We're back and a new "journey" has begun: amps and preamps - Page 62

Bolder Cable's website is here. Wayne offers a variety of mods. He also has a circle at AudioCircle.

Brandon(nuance),

So you liked Terrys PS DAC? How noticeable was it compared to the oppos by chance since I have the 980 and SB3?

Oh, who's selling there PS Audio DAC anyway here?

Thanks,

Brandon

Are there alternatives to the SB besides the Transport that will do 24/96? I just ordered the PreDAC but it won't be ready until sometime in May.

Mike

depending on your budget you can use a Mac Mini as a server and stream via USB or Firewire. Also the new PS PerfectWave DAC will have the ability to do everything in a single box and will be capable of 24/192, looks like a very interesting piece.

HA! I told you I'd "take you to school about speaker cables". You heard "a small difference"? If we had more time that day, I could have convinced you of more than a "small difference" between the cables I have. Maybe next time.

I would also stop worrying about a DAC until you get your initial plans completed. I'd get that preamp and amp you want first. The OPPO's DAC isn't all that bad and the Squeezebox should be ok until you can find a DAC. You heard merrymaid's SB3 and thought is was alright didn't you?


merrymaid: The improvement in sound between the PS Audio DAC and the OPPO 980 is not small. Most of what Nuance has stated was from a relatively brief listening session. The more time I spend with the DAC, the more appreciation I have for it.

The PS Audio DAC provides a wider sound stage that extends a few feet beyond the OPPO's. There is definitely a more 3D effect to the music, and the stage is deeper. There is more air around instruments and singers (I don't know how else to state this). The entire stage is more coherent and clear. There is more bass output, but it is very balanced sounding and more articulate. I can't take the DAC out of my setup now. Whenever I switch to my OPPO by itself, I just can't find any love for it after hearing the PS Audio.

While I'm certain there are better DAC's out there, I wouldn't hesitate recommending the PS Audio DAC to someone. I'm also considering getting it moddified by Cullen Circuits later this summer after I pickup a receiver for HT and get my Salk HT2 Center, but things are sounding very nice stock for time being.

rydenfan,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into it. Although I like the Transporter, I don't want to pay ($2k) for DACs that I will not use.

Mike

Nuance
I'll only say this about DACs. You can always buy a cheap transport and run it through a good DAC and you now have a $1500+ player. When the time comes (your cheap player fails) you can buy a different transport and the DAC will still be there.

Buy the amp first!

The PS Audio Digital Link III is a steal at it's current price. I may be selling mine (Cullen lvl 4 modded) for the new PerfectWave DAC from PS Audio. I plan to use the PW as a streamer, DAC, etc as Rydenfan mentioned.

My amps are done. Leaving Klaus in a couple of days.

Though I didn't get to spend a huge amount of time at Terry's for a real serious listen, I did really enjoy what I heard there and was very impressed with the HT2's which was my main reason for going....

With not being able to get into heavy A/B'ing of the PS Audio DAC, I really didn't notice a super huge difference in the switching back and forth, I certainly wasn't concentrating and we were joking around a bit as well as the material..... To me at the time it wasn't as dramatic as over at merrymaids between the Yamaha and Parasound - that was a huge difference to me... Not to dimish the weight of what Terry and Brandon is stating here... I simply did not have the time...

And as far as the Cables go, I was also extremely skeptical about the cables and still am a bit, I as well as my woman noticed a slight change in sound with the expensive cables in the loop... not as bright from the "monoprice?" cables..

Terry if at all possible, I would love the opportunity to try them out with my system for an A/B... if you are willing...You are more then welcome to stop over anytime, if you are headed down this way - I can show you how to shake the hell out of a house... Hopefully my D2v will ship out one of these days... should be very soon...

I wonder with Cullen Circuits doing alot of mods on some of these products, what their upcoming DAC is going to have in store...

One thing that I am looking forward to, it that with the D2v I can push a button to run a 2 channel external DAC but maintain my ARC room correction instead of defeating it.... I look forward to the Major upgrade to my system with my very first dedicated Pre-Amp...

Great news!! Cant way to see your thoughts on them.

When you gonna bring them over?

For the record, the "expensive" cables, though not really expensive at all, are Calabrine Quadio. The other cables that sound very bright to me are Blue Jeans Cable, Belden 5T00UP 10awg. The only thing fancy about the Calabrine's is how they look; nothing under the hood.

I'm up for a visit to your place. Just PM me and we'll work something out.

I'm not positive it is the Perseus that is causing the hum. I've tried to get rid of any ground loop hum as much as possible by trying a number of different things. At this point, I think it is either the power in my house or the combination of Perseus and McCormack amp.

I did notify my dealer and Rogue Audio about the hum issue when I bought the Perseus a year ago. Rogue suggested I send back the Perseus to them and they would send me a replacement. They could find nothing wrong with the original and I still had the same hum issue with the replacement.

I did find a review on Dagago from last December. The reviewer also noticed a hum with the Perseus. But once he changed amps to Rowland 501 monoblocks, which apparently have noise elimination circuitry, the hum was gone.

Rogue didn't notify me about any upgrade. Someone from Rogue had contacted Bill Mac back when he had a Perseus since he was also experiencing a hum. The Rogue guy said that the bigger power supply in the 2009 Perseus might eliminate the hum and implied the cost for the change would only be for the shipping if he was the original owner. I decided to go with the Magnum upgrade, which includes the bigger power supply.

Today, for the first time, I connected my Decco straight to the McCormack. And I'm hearing the same hum. I also just hooked up my TADAC (thumbs up BTW) straight to the McCormack and very, very little hum. Had to put my ear near the speaker. So still not sure if it is the Perseus.

--Doug

Did you get new amps or upgrades to your existing Odyssey amps?

Rydenfan: Are you currently using a Plinius amp?

I may be behind. I was away from the forums for about 6 months and just starting surfing the forums again a couple of months ago.

--Doug

Doug,

I have had hum issues with several components over the years. The worst was a Sherbourn 7/2100A amp that has seven transformers. The hum could be heard from 8' away even in standby. The other was of all things a PS Audio Quintessence power unit. The Quintessence also had a loud hum which is something you would not expect from a noise suppression component.

The Perseus had a slight hum which came through the speakers unlike the other two that were from the units themselves. I think my problem is with the house wiring or power company but that is just a uneducated guess.

It is could to see that you are happy with the TADAC.

Bill

Doug
The Odyssey Stratos monos were upgraded to the Odyssey Kismet monos in the original Stratos case. The Odyssey 3-channel has a Kismet center channel, so... I upgraded the monos.
Mark

Nuance
I'd stick with the 2250, you can also use it as a monoblock also as it is rated at (3 year warranty):

700 watts rms bridged into 8 Ω or 4 Ω mono

Whereas the A23 is rated at (5 year warranty):

400 watts RMS x 1, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 8 Ω

The current delivery and input impedance are about the same for both. Most all specs are equal and the power delivery of the 2250 is better. Now if you need balanced ins, then the A23 has those whereas the 2250 does not.

Just my thoughts
Mark

Will do terry... I would like to get a few things completed first in the near future, carpet is coming for part of my big room which will certainly help to tame some of my acoustic issues, but the D2v is going to have me busy for a while, so once I get a handle on that, things should settle down for me to work something out...


Hahah Love you too bro...

I'm with you on the Oppo.... I hope they release it sometime soon, it looks like a winner for sure....

Moving all my pro amps to the basement the other night was a huge step forward in lowering my noise floor in that room.... My 3 new 4000w mono amps have dual 120mm fans and 6 of those running full bore was like a turbine engine

I would go with the A23 cause it's prettier I believe the Halo amps were designed by John Curl but I be;ieve the Classics were not, but I may be wrong here. The A23 will have more than enough power for you and balanced ins can be very important. To me current delivery is more important than power.

rydenfan is right here....

Sustainable current delivery is much more important here... either amp would likely be fine but the extra wattage will yield minimal maybe 3db in headroom...

Remember the doubling of wattage effects...

FWIW, I have the big brother Parasound Halo A21 stereo amp, and while it's not bad on looks I wish I could have the front panel blank when it's running. Of course, that ditches the visual ID of a current problem; but it's no big deal.



Completely agreed on "enough power"

And Nuance's worrying about stuff like being able to run the amp "bridged" (or other) has always looked to me like wasted worry.



I just pulled up both the A23 info as well as the 2250 info, especially the large picture of the back panel on each. From what I see, the A23 is the way to go: options that may actually come in handy in the future and less weight/size.

The one option on the back of the 2250 that raises my eyebrows is the impedance switch.

I've never before seen an impedance switch for a SS amp, whereas they're not uncommon for tube amps.

Cheers

Of course he is going to tell you to buy his most expensive amp What should he say? The A23 is great and the others are a waste of money!

Nuance, no matter what you think you will not keep the pre-amp forever. It is always better to plan for the future. The A23 has a better feature set and also a better re-sale value.

Not having checked, I assume "2100" is a preamp?

Having balanced inputs on the amp is potentially useful (for the future), even if your current preamp doesn't have that.



Interesting quote from 10 months ago on www.diyaudio.com

Also interesting that Curl would engage in an on-line exchange.

FWIW, I suspect that you are making mountains out of molehills.

To me the A23 looks like the better value, both immediate and also potentially in the long run.

I can add that maybe you are younger than I'd thought? I mean despite all of your involvement/posting in the 2 long speaker threads as well as this long amp/pre thread.

Odds are that either choice is a good choice, so why are you in such a sweat over this?

Meaning that hifi equipment is an ongoing parade.

Cheers

The 2100 does not have balanced


But the Halo P3 does



I think this is what you should be shooting for...




I have to say the Halo's are a sexy line....

I have followed this thread for awhile (good thread by the way) and will voice my opinion: If you don't mind the color, I'd go with the A23. It has a lower noise floor; lower channel crosstalk; and MUCH lower harmonic distortion. I cannot recall the review I read on the 2250, but it has more 3rd harmonic distortion, which could, and I emphasize could, cause a more "shrill" sound at higher volumes. In addition, the A23 can handle impedence swings quite well down to 2 ohms. Not sure about the 2250.

Excellent speaker choice by the way.