Big, bold, gutsy sound with extended bass and treble. Great for all genres of music. No upgrades until later this year. I plan on upgrading the amp and preamp for starters.
Hey Dave, its been more than a year, since last update. How are you doing now? How is this hobby going on? Hope you are able to enjoy it on a daily basis.
well, i ran into some serious health problems, and i'm still recovering. my left arm is paraliyzed and is a major source of pain. i am in terrible pain each day.. so, it's gonna a be quite some time before any upgrades happen, if they even happen. i did manage an in-home audition of a competing amp. it sounded great, but it ran too hot and caused me to have high electric bills. plus, the binding posts are crap. no provison for bananas or bare wire.
anyway, that's it for now...enjoy your systems in good health. because you never know what may happen. life's too short. take care.
I doubt there will be any Accuphase stuff purchased. Unfortunately, the bills come first,.
I would still be interested in a big amp from say, Pass Labs. Particularly the X350.5 model.
A new preamp would be alright too; I'm liking the Onkyo P3000R right now.
So, there you have it. I also just bought Mogami interconnects (from amp to preamp) and speaker cable as well. I haven't installed it yet, but soon will.
Thank you sir, much appreciated. Yes, I do too. I haven't thought about swapping arms...is it worth it, and is it hard to do? Yeah, the Bryston is what I call a "workhorse." It's not gonna win all the glamorous awards and accolades, but it's a decent solid amp that gets the job done for the most part, imo. I didn't pay much at all for it either...well under $3000.
Dave, very cool system. I really like the combination of the 1210 and AT-150. Before changing out the arm on my 1210, the AT-150 was my cartridge of choice. I have tried Bryston amps in my system and they are one of the few SS amps I'd think about, if I dumped tubes.
Thanks for the info! I understand that completely. It sounds like a sideways move. However, I was referring to European products like FM. Are they cheaper to buy in Europe?
Right, exactly. Just the integrateds. Which is great, but you need to head the separates to really get the full sound. I did go to the Accuphase booth @ CES, and I was impressed with the sound. The whole system was the top of the line of Accuphase; preamp, power amp, and sacd player.
Yes, I was interested in the Focals. These JBLs came up, and at a significant discount, so I went with these. I did hear them @ CES 2012 and I was happy with the sound. However, since JBL is a Harman beand it was driven with Levinson amplification.
So what do you think about Pass Labs? Good or no good? I'm only considering the Class A models and either the 2 or 3 box preamps.
So basically, I'm going with either FM (used,) Pass Labs, and Accuphase. Which one is yet to be determined. Which do you think is best out of the 3?
I do not think it is a good idea to buy stuff from Europe. Firstly, everything is much more expensive here because we pay much higher taxes and also because of the euro/dollar parity. (Whenever I go to USA I come back like Santa, almost everything is at least 25% cheaper in USA). To give an example, for Apple products the numbers are the same in USA and Europe except that we pay in euros what you pay in dollars. Second, you would need to take care of the voltage conversion, i.e. form 220V to 110V. Often (though not always) this will invalidate the warranty. Thirdly, the dealer might try to take advantage of your situation, i.e. you coming all the way to Europe to buy a specific equipment. Going to Japan of Hong Kong might be a better idea.
I understand what you say about Accuphase demo models. Also here, most dealer have in stock only Accuphase integrated. It is only the very large stores that have also pre-power combos. However, since western Europe is only a fraction of USA, reaching these dealers by car is never a problem (e.g. I have at least 2-3 such dealer with a 2 hours drive distance).
I have suggested you to buy first the speaker you like only because (if I remember correctly) at some point you were interested to buy a pair of Focal Scala Be speakers. Given that your JBLs are horns, I would proceed with care, as horns like electrostatic speakers are much much faster than any "driver-in-a-box" design.
IMO all big brands are highly overprices and consequently none is keeping its values very well. Going for demo models (like me) or for local brands (like you are thinking now) is always the best thing to do. There are quite a few USA brands that are certainly very very good, e.g. Ayre, Audio Research, Pass Labs, Atmasphere to name but a few. Most likely if we would compare prices for these brands in USA and Europe, the trend would be similar to one observed when comparing Accuphase prices in Japan vs. USA and Europe.
Regarding FM Acoustics, they are supposed to make the best amplifiers in the world. Whether or not that is actually true I do not know. However, I have never cared much for any swiss brands/companies. Everything these guys make is priced like gold. I simply can not believe that every thing they make is the best. It is much more sensible to realize that these hi-end swiss products are meant mostly for the wealthiest of the fortunate swiss people, which instantly make them insanely overpriced for most people in most counties.
Regarding Bryston, IMO it is a very good brand. The 20 years transferable warranty says a lot about them. There is absolutely no reason to "apologize" for owning them.
Finally, if you plan to put together a new system, it might be a good idea to buy first the speakers that you like. Your bryston amp should serve you well with very many speakers (in the worst case scenario, e.g. very "cold" speakers, you might only need a different pre amp, e.g. a tube to inject some warms) till you can buy "better" electronics.
Yes, I understand what you are saying here. The problem is, there's very little no demos to be had from these US dealers! I'm definitely not dealing with that particular dealer when he lied to me just to move a unit. Anyway, they (the dealers) either don't wish to sell them, or they just won't display them! So, I would probably have to buy used here on Audiogon or somewhere else. And that's a risky proposition to me.The Accuphase are very high priced here in the US. The distributor is out of his mind, imo. They are much much cheaper in Japan. Accuphase doesn't hold its value either. It's just not a good investment to me.
So, I am looking at a couple of other brands. One I would definitely have to buy used, and that is FM Acoustics. I am a former FM owner, and I regret selling those units. Another brand is Pass Labs. I feel their Class A amps are on a par with Accuphase. I have heard both and I could go with either one. The FM might be out of my reach depending on how much the units end up costing. Less than new, which are ridiculous prices, imo. I have contacted the US distributor for FM on used units. I do like the sound of FM quite a bit. Anyway, all 3 brands would better the Bryston. I got Bryston because I was being cheap and I sold myself short. But, it's not bad for what it is. You could do a lot worse. It definitely is not super high end. When I get the new amp, preamp, and phono preamp, I will stick the Bryston in either a second system (like in a smaller room) or a video system. We'll see.
Well, that's in for now. I look forward to your response.
regarding what you wrote me in Classact's thread about C-2820 vs. C-3800 Accuphase preamps:
Paul you really know your Accuphase. As for me, I'm moving on, it's just too expensive here in the US, and the resale is poor
This is the reason I have advised you to go for demo models from the previous generation. Firstly, the Accuphase dealer are greedy, e.g. I've told you the C-2410 was about to be discontinued while your dealer was assuring you that that will not happened anytime soon - he was basically lying you in your face. I had exactly the same experience here in the Netherlands with two dealers...
Secondly, while IMO Accuphase units are very competitive even at the USA/Europe retail prices, I would never pay the retail price for the latest models. This simple because the improvements from one Accuphase generation to the other are minor and in no way justifying the price difference. As I've mentioned a few times already, I always buy demo units before or after the new models are released (1-2 months give or take). In this way I can stay "current" without breaking the bank and/or losing a fortune when reselling the units.
If you are not able to find a A-45 & C-2410 (or A-45 & C-2810) combo, just try an integrated like E-350, E-450 or E-550. IMO they will outperform the Brystons.
Finally, staying away from Accuphase might also not be such a bad idea as they are very addictive! ... look at me... :)
I have just seen your virtual system and I see that like me you are also into the "Done for now" thing ... How on earth can that be with all these Accuphase purchase plans? :) (I had to come up with something funny too after Glenfihi's comment).
Now leaving joke aside, did you hear the TAD Evolution 1 speakers at CES? They are probably more expensive than the Focal Scalas, but I understand from two different sources that they play wonderful with Accuphase electronics. It might not be a bad idea to go for a lesser Accuphase (even a E-460) and those TAD babies. I listen to them at Munich 2012 High End show and to me they've outclassed all speakers playing that day.
Let me see now you have miss matched furniture for you gear, no wall treatments if only for aesthetics. Aha..a man after my own heart...the gear comes first..all else can be added later. Happy listening.
