Mr Peabody
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #1
A couple of friends came over today. One of them has a shop, he is looking at ARC so had the LS28 & VT80 to play with, he also brought a Levinson 326s preamp.
I'm streaming Tidal from a Degel DAC, HD30 into my Pass XP10. I did have my 532h in but swapped it with the Coda CSX a week ago and found it has better synergy in my system using the Hegel DAC. The 532h was still enjoyable just leaned things a bit analytical. The Coda warmed up the mids and has fuller bass.
I went to hoist the ls28, tall with handles, picked it up, and, I'm like is this just the case, LOL. Lighter than I was expecting. So out with the XP10 and in with the ls28. Even without a lengthy warm up the ls28 had a large sound stage full of detail and put a swing into the music.
Then out went the CSX and in with the VT80. Again, I wish we had the time to allow proper warm up. The VT80 had more authority than I expected driving the 4367's. We had the full ARC house sound. Snare strikes weren't as snappy as with the solid state but they were more natural and still lifelike if that makes sense. Drums in general were lively and detailed, more swing than the other gear, just not the impact, it would come down to taste. The total ARC had that tube presence. Vocals were more natural.
Then we took the VT80 out and ran the 532h with the ARC preamp, this was actually a pretty good combo. The ls28 character still shined through but the 532h tightened things up in the bottom end and had more transparency than the VT80.
Then the full Levinson with 532h & 326s. I wish I had thought to spin a couple discs via the 512 while this combo was playing. I was surprised, the 326s seemed a bit flat after the ls28. The Levinson combo was good and I'd say most transparent, we just couldn't get that ARC swing out of our head.
The Hegel HD30 is incredibly quiet and free of digital noise. It's a very controlled sound with very tight bottom end. It also gives the type of sound stage that puts you a bit back in the hall. To my ears not a good mix with Levinson. The ARC seemed to say, we don't care, we're swinging anyway. The Pass/Coda combo iss also good seemingly filling in and warming up where needed.
The ls28 is a nice preamp with a lot of inputs, versatile and good sound. I'd recommend it an audition if it fit your budget and needs.
The VT80 due to circumstances didn't get use of my dedicated 20 amp line and should have had a warm up, neither did I hear with another preamp to tell what it was or was not bringing to the table.
The 326s is ultra transparent and I'm sure with the correct amp for synergy could shine, I've had two in my home experiences with it, at this point for $10k original retail, despite stellar reviews, I'd personally keep looking.
I thought my XP10 was reasonably transparent because it let me hear differences in all types of components in and out of my system. In today's comparison the XP10 does seem to exhibit a bit warm and limited top end extension. I still find it a lot of preamp for it's original retail, it was the least expensive of the 3 used. I'm probably really used to it, I'm fond of my little preamp
.
I'm streaming Tidal from a Degel DAC, HD30 into my Pass XP10. I did have my 532h in but swapped it with the Coda CSX a week ago and found it has better synergy in my system using the Hegel DAC. The 532h was still enjoyable just leaned things a bit analytical. The Coda warmed up the mids and has fuller bass.
I went to hoist the ls28, tall with handles, picked it up, and, I'm like is this just the case, LOL. Lighter than I was expecting. So out with the XP10 and in with the ls28. Even without a lengthy warm up the ls28 had a large sound stage full of detail and put a swing into the music.
Then out went the CSX and in with the VT80. Again, I wish we had the time to allow proper warm up. The VT80 had more authority than I expected driving the 4367's. We had the full ARC house sound. Snare strikes weren't as snappy as with the solid state but they were more natural and still lifelike if that makes sense. Drums in general were lively and detailed, more swing than the other gear, just not the impact, it would come down to taste. The total ARC had that tube presence. Vocals were more natural.
Then we took the VT80 out and ran the 532h with the ARC preamp, this was actually a pretty good combo. The ls28 character still shined through but the 532h tightened things up in the bottom end and had more transparency than the VT80.
Then the full Levinson with 532h & 326s. I wish I had thought to spin a couple discs via the 512 while this combo was playing. I was surprised, the 326s seemed a bit flat after the ls28. The Levinson combo was good and I'd say most transparent, we just couldn't get that ARC swing out of our head.
The Hegel HD30 is incredibly quiet and free of digital noise. It's a very controlled sound with very tight bottom end. It also gives the type of sound stage that puts you a bit back in the hall. To my ears not a good mix with Levinson. The ARC seemed to say, we don't care, we're swinging anyway. The Pass/Coda combo iss also good seemingly filling in and warming up where needed.
The ls28 is a nice preamp with a lot of inputs, versatile and good sound. I'd recommend it an audition if it fit your budget and needs.
The VT80 due to circumstances didn't get use of my dedicated 20 amp line and should have had a warm up, neither did I hear with another preamp to tell what it was or was not bringing to the table.
The 326s is ultra transparent and I'm sure with the correct amp for synergy could shine, I've had two in my home experiences with it, at this point for $10k original retail, despite stellar reviews, I'd personally keep looking.
I thought my XP10 was reasonably transparent because it let me hear differences in all types of components in and out of my system. In today's comparison the XP10 does seem to exhibit a bit warm and limited top end extension. I still find it a lot of preamp for it's original retail, it was the least expensive of the 3 used. I'm probably really used to it, I'm fond of my little preamp
.
