Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Upgraditus bit me again...

Spiff, i'm seriously interested in alot of equipment but i don't have time to call all the owners of each company.
At this point i would rather hear about other's opinions of the various components for which i am perusing.
The last thing i want is to try to have someone convince me that their product is tops.
The reason i have not yet ventured into purchasing an amp is because i'm still looking and deciding on any features that i want.

Does anyone have more specs than what is listed on the Odyssey website? That damn site talks more about the price per pound and aesthetics of the Stratos than its actual stats.

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Many long months ago I had a few people telling me that power is power and should not sound any differently. They further went to say that my (then sold) 2 yr old flagship Rotel receiver 2 x 125w would sound no differently than my (then sold) 18 yr Bryston 2 x 125w. I beg to differ but they still would not believe. The Bryston sounded better. Even a 20yr old 2B 2x60w sounded better. It is good to see some of these old hands have tried and DID notice or PRESUMED a difference, hence a purchase of some these expensive HIFI products.

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Perhaps you can elaborate on that Saturn.
Exactly who has supposedly 'seen the light'?


Personally i'm looking at buying an amp, not for upgraditis reasons but for an entirely new system.
I've still heard no quality difference between this Coda amp (a very high end by some standards since the thing cost near 4 grand) an older Robertson (60w/ch) or my Onkyo. The only difference has been with signal sensitivities.
We even tried a blind cable exchange some months ago. Generic boxed cables vs. Ultralink vs. AR Masters. I guess by some other's standards though these cables are all too "low end" to sound any different.

mwc,
Which Anthem preamp do you have?
I'm really eyeballing that new preamp tuner TLP1.

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Perhaps you can elaborate on that Saturn.
Exactly who has supposedly 'seen the light'?

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Definitely not you sir.
It is you that made me see past the "Best bang for the buck" theory to "Best sounding that I can afford" theory (I don't know about affordability but well at least that I'm willing to pay).
As is most cases maybe one may not hear a difference between certain brands such as what I found between Rotel, Denon, Onkyo ... etc .. but I did hear a diff between my old Rotel reciever power vs. the Bryston. Even the 60w Bryston 2B "seemingly" sounded sweeter than the Rotel.
As with wire...yes majority in blind tests ..would fail.
But just about 2 weeks ago I tested my Kimber 4TC (braided copper with teflon dielectric)http://www.kimber.com/4tc.htm vs. JPS Labs Ultraconductor (Aluminum/Copper) http://www.jpslabs.com/ultraconductor.htm.
I could "seemingly" tell a difference in sound. It doesnt mean the difference is better or worse but just a change. I enjoyed the Kimber's more. Both wires are price at $150 USD per 8 foot pair.
As with upgraditus all of my equipment has totally changed except for the Bryton 4B and the Kimber 4TC. from..Axiom..Monitor Audio..PMC..to Maggies...at least for mains. The center and rears of Axioms are hard to beat in price or sonics.
What are you using to power your D700 babies? And have you ever seen those TD10..nice!nice!

ps:nevermind just saw your profile

Was this an "I told ya so" post .

No...its not any of ya or anyone in this thread...its other "old hands". I place you, chess and spiff on the high list of experts. I don't like namings. So I'm letting this slide. Just my once in a month rant and rave.

Saturn

This is basically what I have but it's the SE version.
Anthem Pre-2L:
/www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/preamps/anthem-pre2l.html

Anthem Pre-2L SE:
www.upscaleaudio.com/updates/pre2.htm

I have to be honest here too Saturn. I've actually heard a difference between 2 receivers.
One is the Denon 3803 and the other was a Sony all-in-one HT package from Future Shop.
Again though i go back to the idea of "quality build". You need to compare 2 items of similar quality build in listening for significant differences and i certainly do not think this Sony was of any quality. The thing had a plastic cover on it which pretty much says it all.
That being said, i believe the price point of electronics that use parts indistinguishable in quality (for sound reproduction) from so called high end units is alot less than most think. Case in point, DACs. JohnK has mentioned several times how they are so good and so cheap right across the board that even a 5k cdp could be using the same DAC as found in a $300 unit but ppl just don't know it.

The amp that was driving the D700s (a Coda 10.5 equivalent) is now gone, hence why i'm looking for something new in the next couple of months.
The timing is ok though since i'm not in a financial position to spring for any new equipment yet. I just upgraded my cpu and my wife's tower.

I had the pleasure of visiting the local Home Theater Store's "special" HT room a few days ago. It's the room they keep locked to prevent people from wondering in without being accompanied by an employee. The room itself was done in a Greek theme with a rolled vaulted celing with fiber optic stars and it was all automated-screen,lights, velvet curtians, etc.

In the rear of the room was a built in rack with all McIntosh gear. I immeadialely started to drool when I saw the familiar blue lighted logo. The speakers were B&W(high end series) all around including the sub.

The lights dimmed the curtian pulled back and the front projector flicked on and I was treated to a demo disk featuring Titan A.E. My jaw dropped to the floor! I expected it to sound good but what I heard was nothing short of amazing. I've always thought that I have pretty good gear but what I heard in that room made me realize that I will never be able to own a theater of that calibur of sound and sight unless I hit the lotto.

My point is: that day I heard a difference. I don't know if it was the amps, processor, speakers, me being awestruck, room, wire or all of the above. So now, as freesey says, I aspire to be rich.

/devil's advocate mode

Are you sure your eyes didn't contribute to the difference? You did start drooling before the demo even started...

/end devil's advocate mode

I totally believe you, though.