Any updates on the new amps Ian ?
Yes, Mark. It's been a strange journey. I'm not sure what I last reported but this is the latest:
I almost gave up on the .8's because the bass seemed to overpower everything else. I spent some time re-positioning my speakers, putting Stillpoints under the amps, switching power cords etc. I am taking the Shunyata HC's out of the equation for the time being (one less factor to distort the evaluation). I did try the stock power cord as per someone's suggestion and while the bass is thinner and crisper, the treble is very unpleasant. I'm sure this power cord could use some break in time, but after 20 hours I couldn't take it any more and I went back to my MIT cable (which is 2 years old) yesterday.
A funny thing happened. While the sound was immediately fuller, some of the treble harshness remained. Made me wonder if the previous power cord's effects were still there - in some form of stored energy (the amps were shut off only for seconds while I swapped the power cords). After about 4 hours the harshness was gone and the bass seemed a lot more realistic in terms of size and texture and not muddying up the midrange. I listened late last night and again this morning (amps remained on this entire time).
I swear something has changed in the amps.
My overall thoughts is that the overall tonal balance is closer to where I'd like it, but I'm still missing 'air' and it's a little on the dark side. It's not muddy or boomy though and that's extremely important. The bass is incredibly authoritative and controlled. It digs very very deep. It will bring some slam and punch to recordings that didn't seem to have any before - great for 70's rock. It's not boomy. One of my acid tests is Diana Krall's "All Or Nothing At All" where it opens with close mic'd standup bass that is fast and thick. I get every note with texture, speed and articulation. It's thick, but still detailed.
I'm getting a very 'fleshy' presentation. In contrast, on the .5 the bass is much thinner sounding, the presentation is leaner. I hear gobs of detail, lots of air (and I like air...) and I can put much more flesh on it by using the Shunyata power cords. But even then it's not as full and meaty as the .8's.
The fleshy presentation of the .8's does do a great job with female vocals. Sax's also sound great. It can be a little strange to feel some slam and have my floor vibrate to the acoustic bass of 50's jazz recordings, but it's not unpleasant either.
I have 3 Stillpoints under each amp but I'm told from someone on another forum that I really need amp stands and that the Stillpoints on carpet aren't going to yield good results so I guess I'm going to look into that. I don't have the Stillpoints under my Alexias because they thickened and slightly loosened the really deep bass and that bothered me. I will try them again once I think the bass is good.
These amps have monstrous power and (I'm using this word a lot) authority. They sound like Pass amps but are in another league for sure. The next few days are going to be very important in terms of evaluation as my audition period is going to run out and I'm not fully decided between the .5's and the .8's - only because I love the open and airy high end of the .5's and have managed to improve their bass with the Shunyata HCs.
Ian
