What audio system do you have, or plan on getting?

[Daverz]

Proper matching - I would venture to add one more element, perhaps the most vital of all: a listener poised for discovery, never content to rest on past accomplishments. The point of convergence where all things meet. A marvel, both astonishing and boundless in its potential.


Yeah well I thought my Pass Labs amp was great 'till I got a Purifi 'EIGENTAKT'-based amplifier.

The latter delivered greater detail & transparency, most instruments sound more like the real thing, also deeper, more articulate bass.  (I won't mention that the Purifi device was <1/5 the price of the Pass.)

I have discovered in recent decades that component matching is no trick if you stick to ultra-low distortion devices up & down the chain.

How do you know if a device is "ultra-low distortion"?  Yep, you guessed it.

How much power did the Pass have?

I was never tempted by the Pass Labs stuff.  Too heavy, too hot, much too expensive per watt.  Even if I could afford it, I don't like the aesthetics.  Also, the whole "class A with no feedback is superior" line is just part of an audiophile orthodoxy which seemed to ossify in the 1970s and which has no data to back it up.

[Fëanor]

How much power did the Pass have?

I was never tempted by the Pass Labs stuff.  Too heavy, too hot, much too expensive per watt.  Even if I could afford it, I don't like the aesthetics.  Also, the whole "class A with no feedback is superior" line is just part of an audiophile orthodoxy which seemed to ossify in the 1970s and which has no data to back it up.

The Pass Labs amp I had was the relatively humble X150.5 whose info you can check out HERE.  The X150.5 was class AB, not class A, though it would do 10 watts or so in class A.  It delivered 150 watts  to 8 ohms or 300 to 4 ohms which was what my speakers were at the time.

Nelson Pass believes in low feed back. He insists (still I think) that low feedback produces less high-order, (>3rd order), harmonics which sounds bad.  (There is research that supports high-order sounding bad.)  Pass Labs amps tend to produce not particularly low distortion but it is mostly 2nd or 3rd order harmonics which are benign, even pleasant sounding.

My X150.5 was pleasant sounding, come to that.

However Bruno Putzeys, Purifi designer, argues that while some feedback produces high-order HD, more feedback reduces all sorts of distortion including high-order harmonics.  Effectively if some feedback is a problem, more feedback is the answer.

The Purifi and few other class D and class AB amps prove that Putzeys is correct about lots of feedback, IMO.

[drogulus]

[Kalevala]

Slowly but surely, the system is waking from its collective slumber. Like a cathedral warmed by the first sunrays after winter, the Bricasti components stretch their limbs. The M20, despite its age, benefits from years of demo use — its circuits are already seasoned, though its long storage left it understandably shy at first. The M1 Series 2 DAC is the youngest of the trio in practical terms: just two years old, but with too few hours behind it to be fully expressive. It's improving by the day, especially with chamber works — where timbral nuance, harmonic interplay and inner detail are now emerging with sweetness and poise. The surprise: solo organ music, particularly Bach, sounds unusually right — weighty, reverberant, even majestic at times.

But orchestral material reveals its limitations in current state. Dense tuttis can trigger stress — upper midrange glare, and treble sharpness that veers into discomfort. The DAC still hesitates when parsing complex passages — not for lack of capability, but from lack of experience, so to speak. And here the M15 amplifier, while beautifully refined, may be reaching its natural ceiling. Its intimacy and low-level resolution are admirable, but when the music demands scale, slam, or dynamic propulsion — particularly in large orchestral scores — it strains to deliver. The M25, with its dual mono architecture and greater current reserves, may well be the answer. But only once the front end has fully come into bloom. Until then, I listen, wait, and mark the progress — step by careful step — toward the sound I know is there, just waiting for time and warmth to coax it into being.

Whatever works for you and makes you happy. 

All the best,

K

[Irons]

GE 6ca7 tube has arrived, and it sounds very good with my amp. It's marvelous this week.

Nice. A NOS tube? More commonly known as EL34 in UK, a tube/valve that packs a punch unlike many other flea-powered tubes.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Nice. A NOS tube? More commonly known as EL34 in UK, a tube/valve that packs a punch unlike many other flea-powered tubes.

The tube was used by approximately 40 percent. Someday I want to have Mullard and Phillips EL34s.

[Irons]

The tube was used by approximately 40 percent. Someday I want to have Mullard and Phillips EL34s.

I had a a peek where I purchase my tubes. EL34s are not cheap!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=el34+valve&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1311

[drogulus]

Nice. A NOS tube? More commonly known as EL34 in UK, a tube/valve that packs a punch unlike many other flea-powered tubes.

    It was a common replacement for the EL34 though it's a tetrode while the EL34 is a pentode. The 6CA7 is more closely related to the 6L6GC and sounds like one in a guitar amp.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I don't know for sure but heard that Americans started to make 6CA7 because EL34 had a patent protecting it.

[Irons]

It was a common replacement for the EL34 though it's a tetrode while the EL34 is a pentode. The 6CA7 is more closely related to the 6L6GC and sounds like one in a guitar amp.

Thanks. I understood that 6CA7 and EL34 were interchangeable. Tubes are big business, if not bigger, for guitar amps.

[drogulus]

I don't know for sure but heard that Americans started to make 6CA7 because EL34 had a patent protecting it.

    The quality of EL34s declined in the '70s and has never really recovered. My brother worked at Unicord in Westbury, NY in the early '70s and at some point they started subbing 6550s for EL34s in Marshalls because of all the failures. Unicord was the US distributor for Marshall back then.
 
    We brought home a Superlead that was supposed to go to Hendrix and put KT88s in it. It put out 140 RMS watts!

    The 6CA7 is a better sub than a 6550. There were lots of complaints about the 6550 back in the day.

[71 dB]

The M25 AMP and the M5 streamer and the Ansuz internet cable are in their burning in phase since Friday last week. The power AMP needs 500 hours of playing time, the streamer about 150 hours, and the Ansuz internet cable needs about 150 hours.
Eventually this will be a reference set.

I'm sorry Harry, but as a person with university degree in electric engineering this makes me laugh. What do you think happens in the electronics during burn in phase? If something changes why does it make the sound better rather than worse? Why don't the manufacturers do the burn in process in the factory before the customer buys a unit? They certainly could do it because they manufacture so few units in the hi-end audio industry. Please start asking questions Harry. Please do some critical thinking and don't believe everything the marketing feeds you. The burn in phase was invented to make sure the customer gets used to the new gear before making final judgements. It is actually the burn in phase of the ears and the mind. It is all in your head.

Internet cables have zero impact on sound quality as long as they are working (no bit errors) and cables certainly don't have burn in phases. So, talking about internet cable burn in phase is especially ridiculous. Speaker drivers perhaps have "burn in phase", because the elasticity of the rubber surrounding changes in time, but that's pretty much all in audio.

If I am wrong and you are right then I can say I wasted years in the university learning BS. I wonder if hi-end sellers know science better than actual scientists...

As for my audio gear goes, the left side ear pad of my Sennheiser HD-598 headphoses was getting loose in a nasty way. I bought Loctite superglue and that seems to have fixed that problem for now. The superglue cost 7.09 euros. I have also had problems with my DIY headphone extention cable. It is very difficult to make those robust enough. So annoying!

[DavidW]

An update on what I bought and what eventual will follow.
I Bought the Bricasti M25 power amp, the M1 DAC, the M 20 pre-AMP & M5 streamer.
From Ansuz the C2 balanced interlinks, and the (D 3 internet cable bought recently) it is attached from wall to the streamer directly for now.

Still on hold.
The Ansuz powerswitch A3, plus P2 power cable, and eventual resonance bridges for my Nordost Valhalla speaker cables.

The M25 AMP and the M5 streamer and the Ansuz internet cable are in their burning in phase since Friday last week. The power AMP needs 500 hours of playing time, the streamer about 150 hours, and the Ansuz internet cable needs about 150 hours.
Eventually this will be a reference set.

Harry, I think you've caught audiophile nervosa (and I only say this as someone who has been there). You keep posting about upgrades over and over and over again. I can't even keep track of it all. It seems like in the past several weeks, you've been on a mission to replace every single part of your stereo. Is it over? If not, you might want to take a breath and appreciate what you have.

[71 dB]

Harry, I think you've caught audiophile nervosa (and I only say this as someone who has been there).

Well said! It is the fear of missing out. It is the capitalism trying to make us feel we never have it good enough.

You keep posting about upgrades over and over and over again. I can't even keep track of it all. It seems like in the past several weeks, you've been on a mission to replace every single part of your stereo. Is it over? If not, you might want to take a breath and appreciate what you have.

My philosophy is to buy good enough gear and be content with it while concentrating on the music, the main point of this hobby. I usually use my gear as long as it is working properly.

Most of sound quality comes from how the music is produced/recorded/mixed and mastered. Great gear doesn't make bad music sound better. We are not living the days of wax cylinders anymore. Even somewhat cheap gear can offer very transparent sound quality as long as you know where to invest most money (that would be room acoustics, speakers and headphones).

[AnotherSpin]

This is starting to verge on the ridiculous. Two members appear unable to simply scroll past the posts of a third, whose enthusiasm clearly irks them for reasons they've yet to explain. Instead, they resort to repeated claims that he: a) doesn't understand physics, and b) posts about his interest too often. Despite the fact that he has already addressed these accusations several times before. At this stage, it no longer feels like fair exchange but rather a sustained and rather petty attempt at having a go at him.

[Irons]

If Harry can afford it then more power to him.

[71 dB]

Two members appear unable to simply scroll past the posts...

Why should I scroll past? What's the point for me to be here if I am not supposed to express my views?

[AnotherSpin]

Why should I scroll past? What's the point for me to be here if I am not supposed to express my views?

Of course, you're perfectly entitled to act as you see fit.

That said, both sides in the never-ending debate between objectivists and subjectivists in the world of audio have long since made their positions clear, and on numerous occasions. Your arguments are well known, as are the counterarguments of those who take a different view.

Here, however, I see something quite different. Harry is clearly passionate about his hobby. Why not simply leave him be? It's not advice, just thinking out loud.

[Harry]

I'm sorry Harry, but as a person with university degree in electric engineering this makes me laugh. What do you think happens in the electronics during burn in phase? If something changes why does it make the sound better rather than worse? Why don't the manufacturers do the burn in process in the factory before the customer buys a unit? They certainly could do it because they manufacture so few units in the hi-end audio industry. Please start asking questions Harry. Please do some critical thinking and don't believe everything the marketing feeds you. The burn in phase was invented to make sure the customer gets used to the new gear before making final judgements. It is actually the burn in phase of the ears and the mind. It is all in your head.

Internet cables have zero impact on sound quality as long as they are working (no bit errors) and cables certainly don't have burn in phases. So, talking about internet cable burn in phase is especially ridiculous. Speaker drivers perhaps have "burn in phase", because the elasticity of the rubber surrounding changes in time, but that's pretty much all in audio.

If I am wrong and you are right then I can say I wasted years in the university learning BS. I wonder if hi-end sellers know science better than actual scientists...

As for my audio gear goes, the left side ear pad of my Sennheiser HD-598 headphoses was getting loose in a nasty way. I bought Loctite superglue and that seems to have fixed that problem for now. The superglue cost 7.09 euros. I have also had problems with my DIY headphone extention cable. It is very difficult to make those robust enough. So annoying!

Thank you for such a silly response, you are even more out of synch as I thought. This thread is not for people like you, so go there were you might share this kind of rhetoric, and be a bit more respectful as I was always to you.

[Harry]

Harry, I think you've caught audiophile nervosa (and I only say this as someone who has been there). You keep posting about upgrades over and over and over again. I can't even keep track of it all. It seems like in the past several weeks, you've been on a mission to replace every single part of your stereo. Is it over? If not, you might want to take a breath and appreciate what you have.

Thank you, again a disrespectful response, and please mind your own business if this is all you have to say