Interesting Day at Audio store

M

Mechnutt

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Minnesota
My son is looking for a new DAC that punches above its price point. So we went to the local high end store in Minneapolis to hear the Chord Qutest DAC. My son brought along his Cary SL-300.2d Integrated that has a built in DAC. The Cary sold for $6K and is 300wpc at 8ohms and is limited to 450wpc at 4 ohms due to heat otherwise it can double down. Speakers were the Wilson SabrinaX. The Qutest was better in every way, more depth, wider SS, just slightly more detail and better bass. He has decided to buy it. I was actually surprised at how good the Qutest sounded. It had a hint of warmth and was very musical.

After the audition, I asked if I could hear the Luxman 509x Integrated since I am considering selling my Pass amp and BAT preamp and moving on to an integrated amp like the Luxman 507 or 509. We heard the Luxman with the Wilson speakers and the Qutest DAC. I was disappointed as was my son. It sounded good, with nice detail and punch. It had a dead quiet background and great air and transparency but the Cary sounded better to our ears. The Cary's midrange was fuller, had better tone and texture, was more musical and almost as quiet. Piano and vocals sounded better on the Cary. The Cary had more front to back depth and almost as wide a sound stage.

Now I am not saying the Luxman was bad. In fact it sounded great but not as good as the Cary to my son and I. Now I have to rethink about what Integrated I may buy or if I just stay with separates but something lighter than a 105 pound amp and 50 pound preamp as I get older.
 
Larry

Have you looked at Dan Wright's newest hybrid integrated or the Aesthetix Mimas or if your looking for a warmer fuller sound in a SS unit maybe one of the Moon integrated amps. Another company whose integrated amps may fit what you are looking for is Audia Flight. All depends on what the top of your price range will be.
 
Thanks for the suggestions Jack. I will surely look into those units. My budget will be up to $8K. I could certainly do a tube unit.

I will make a decision once I pick out a new pair of speakers. Time to move on from the Magnepans. My wife is tired of having door panels as speakers. I really like the Fyne 702's and the 502sp's. I need to look at a few other speakers. I was looking at speakers when COVID hit. I would like to hear the new Monitor Audio 5G gold 300's. A friend of mine sold his Magnepan 3.6's after hearing the MA's and bought a pair and has never looked back. I was hoping to go to RMAF this year but we know how that turned out.

I see that you have a Don Sachs preamp, how do you like it? I almost ordered one with Duelund Caps 2 years ago. I still may if I decide to stay with separates.
 
VAC i170iQ. Made in [emoji631]. Sounds sublime with Fyne.

If you insist on SS, Pass INT-60.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Larry I really like the Sachs preamp and it just happens to be a perfect match gain wise to the SET 400. With the newest Khozmo volume control unit in place you have a pretty much full function metal remote to work with. In preamps I'm partial to ones that use the 6SN7 tubes. Dan's hybrid like the Mimas uses a 6922 based preamp section with Mosfets for the amp. They both have gotten great reviews and plenty of power with either. The Audia Flight models are a warmer fuller sound similar to the SET amps sound. Since Paul at the Audio Shoppe in Boston gave up distribution I don't know who picked them up in the US.

A speaker that attracted my interest has been the QLN brand. Rollo carries them but you might find a dealer somewhere in your area.
 
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