Tír Na HiFi

Thanks Dermot. It has certainly been a harsh hifi lesson for me but at the end of the day the hifi was becoming a source of stress. That's not a good thing. So the only option was to restart again. I believe I've gotten the speakers right this time around and the amps are promising so far. I have to give Cloney's major kudos in all of this. They've let me chop and change a lot of equipment over the past few months and have been very patient.

Congratulations David and well done, I am delighted that you are now happy with your kit, enjoy.

totally jealous...

two components I've always wanted...

the sonus fabers are, I think, the list beautiful hifi component there is...

the classe's I've always wanted... I think it may even have been that pair I heard in Noels....!!


enjoy!

I canny do it Cap'n, she doesny have the power..... no.... wait.... actually she does....!!!

Dave, That kit looks fine to me. If the Classe/SF combo encourages you to listen to music (beyond your usual dozen disks), consider it a keeper. Listening to hardware is very boring, it is much more fun to listen to music!

Rocker wrote:Dave, That kit looks fine to me. If the Classe/SF combo encourages you to listen to music (beyond your usual dozen disks), consider it a keeper. Listening to hardware is very boring, it is much more fun to listen to music!

Cheers Tom. You're absolutely right of course and now I can get back to enjoying my music. The Classe/SF combo is just pure magic to my ears and I'm thrilled that it has all finally snapped into place.

Actually the biggest surprise of the above setup is the new Classe CP-800 preamp. It's no ordinary preamp in that it has both an analog and digital section. When in analog bypass mode the digital stuff is shut down. The digital section has multiple inputs including async USB so the unit is computer audio ready. The internal DACs have been getting high praise indeed. The idea would be to use a high quality transport and feed it into this preamp. It can even do room EQ. It might sound like its doing too much for a preamp but all the reviews and reports so far have been stellar. My experience so far with it would back that up.

For now though, I'm just running the Opus21 and TT through the preamp in bypass mode.

...and anyway the preamp is just on loan for now. :-)

A belated congratulations on your new speakers, Dave. I thought you had settled on the the Kharma speakers and amps, so I was a little surprised to see you change again so quickly. However, it does indicate the admirable sense of perfectionism which you have in searching for that "absolute sound". Nothing quite beats the feeling when it all clicks into place. (A feeling that I perfectly understand right now, having recently upgraded my Spendors to the wonderful new Kharma Elegance DB7, about which I will post separately.) I have nothing but respect for Sonus Faber, though, and I was very tempted by the new Guarneri Evolutions before coming to the conclusion that my Lavardin wouldn't drive them satisfactorily. Although the Cremonas require power, I have heard they're not as difficult to drive as the Homage series, and, despite the fact that they are regularly demonstrated with tube amps (and most commonly Audio Research, now that they're both owned by the same company), many SF owners swear by Krell, Gamut and Classe. (Should you ever be tempted to move to the Amatis, those Classe monoblocks will drive them beautifully.) That Classe preamp is also very interesting and I would certainly try it with a dedicated transport. I know that you are somewhat of a cable sceptic, but I would recommend you try the Cremona with the Yter cables. But, for the moment, enjoy the music, Dave.

Thanks Paul.
I just couldnt get those Kharmas to sound right to me despite a whole range of amp/sources brought in on trial. In the end, I hated them.
Very happy with the Cremona's. They are easily one of the most non-fatiguing and musical speakers I've ever come across. I'm not convinced that valves are the way to go with them as the speakers themselves have plenty of warmth and bloom so valves might soften that too much. The Classe amps are pretty neutral anyway so the combo is good as it is. A valve pre might be tried at some point.
I wont be holding onto the Classe CP-800 preamp though. I tried out the DACs in it and it didnt offer anything over what the Opus21 was doing I felt. I was mostly using the pre in bypass mode anyway so I dont need or want any of the extra digital bells and whistles. I'll be replacing it with a normal pre in the coming weeks.

Congrats on the new Kharma db7 purchase. Please post up your thoughts on them when you get time.

Delighted to hear you are getting closer to what you want to hear Dave.

What was your verdict on the Kharma pre amplifier? I have not listened to it but I thought it looked great in the photos you posted up a few weeks back.

(A feeling that I perfectly understand right now, having recently upgraded my Spendors to the wonderful new Kharma Elegance DB7, about which I will post separately.)

Congratulations Paul that is a fantastic upgrade. Are you blown away with the difference. I always fancied the notion of upgrading to the ST's .No intention now as speaker pot well and truly dry and I am very happy with my cupboard of bits.

Did the Spendors ultimately disappoint or was it just a dreaded dose of upgraditis