@bhvf,

milpai June 25, 2023 22:02

I've had the Teac NT-505 for quite a few years. It's the pre-AKM fire version. I still think it's great and for a grand or so used it's fantastic. I had an MHDT Balanced Pagoda for a while too. Nice sounding DAC but the build quality always concerned me. Nothing ever happened or fell apart but the cheap feel of it bothered me. I would actually own it again from a sound perspective. It was a little more open sounding than the Teac but never bright or bothersome. The Teac is a full sounding DAC, which I like. It's built well (except the streaming portion just went kaput on mine) and looks cool. The T+A is much more resolving than either, without being bright, harsh, fatiguing, etc. in any way. I probably would have gotten the Bricasti M3 had one of my local dealers not pushed the T+A, along with it having an analogue input and great built in preamp. I tried the Rockna Wavelight also but preferred the Teac and Bricasti due to the "fullness" of the sound. My local dealer carries Chord so I tried the Qutest and the TT2. They're both fine but nothing special for my preferences. The way I choose components is how I feel listening to them. I want to relax most of the time while listening to music. If something makes me tense I have no interest. Maybe some enjoy the excitement. I do not. I usually prefer cables at the lower end of company's lines due to the "resolving" nature of the (usually silver) higher up cables. I find until you get to the top of many ranges (think Nordost Tyr 2 and above), I prefer the lower end as the middle of many lines sound like they're trying to dumb down the top tier just to add lines/SKUs. Let me know if you have anymore questions!

bhvf March 06, 2023 18:30

@bhvf ,

milpai March 06, 2023 16:14

Thanks!

lewdogg March 06, 2023 10:30

Hi @lewdogg. That's a comparison I've contemplated many times over. I've come close to buying the BePure2's to go back and see if I'd miss the DeVores. It's a totally different sound. The way I describe the DeVores is they do pretty much everything well but aren't flashy in any way, shape or form. The Salks had/have an incredibly clean sound with tight bass but still a hint of warmness. If you've heard QLN or Martens, I put them somewhere around there. The Salks are more "impressive" sounding. My son likes the Salks better due to the type of music he listens too (rap and electronic) and what qualities he likes to hear...clear highs, tight bass, sharper transients. I'm not a set it and forget it guy so the size of the Encores sucked. The 0/96's are great for moving around. If I found a pair of BePure's locally I'd probably buy them just to compare. Who knows, I may go back that way. I used to wonder why people asked what kind of music you primarily listen to when someone asked for a recommendation. Shouldn't a system sound good on all types? The answer is yes but some systems will sound better and certain types of music than others. My belief is we're not far away from a computer being able to "make" the type of sound (think DSP but not for room interaction) we like and speakers like Salks will be better for that than DeVores. I hope that helped more than confused, because I think I may be more confused now. :)

bhvf March 05, 2023 13:34

Noticed you comment a couple years ago about having Salk Encores and hearing their BePure2s, but now I see you have some DeVore Fidelity speakers. Any chance you'd be able to comment on the progression of sound from one model to the other? Thanks!

lewdogg March 05, 2023 12:09

That's a better description than I could come up with, @b_limo. I'm now listening to the Odyssey, Teac and newly purchased Quicksilver Pre-amp (I've owned Mike's stuff before and just wanted to try it). The Teac direct was incredible but I need a 2nd input and am hoping the Quicksilver works better than the PrimaLuna in this particular setup. The Evo 400 was fantastic just not as good as Teac direct. Synergy is a crazy thing in this hobby.

bhvf January 18, 2022 21:52

How would you describe the sound of the speakers?  I imagine them as being full bodied, smooth and laid back but pretty open / revealing of inner detail and I also would think the soundstage is big with that wide baffle.

b_limo January 17, 2022 21:58

Thanks @b_limo. The speakers are really enjoyable for long term listening. I'm excited to try a few low powered amps like Decware (if I can find one), Aric or similar.

bhvf January 17, 2022 18:06

Nice system!  I particularly like the speakers but there aren’t any weak links.  Your speakers and both amps are things I’ve lusted over for the past year!

b_limo January 16, 2022 19:11

Thanks for your comment @shosugi. It doesn't hum near the same amount at the dealer so it's probably partially due to my electricity and/or grounding.  I've tried a few things to alleviate it but nothing worked. It does sound really good if I could just figure the hum out. Just the other day I tried the Teac direct to an Odyssey Kismet amp I own and it's magic. Seems like an odd pairing but holy cow is it good. I still want some tubes glowing around here though. :)

bhvf January 06, 2022 07:58

bhvf - I noticed your system because of the nice speaker photo.  I did not know that Line Magnetic gear could have hum issues.  I bought a used LTA MZ3 last year, and having a remote control for volume was an important feature.

shosugi January 05, 2022 15:29

Cool bhvf I've heard the LTA Z10 at CAF in 2019 it sounded excellent driving Spatial Audio speakers. And I've heard a Leben integrated, can't remember if it was the 300 or 600 but it also sounded great driving Line Magnetic speakers at CAF. I am personally suspicious of remotes on analog gear and have none myself but that's a personal choice obviously. Good luck with your search!

jond December 27, 2021 14:52

@jond I'm looking at tube amps/integrateds right now and plan on switching.  I have an LTA Z10 I'm trialing right now and really like the Leben CS-600x and Line Magnetic LM-805iA. The Leben has no remote, which could really annoy me and I would have bought it already if not for that and no balanced input. The LM that my dealer has produces a hum through the speakers that can easily be heard through the speakers. Thanks for the compliments, all.

bhvf December 27, 2021 07:19

Lovely speakers my friend used to own the 0/96's they sounded great. Have you considered checking out tubes your speakers were made for them?

jond December 26, 2021 17:29

Always loved the look of the O/96’s.  Very cool and John Devore is a great guy to support.

linnie01 December 26, 2021 10:17

Very impressive set up.

mjcmt December 25, 2021 19:02