Hello David, I am sorry for late replying as too busy here with work and 2 little kids.

I strongly recommend you to get the karans and use them with your q5 speakers if its not too late now.

I have a friend who is using top devialet monoblocks with his q1 with good results but honestly I very much prefer the sound of the karans.

You can see a great great musical playback from them with superb dynamics, control, huge sound stage and very involving.

sonrock July 06, 2015 15:36

I did listen to the dcs scarlatti transport + paganini dac, they were amazing on that day. Thats a pity that you did not have a chance to try the top msb 4 boxes at home and compared to your dcs scarlatti. some told me they did compare the top msb with dcs vivaldi and finally they take the msb. Its not me so I have no comment here but its very interesting.

In top systems nowadays, the digital front end we can see most is dcs or msb, so no doubt its down to personal taste besides their superb performance.

Regarding the K10, its great to hear you have 2 ground pins too, but I dont think I will spend mega bucks for trying the tripoint - grounding system. I am more than happy with the K10 alone and hopefully the K15 will be better.

sonrock August 22, 2013 12:49

thank you Sir, I just hope I can bring the K15 home when its released and one day when I have the room, the magico q7 or something similar like the sonus faber will be here too, but magico q7 is my premier choice.

Now I'm looking at 4 boxes MSB Diamond Dac IV plus or DCS Scarlatti/vivaldi to finalise my digital front end. I am quite leaning on MSB and wondering if you've heard them + your opinion?

I did have bad experience with the previous version of MSB Diamond DAC IV (not plus - without a clock) but many keep telling me they are even better than dcs vivaldi.

The Koda will be soon appreciated by audiophiles around the world Sir, similarly like Magico previously with a small number of users, but now there are many. The Koda K10 is quite special, especially my current one when it has 2 grounding pins.

sonrock August 21, 2013 16:46

Thank you Sirs, and yes the Koda has replaced the Einstein. If you are looking at einstein products then take their pre to match with your monoblocks rather than their integrated one, IMHO it will change your system more.

Regarding the Karan, I used the 1200 and now the 2000, sounds are quite similar as they are from the same company and designer, but I can see the 2000 is more control and resolution compared to the 1200, while their musical and Karan sound are very close. You should listen to the 2000 to appreciate, and If I am not wrong, there are changes in the design of the 2000 compared to the 1200, wirings too.

sonrock August 21, 2013 14:54

System edited: the Robert Koda K10 latest version is here and sound wonderful, I will upload pics later. this is awesome piece of kit and amazingly its ss preamp, but has all the virtues of tube amps.

sonrock August 15, 2013 16:20

the project of metronome kalista integrated cdp and msb diamond dac iv + power base were not successful after a long consideration and chatting with many audophiles around the world. now I want to try the Burmester 069 cdp, has anyone listened to this one?

on the other hand, I have been being convinced to try tt and vinyl the first time as some says even with low budget, tt will beat cdp to death. honestly I am wondering to go to this route as I've never thought I would go for tt soon, and have no knowledge about tt + cart + arm and phono.

what do you think now? I'll have my small room properly treated soon and hopefully the sound will be much better.

sonrock May 06, 2013 23:29

I will try the Metronome Kalista integrated cdp and see how it sounds in my system as I was very impressed by the system of dartzeel + this cdp driving magico q5 last year I listened in london. Or probably can try the flagship MSB kit here, just waiting to see which one I like more and the "deal" is right for me.

sonrock February 18, 2013 01:15

I have ordered the KAM2000 monoblocks and Magico Q5's. Pictures will be posted soon with reviews :)

sonrock November 23, 2012 23:26

thank you mate, I am moving house in the next couple of months and I am looking for a bigger room, so I am thinking to get new speakers. But I have to admit which one I should opt to beat the V2's. I listened to the Q5's earlier this year, sound great but you have to spend so much for them. Also they dont have the punch like the V2's, musical capability is equal to my ears. Cant compare the sound stage, dynamic and accurate as the Q5's are in a different league.

sonrock June 21, 2012 15:25

am thinking to change my speakers, might be Rockport, Tidal, Magico Q3 or YG Kipod 2 Signature. Any advice :)

sonrock June 21, 2012 01:32

Hi, I am sorry for late replying you as I have been too busy this month and dont go to gon offen. I did not purchase one of these but I wrote a review about them at hifiwigwam, compared them to the Allnic L3000, BAT VK51SE and my current Einstein The Tube Mk2 which I replaced all the tubes. Please check here for all the details and read the Italic: http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?64520-Einstein-The-Tube-Mk2&highlight=

sonrock May 24, 2012 22:38

I have received the Karan KA1200 monoblocks this morning and will post pics soon. Also I need to buy 4 main cables for the amps sing @_@, the Leema's are on classified now :(

sonrock April 27, 2012 14:46

System edited: I'll have the new top cables of Synergistic Element soon to try in my system and replace the Tesla Apex cables, has any one used and how do they sound?

sonrock March 16, 2012 04:45

thanks mate, I have replaced all the original Philips Jan 6922 18 tubes and 1 Tesla ECC82 supplied by Einstein manufaturer by 8 NOS Mullard CV2493 + 1 NOS Telefunken ECC82 for the gain, and added several pairs of NOS for the inputs like Mullard CV2492, RT E188CC; Telefunken CCa, Siemens E288CC. Now The Tube mk2 sounds at its very best. The brightness, harshness and edgy have gone and been replaced by the warmth, smoothness, dynamic, and musical presentation. Details are superb with true 3D holographic.

I am thinking about new power amps but I doubt they could beat my current Leema Altair monoblocks. The short list is Boulder 2060, Gryphon Colosseum, Soulution 710, Vitus SS101mk2, and Karan KAM1200 monoblocks.

Any idea or suggestion please?

sonrock March 11, 2012 03:08

I have just received my Einstein The Tube mk2 nearly 2 weeks ago, awesome!

sonrock January 19, 2012 23:14

Thanks Kevinzoe, to be honest I see my system is truly modest compared to very many others :), but I am happy now. I am using what I can afford and happy with that.

Regarding the room treatment, as I said I am renting an old house and we do not live here for long, so I ignore every acoustic treatment etc. I will make my own listening room in the future when I move house. Now my listening distance from the sweet pot to speakers is around 2.25m - enough for me and perfect matched for a small room like this. I have moved the speakers further a bit and everything seems very nice now.

Re the amps, yes they weigh > 45kg each, really hard every time I move them around, haha.

In the future if my friend changes his speakers, I might get his MBL 101e MK2, or I try to go for Magico Q3 or small YG which is in the same price to the Q3's. Maybe in the next 5 - 10 years, LOL

sonrock December 06, 2011 15:29

I am using SR Tesla Apex cables - both sc and ic. Really love the dynamic, punch, smooth, organic and natural sounds of the cables. However, last week I had another pair of MIT Oracle V2.2 speaker cables and compared them one to another.

Well, in the UK, SR Tesla Apex is listed nearly 7k british pounds for 10ft whilst the MIT Oracle V2.2 is listed for nearly 13.5k gbp for the same length @_@. At this price point, many people expect the MIT cables should bring much more benefits to the system than the SR. However, my experience is very interesting; I also asked some audiophile friends come to my place and listen to both cables, results are same to mine.

Everybody agreed that in my system, the SR Tesla Apex sounds better than the MIT Oracle V2.2 regardless of their retail prices. No doubt the MIT cables sound superb with extremely wide bandwidth, bass goes deeper and sound-stage is wider than the SR. But the MIT has too much trebles which interfere to the overall performance and puss the midrange back a bit. In addition, although the V2.2 has deeper bass but to my ears and friends', it lacks definition and punch in the bass where the SR is doing extremely well.

From the very first notes, everyone can notice the differences between the cables and prefer the SR over the MIT. The SR sounds more organic, smoother, more punch and dynamic, more involving and natural, and it is more neutral than the MIT in my system. Both MIT and SR are very very clean, cannot judge which one is better.

The above is just my experience with 2 pair of speaker cables, one is in the ultra high-end league compared to the other. I am still using my SR Tesla Apex and very happy with the cables :). I was looking for the MIT before but could not find a pair in the s/h ex-demo market then I went for the SR cables. But now, when I have a chance to bring the MIT home and compare directly to my current SR cables, so no regret when I stick with the SR. The MIT cables are boxed and ready to ship to my friend's place tomorrow, might get them back again one day in the future when I change house, speakers and my system.

Any comment or same experience?

sonrock November 28, 2011 23:39

Today I have listened to the Music First Audio pre-amps, the Baby Reference and the flagship Reference preamp. Jonathan at MFA came to my house and demonstrated his amps for 4 hours, truly great. Please check here for my short words about MFA pre: http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?61983-a-little-help-please-with-my-new-valve-pre!/page3. Sorry as I cannot post everything here due to length of words restriction!

sonrock November 17, 2011 00:44

thank you for your comments and suggestions. I checked the system, wadia is 100% perfect, the leema has very small noises when keeping my ears very close but deadly quiet from 15-20cm, so no problem at all from my listening position. The pre when I turn on, zzzzzz sound comes immediately and clearly, so 100% the pre got problem. I changed also positions, interconnect but nothing changes. I have moved the pre out of the cdp, etc etc but noise is staying still. the shop will take the pre-amp back this Wednesday for checking and testing. Alson on Wednesday afternoon, Music First Audio will come to my place and demonstrate their products directly with my system: Music First Reference Preamp and Music First Baby Reference Preamp. I will keep you posted.

sonrock November 15, 2011 01:47

I have received my new valve pre-amp and not sure who had the same situation like mine now. The amp sound absolutely fantastic, however there is small noises zzzzzzzzz come from my speakers every time I turn the system on. The more volume I increase, the more noise it becomes.

To be fair, when running the system, the noises go away and hardly to notice even at high volume level. But when I hit the stop button, the noises are still there, not annoying and affecting much on the performance, but I prefer it completely quiet.

I have checked all the interconnect etc and I believe there is nothing wrong with those. Could you please let me know what's going on and is there any thing wrong with the pre? It is totally brand new and I have full 2 years warranty on this. The shop told me valve pre-amps normally have noises but for me, well cannot accept at this price point and level.

sonrock November 14, 2011 00:06

Hi map, I thought we are talking about the v2's! My mbl's were collected yesterday and sadly seeing they go for some space in my tiny house :(. The Magico V2's are truly superb until now, I think I probably get the best position for them in my room now. I moved them around and around all the time until I'm really satisfied. In the future I might come back to mbl's when my budget and house allow me to bring the 101e mk2 home!

sonrock November 11, 2011 07:18

Hi Mapman

Thanks you, yes I moved the speakers forward - 1.2-1.5m from the rear wall - and about 1.0m from the side walls. The sound stage is deeper and more precise :), quite amazing for me as I always move the speakers around their position and try to get the best set up for them in my tiny room.

Regarding the Allnic, tube pre correct, you can check specs and reviews from here: http://hammertoneaudio.com/reviews.aspx?reviewId=25 and here: http://www.allnicaudio.com/eng/products/view.htm?brandcode=0010030000000004

According to Allnic, the output impedance of L3000 is 150ohm, while the input impedance of my Leema Altair monoblocks is - unknown :D. Sorry I am too busy to get the manual out of the box which is under many other boxes :P. even cannot find from the official website: http://www.leema-acoustics.com/shop/component/amplifiers/altair#2

I received the L3000 today, very beautiful and world class design, rigid, solid and ready to rock. My valhalla xlr will arrive tomorrow then I can listen to the amp. I am using the Wadia S7i connecting directly to the Leema Altair 4 so no pre, the Allnic replaces nothing.

I used to use Chord CPA3000 pre-amp before matching with my Chord SPM1200C, very very nice system but lacked something which I cannot describe when this combo drove my MBL 121's. So they were up for sale :)

sonrock November 10, 2011 19:14

before I get an answer from Hessec I have decided to bring home the Allnic L3000 pre amp, totally brand new and I'm the first owner :)

I have read some reviews and looking for information about this pre from internet and everything seems very very good. many dealers - both importer and none - and audiophiles told me I will not regret if I give the Allnic L3000 a shot then I did :D

the amp will arrives tomorrow and the Valhalla interconnect will follow by Friday, I will make some short reviews how the pre sounds in my system.

has anyone listened to this pre and how do you think?

sonrock November 10, 2011 00:38

Thank you very much Hessec for clarifying and explaining these for me. To be honest, I am renting a house and I dont think I am living here for long. so a bit lazy to do room treatment etc...

Regarding the placement of equipment behind my speakers, it is very difficult as I said I do not have enough space for everything as my tiny room with stupid design doesnt let me though. the mbl's have been packed and boxed now, so I'm using only one pair Magico V2's.

I am still setting up the V2's to get the best position and I think I have it now.

What's your system Hessec? Do you have any suggestion for my future valve pre? I am looking for ARC REF5 and AN M6

sonrock October 31, 2011 00:50

@Hessec: Could you pls explain why I should put the speakers forward and equipment behind?

sonrock October 29, 2011 04:07

Hi Mapman and Hessec

Thanks for your inputs and advices. Today I have moved my speakers to be far enough from the side and rear wall, also closer to the seat position. However due to my tiny place and it is extremely difficult to move the equipment behind the speakers as spaces limitation.

I am renting a very old house which was built in 19th century, and the room is not a perfect rectangular. It is bias on the left and go deeper on that side than the right one. In addition, as an old house, British owner built chimney in the middle of the room, therefore there are 2 spaces beside the chimney, then they blocked the ground by stone and concrete - 2 platforms as you can see from the pics.

There is nothing I can do with that, and even I can forge the amps go behind the speakers but the distance will be too close to the listening position.

The house is carpeted every where, so I am wondering I need to buy another rug because the carpet is very thick indeed.

To be honest, I am very tempted a valve pre but I am also very interested in Turntable + phono and Vinyl; as I have never listened to Vinyl and TT before as well as try them in my system. Many audiophiles say TT + Vinyl sound absolutely better than CDs no matter how expensive the CDP is and well recorded files in CDs. So I am wondering a bit between a valve pre and TT + phono.

In fact, Wadia suggest not to add any pre between the CDP and Amps as the cdp itself can do fantastic job in music playback and tone control. But many says a decent pre would lift performance to a new level!!!

I am going insane, haha.

sonrock October 26, 2011 22:46

Wow Gents, thank you very much for all suggestions and advices. My room is very small I believe, from around 13.5-16.0 m2 I believe, therefore the speakers' position is the best I can get in this room. Even I wish my place was bigger but this should be in the future when I finish my PhD and move house.

Regarding valve pre, I see many people using AR REF5 pre-amp so this amp might be in my consideration. I see some other brands which are highly regarded and recommended such as: Ayon, Lamm, Conrad Johnson, Einstein - my very interesting pre to be honest - Wavac, Audio Note/Kondo,Allnic, BAT, Nagra...

So there are so many choices, but I am after s/h or ex-demo products only. In case I have to purchase sth brand new I dont want to say good bye so soon :P as I always do, therefore your knowledge and recommendation is very important to me.

In the UK, it is quite difficult to get home demo with one of the above brand/equipment. 99% equipment in my system has been purchased blind without any inspection or audition. This time I believe will not be an exception.

In fact, there are also many other ss pre-amps very good out there, but as I said I have never tried valve in my system, hence this time I hope I can get a pre home.

many thanks and best regards,

SR

sonrock October 25, 2011 23:07

thank you very much Sam, now not sure which valve pre I should bring home for matching with my current system :), any advice please?

sonrock October 25, 2011 00:07

Thank Sam and Def. I made a very long review about them compared to the MBL 121's but too lazy to translate into english :P.

I don't know and can't explain about the running period and warming up the speakers, but after a proper time they sound completely different from the first time receive them.

In fact, Magico's and MBL's are different type and therefore sound completely different. I cannot say which is better than the other because it is 100% personal taste.

Comparing the V2's and 121's are uneven and unfair for the 121's as they are smaller and sensitivity is lower. However, if you are in the USA and thinking to upgrade, then moving from 121's to V2's is a great option and you'll never be disappointed. But if you are in the UK or EU, you should consider very carefully about this path because the money spent is massive different from the US. In case you truly want to try sth bigger and sound different, besides you have enough fund for the new speakers then go for V2's. If not, I highly recommend you stick with the 121's as they are not as good as the V2's in term of bass only; the rest I can confidently say - personal choice.

I might add a valve pre in the future as I am too busy with my baby at the moment, just become a father for more than 10 days. so now doing research about valve pre, tt + phono!

sonrock October 23, 2011 14:38

System edited: I have bought a pair of Magico V2's

sonrock October 20, 2011 23:35

thank you Sam, could you please let me know how to add the speakers in the system and change the picture? I tried many times yesterday and not succeeded :(.

now I have 2 pairs of speakers, really nice indeed but the MBL's might go soon for spaces.

sonrock October 19, 2011 18:09

the magico v2's arrived today and they sound stunning, truly wonderful and superb. I made a very long reviews and compare the V2's over the MBL 121's. will translate into english very soon. don't know how to update system and change the pictures :(

sonrock October 19, 2011 00:44

hi Mapman

sorry as my mother tongue is not english therefore I cannot 100% fully understand what you wrote.

you meant my sub-woofer is behind one MBL speaker? if yes, it is used in my HT system which contains Onkyo 5007 avr and Pioneer LX-08 bdp.

cheers,

sonrock

sonrock September 17, 2011 02:13

thanks Sam

now I am wondering between Kharma 2.3 Be's and Magico V2's. will open a thread soon asking for advices.

cheers,

sonrock

sonrock September 15, 2011 17:50

Thanks Johnson, during the last 12 months I have changed my system at least 5 times :(, I meant I changed every single thing including cables etc.

In the future, I am thinking to get a valve pre, turntable and some different interconnect cables besides speakers. I'm truly hifi-addicted

sonrock September 13, 2011 17:12