Best Hardware acquisition of 2020

Another pair of Italian speakers! Nice!

 

Ya they are mighty tasty looking!

 

How loud do you listen?

 

never really measured but moderate loud most often.
there are times when i want the music to be louder and it's nice when the amp can keep up and deliver the low end and dynamics at higher volume- without running out of steam and compressing the sound.

 

That's been a complaint of straight tube amps for eons, and you just experience it..... Unless you have supreme money for a supreme high-end tube amp most folks decide on hybrids. I love hybrids.....the music is truly satisfying to my ears.

 

Focal Utopia
very happy with the sound!

 

pfff, i give you 2 months

 

My friend just bought a house, does that count?

 

If history is your guide, seems like a good bet. The thing is though, over the past 15-20 years, I've owned so many speakers it's hard to think of a brand I haven't tried.

 

maybe its time to think big? ie: big woofers, not horns?

 

I have been using their CDP's and amplification exclusively for over 20 years and their gear has never missed a beat, super reliable and tremendous build quality.
I could never contemplate purchasing the Pre 60/ A60 at full rrp, but at huge discount it was a no brainer.

 

REL T/5i

Big improvement in sound in my rather difficult living room. I like to listen at low to moderate volume and the REL gives the sound much more weight and size.

 

There's a 13 inch woofer in the SB3000, and I'm considering getting another. Is that big enough?

When we moved into this house with a large basement I said I was going to get some big speakers to fill it. I did, but none of them gave me the sound I like. Vandersteen 2CE sig, PMC FB1+, Magnepan 1.7, Harbeth C&ES-3, and Revel F206 (close) were tried out. They helped me realize exactly what I want in a speaker; 3D soundstage and image specificity. None of them came close to giving me that.

In fact, if I think back, I prefer the sound from my lowly NHT SuperZero 2.1s to any of those larger speakers. I want my speakers to disappear, and those big speakers wouldn't do it completely the way monitors do. Maybe another sub, but never going to use big speakers again.

Oh, and at my age, humping them up and down the stairs ain't as easy as it used to be.

 

try the spendor A7 if you ever get a chance- the spendor towers have excellent sound stage and imaging.

 

There's a blue pill you can take to help with that.

 

McIntosh MX-110z (Audio Classics restored)

 

I thought about those briefly when member @Ontheone was selling his; he's within easy driving distance. But I had pretty much made my mind up by then that tower speakers won't image the way small two-way monitors will, and I would've ended up selling them. With the sub in place, I feel I'm not missing anything and can't imagine what I would gain with something like the Spendors.

I'm hesitant to say this, as it sounds judgy, but... When I look through these threads and see peoples setups, I know they aren't hearing what their gear will do. Maybe they don't cherish the same sound I do, or maybe they've never heard it, and don't know what they're missing, or maybe their situation won't allow them the opportunity. Like I say, maybe they value different aspects of sound reproduction. For me though, once I heard it, I was immediately addicted.

 

none of those speakers are large. bass go up to 160hz, unless you cross your sub very high, your small speakers are still straining along (but i know you know all that)

Its just i see you move from speakers to speakers. maybe right now you think its imagin that you need. maybe if you had some 15 inch woofers in your living room, all this would change.
just a recommendation really.

 

understood and agreed but my experience with the spendor D7 towers was an eye opener- Spendor knows how to design crossover for complete coherency and the 2.5 way D7 were impressive- i heard music placed in all dimensions including behind me! I bet the A7s- the rare bird in towers with a narrow baffle and single woofer two way - should be special.

 

You still have those tasty Revel bookshelves?

 

It's too bad you never got to hear the D7's. The imaging was shockingly good.

 

I have had a busy 2020. I replaced a lot of things and modified/simplified. I replaced my Harbeth 7es3s with Dynaudio Contour 30s. I got a Bluesound Node 2i and then replaced my Simaudio i3.3 and Rogue Cronus Magnum II with a Hegel 390. I then sold my Gumby.

I am very happy with the way this all turned out.

 

Out of all the speakers that I have tried, my A3's have by far the best driver integration. It's very hard to hear that there are two separate drivers playing and the sound in the crossover region is simply fuller and more natural. I also get a much more 3D image. Always thought that was down to the relatively high crossover point - 4.2kHz - but maybe Spendor simply, as you say, knows how to design a crossover.

 

This would probably be in the line up, recently purchased in 2020



The Rega Planar 8 with Apheta III Moving Coil Cartridge, with special designed full dust cover

 

A local forum member came and had a listen before buying them. I had sold him my pair of LSA speakers a few years ago.