The Condor Acoustic Design SC-3's have officially displaced the Renaissance 90's. The Condors are far less picky with amps, and they have a much more pleasant sound, without losing any definition, resolution, timbre or depth.
I finally found the Marantz Music Link equipment that I had been lusting after - SC-22 preamp and MA-24 class A monoblocks. The sound of this combination easily bests the sound of the Classe CA-2200 and Bel Canto DAC3 that I had been using previously.
System updated and upgraded with no regrets and with money in my pocket :-)
Straight-line active preamp. Source selection with dual preouts, and nothing more.
Marantz MA-24
30 watts/channel of Class A bliss.
Condor Acoustic Design SC-3
This is an extremely rare pair of speakers that were made by a small company in Georgia that went out of business after a short time. When I pulled them apart to refinish and restore them I discovered why - they are exquisitely crafted and overbuilt.
Logitech Squeezebox 3
Very nice sounding digital music piece.
NHT A1
250 watt subwoofer amplifier. I have a pair of these driving my NHT W1 subwoofers.
NHT X1
Subwoofer crossover.
N H T W1
A pair of NHT W1 subwoofers, two A1 amplifiers and the X1 crossover, for a total of FOUR 12" drivers. Very nice.
Rotel RLC-1080
Power conditioner and voltage regulator with battery backup.
System edited: I replaced the Infinity Renaissance 90's with my restored Condor Acoustic Design SC-3's, and the improvement is not subtle. The Focal cone midrange does a better job tonally than the Ren 90's, the 12" Audax woofer digs deeper and has better definition, and the Raven R1 ribbon tweeter belts out highs that I did not before think possible. The Classe CA-2200 has been replaced by the uber-rare Marantz MA-24 class A monoblocks, and the Bel Canto DAC3 has been replaced by the Marantz SC-22 preamp. Both of the Marantz pieces are from the highly regarded and ultra-rare Music Link series. Although the imaging is not quite as pinpoint now as it was with the Ren 90's, I do not feel as though I am missing out on anything. The tone and timbre are more realistic, without being overly bright. It is not often that spending less money offers an improvement, but in this case I believe I upgraded substantially for less money.
I have considered the Sunfire ribbon monitors, but haven't been able to find a local dealer. Its something I'll have to hear before buying, so I'll have to keep looking.
Still loving the sound. I recently received my Channel Islands amps back, with the XLR conversion. My entire system is now fully balanced, and it has made a very nice improvement. I don't require as much gain from the DAC to get the same output as before. Dead-silent background. I love it.
