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Ongoing Audio Odyssey

klettermann

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2022
Messages
51
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Location
Rocky Mountains
This post really has no point. I just like to write, share experiences, maybe learn new things and stay entertained by life. So, that said.....

I just finished up a massive reconfiguration of my system in anticipation of moving to a smaller space and with the goal of simplifying. I've also ditched vinyl, giving it all to my millenial son. These youngsters love it! Anyway, first step was selling early 90's "golden era" electronics (Krell KBL and Sonic frontiers SFD-2 MKIII super-DAC). Then Maggie MGIIIa's got boxed up. This was painful. They were factory rebuilt a few years ago and so virtually new. Magnepan folks said the updated IIIa's were better than newer 3.x family (bigger panel and improved membrane, wire and adhesive) . I dunno, but I believe it. This system worked very, very well, simply amazing in fact. But my realtor felt the IIIa's were too huge, weird looking and vulnerable to pesky kids, so into storage they go. Remaining were a Lumin U1 Mini, Cambridge CD transport, fancy outlet box (Furman) and beautiful & recapped ML No. 332. Original system totaled 7 electronics boxes on 2 racks.

Next came the question of selling the No. 332 and getting an integrated streamer amp like Nad M33 or whatever. The search gradually started to annoy me when I discovered how much gear lacks BNC's for digital coax. I have a hard time taking a manufacturer seriously if they can't be bothered to provide at least 1 BNC connector. Doing so simply disrespects their customers IMO. And in the realm of amps, it seemed like there wasn't much that offered a meaningful improvement over the 332 without costing a LOT of $$$. And anyway, the 332 is impossibly heavy and difficult to move, much less ship, so it stayed. Next step was finding replacements for preamp and DAC. I ended up with Schiit Freya S and Yggy less-is-more. So now I'm down to 5 boxes that fit on 1 rack and the 332, modest progress. :)

Finally, what to do about speakers? There was pair of KEF LS50's in the living room upstairs hooked up to a small Bluesound system (Node 2i and PS Audio Sprout100). There was also a pair of old MB Quart 1 speakers in my shop. So, the LS50's go downstairs to replace the Maggies and are themselves replaced by the Quart 1's upstairs. By now I was itching to see how it would all sound.

I guess it's no surprise that all of this was a net downgrade, albeit temporary, for the respective systems. The Quart 1 + Sprout100, while still pretty good for casual listening, couldn't match the LS50's. Muddier, worse imaging, far less detail. My partner, who is usally more concerned with visual appearance then sound quality, commented on it unprompted. The results downstairs were more surprising. While the LS50's couldn't really match the Maggies in any way (slam, detail, imaging, etc etc), they were still astoundingly good! On the Schiit/ML332 system the slam and bass control were light years better than with the Sprout100 and less fatiguing. Of course I haven't yet heard the Schiit front end with the Maggies. But so far I'm very happy with it through the LS50's. And it was interesting to note what the LS50's sounded like when powered by a super-amp. Wow! Amps are not all created equal. Well, duh. But I wouldn't have guessed how unequal, even at low volume levels. After moving I think the next steps will be banishing the Sprout100/Quart_1 to a bedroom or workshop. Then get the LS50's back to the living room a better amp now that I know what they're capable of. So the search is on for smallest possible amp for living room. Don't get me wrong, I've been very happy with the Sprout100, it amazing for the size. But still, once upgrade fever sets in all that can releive it is upgrades. Thanks for reading and cheers,
 
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