our phones and she could immediately start playing along. It was as if she could speak with her violin, and she was so good at hearing the notes and knowing exactly how to play along. This was the first time in a very good while I had heard a live instrument and what struck me first was how warm and organic it sounded. It was not a hyper detailed sound at all, and in fact it was much warmer and grander sounding than I had remembered. Her violin filled the entire room and it was amazing how full it sounded for such a small instrument. Her violin was gorgeous by the way with tiger maple back and sides, and was a one off made by several famous luthiers at some festival, and basically each luthier made one part of the violin that they were best at. So, that's why this violin is so rare and expensive. She also had multiple bows all made of different woods with each weighing differently, and that's when I started geeking out, and we started talking about how the different woods change the sound. The talking of different woods and the effects, lead me to tell her about my headphones and how the different woods have an effect on those as well, and this really peaked her interest. So, immediately after she was done playing live for us, we went back to my listening room and fired up my HA300mk2 with my VC's connected and to say her mind was blown would be an understatement. The first song I played for her was Agnes Obel - The Curse, and within a few seconds she literally started crying in amazement, and then the first words out of her mouth as she was wiping the tears away was, "I think I am going to melt". After she said that, she immediately wanted everyone to get a turn listening as she was amazed at how lifelike and right it sounded. She was blown away by the immersiveness, and wanted everyone to hear it. So, being the teacher she is, she had everyone line up and take a listen, as she wanted everyone to experience it. Prior to this night, I had been the only one in my family to listen to my headphones, so nobody knew what they were in for, and to see the expressions on their faces as they took a listen was priceless. Lastly, at the end of the night when everyone was leaving she looked at me and said her life was changed, and you could see it in her face she was still in awe. The last thing she said to me was, I want to bring my boyfriend over to have a listen and I told her anytime.

Here is a pick of one of the little one's getting his turn to listen, and it was such a blast watching their expressions as they got to hear their favorite songs.



So, what I learned from this night, is that live instruments sound warm and full, and my system is everything I thought it was, and I am so content now I am not interested in any new gear anymore. I know what I have is legit, and the VC's when driven properly are perfection, and my Cayin HA300mk2 does it just right. I was thinking about getting a solid state amp, but that's off the table now as I know they want bring the warmth and "realness" a good tube amp can bring. Real instruments don't sound hyper detailed and in your face, they have warmth, texture, punch and a full open sound that only a good tube amp and a pair of ZMF's can reproduce correctly in my opinion.

Happy listening and back to musical bliss I go!

That's what it's all about I think. When that emotional connection to the music is achieved you know things are working right in your system.

Thanks for the story!

 

[Wes S]

That's what it's all about I think. When that emotional connection to the music is achieved you know things are working right in your system.

Thanks for the story!

Yes sir! It's all about that "emotional connection".

 

[goldwerger]

I posted this in the VC thread, but feel like it belongs here too.

So, I just had the most amazing night with my system and VC's and wanted to share with you all.

We had a family dinner/get together last night, and my Brother and Sister in Law brought over a friend to join us. This friend just happened to be a professional violinist who has played in several bands, and who is also a teacher who teaches children how to play by ear. She teaches the Suzuki Method, which is basically a very old Japanese Theory that is all about total immersion starting at a very young age. She teaches very small children how to learn to play by ear, and is very talented and such a sweet and nice lady. Just to give her even more credit, her boyfriend of which she lives with, is a producer and mixes and masters, so needless to say this women knows what good sound is and how an instrument should sound. So, after dinner she pulled out her $30,000 one of kind violin and started taking request. We could play any song from our phones and she could immediately start playing along. It was as if she could speak with her violin, and she was so good at hearing the notes and knowing exactly how to play along. This was the first time in a very good while I had heard a live instrument and what struck me first was how warm and organic it sounded. It was not a hyper detailed sound at all, and in fact it was much warmer and grander sounding than I had remembered. Her violin filled the entire room and it was amazing how full it sounded for such a small instrument. Her violin was gorgeous by the way with tiger maple back and sides, and was a one off made by several famous luthiers at some festival, and basically each luthier made one part of the violin that they were best at. So, that's why this violin is so rare and expensive. She also had multiple bows all made of different woods with each weighing differently, and that's when I started geeking out, and we started talking about how the different woods change the sound. The talking of different woods and the effects, lead me to tell her about my headphones and how the different woods have an effect on those as well, and this really peaked her interest. So, immediately after she was done playing live for us, we went back to my listening room and fired up my HA300mk2 with my VC's connected and to say her mind was blown would be an understatement. The first song I played for her was Agnes Obel - The Curse, and within a few seconds she literally started crying in amazement, and then the first words out of her mouth as she was wiping the tears away was, "I think I am going to melt". After she said that, she immediately wanted everyone to get a turn listening as she was amazed at how lifelike and right it sounded. She was blown away by the immersiveness, and wanted everyone to hear it. So, being the teacher she is, she had everyone line up and take a listen, as she wanted everyone to experience it. Prior to this night, I had been the only one in my family to listen to my headphones, so nobody knew what they were in for, and to see the expressions on their faces as they took a listen was priceless. Lastly, at the end of the night when everyone was leaving she looked at me and said her life was changed, and you could see it in her face she was still in awe. The last thing she said to me was, I want to bring my boyfriend over to have a listen and I told her anytime.

Here is a pick of one of the little one's getting his turn to listen, and it was such a blast watching their expressions as they got to hear their favorite songs.



So, what I learned from this night, is that live instruments sound warm and full, and my system is everything I thought it was, and I am so content now I am not interested in any new gear anymore. I know what I have is legit, and the VC's when driven properly are perfection, and my Cayin HA300mk2 does it just right. I was thinking about getting a solid state amp, but that's off the table now as I know they want bring the warmth and "realness" a good tube amp can bring. Real instruments don't sound hyper detailed and in your face, they have warmth, texture, punch and a full open sound that only a good tube amp and a pair of ZMF's can reproduce correctly in my opinion.

Happy listening and back to musical bliss I go!

Love it!

 

[andypat]

I posted this in the VC thread, but feel like it belongs here too.

So, I just had the most amazing night with my system and VC's and wanted to share with you all.

We had a family dinner/get together last night, and my Brother and Sister in Law brought over a friend to join us. This friend just happened to be a professional violinist who has played in several bands, and who is also a teacher who teaches children how to play by ear. She teaches the Suzuki Method, which is basically a very old Japanese Theory that is all about total immersion starting at a very young age. She teaches very small children how to learn to play by ear, and is very talented and such a sweet and nice lady. Just to give her even more credit, her boyfriend of which she lives with, is a producer and mixes and masters, so needless to say this women knows what good sound is and how an instrument should sound. So, after dinner she pulled out her $30,000 one of kind violin and started taking request. We could play any song from our phones and she could immediately start playing along. It was as if she could speak with her violin, and she was so good at hearing the notes and knowing exactly how to play along. This was the first time in a very good while I had heard a live instrument and what struck me first was how warm and organic it sounded. It was not a hyper detailed sound at all, and in fact it was much warmer and grander sounding than I had remembered. Her violin filled the entire room and it was amazing how full it sounded for such a small instrument. Her violin was gorgeous by the way with tiger maple back and sides, and was a one off made by several famous luthiers at some festival, and basically each luthier made one part of the violin that they were best at. So, that's why this violin is so rare and expensive. She also had multiple bows all made of different woods with each weighing differently, and that's when I started geeking out, and we started talking about how the different woods change the sound. The talking of different woods and the effects, lead me to tell her about my headphones and how the different woods have an effect on those as well, and this really peaked her interest. So, immediately after she was done playing live for us, we went back to my listening room and fired up my HA300mk2 with my VC's connected and to say her mind was blown would be an understatement. The first song I played for her was Agnes Obel - The Curse, and within a few seconds she literally started crying in amazement, and then the first words out of her mouth as she was wiping the tears away was, "I think I am going to melt". After she said that, she immediately wanted everyone to get a turn listening as she was amazed at how lifelike and right it sounded. She was blown away by the immersiveness, and wanted everyone to hear it. So, being the teacher she is, she had everyone line up and take a listen to experience it for themselves. Prior to this night, I had been the only one in my family to listen to my headphones, so nobody knew what they were in for, and to see the expressions on their faces as they took a listen was priceless. Lastly, at the end of the night when everyone was leaving she looked at me and said her life was changed, and you could see it in her face she was still in awe. The last thing she said to me was, I want to bring my boyfriend over to have a listen and I told her anytime.

Here is a pick of one of the little one's getting his turn to listen, and it was such a blast watching their expressions as they got to hear their favorite songs.



So, what I learned from this night, is that live instruments sound warm and full, and my system is everything I thought it was, and I am so content now I am not interested in any new gear anymore. I know what I have is legit, and the VC's when driven properly are perfection, and my Cayin HA300mk2 does it just right. I was thinking about getting a solid state amp, but that's off the table now as I know they won't bring the warmth and "realness" a good tube amp can bring. Real instruments don't sound hyper detailed and in your face, they have warmth, texture, punch and a full open sound that only a good tube amp and a pair of ZMF's can reproduce correctly in my opinion.

Happy listening and back to musical bliss I go!

What a lovely story, thank you for sharing! Your story also validates my love for Agnes Obel's music on my VCs

 

[shwnwllms]

I posted this in the VC thread, but feel like it belongs here too.

So, I just had the most amazing night with my system and VC's and wanted to share with you all.

We had a family dinner/get together last night, and my Brother and Sister in Law brought over a friend to join us. This friend just happened to be a professional violinist who has played in several bands, and who is also a teacher who teaches children how to play by ear. She teaches the Suzuki Method, which is basically a very old Japanese Theory that is all about total immersion starting at a very young age. She teaches very small children how to learn to play by ear, and is very talented and such a sweet and nice lady. Just to give her even more credit, her boyfriend of which she lives with, is a producer and mixes and masters, so needless to say this women knows what good sound is and how an instrument should sound. So, after dinner she pulled out her $30,000 one of kind violin and started taking request. We could play any song from our phones and she could immediately start playing along. It was as if she could speak with her violin, and she was so good at hearing the notes and knowing exactly how to play along. This was the first time in a very good while I had heard a live instrument and what struck me first was how warm and organic it sounded. It was not a hyper detailed sound at all, and in fact it was much warmer and grander sounding than I had remembered. Her violin filled the entire room and it was amazing how full it sounded for such a small instrument. Her violin was gorgeous by the way with tiger maple back and sides, and was a one off made by several famous luthiers at some festival, and basically each luthier made one part of the violin that they were best at. So, that's why this violin is so rare and expensive. She also had multiple bows all made of different woods with each weighing differently, and that's when I started geeking out, and we started talking about how the different woods change the sound. The talking of different woods and the effects, lead me to tell her about my headphones and how the different woods have an effect on those as well, and this really peaked her interest. So, immediately after she was done playing live for us, we went back to my listening room and fired up my HA300mk2 with my VC's connected and to say her mind was blown would be an understatement. The first song I played for her was Agnes Obel - The Curse, and within a few seconds she literally started crying in amazement, and then the first words out of her mouth as she was wiping the tears away was, "I think I am going to melt". After she said that, she immediately wanted everyone to get a turn listening as she was amazed at how lifelike and right it sounded. She was blown away by the immersiveness, and wanted everyone to hear it. So, being the teacher she is, she had everyone line up and take a listen to experience it for themselves. Prior to this night, I had been the only one in my family to listen to my headphones, so nobody knew what they were in for, and to see the expressions on their faces as they took a listen was priceless. Lastly, at the end of the night when everyone was leaving she looked at me and said her life was changed, and you could see it in her face she was still in awe. The last thing she said to me was, I want to bring my boyfriend over to have a listen and I told her anytime.

Here is a pick of one of the little one's getting his turn to listen, and it was such a blast watching their expressions as they got to hear their favorite songs.



So, what I learned from this night, is that live instruments sound warm and full, and my system is everything I thought it was, and I am so content now I am not interested in any new gear anymore. I know what I have is legit, and the VC's when driven properly are perfection, and my Cayin HA300mk2 does it just right. I was thinking about getting a solid state amp, but that's off the table now as I know they won't bring the warmth and "realness" a good tube amp can bring. Real instruments don't sound hyper detailed and in your face, they have warmth, texture, punch and a full open sound that only a good tube amp and a pair of ZMF's can reproduce correctly in my opinion.

Happy listening and back to musical bliss I go!

Incredible story Wes. Truly awe inspiring.

 

[jonathan c]

I posted this in the VC thread, but feel like it belongs here too.

So, I just had the most amazing night with my system and VC's and wanted to share with you all.

We had a family dinner/get together last night, and my Brother and Sister in Law brought over a friend to join us. This friend just happened to be a professional violinist who has played in several bands, and who is also a teacher who teaches children how to play by ear. She teaches the Suzuki Method, which is basically a very old Japanese Theory that is all about total immersion starting at a very young age. She teaches very small children how to learn to play by ear, and is very talented and such a sweet and nice lady. Just to give her even more credit, her boyfriend of which she lives with, is a producer and mixes and masters, so needless to say this women knows what good sound is and how an instrument should sound. So, after dinner she pulled out her $30,000 one of kind violin and started taking request. We could play any song from our phones and she could immediately start playing along. It was as if she could speak with her violin, and she was so good at hearing the notes and knowing exactly how to play along. This was the first time in a very good while I had heard a live instrument and what struck me first was how warm and organic it sounded. It was not a hyper detailed sound at all, and in fact it was much warmer and grander sounding than I had remembered. Her violin filled the entire room and it was amazing how full it sounded for such a small instrument. Her violin was gorgeous by the way with tiger maple back and sides, and was a one off made by several famous luthiers at some festival, and basically each luthier made one part of the violin that they were best at. So, that's why this violin is so rare and expensive. She also had multiple bows all made of different woods with each weighing differently, and that's when I started geeking out, and we started talking about how the different woods change the sound. The talking of different woods and the effects, lead me to tell her about my headphones and how the different woods have an effect on those as well, and this really peaked her interest. So, immediately after she was done playing live for us, we went back to my listening room and fired up my HA300mk2 with my VC's connected and to say her mind was blown would be an understatement. The first song I played for her was Agnes Obel - The Curse, and within a few seconds she literally started crying in amazement, and then the first words out of her mouth as she was wiping the tears away was, "I think I am going to melt". After she said that, she immediately wanted everyone to get a turn listening as she was amazed at how lifelike and right it sounded. She was blown away by the immersiveness, and wanted everyone to hear it. So, being the teacher she is, she had everyone line up and take a listen to experience it for themselves. Prior to this night, I had been the only one in my family to listen to my headphones, so nobody knew what they were in for, and to see the expressions on their faces as they took a listen was priceless. Lastly, at the end of the night when everyone was leaving she looked at me and said her life was changed, and you could see it in her face she was still in awe. The last thing she said to me was, I want to bring my boyfriend over to have a listen and I told her anytime.

Here is a pick of one of the little one's getting his turn to listen, and it was such a blast watching their expressions as they got to hear their favorite songs.



So, what I learned from this night, is that live instruments sound warm and full, and my system is everything I thought it was, and I am so content now I am not interested in any new gear anymore. I know what I have is legit, and the VC's when driven properly are perfection, and my Cayin HA300mk2 does it just right. I was thinking about getting a solid state amp, but that's off the table now as I know they won't bring the warmth and "realness" a good tube amp can bring. Real instruments don't sound hyper detailed and in your face, they have warmth, texture, punch and a full open sound that only a good tube amp and a pair of ZMF's can reproduce correctly in my opinion.

Happy listening and back to musical bliss I go!

Absolutely marvelous … engagement is everything … with audio gear and with others !!

 

[whirlwind]

I posted this in the VC thread, but feel like it belongs here too.

So, I just had the most amazing night with my system and VC's and wanted to share with you all.

We had a family dinner/get together last night, and my Brother and Sister in Law brought over a friend to join us. This friend just happened to be a professional violinist who has played in several bands, and who is also a teacher who teaches children how to play by ear. She teaches the Suzuki Method, which is basically a very old Japanese Theory that is all about total immersion starting at a very young age. She teaches very small children how to learn to play by ear, and is very talented and such a sweet and nice lady. Just to give her even more credit, her boyfriend of which she lives with, is a producer and mixes and masters, so needless to say this women knows what good sound is and how an instrument should sound. So, after dinner she pulled out her $30,000 one of kind violin and started taking request. We could play any song from our phones and she could immediately start playing along. It was as if she could speak with her violin, and she was so good at hearing the notes and knowing exactly how to play along. This was the first time in a very good while I had heard a live instrument and what struck me first was how warm and organic it sounded. It was not a hyper detailed sound at all, and in fact it was much warmer and grander sounding than I had remembered. Her violin filled the entire room and it was amazing how full it sounded for such a small instrument. Her violin was gorgeous by the way with tiger maple back and sides, and was a one off made by several famous luthiers at some festival, and basically each luthier made one part of the violin that they were best at. So, that's why this violin is so rare and expensive. She also had multiple bows all made of different woods with each weighing differently, and that's when I started geeking out, and we started talking about how the different woods change the sound. The talking of different woods and the effects, lead me to tell her about my headphones and how the different woods have an effect on those as well, and this really peaked her interest. So, immediately after she was done playing live for us, we went back to my listening room and fired up my HA300mk2 with my VC's connected and to say her mind was blown would be an understatement. The first song I played for her was Agnes Obel - The Curse, and within a few seconds she literally started crying in amazement, and then the first words out of her mouth as she was wiping the tears away was, "I think I am going to melt". After she said that, she immediately wanted everyone to get a turn listening as she was amazed at how lifelike and right it sounded. She was blown away by the immersiveness, and wanted everyone to hear it. So, being the teacher she is, she had everyone line up and take a listen to experience it for themselves. Prior to this night, I had been the only one in my family to listen to my headphones, so nobody knew what they were in for, and to see the expressions on their faces as they took a listen was priceless. Lastly, at the end of the night when everyone was leaving she looked at me and said her life was changed, and you could see it in her face she was still in awe. The last thing she said to me was, I want to bring my boyfriend over to have a listen and I told her anytime.

Here is a pick of one of the little one's getting his turn to listen, and it was such a blast watching their expressions as they got to hear their favorite songs.



So, what I learned from this night, is that live instruments sound warm and full, and my system is everything I thought it was, and I am so content now I am not interested in any new gear anymore. I know what I have is legit, and the VC's when driven properly are perfection, and my Cayin HA300mk2 does it just right. I was thinking about getting a solid state amp, but that's off the table now as I know they won't bring the warmth and "realness" a good tube amp can bring. Real instruments don't sound hyper detailed and in your face, they have warmth, texture, punch and a full open sound that only a good tube amp and a pair of ZMF's can reproduce correctly in my opinion.

Happy listening and back to musical bliss I go!

Really nice story, Wes.

I always felt that the VC does timbre right.

It is all about enjoying the music

 

[Huntersknoll]

I picked a Marantz Model 2218 today to try out with my Atrium Closed.

OHHH BABY. This thing kicks. I’m loving it.

While 18 watts isn’t much for most speakers that will be MORE than enough for my Forte IVs as well.

EDIT: Oh I was just playing around with the tone controls and pumped up the bass 2 clicks and my AC started to shake my head hahaha. If you are looking for an amp don't fear the vintage gear. This I going to open up a very deep hole for me.

 

[Monsterzero]

I picked a Marantz Model 2218 today to try out with my Atrium Closed.

OHHH BABY. This thing kicks. I’m loving it.

While 18 watts isn’t much for most speakers that will be MORE than enough for my Forte IVs as well.

EDIT: Oh I was just playing around with the tone controls and pumped up the bass 2 clicks and my AC started to shake my head hahaha. If you are looking for an amp don't fear the vintage gear. This I going to open up a very deep hole for me.

Vintage receivers and high impedance headphones were made for each other. Try pushing the loudness button. Thats always a lot of fun!

 

[David222]

I picked a Marantz Model 2218 today to try out with my Atrium Closed.

OHHH BABY. This thing kicks. I’m loving it.

While 18 watts isn’t much for most speakers that will be MORE than enough for my Forte IVs as well.

EDIT: Oh I was just playing around with the tone controls and pumped up the bass 2 clicks and my AC started to shake my head hahaha. If you are looking for an amp don't fear the vintage gear. This I going to open up a very deep hole for me.

That tuner/wheel is awesome. Great piece of gear.

 

[Huntersknoll]

Vintage receivers and high impedance headphones were made for each other. Try pushing the loudness button. Thats always a lot of fun!

Can confirm the fun is being had after pressing that loudness button. Still can't get over how great they make my AC's sound.

It now has me looking at 2270's and 2275's for the future.