jahjahlove
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When I first started this hobby, I bought some McIntosh gear after coming across a review that made it for me. The reviewer was comparing the MC275 to a Cadillac, saying that, for sure some days one would want to drive a Ferrari, a Mustang, or a Jaguar, but on an everyday basis, the Cadillac, like the 275, is a no brainer: you are better off than most people, and drive with confidence, comfort, class, and reliability. I thought my audiophile quest would end right where it started, the benefit being a peaceful mind.
That was eleven years ago.
I made my way in the “field”, reading actively, mainly on US forums. I realized that the MC275 was may be the great amp everyone agrees on, but what I had before and after it was not good enough. And my search started for real, this time.
Last year, looking for an active AND analog crossover to biamp my JBL 4430 properly, I have been lent by chance a Bryston BDA2. I was not looking for a DAC and was not paying much attention to the source, having a Lexicon RT20 that blew a 1000 euros Consonance in a second. But he! It’s not every day that retailers propose gear to test; generally you have to fight to try it at home, over her anyway…
And something happened! Something that is perfectly synthetized in the sentence: “What the hell is is going on?!”. Now let me tell you about this sensation: it is a bit like when you fall in love: to start with you cannot really put a name on what you feel, you do not even not know yet if it is pleasant or not, and you ask yourself, this very words: What is going on ? The BDA2 surprised me. It was not just a bit more “musical”, it was another world.
I was looking for a crossover, in order to bi amp, in order to have more bass, and here I was, with the same everything, the Lexicon used in transport, but with the bass I wanted. No other amp to buy, no fine tuning, just a better source.
I never bought the crossover, but my interest grew up for the brand, and clearly the next component that had to be upgraded in my system was the preamp. I used the C22 in order to (re)unify the famous couple C22 MC 275 (I bought them separately). But if the C22 (commemo edition) is way better than the C220 (at 5000 $ if you please), it suffers many flows: first it is unreliable (3 tech told me), second it is noisy (in particular in XLR), third the volume increment is by step, (and they are note fine); its maker himself said somewhere he wasn’t very proud of it and made the C2200 right after, if my MC culture is correct).
Obvious choice was between the BP26 and the BP17. Chose the cheaper (I admit), chose also the most recent design, chose simplicity of circuitry, transparency.
I picked it up yesterday, and started the break in period, despite work, despite the kid and the wife, the telephone, and tiredness. So the first impressions are :
It is the end of an era for me and of course surely the start of a new one…
Regards,
That was eleven years ago.
I made my way in the “field”, reading actively, mainly on US forums. I realized that the MC275 was may be the great amp everyone agrees on, but what I had before and after it was not good enough. And my search started for real, this time.
Last year, looking for an active AND analog crossover to biamp my JBL 4430 properly, I have been lent by chance a Bryston BDA2. I was not looking for a DAC and was not paying much attention to the source, having a Lexicon RT20 that blew a 1000 euros Consonance in a second. But he! It’s not every day that retailers propose gear to test; generally you have to fight to try it at home, over her anyway…
And something happened! Something that is perfectly synthetized in the sentence: “What the hell is is going on?!”. Now let me tell you about this sensation: it is a bit like when you fall in love: to start with you cannot really put a name on what you feel, you do not even not know yet if it is pleasant or not, and you ask yourself, this very words: What is going on ? The BDA2 surprised me. It was not just a bit more “musical”, it was another world.
I was looking for a crossover, in order to bi amp, in order to have more bass, and here I was, with the same everything, the Lexicon used in transport, but with the bass I wanted. No other amp to buy, no fine tuning, just a better source.
I never bought the crossover, but my interest grew up for the brand, and clearly the next component that had to be upgraded in my system was the preamp. I used the C22 in order to (re)unify the famous couple C22 MC 275 (I bought them separately). But if the C22 (commemo edition) is way better than the C220 (at 5000 $ if you please), it suffers many flows: first it is unreliable (3 tech told me), second it is noisy (in particular in XLR), third the volume increment is by step, (and they are note fine); its maker himself said somewhere he wasn’t very proud of it and made the C2200 right after, if my MC culture is correct).
Obvious choice was between the BP26 and the BP17. Chose the cheaper (I admit), chose also the most recent design, chose simplicity of circuitry, transparency.
I picked it up yesterday, and started the break in period, despite work, despite the kid and the wife, the telephone, and tiredness. So the first impressions are :
- I hear more things: a constant feature of upgrading… each time you say to yourself all this was on this same CD I am listening for so many years and I didn’t know it?
- The sound stage has enlarged by two easily, and as a result positioning is much more precise which make the listening so much more fun
- Listening at low volume is just so fine: you still hear everything, very important if you do not have a dedicated room but do have kids, which might concern some people…
- The timbres are just beautiful: of course the famous Bryston bass, continuing what the BDA2 has done, but the low medium is superb, one rediscover what the drummer is doing and the richness of his instrument. Another characteristic is the silence around the instruments or the vocals: if only a small portion of the spectrum is used, to put it in these terms, there is a black silence that surrounds the music being played. Mids and Highs are just fine to my taste, no harshness. More on this after break in has finished.
- The volume control surprised me because it is slow to rise, but I have the impression it is at half volume at 12 o’clock, which after all makes sense: It is not too slow, it is just a big change for me.
It is the end of an era for me and of course surely the start of a new one…
Regards,
