I notice you have the Ayre K-5xe preamp - excellent value for the price. 

jon2020 December 03, 2015 19:15

Thanks, Roxy. I did ditch the pass, it took up a ton of
space and my electric bills were noticeably high. I have
really changed the whole system.

Currently:

Bel Canto c5i
Monitor Audio RX6 Speakers
Monitor Audio Radius Sub
Teac CD-H750
iPod
Panasonic TV
Valhalla digital from CD player (also functions as an iPod
doc) to C5i
Audience AU24 Speaker Cables
Audioquest Vodka HDMI (from Roku to TV)
Audioquest Vodka Toslink (from TV to C5i)
Shunyata Copperhead throughout

mjmch2003 April 12, 2014 08:13

If you want to get rid of the analytical sound, ditch the Pass X150.0.

roxy54 April 11, 2014 20:40

Regarding your wish for a "magic bullet"...no pics of your room and not sure why it sucks BUT do look into room treatment. I went with GIK Acoustics. I think people consider this a subtle, esoteric , expensive tweak with low bang for the buck performance. In my experience it is not. Call GIK. Send them a sketch. At the very least, consider putting a pair of their bass traps or even just (242s?) behind your speakers. I think you will be amazed. Resolution without harshness; better soundstage depth; an overall better listening experience. Good luck.

ghosthouse April 11, 2014 17:51

You bet. If you get a chance to go to Lyric, those guys are awesome. Not sure what they have set up, but the maggie/mcintosh combo I heard last was AWESOME.

mjmch2003 September 13, 2011 19:27

Thanks for Rega DAC heads-up! I'm digging my new (to me) Brick though - must give the wallet a little breather now!

jerico August 21, 2011 17:26

I sold the Cary, am now running PS DL3. Frey XLR's out into my pre.

mjmch2003 January 30, 2011 20:44

Thank you. I actually just switched to Audience AU24. In the "sucky room," they are much better. Everything is "clearer."

mjmch2003 April 15, 2010 08:49

All of your cables are as neutral as neutral can get. One change that would probably make a difference would be to change the speaker cable to the Cardas Gold Reference cable. They have a lusher mid-range compared to the Neutral Reference cable.

jcaynon March 25, 2010 12:13