@lostbears - I felt the older V140 might be a good match for the "newer" Ref5SE. These have been recapped and modified by the previous owner, running KT120 instead of KT90. Performing and sounding great so far. I got my local shop to fabricate a set of adapters using WBT binding posts, short cables to Furutech mini spade lugs so that I can use regular spades on speaker cables w/o having to deal with the fins on the terminals on the amp.
@milpai - I'm using the Eversolo purely as a streamer/storage transport. The Cen.grand does DAC duties for the Eversolo and the Teac CD player. I've compared using the Eversolo as streamer/DAC vs using a iFi iDSD Signature (BB chips?) as external DAC in my friend's Mark Levinson/Revel Salon 2 system.. A relatively affordable DAC like the iFi best the DAC in the Eversolo with a thicker midrange w/o sacrificing the rest of the character.
I've not done an AB comparison of the Cen.grand vs the Eversolo DAC since I started using it. Simply enjoying the Cen.grand as an upsampling DAC as all incoming data is upsampled to DSD (1024 DSD), much like PS Audio DSD. The difference vs using the Eversolo by itself is significant. Better bass control, airy highs (not bright) and better decay. Midrange and image depth is improved significantly.
I've compared the Cen.grand at the dealer to a Holo Audio Cyan 2 vs Eversolo A8. Cen.grand is way better, smoother highs and round, tight bass. Midrange is full whereas the Cyan 2 is more detailed and airy in the top-end with a looser bass by comparison. To my ears, there is still a "digital" sound to the Cyan 2.
I see you have 2 DACs in your system - Eversolo and Cen.grand. Are these being compared? If yes, can you share some thoughts on the differences and similarities between the 2 DACs?
BTW, how far apart are the speakers placed? Just curious.
