New integrated amplifier to drive Magico S3 mk2

Yep. Am testing 3 different XLRs at the moment and a massive difference between the 3. Interestingly, the $3k cable sounds much better than the $10k (!) cable and the $1k cable. Will try to home demo the MIT to compare. My budget for XLR cable is $2k.
 
Would love to home demo the Diablo 300 DAC. The Gryphon 300 and DAC is apparently selling like hotcakes. My dealer ordered 5 in, received 3, and his next shipment is May!

BTW - I head that Vitus is releasing a new integrated amp in 2018 at a price and spec point to compete with the Diablo. Gryphon is moving the market.
 
AJR said:
Yep. Am testing 3 different XLRs at the moment and a massive difference between the 3. Interestingly, the $3k cable sounds much better than the $10k (!) cable and the $1k cable. Will try to home demo the MIT to compare. My budget for XLR cable is $2k.
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This is great, interested to hear what you find out.


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AJR said:
Next purchase is an XLR to connect the T1 to the Diablo and also speaker cables.

Am thinking MIT SL Matrix 39 speaker interface and MIT SL Matrix 26 XLR.

Givem my system and that budget, does anyone think I can do better? My MIT dealer doesn’t sell the EVOs.
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I use MIT EVO1 XLR and SC. They are great with Magico and Gryphon, esp. the SC.
 
I use Siltech Royal Signature Princess XLR, and Siltech Royal Signature Prince SC, works GREAT. Siltech
 
So, after a solid few days of doing little else other than breaking in my Diablo 300 and Lumin T1, all I can say is that I am in audiophile heaven. Will not bore everyone with more adjectives to describe the sound, I will just say that my Magico’s are singing and forget about toe or finger tapping, I am knee slapping with a huge smile on my face :celebrate008_2:

And this is without decent speaker cables or power...
 
AJR said:
So, after a solid few days of doing little else other than breaking in my Diablo 300 and Lumin T1, all I can say is that I am in audiophile heaven. Will not bore everyone with more adjectives to describe the sound, I will just say that my Magico’s are singing and forget about toe or finger tapping, I am knee slapping with a huge smile on my face :celebrate008_2:

And this is without decent speaker cables or power...
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While the audiophile journey is the most painful at the beginning, when you need to essentially invest in everything at the same time, it is also the most rewarding as the improvements you get are the most significant.


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Spot on. Then the question is keep going or pace it out. Is driven significantly by budget of course, as well as patience and experimentation, and also a sense of delaying/drip feeding gratification. I think it is a well established test of intelligence (one marshmallow now or two later)!
 
AJR said:
Spot on. Then the question is keep going or pace it out. Is driven significantly by budget of course, as well as patience and experimentation, and also a sense of delaying/drip feeding gratification. I think it is a well established test of intelligence (one marshmallow now or two later)!
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Good luck trying to be smart about it [emoji3].

I’m afraid this hobby goes beyond any human rationale. My typical answer to that would be I prefer three marshmallows now.


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Last comment a little cryptic. Am thinking ahead about cables and power. I will buy a decent XLR shortly but I am tempted to stick with my budget speaker cables and no power conditioner and wait until I have a war chest and buy something high end. Like the approach I have taken with the T1 (no disrespect to it - it is awesome value for money). Or buy something ‘decent’ now with a view to upgrading sometime in the future. Ignorance can be bliss (I haven’t auditioned good speaker cables or power solutions and am loving the sound now), so I am tempted to wait and skip the middle step. Much more financially efficient.
 
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Kuoppis said:
Good luck trying to be smart about it [emoji3].

I’m afraid this hobby goes beyond any human rationale. My typical answer to that would be I prefer three marshmallows now.


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:roflmao:
 
I took the Kuoppis 3 marshmallow now approach and after a long audition I bought the MIT SL Matrix 36 XLR interconnects and the SL Matrix 70 speaker cables. Great additions to the system. I noticed a 15-25% improvement at each level, but budget provides a natural handbrake. Very happy.
 
PS - a big ups to Mike who (with no financial incentive; I live in Singapore) has provided insightful direction as well as options and explanations/analysis of different options. At the end of the day you have to trust your own ears of course, but you also need to do your due diligence to educate yourself, narrow the range of options, and know what qualities (which can vary per person) to look for. :tup:
 
AJR said:
I took the Kuoppis 3 marshmallow now approach and after a long audition I bought the MIT SL Matrix 36 XLR interconnects and the SL Matrix 70 speaker cables. Great additions to the system. I noticed a 15-25% improvement at each level, but budget provides a natural handbrake. Very happy.
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Excellent! I love the three-Marshmallow-strategy - no regrets.

I am sure cables on par with you overall system performance will provide a major improvement. Congrats!


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Wow.

I experimented with the positioning of my speakers and have realised that previously I have had them angled in too much. I opened them up a few degrees and now the soundstage has completely opened up. So much better.
 
AJR said:
Wow.

I experimented with the positioning of my speakers and have realised that previously I have had them angled in too much. I opened them up a few degrees and now the soundstage has completely opened up. So much better.
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Yes, the S3 mk2s do not require that much angling-in.


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True, the soundstage responds well to different angles. Best to experiment, you might end up with smaller angle than Magico recommends.

Heard the MIT cables in Munich with S3Mk2, and it was spectacular. The Spectral front end might have helped a bit. too :)
 
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