Pelo911, did you made any changes or upgrades recently? I would recommend starting with the power, then onto isolation like putting the X350.5 either in a rack on at least onto the floor with a good isolation devices and/or platform (from e.g. Stillpoints, Starsound, Symposium). Even a cheapo $20 fuse into each of the upstream equipment should made a noticeable improvement.
I have owned the Pass Labs XA100.5, 60.5, 30.5 and now I own the X250.5. I will buy another Pass next year. I have done many tests with different cables with Pass amps. I had by far the best results with Audioquest. I have used the Valhalla for 3 years with different Pass Labs amps. With Audioquest you get the right balance. Because you keep the deep and wide stage, but you get the sharp and small individual focus you need. The DBS72 give you stunning timing and blacks. I had many discussions with Pass Labs about the properties you need to get the absolute sound out of Pass Labs amps and pre amps. For IC's I use Purist Audio 2013 LE powercable. In my opinion the best powercables for Pass Labs. Always use xlr for Pass Labs.
Pelo, the Japanese spec definitely wont work in the US but I am thinking about having it modded with a different transformer and then while I am it having other parts modded to improve the sound. The total cost will still be cheaper than buying the US spec version.
After reading all these responses, I think the best I advice I can give you is to slow down and take your time. Although it is hard to tell from the advice you are getting, there is very little agreement on these things among experienced audiophiles.
Forget about those ultra-expensive racks. Individual Mapleshade platforms (ideally 4") along with their brass footers (ideally their Micropoints) will give you the most musical sound. Their individual platforms will make your system sound better than their rack. For cables, I'd recommend Audience Au24 SE. Silver will sound too lean and bright, particularly with solid state electronics. And for power cords, go with the Mojo Enigma with the best plugs you can afford. The Audience cables and Mojo power cords are a great bang for the buck. And then save up for a "cooked" Furutech GTX-D Rhodium outlet and carbon fiber faceplate from VH Audio. You'll be amazed at how much it lowers the distortion and vibration, giving you a richer, fuller sound. One more thing use HAK-O Mini Jr. Dampening Instruments on all your interconnects. They're inexpensive and again, it will reduce vibration, giving you a less brash and more musical sound. Bad electricity can also cause a lean, brash sound. Try 6 PS Audio Noise Harvesters from Music Direct and see what they do for your system. The effects of all these "tweaks" are cumulative. Audience's Auric Illuminator will also help. That's a LOT of advice. Haha Make just one change at a time and allow for break-in so that you can determine exactly what effect a particular product has in your system. Later on, you may want to save up for a good tube based preamp. Enjoy the journey :)
I would love to get the Luxman DA-06 for that price! Unfortunately to make it work in the US you will need a step up transformer. I am not certain if that would impact the sound otherwise I would get the Luxman. I have the D-06 cdp and love it!
I am myself a new to the DAC scene and might start in that direction next year. From what I have been reading, th Auralic Vega and BMC Audio's Pure DAC seem to be good ones. I understand that Schitt is coming with a very good DAC later this year or in the new year. Did you go through the computeraudiophile.com site for info on these DACs? If the Marantz SA-11S3 could do DSD, then that would be the player/DAC that I would look to get!
few model i though to get: Meitner MA-2 CD and DAC or MA-1 (not sure which one) Hegel HD25 Luxman DA-06 , i can get it in Japan for 2850$ it's 100V model there , will work here in the US?
Pelo99, I hope you took our comments as positive critiques. I would love to have your components. Yes that amp is certainly heavy and I would get some square tiles from Home Depot and place the amp over them on the floor. You don't have to spend a ton of money to get good stands. You might look at Salamander Design's Archtype rack that I have in my system. Or they have an amp stand Amp Stand that you can think of. I have a lot of Ikea stuff in my home, including that chair you see in my system pic. But that amp is capable of bringing your Ikea stand down - especially when you have kept it on one side and not in the middle of the rack. Hopefully in the new house that you plan to move, you will be able to place your components more favorably for a "listening" standpoint. Room treatments takes your system couple of notches up than you can imagine, with your existing components.
Rack: this AMP a extremely heavy! i must locate it on the floor and get a nice rack for the rest.
i can't find many option/brand for rack found only the Grand Prix , Pagoda , HRS i think $6K for a rack it's too much there is cheaper brand that perform well enough?
DAC: i don't think it's good idea to use the Oppo DAC i'm looking to buy a separate DAC what models are i should test?
i'm moving this house in few month then i will take care about the acoustic
As mentioned you have nice gear but it looks like your room layout is challenging. Before changing any gear I would work on room treatments and power. In my experience these two things impact the sound more than changing any component other than speakers.
How far away from the speakers are you? As recommended by Milpai I would consider some room treatments, especially behind your listening position. When I added absorption to the wall behind the speakers I got a more naturally warm sound with much better layering of the music (i.e. I could "see" the singer in front of the drums)
For power, are you just running everything off the standard wall power? I suggest looking into a good power conditioner or regenerator. I myself use the PS Audio P3 and was amazed at the improvement it made to my system. Adding nice power cords also helped as well.
Your components are very nice. But that Pass amp on the IKEA stand is a bit unnerving - considering the weight of the amp. I have repeated this for other folks and want to mention the same for you - TV (glass panel) between speakers is not the best way to listen to your system. There will be a lot of smearing and you will loose the "focus". Try to put a thick blanket and listen to the system. Check if you are able to listen to the differences "with" and "without" the blanket. Are those speakers front ported?
