The new amp showed up. It took a bit to get it connected and to re-route all the wires around to get it working.

The net result is about the same. As it is pretty tough to do a true A/B instant comparison, I might be missing subtle nuances. I have tried it on a selection of music and watching some movies. With the volume at -20db on the Anthem AVR, it is pretty darn loud. Enough that the family upstairs complains that I am watching too loud.

I will play with it for a bit more, but I am back to the hard side of trying to justify spending the $2k+ on the upgrade where I am not sure if I am seeing any real discernable difference. Perhaps I am just not using the right source material.


Anthem: AVM60, Fosi DAC-Q5
Axiom: ADA1500, LFR1100 Actiive, QS8, EP500, M3, M3comp, M5