System edited: pic of components, more pics to come

scott3709938 January 10, 2009 18:11

System edited: Total system edit: Preamp: Classe CP-35 Power: Arcam Delta 120.2 DAC: Levinson No. 36s Speaker: Totem Hawks Sub: Energy S12.3 It's a cheap system, but the electronics, speakers, and the sub matches in a beautiful manner. The warm, non-aggressive full range sound suits the music I listen to perfectly. Which are mostly chamber music, and some orchestral pieces.

scott3709938 December 30, 2008 01:10

Hi Hieule,
Going separates? sure thought of it:P bank account won't allow though.

The Sim I3.3 is speced to push 100wpc into 8ohms and doubles (200wpc) into 4ohms. Gotta say though, the I-1 I've got now is speced to push 50wpc into 8ohms and doubles to 100wpc into 4ohms.

At the moment, buying from the US seems to be a bad bargain because of the recent plunge in the exchange ratio between Canadian and USD. The rates we can get is around 1:1.3 it was only months ago when it war parity. So there goes 30% of my US purchasing power.

Anyway, I'm going to bring home a lot of amps during christmas break to test them all in my new room (which gives Hawks more space to breathe). That NAD M3 is definitely going on that list along with the Sim I3.3 I5.3 I7 Mcintosh MA7000.

scott3709938 December 06, 2008 09:22

My IC's are Totem Sinews, and speaker wires are Totem Trees (single wire configuration). I don't think I will be spending any more money on wires, money is needed elsewhere, namely a good integrated amp.

scott3709938 December 05, 2008 22:29

Hi Hieulu,
About the Apple DAC, I don't think the Apple can work with any USB compatible DAC, you may need one of those special Ipod docks to bypass the Ipod's internal DAC. There are some good DAC's in that range, I've heard good things about the Cambridge DAC Magic 3. There's a Chinese made DAC, Citypulse 7.2 which has received praises. Those 2 are around 400USD new. There are used DAC's in that price range... but I'm an amateur of the used market.

I'm curious about the M3, when you say go for Sim over the M3, do you mean the I-7? Or even lower end Sim's like the I5.3 and I3.3.

Scott

scott3709938 December 04, 2008 22:50

Hi Mimberman, I'm doing in-home audition of Simaudio I-7 and MA7000 just so I can spoil myself :P or at least get a good idea how good these Hawks could sound in my room with the rest of my electronics. There's no way I could keep either, out of my budget range. The Simaudio I-5, I5.3, I3.3, Mcintosh MA6500, are more realistic.

Hi Hieule, I believe you commented on my previous system, with the Rotel receiver and Totem Arros. Anyway I did call Totem, and their recommendations were Simaudio I-1, Naim 5i, Plinius 9200, Arcam FMJ A32, Bryston BB100.

I'm really loving the little Sim I-1's sound in most situations, but just need a bit more muscle for orchestral music. I'm going have to give the NAD master series a listen, I have never heard anything above their entry bee series.

scott3709938 December 03, 2008 20:52

Hi Mimberman,
Thanks for the comments, and I will definitely put YBA on brands I'm looking for. As for the Sim I-5, it has been on my short list for some time. I'm not really in a rush to get anything now. I want to take my time with this system, wait for good deals on good components, so I can finally build a system I'm happy with and not constantly swapping and upgrading. Planning to listen to a LOT of gears before buying. Planning to get an exposure 2010s for home audition. Simaudio I3.3 later this month. Also will grab a Mcintosh MA7000 just to see if it'll blow my mind.

To be honest, I have decided to expand my budget to around 3000USD. The previous budget was just too constrained. And besides, I got an awesome DAC now :D want a good integrated to complement it.

scott3709938 December 01, 2008 17:04

I've just found an amazing Mark Levinson No 36s DAC from the local hi-fi dealer. 1000 dollars! I purchased it on the spot. Hooked it up with the packaged audioquest cable (got Totem sinews shipping to me), and instant noticeable difference in the frequency extremes. Will have to do more careful listening sessions.

Bad news though, that Rega Mira 3 was defective, it was overheating, so it's been returned. Now I'm lost again, but got a few options. I'm checking out Vista Audio's integrated tubes, and some slightly older Simaudio integrated's.

scott3709938 November 29, 2008 01:38

System edited: Moved to budget minded. Edited system with new amplifier and cables. Thanks to everybody who's helped.

scott3709938 November 25, 2008 00:01

I want to first thank everybody for their comments and advice. I've picked up a second hand trade-in Rega Mira 3 integrated amplifier. I am very impressed by the combination of the Mira 3 with the Hawks. At less than half the price of the Simaudio I-1, I find myself prefer nearly every aspect of the Mira 3 over the Sim I-1.

The Rotel is still being used as a DAC processor, that will have to stay until I find a better DAC. I don't want to spend a fortune on this, but also do what something that is clearly superior than the Rotel.

I will get around to upgrading the amp again later (something in the $3000-4000 range), but until I've saved up enough money, this little 700 dollars Rega Mira 3 will do fine.

Thanks again for all the comments and recmomendations, but I realized with the recent plunge of Canadian dollar compared to the US, my budget cap was too limiting (if I buy from US with conversion/shipping/brokerage/taxes factored in) My 2000cdn budget is converted to about 1200USD that I can spend.

scott3709938 November 24, 2008 23:40

Thanks for the explanation and comments Vinyl 9,
That link you posted, I'm sure it's a fantastic tube amp, but... it's USA only :( Canadians are cut out of the loop. I live on an island lol... getting to Washington state doesn't take too long, 2hr ferry ride, but it's a big state.

I would really love to audition some tube gear, On ebay canada I sometimes see imported integrated Chinese tube amps (the brand that comes to mind right now is Yaqin) for 600-700 dollars, of course I'm hesitant since I was told almost specifically to avoid these. But again... the problem is I can't hear them before I buy.

Jolida gears are almost impossible to find in Canada. It's a real hassle, the local used market is pretty much empty of hi-fi amps, and the local hi-fi dealer only carries those big brands, so most of what they carry is out of my price range.

I might just try to get an in-home audition of an Antique Sound Lab AQ1003DT, it's the only one I might be able to afford. Vinyl9 do you know much about that amp?

thanks again for all the comments

Scott

scott3709938 November 17, 2008 19:42

Hi Darren,
Thanks for your comments, I've recently contacted Simaudio, and they've informed me they are releasing a new integrated amp. The I-3.3, it's a high current design capable of 100w into 8ohms and 200w into 4ohms. The best thing is the fact it has a built-in USB/2 Coaxial/Optical DAC. Final price has not been set but may be less than the I-3 se.

I'm definitely planning to audition that one, I would love the classe integrated amp, but i can't afford the CAP-2100, it's in the same price range as the Simaudio I-7. Thanks though, I will definitely keep an eye for classe gear on the local used market.

I'm glad to know the Plinius works well with the forests. I'm keeping my eye on a lot of stuff on the local used market, but as of this moment there are only 6 int/power amps on there lol... there actually is a Classe DR 15 poweramp for sale on the local used market for 1400CDN dollars. That seems a tad high for a 20 year old amp. For that price I can almost buy a brand new Quad 909 power-amp.

I used to have a Rega Apollo CD player then sold it since I honestly never used it. It's just so convenient to have everything stored on the PC then using digital coaxial output on my soundcard to transfer a 24/96khz signal to my Rotel receiver. With my arros, I couldn't tell the difference between the Rega and the music from my PC.

I'd love to see a pic of your system Darren, I'm sure it sounds fantastic, do you have a woofer? Oh and as for placement... I don't really have much option, I have a reasonably sized room, but it's got my queen size bed, a couple of large desks and a bookshelf. And... the cello, a couple of violins, and that 12" Energy woofer. So my room is packed.

scott3709938 November 16, 2008 21:18

Hi Vinyl9,
I'm not sure exactly what do you mean by "live music" could you please explain?

I have not considered tubes because both the Totem dealer and the Totem rep recommended Solid State, in fact, the Totem rep went as far as to telling me flat out not to go budget tube amps with the Hawks. As far as I could understand from his explanation, is tubes lack the ability to produce good bass. There are no budget tube amps in my only local hi-fi dealer (the place i purchased the Hawks have gone bankrupt). I think the local dealer carry audio note, and mcintosh tube amps. Neither of those is anything I can afford. They do carry Antique Sound Lab, but the integrated are all above $2000 even before taxes.

Being from a small town is really limiting my audition possibilities. And there are so few audiogon sellers who ship to Canada. As for buying tubes from audiogon, I have never owned tube equipment before, I'm not sure if i want to just jump in without hearing it first.

thanks for the comments hornblower and vinyl.

Oh and hornblower, this is my only room, so everything is cramped in here.

scott3709938 November 15, 2008 16:04