I recently acquired a Luxman M-700u amplifier and a CL-38uc preamplifier. While the M-700u does not possess the nth degree of control on the Wilson Sabrina like the Symphonic Line Kraft 250, it is sounding very good indeed. Maybe I will consider the 900u as a future upgrade. I also replaced the Kimber selects with Acoustic Revive solid core copper cables, feel that they are sounding better with the Sabrina.
Changed my source components to an Aurender N200 and the Lampizator Baltic 3. Really loving the Lampi sound and I didn't expect the Aurender N200 to be much different from my previous N100H but it is so much better.
Thanks Milpai. The Sabrinas are on entirely different level than the Ascendos. 2 major areas that they are significantly better are 1) Overall resolution 2) Bass extension. My room is quite small 14' x 12' x 9'. Yes I like the Vicoustics wave woods, they are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
Very nice sidvee. How do the Sabrinas compare to the C8? Your room looks beautiful. I see that you installed the Vicoustic panels. How big is your room?
Tboooe, my understanding is that the computer environment is not conducive for pristine audio reproduction due to emi, noise, heat etc. and that it is better to perform conversion outside of it. Consequently I decided against the PCI card method. I did hear a few implementations of PC's with direct coax. out and was not impressed. Cheers, Sid
Thanks Sid. Just curious if you got a purpose built music pc why not do away with the need for USB converter and use a pci card that has built in SPDIF coax output? From everything I have read, the Essence sound card from ASUS is very high quality.
Hi Tboooe, I am using USB to usb/spdif converter. Another thing I noticed that all usb's outputs from the motherboard are not equal. Some sound much better, and one should use the ones nearest to the board. Cheers, Sid
Sidvee, just curious what output are you using from your pc to DAC? I am in the planning stages of building a CAPS and trying to determine if I should go with USB then a USB>SPDIF coax converter or just use an SPDIF sound card to begin with.
System edited: I recently replaced my sony vaio laptop with a purpose built music PC. Running Jriver MC 18 on windows 7. I perceive a significant jump in overall sound quality compared to the laptop. And the jump over my old cd player, Ayon cd2s, playing cd's vs playing back FLAC's from this pc is huge. Cheers, Sid
Not really sure Tboooe, but I did notice that my laptop is kind of slow, when I click on Jriver for instance. It takes a moment before the program opens up. Also sometimes the program hangs. I do not have any other sw on the machine only windows 7 and jriver so it is dedicated to music and I bought it 3-4 months ago so it is fairly new spec. I am hoping that with a purpose built mc with 16gb ram, perhaps a better processor (newer generation) than my laptop, better heat management etc, I may have some improvement in SQ. If not, at-least I will have a spare laptop :-). Cheers, Sid
I am also considering a dedicated purpose built music PC to replace my Sony laptop, which I believe is the weak link in my current computer based source, audio configuration. Cheers, Sid
Thanks Tboooe, You have/had awesome systems, and wow! really admire your move in simplifying from where you were, I am sure many of us want to do it, but perhaps do not have enough courage. Actually my previous system was similar to the direction you are planning to go. However when the opportunity for an upgrade presented itself, I could not justify spending $12.5k on the Ayon cd5s, so I settled for the DAC section of that player, my current Skylla II. What I was not prepared for was the quantum leap in sound quality over the Ayon Cd2s, especially in computer files. Now everytime I listen to music I have a smile on my face. I love the Harbeths as you can tell from my title, so it will be a tough search, hopefully won't make too much of a dent in my wallet :-). Cheers, Sid
Nice Sid! Like you I am almost exclusively listen to my digital music collection. Unlike you, I went the opposite direction and am looking to add a cdp that I can also use as a DAC instead of have just a dedicated DAC. The main reason is flexibility. I dont like having to wait to rip a new cd then rescan my library before I can have a listen. Personally, I think having a cdp that can also serve as a DAC provides the best functionality. That being said its very cool you have found your "holy grail" in terms of music setup that suits you. I am very interested in what speakers you end up with. I too am just beginning my search for some new speakers I can keep for a while. BTW, Harbeths are great! So organic sounding.
System edited: Since I started getting serious about using my computer as a source I have made two significant changes. One, I got rid of my AyonCd2s Cd player which I was using as a DAC through the dig. in and have added a full fledged DAC in the form of the Ayon Skylla II. Secondly I added the Evo supply and clock to my M2tech Evo Usb to Spdif converter. I cannot believe my ears now how good WAV's and FLAC's sound now (to my ears much better than cd playback from the Ayon Cd2s), so much so that though I thought that I would add a $1500 cd player/transport for my 700-800 cd's that I am lazy to rip, I have dropped that idea. I will now go ahead and rip my cds and listen computer files exclusively. Also the skylla II is a significant Step Up from the Cd2s, better bass, wider soundstage, smoother treble and higher resolution. I believe I have reached the limit of my source upgrades for the near future (at-least what I can afford), and I will now look at speakers in the $12-$15k range for the next upgrade. Cheers, Sid
Thank you Roxy54. Yes the Kraft really has elevated my system to the cliched "another level". Is is quite unfortunate that Symphonic Line products are not advertised widely - The efforts of Klaus of Odyssey apart. IMO they should be a must audition for people considering high bias Class "A" amplification. Cheers, Sid
Sid, I agree. Whatever said and done, the better the amps you mate with the speakers, the speakers catapults into a totally higher league. Enjoy your music!!
Thanks Milpai. Yes the Harbeths are performing very well now, deeper and tighter bass as the kraft controls the woofer with an iron grip, sweeter/smoother high frequencies - perhaps due to the high bias Class A power and an expanded soundstage. Popular opionion on the SHL5 is that it does not need very high end partnering equipment, but IMO, when thus connected its performance is catapaulted into a different league. Cheers, Sid
