what is your hi-fi? (pics prefered)

arcer wrote: oliverstoned wrote: arcer wrote: Amps no good? Why? Actually, I am genuinely interested in your thoughts on these Not very musical. I don't understand - I find them very musical. Have you heard these amplifiers? I think not. Here's an extract from a review. As you'll note the emphasis is far away from "thin" and "not musical".I think you must be thinking of some other amplifiers. <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">As I’ve written about in other reviews, my reference amplifiers use vacuum tubes.<span style="">  </span>Further, most of my amps are low-powered, single-ended, triode output designs ranging from about 3.5 wpc to 13 wpc.<span style="">  </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">My electric shaver has more power than that</span>.<span style=""> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">Low powered triodes are </span>an acquired taste.<span style="">  </span>With appropriate speakers, however, I am regularly treated to full-range reproduction and musical beauty that is absolutely magical.<span style="">  </span><o:p> </o:p> </span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">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?<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">  </span>The Myryad MA240 lived up to its end of the bargain by being neutral and natural . . . and oh, the dynamics!<o:p> </o:p> </span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">There was an effortlessness to the dynamic swings that caught me by surprise, in a good way.<span style="">  </span>The dynamic impact was closer to what I experienced while listening to live music.<span style="">  </span>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.<o:p> </o:p> </span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">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.<span style="">  </span>The upper frequencies were not harsh or brittle.<span style="">  </span>“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.<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">  </span>These upper-register sounds also had somewhat less natural reverberant decay than I hear through my triode tube amps.<o:p> </o:p> </span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">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.<span style="">  </span>This is a quick amplifier.<span style="">  </span>Certainly, the excellent power supply comes into play here.<span style="">  </span>The amp does a great job letting go of one note and moving on to the next.<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">  </span>I detected some slight blurring of the pitches from note to note when listening at meager volume settings.<span style="">  </span>As the volume was increased, things improved.<span style="">   </span>This was perhaps an issue of the speaker/amplifer interface not being ideal at very low volumes.<o:p> </o:p> </span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">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.<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">   </span><o:p> </o:p> </span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">Tonally, the MA240’s balance is more light than dark.<span style="">  </span>It’s airy and well lit from about 3 kHz on up.<span style="">  </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;"><span style=""></span>The MA240 displays no harshness or forwardness in the upper mids </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">through the treble, but that portion of the sonic spectrum is what I noticed first in many listening sessions.<span style="">  </span>It also happens to be where the human ear is very sensitive.<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">  </span>Minor quibbles, for sure, but worth mentioning, and of course, these are the opinions of a tubeophile.</span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">In listening to the MP100, I said it earlier, and I’ll repeat it now, it proved a perfect match to the MA240.<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">  </span><o:p> </o:p> </span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">Please don’t misinterpret my description of the MP100 and assume that it’s colored, because it really isn’t.<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">  </span><o:p> </o:p> </span> <p ="Msonormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;">Remember, I’m comparing the MP100 mostly to the Monolithic Sound PA-1, which is a passive preamp design.<span style="">  </span>The PA-1, and virtually any passive preamp, will do less to alter a signal than most active designs.<span style="">  </span>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.<span style="">  </span>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.<o:p> </o:p> </span> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial;"></span>

I've already heard Myriad, it's not too bad.
It's dynamic indeed, rather neutral (a quality) but it's cold and lacks musicality. It can't compete with a good tube in the highs.

You were talking high end. A big system based on solid state amplification only and with a CD source is a joke, a waste of money, even with the best solid state and the best CD. The royal way is the bi amp with good solid state in the low and good tube in the highs.
But if you have to have only one amp in width band, it must be tube.

It's my case, but i've a subwoofer including a 200W solidstate, so it makes a pseudo-bi amplification.

NilsTentacles wrote: arcer wrote: Thanks Oliver, the players are on my audition list for when the finances, stars (and my wife's mood) are right. On the 'real' 'working' system - I have heard them and I think we'll just have to agree to differ on this one!! For me the high high end will always be a triumph of hype, pseudo-science and bullsh*t over real performance. Most of time I'm just as happy listening to my little Tivoli radio! But each to his own.  a wind of common sense is blowing through the forums... (seriously)

I'm tired of people talking about what they don't know.
I already imagine them in front of my system, with a
sheepish face: "Indeed, it works fantastic".

...but on another note, can we get back on topic? We don't want people to feel intimidated to post their systems do we?

Edited by Snow Dog - April 20 2007 at 14:19

At least he doesn't go on other forums and insult members of this forum/website and their reviews...

Besides,Olivier's awesome and likes some of the best music out there


Edited by Zac M - April 20 2007 at 14:29

The best on the market, great analog sound!

the forum memmbers listening to Ollies high-end system...

Nice guys!

Edited by Glueman - April 22 2007 at 07:55

arcer wrote: It's not really about bashing Ollie or his system. I really don't want to go down that route. But I do think he needs to learn a little humility, tact and decorum in his repsonses, not just to me (with me at least he didn't resort simply to posting a picture of a bin) but to others as well. This thread and others with a similar theme shouldn't be about dominance or one person establishing himself or herself as the arbiter of all things right. It's about people sharing their opinions etc even occasionally having a reasoned argument in which opposing views are debated in a sensible, adult manner in a bid to find resolution. That's not evident here. Oliver is obviously passionate about his hobby and that's cool but as my mother always said: if you can't say something nice, say nothing at all.

Snow Dog wrote: arcer wrote: It's not really about bashing Ollie or his system. I really don't want to go down that route. But I do think he needs to learn a little humility, tact and decorum in his repsonses, not just to me (with me at least he didn't resort simply to posting a picture of a bin) but to others as well. This thread and others with a similar theme shouldn't be about dominance or one person establishing himself or herself as the arbiter of all things right. It's about people sharing their opinions etc even occasionally having a reasoned argument in which opposing views are debated in a sensible, adult manner in a bid to find resolution. That's not evident here. Oliver is obviously passionate about his hobby and that's cool but as my mother always said: if you can't say something nice, say nothing at all.     I agree, I want to see what people play their music on here, whatever it is, without fear of being laughed at or made to feel inferior.   A litle gentle piss traking is fine of course.