bzr Posted July 12, 2012 Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) MSB S200 Amp, Class A 200w The synergy between this amp & the dac is remarkable, once I heard them together I put my Sanders Magtech back in it's box. MBP/ssd/bitperfect,Vox for flac, QOL, just audition one,take your wallet, MSB Diamond DAC IV, OPPO 95, S200, Martin Logan Summit X. At the mo all cables are Wire World Silver Eclipse 6 balanced & spades on speaker cables. Am going to try the full Shunyata Zitron loom & see if it's an improvement. Everything is run out of the Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One 5.0. Have Vicoustic Vari Bass in the corners too. Edited July 12, 2012 by bzr 4
L J T Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Looks great. I like the Logans. They perform really well.
Guest Muon Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Nice gear The Martin Logan's are an elegant looking speaker to my eye's.
O.Sydney Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 thanks for posting your system. Can you describe some of the differences you hear between the S200 Amp, Class A amp and the Magtech Class A/B in your system ?
bzr Posted July 14, 2012 Author Posted July 14, 2012 Thanks for the well wishes. thanks for posting your system. Can you describe some of the differences you hear between the S200 Amp, Class A amp and the Magtech Class A/B in your system ? The MSB S200 & Sanders Magtech. I can tell you that a MSB dac has no synergy with a Sanders Magtech amp. When I first bought the demo Signature DAC IV off of SGRAudio, I initially had some problems with it that led me to suspect it was a software glitch since everything was updated by Stuart before he sent it to me. After some conversing with Stuart I settled on the Diamond DAC IV & the S200. Even with just the DD IV & the Magtech, very good recordings were absolutely stunning, anything less & the sound became fatiguing. The clarity, retrieval of dynamics & quality of sound were exactly what I was looking for in a dac that I could use as a pre-amp, I just needed a warmer amp with synergy so I took a punt & the S200 really came through. I remember when I went to a demo night & heard the best very hi-end stereo that I had ever heard,at the time, I was speechless & then I just started laughing from the joy, that is what the S200 did for me when I added it to my system & started to listen to it.200w of Class A, smooth, power slightly less than the Magtech, not as much as you'd expect though, just a very pleasing amp to listen to. If someone asked me to recommend an amp my first choice would be the Sanders Magtech, bang for buck it is huge but it is also a very neutral amp as well so system synergy needs some very careful thought
O.Sydney Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 thanks very much for the comparison, there's only a handful on SNA with the Magtech amp. It's not a common amp in Australia let alone having it directly compared to a high/er end one
Nada Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 Congrats on the wonderful system. I wonder how much power that MSB 200W draws from the mains? I wonder if youve got one of those watt meters that just plugs in the wall?
bzr Posted July 14, 2012 Author Posted July 14, 2012 Congrats on the wonderful system. I wonder how much power that MSB 200W draws from the mains? I wonder if youve got one of those watt meters that just plugs in the wall? Dunno, no doubt I'll find out when the next power bill comes in.
analog brother Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 awesome system! did you find much difference in powering the summits with good power cable through the line conditioner, as opposed to stock cables to the wall?
bzr Posted July 16, 2012 Author Posted July 16, 2012 awesome system! did you find much difference in powering the summits with good power cable through the line conditioner, as opposed to stock cables to the wall? Yes, heaps. The power conditioner took everything to another level.
Grimmie Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 What a fabulous system bzr. the Platinum DAC IV is just remarkable, in my system it made everything so alive and tangible, I can well imagine the Amp would be very special too. The Martin Logan Vantage were also very close to being mine a few years ago as I was very impressed with them on demo, so the Summit X's with that in front must be just sublime. A punt is sometimes just the ticket.
bzr Posted July 16, 2012 Author Posted July 16, 2012 What a fabulous system bzr. the Platinum DAC IV is just remarkable, in my system it made everything so alive and tangible, I can well imagine the Amp would be very special too. The Martin Logan Vantage were also very close to being mine a few years ago as I was very impressed with them on demo, so the Summit X's with that in front must be just sublime. A punt is sometimes just the ticket. Thanks mate, sounds like we have very similar ears.
bzr Posted March 30, 2013 Author Posted March 30, 2013 (edited) Well, couldn't help myself could I. Absolutely loved my time with the MSB gear & highly recommend it to anybody that is curious, it's the closest thing in digital to the real thing with thee Femto clock. Decided to go back to separates as I'm an audiophool too! Am very happy with this sound at the mo. The preamp is absolutely stellar! OPPO 95, Soulution 520 preamp, McIntosh 2301 mono's, Strads,(Sonus Faber Stradivari) All running out of a Silver Circle Audio pure power one 5.0 conditioner. Edited March 30, 2013 by groot 4
bzr Posted August 9, 2013 Author Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) Shifted some things around...... ha! Edited August 9, 2013 by groot 2
Nada Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 Wow. Im getting gratuitous upgradis euphoia. Maybe someone can decode what the latest system is?
tuyen Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 Line Magnetic LM-502CA DAC Solutions 520 pre, Oppo disc transport (coaxial), MAC computer transport (USB), SGR Actives. Nice
Grimmie Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 Holy Roller-coaster Batman! What a ride this is turning out to be. So.............. what happened, I mean how the heck did all that gear get so swapped and rejected and replaced in so short a time? Surely a commentary on the component selection process is in order, and the reasoning behind the feverish to's and fro's.
bzr Posted August 10, 2013 Author Posted August 10, 2013 Actually the LMagnetic is on loan since my Lampi 4+ is away getting fixed, the bloody thing has a very annoying buzz in it commonly known as a transformer buzz. Came back up from Melbourne but was DOA so back it went for a loose wire, not very impressed. Anybody else that has a Lampizator with a hum/buzz in it, send it back, they have a fault with some that is known by the distributor. The system, well, yes. Okay, the MSB/digital set-up to this day is still at the top of the heap that I have heard to date. Up there with MSB is also CH Precision, this gear is scary good too.Never really wanted a change until one day caught myself thinking about putting tubes with my Stradivari's, never owned tubes previously, so in came the McIntosh 2301's. Then I decided on separate components were for me so the hunt was on for a pre-amp that would cut it. The audition process took in ARC REF 5 SE ,ARC REF DAC, came close to buying a ARC REF 10 unheard, Pass Labs XP-20, actually wanted the 30 but couldn't get one for a listen, Sanders, looked at Shindo Monbrison but the distributor treated me like an audiophool with too much money, thought about VAC Signature & a few others too. Someone gave me an offer with the Soulution 520 that was just on the market & I thought I could start a good rebuild around that little gem. So then it was finding amps. Listened to several Bryston including the massive 28's, keep in mind that the new amps had to better the 2301's that are a hybrid tube amp. To my way of thinking the 28's were a sideways step from the 2301's at best so they were out. I've owned Sanders Magtech before & was seriously thinking about bi-amping the Strads with these as I still think they are one hell of a bargain for what they are capable of. Was happy to coast along with the 2301's as I was still loving the sound & then Stuart of SGR Audio offered me a home trial of his EL30M's. The first 50w are Class A & I do like the Class A sound so the Strads were mono'd with SGR Audio amps. Wow! Did I get a big surprise. I was listening to albums that I have listened to hundreds of times, one of them Sailing To Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler, I've had this in the rotation since 2001 & still listen to it at least once a month now. I heard things with Stuart amps that I hadn't heard in the music before, I was shocked Once I grew accustomed to the different sound I thought I could live with this & since the Strads were starting to show some shortcomings the switch to MT3.2's was a win for me so I did. Got SGR Audio racks too, they are a great addition to the system & if anyone is wondering I highly recommend them as the isolation is second to none with these, they work very well. So, the only thing that survived the shuffle was the Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One 5.0 power conditioner, all cables were Wire World Platinum & are now replaced with van den Hul 3t The Mountain. Couple of tweaks here & there but that'll do for now. 1
Willco Posted August 10, 2013 Posted August 10, 2013 looked at Shindo Monbrison but the distributor treated me like an audiophool with too much money, Yup -funny that same thing here! Willco 1
bzr Posted August 10, 2013 Author Posted August 10, 2013 Yup -funny that same thing here! Willco Shame that will affect the outcome, no wonder people get picky of their on sale people
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