Whats the 2 best pieces of equipment you ever owned ?

@HamSam … roger that - it's clearly stretching, even in balanced mode …

I sho' would love to hear me some 660's someday … I picked the 600's about 4 years ago after looking at *all* the reviews ... and the look on Thyll's face after his comparison video(s) ..

 

The Massdrop 58X Jubilee are around $160ish at Massdrop. They'll use the same balanced cable as you've got for the HD600. The HD58X and HD660S are both 150 ohms but different sounding headphones. Not direct equivalents. But the Massdrop price makes the HD58X much easier to get compared to the HD660S.

 

What is the best to me now:



Vincent 236 mk II with Telefunken 1961? 12ax7 tubes
Definitve Technology bp 7000
Esoteric sa 50

total of above $9500

To most audiophiles here I had:
BW 802d 2005 first year appearance
Musical Fidelity kw 500
Musical Fidelity dm 25

total of above $20,000

I couldn't believe my ears either, but the first three had sounded, and still do sound 10 years later, much better.

Whatever Synergy is I have it with the $9500 package and not the bottom three and $10,000 cheaper.
John M.

 

Original Trumpet phonostage and TD124...

 

Breuer Dynamic Type 8 tonearm - a work of precision and art.
Stax Sigma Pro - terrible measurements, but it simply rocks.
Technics SP10 Mk3 - great deck.

 

Pono player
Bose system in my Vette (the system is so-so but the car is great!).

 

Bose: No highs, no lows, but it goes (fast).

 

Two best pieces of equipment are my left and right ears

 

My Bakoon Satri 5521 integrated amp.I have owned a great many amplifiers but none of them compare to the Bakoon .Other amplifiers are like looking through a dirty window on a hazy day and the Bakoon is like looking through no window on crisp clear morning.

My Supratek Cabernet 300B preamp because it gives a beautiful big,open , vibrant and 3D sound Many other components have come and gone but that has stayed.

 

Lenco L75 (Artisan Fidelity)
LaHave Melas

 

Martin Logan CLS IIz
Esoteric K1 cd/sacd player

 

Pioneer PL-90 Reference Turntable fitted with Audio-Technica AT-ART9 Cartridge.
Pioneer S-2EX standmounts Speakers.

 

My Audio Research REF 3 preamp and my Revel Ultima Studios

 

Usher 520s speakers- They sound good all the time compared to my other speakers. Good bass, good mids and good highs.

AR XA turntable- I had to recondition it and have it worked on but it is so simple and, for what it is, it sounds great. I love the simplicity.

 

Tekton: Double Impact Speakers
RME: ADI-2 DAC

Wish we could name more...

 

I'm going to claim a senior citizen's privilege here and do some highlights of my audio journey:
Audio Research D79 tube amplifier - a wonderful amplifier. Smooth as silk, as much power as you would reasonably need (it powered the notoriously inefficient Tympani 1Ds with an iron fist. Manufactured superbly (an electrical engineer mentioned you didn't see component leads wrapped and soldered any more).
Magneplanar Tympani 1D trifold panel speakers - the very antithesis of bright, yet not lacking in highs - superb control there. Bottom end absolutely loved the D79. The only speaker that I know of where you could talk happily while the volume of the system was very loud - no lower treble prominence as the volume went up (much like what you hear in a limited remaster). Imaged like a mutha. Hard to position as needs a big room.
Neumann NDH-20 headphones - reminds me of the Tympani 1Ds, but with a better bottom end.
Stax Sigma Pro "earspeakers" - reminds me of the Tympani 1Ds.
Stax CPY-2/EP1 phono cartridge - rare, battery powered condenser cartridge. Tracked effectively at 1g. Again, smooth as silk.
IMHO, too much equipment is voiced with the "let's make it bright enough so that every skerrick of detail is audible". Subtlety is far, far better.