This is a collection of equipment (note how I dont call it a system!), the purpose of which was for me to sample as much as possible prior to settling down to equipment I can use in a final room I am building with Rives. Needless to say, I ended up getting deeper and deeper in this, learning that reviews are typically falwed because (i) reviewers have specific motives, (ii) they dont generally have very good systems, and (iii) no system is perfect and therefore personal preferences matter a lot.
The room is by no means great but it is custom designed and measured. It works quite well, even though these speakers need more room to breathe.
Happy to answer questions about my experience with all this equipment, all of which is quite excellent in its own way. I have some on order which I will add when the time comes.
Other equipment I have owned include:
-Tenor 300hp
-MBL 9011 monos
-MBL 6010D preamp
-VTL 7.5 mk i and ii
-Audio Research Ref 3 preamp
-BAT 75se
-Other
UPDATE: Moved to new room, much more spacious and finally allowing me to sit within the prescribed distance for driver integration. Also, I cleaned up somewhat the amp list: I now use the Wavac 833 mkii (4 box) and for solid state the Class A Gryphon Colosseum Solos. Added to the preamps is the Soulution. All cables are Jorma Prime including an 8m length xlr. Power cords being changed all to Valhalla. Here you also see an attempt to test the continuum turntable through a wavac phono. The sound of the system has ameliorated appreciably and it is now starting to be a system after all. Very happy with it.
i've experienced oversized imaging in several large multi-driver speakers actually. these hv all had to do with close-miked, usually small scale jazz, chamber, vocal recordings.
anyway i believe Nordost has released digital Odins (both aes/ebu & standard spdif versions), as well as an Odin tonearm cable. there was a blog abt this on Audio Federation's website a while back. i went with analog i/cs cause there's more flexibility (i.e. one's able to try them in a variety of configurations).
i've not tried Jorma digital either (he doesn't make digital cables in "Prime" designation as you've mentioned).
i've previously had Valhallas, but they weren't my cup of tea... i felt they were tonally unbalanced with spot lighting in the higher freqs, but maybe it was just a case of bad synergy?
i'm not pro-Vitus, anti-Gryphon/Krell or anything like that (this hobby is ultimately abt preference & synergy). i've had the pleasure of hearing Gryphon stuff on several occasions & would categorize their speakers as being on the warm side of neutral, while their components are generally transparent & fairly fast (in terms of transients). this makes them a rather good match to one another.
in this regard, Vitus components are prob not the best match for yr speakers (unless you hv a pref for warm & slow sound) & likewise for Gryphon components with most ceramic-based speakers (unless one has a pref for thin & fast sound). that doesn't make one product better than the other... they're just voiced differently.
i too listen to a fair amt of classical music (with a pref for orchestral over chamber) & know what you mean abt a sense of scale. this is almost always better reproduced by large multi-driver speakers. the prob is: (a) one needs a fairly large space to house large speakers (w/out them sounding constrained); & (b) large speakers tends to exaggerate smaller scale / more intimate recordings such that everything sounds "larger than life" (i.e. violins sound like they're 5ft long, cellos sound like they're 10ft tall, etc.). nothing is perfect & we all make compromises (even if we were to attend concerts/live performances, performers will usually not perform the very song we wish to hear at that very moment, or we may not get to sit in our favorite seats, or sit next to someone noisy/annoying, etc.).
re. Prime vs. Odin - yes i've also got both & generally prefer the Primes (this is of course extrmely subjective). the only run i've preferred the Odin is btw the Weiss AFI1 & my DAC. i generally agree with yr opinion that Odins are excellent on source components whereby they seem to preseve so much micro/ambient signals.
you guys are having too much fun... mind if i chime in? i've also owned most of the amps you guys are talking abt (i presently use the Vitus SM101 mk2, previously owned Goldmund Telos 400, several Krell amps, heard the Gryphon Solos in a full Gryphon system, tried FM411 as well as several other highly regarded amps, also own & tried Kondo Ongaku in same system, etc.). yes, some amps appear to handle transients better, others are able to portray better tonal balance & harmonic nuance... you both make excellent pts, but as you both agree - this is all *very* subjective (like debating if Nordost Odin or Jorma Prime is better).
there are certain aspects i prefer with SS + conventional speakers, but if it were purely abt music enjoyment, i'd opt for a SET + high efficiency speaker (i know some of you will disagree with me on this, but high powered SETs + conventional speakers just ain't the same). unfortunately, such setups are not always very practical (particularly if one has very young children in the household).
anyway this is just my 2 cents worth... (you guys obviously know what you want, so don't mind my babble).
hi boeing, unfortunately, i've not had the opportunity to try the Vitus + Lyra combination yet. i've just emailed Lyra the "Vitus technical specs" (to enquire if there might be any matching issues). i am however not overly concerned as i will be using a XLR i/c (higher gain) btw these 2 components.
btw, what kind of speakers are you using with yr SS101?
hi boeing, looks like we're on the same track (i've got Vitus SM101mk2 & Lyra 4-2L SE on order).
i've heard the SL100 & the SM101 in 2 seperate systems (SL100 in my current system, & SM101 at a dealer's with DCS Scarlatti + Focus Audio Master 2). excellent preamp IMO (+ i understand the new SL101 has a significant number of improvements).
as for the Lyra 4-2, these are really not easy to find. i'd recommend you get in touch with the folks at Lyra Co. for further info.
same here. most recently with the Connoisseur 4-2L (thks in large part to you). then there's also the Vitus SM-101mk2 (which i ordered after hearing them briefly in HK).
anyway, i could either go into analog, or allocate that budget into a 2nd system?! thinking of a different flavor... perhaps a pair of omidirectional speakers, or high efficiency speakers + SET? decisions... decisions...
the apple/itunes is pretty decent. not as convinient or well packaged as the K system or Sooloos, but does let me browse the net & listen to music at the same time. sound quality's alright (i rip CDs in apple lossless, feed it to Emm Labs dcc2 via toslink), but like you say - they're worlds better in terms of accessibility. what sways me towards analog is knowing the system's capable of more with a good source (such as a top notch turntable). anyway, don't want to hijack yr page with my deliberations.
a) hook up stuff belonging to the same brand (e.g. wavac prt1 & he833 v1.3; krell one & two; vitus sl-101 & sm-101; dartzeel nhb-18 & nhb-108; etc.) & compare them system-to-system? or
b) decide on one component - say a particular amp, then throw every single preamp at it (then repeat this process with some other amp)? or
