what is your hi-fi? (pics prefered)

oliverstoned wrote: arcer wrote: Amps no good? Why? Actually, I am genuinely interested in your thoughts on these Not very musical.

As I’ve written about in other reviews, my reference amplifiers use vacuum tubes.  Further, most of my amps are low-powered, single-ended, triode output designs ranging from about 3.5 wpc to 13 wpc.  My electric shaver has more power than that. Low powered triodes are an acquired taste.  With appropriate speakers, however, I am regularly treated to full-range reproduction and musical beauty that is absolutely magical. 

So, being a patron of the low-powered, tube audio arts, what can I possibly be doing reviewing Myryad’s solid state MA240, a 120 wpc powerhouse?  Trust me, I approach every equipment review with an open mind and try to avoid preconceived notions about stereotypical solid state sound, whatever that may be.  The Myryad MA240 lived up to its end of the bargain by being neutral and natural . . . and oh, the dynamics!

There was an effortlessness to the dynamic swings that caught me by surprise, in a good way.  The dynamic impact was closer to what I experienced while listening to live music.  No, my system doesn’t sound “live”, but hearing the swings from soft to loud, especially with orchestral music, helped get me closer at times.

The MA240 exhibited a smoothness and openness in the top end that I associate only with very good equipment, regardless of whether its output is tube or solid state.  The upper frequencies were not harsh or brittle.  “Touch of Trash” from Patricia Barber’s Modern Cool album (Premonition 741) showed that the MA240 could bring the cymbal crashes and percussive strikes to life, but they never got on my nerves or became splashy.  The highest-highs, which may be sounds such as a gentle brush stroke on a smaller cymbal, or a tap on a triangle, were not quite as extended or present as I prefer, but there isn’t much musical action in that range on the majority of commercial recordings.  These upper-register sounds also had somewhat less natural reverberant decay than I hear through my triode tube amps.

As I listened through the MA240, I was struck how music seemed to move along with urgency, presented with a buoyant, vivid feel to it.  This is a quick amplifier.  Certainly, the excellent power supply comes into play here.  The amp does a great job letting go of one note and moving on to the next.  Listening to Dean Peer’s Ucross album (Restless 9101), which is a torture test for bass definition, I noticed that the low register was well-defined, even in the lowest of low regions.  I detected some slight blurring of the pitches from note to note when listening at meager volume settings.  As the volume was increased, things improved.   This was perhaps an issue of the speaker/amplifer interface not being ideal at very low volumes.

If my aural memory serves me correctly, the Myryad MA240 is sonically similar to the Manley Labs Stingray integrated amp that I reviewed in the fall of 1999.  Each of these amps exhibits realistic clarity through the midrange and the ability to lay out a soundstage that’s on par with any amp I’ve had in my system.  

Tonally, the MA240’s balance is more light than dark.  It’s airy and well lit from about 3 kHz on up.  The MA240 displays no harshness or forwardness in the upper mids through the treble, but that portion of the sonic spectrum is what I noticed first in many listening sessions.  It also happens to be where the human ear is very sensitive.  In this respect, I slightly prefer the tonal balance of my Wright WPA 3.5 amps, for example, which are wonderfully even from top to bottom.  Other amps also have a better sense of perceived depth and organic wholeness to vocalists and solo instruments, whereas the MA240 gives the impression of a flatter front-to-back sonic plane.  Minor quibbles, for sure, but worth mentioning, and of course, these are the opinions of a tubeophile.

In listening to the MP100, I said it earlier, and I’ll repeat it now, it proved a perfect match to the MA240.  I found its tonal balance to be quite even, but if I had to place it on the spectrum it would be more dark than light, matching wonderfully with the MA240 in that regard. 

Please don’t misinterpret my description of the MP100 and assume that it’s colored, because it really isn’t.  Tonally, the MP100 is robust and lively in the best sense of the term, with good extension at the extremes, but during listening tests, my ear was directed toward the lower-mids and mid-bass as the areas that impressed the most, rather than the upper-mids and treble. 

Remember, I’m comparing the MP100 mostly to the Monolithic Sound PA-1, which is a passive preamp design.  The PA-1, and virtually any passive preamp, will do less to alter a signal than most active designs.  Once your ear is accustomed to the lack of a sonic signature from a passive preamp, it becomes much easier to hear any character imposed by an active preamp.  The trick is to find components that work well together, and that’s why I constantly refer back to the admirable teamwork of the MA240 and MP100.