Today at 4:30: G2G Amps and Speakers

[richidoo]

OK, now I see why you will need 2 days.   

The more the merrier - imo

[pmkap]

Hey Carl,

As of 9:28am today, Sat. Sept. 19th, the powercord arrived at your post office. Hopefully, it will be delivered today.

-Paul

[Carlman]

Our mail already came... so I won't get it till tomorrow.
edit: wrong!  I guess we didn't get yesterday's mail.. the cord is here!

You forgot to put an address and a date for where it needs to be in the box.. I'll get some ear time on it shortly... and have a couple of mini-meets in the coming days.

Tomorrow afternoon works for me after 4 or so... if anyone's interested in hearing some comparisons.

-C

[richidoo]

I'll be there 7ish.  Looking forward to hearing the Kaplan cords in comparison to some of our favorites.

BTW what speakers are you using tomorrow? 

[Carlman]

Shane is here now setting up the Harbeths, his DAC, Butler Monads, all JPS cabling, etc... At 6 I should be picking up my Piega's with Rick's upgraded crossovers..

We'll probably compare the SN DAC to the Buffalo at some point... the Monads to the MC402, the Harbeth's to the Piegas, and then come up with a good system for comparing power cords at some point between today and tomorrow.  I have some work to do tomorrow so I'm not sure how far I'll get... so, tomorrow's meet may be loose and unorganized... just a casual g2g with maybe 1 or 2 real comparisons of gear.

-C

[Carlman]

Thanks to Shane, Steve and Rich for stopping by tonight.. Had a good time listening to the various gear and such.. nice, laid back time... We had no agenda... The Piega's are still moving in 1-foot increments.. but are much closer to their final resting place.  Every inch counts for how they image and how they gel with the room.

I'm still amazed at the amount of grunge-removal there is in the upgraded speakers.  I can hear the full sound of each instrument so much better... which is very important to me.. because I listen to a lot of layered/textured stuff.  I also realized it's important to match your gear to your music tastes.  I think my tastes are for wild and emotional music with a mix of of electronics.. with big powerful bass as well.  These speaker deliver everything but the lowest octave for that... while still being capable of handling a mix of other stuff too... including folk and bluegrassy music.

-C

[richidoo]

Sounds good Carl. I liked the all tubes electronics best, but for your kind of music, the Mac was obviously the best sound, enough power and clarity. Even after the upgrades you still have excellent synergy.

After Shane left we moved the speakers about a foot to where they were before this g2g, and everything clicked. Before that things sounded OK, but not great.

Thanks for the invite

[Carlman]

What do you all think of this coming Saturday, Sept. 26th for the C8 vs C8 showdown?  Followed by power cord comparisons.. and then amp comparisons?

To Rich's post..
The Piega's require themselves to be in a very specific spot.. I know all speakers are like this but mine seem to be particularly sensitive to placement.  I've still got to move them in and out now and see what happens.. it'll probably take most of an afternoon and they'll get another 10-25% better than what you heard.

I initially liked the all tube sound but on the speed metal and electronica the mids and highs blurred in a way that was distracting.  I really like being able to hear deep into complexity while be bombarded emotionally.  Once I get a pair of subs, I think they system will be supermega-awesome and satisfy my inner child and grown up exterior.

The Piega sound is not for everyone.  They've got weight and life, with a sweetness that is delicate.  Like with anything, it's a compromise... and suited to my tastes... with the SN Tube DAC and Mac amp... I could probably go with a different kind of SS amp but I will stick with SS... I like having tubes everywhere else, though.

-C

[richidoo]

The mids and highs are hot enough for delicate music like those hifi singers. But with the volume and bass of metal, there is not enough power in 100W tube amp to keep the uppers in control while delivering current to bass. You would need very high power tubes, like Manley or AR.   The metal edge would cut you in half.

In experimenting with Master Set placement I heard clearly what a big difference an 1/8" makes in bass smoothness. It is hard to believe, but it's true. Speaker (and chair) placement is very important to getting max value from this expensive hardware. I'd like to hear the piegas out very far from front wall sometime.

Next weekend is OK for me.

[Bigfish8]

Carl:

I would love to come to your G2G this weekend but unfortunately I have to be away!  I hope you guys have fun and I look forward to reading your comments.

Ken

[Carlman]

The Official Amp and Speaker Meet will be this Saturday at 6:30 PM

We'll miss you, Ken... there will be more, though!

[RichardS]

I can't wait to hear) what Rick has done for the Piegas.

[hometheaterdoc]

Have fun without me   I'll be sweating profusely in Aruba to keep someone happy...  At least I'll get a couple good Argentine steaks out of it... but for someone that prefers it to be 40 degrees, 104+ everyday on the heat index is pretty miserable...

[bpape]

Rough life Shane - but somebody has to do it. 

Bryan

[mdconnelly]

Shane,  stay in the water with drink in hand and you should be fine