Finally a little time on my hands-
Maybe a little late for "You're Welcomes" but, to all the Thank Yous, you are very welcome!. Sharen just read through the thread and also sends her You're Welcomes as well. I told her she's becoming the NYAR Den Mother yet for some reason she refused to accept the crown!
As host, you don't usually get to spend the time with the gear that you'd like, but I can say that Lukas' Lampizator DAC was excellent!! A step up from the EE dac. The Musateux (?) DAC was kinda cold and solid-statey compared to the EE and Lampizator.
I'm surprised at the lack of comment re the Modwright KWA100se (I think?) amp. Maybe we are just being nice to either Tommy (Cherry guy who is friends w/ some of us, me especially (OK, that's the disclaimer)) or Dan M, a massively respected designer who I don't think I've ever read a bad thing about. A gorgeous piece but I think the overall room balance (very damped) favored the Cherry Plus. Surely the Modwright was "smooth n' musical" but this came at the expense of excitement. I understand that the EE dac was switched to the SS output for much of the Modwright session to try to get some life back into the system. (although I had my "up-front" tube in it at the time). I now see why the Modwright is the first recommendation for SS amps that don't sound like SS amps.
I guess comparing its bass performance to that of a highly regarded (by those who have heard it) 700+ watt Class D amp isn't fair, but I saw some puzzled faces and questions of "Where did the bass go". The difference in bass performance was truly remarkable and something I could not do without.
It was also interesting to hear the imaging of each amp. To quote Clement Perry from his StereoTimes review of the Cherry Plus: "One of the strengths of the Cherry Plus lies in its ability to allow instruments a sort of corporeal existence beyond the loudspeaker's physical plane: perfect for small apartment dwellers and owners of mini-monitors. This feat is not commonplace nor is it easy to ascertain through fancy or expensive tweaks, so I would call it a major attribute of the Cherry Plus." Stunning bass performance aside, this ability to produce images that are startlingly removed from the speakers is one of the strengths of the Cherry Plus. It lives and thrives in this realm of other-worldly, freaky-type of image specificity that the Modwright barely hinted at. Sorry if my ranting over the Cherry amps seems hyperbolic - I'm actually restraining myself here - but they are that good, in the right setup. I heard a Cherry on some lean n' clean VMPS RM-40s that no one at the event liked, and sure enough the Cherry took them in the exact wrong direction. I'd imagine the Modwright would be just the ticket in this system. StereoTimes did a very good job describing what sets the Plus apart from other amps.
So I guess this is a case of system matching at work. I'm sure in the right system w/ the right material and the right expectations, the smooth Modwright would be intoxicating. But I's needs me bass and I's wants me speakers to look like they have no relationship to the music being heard and I've not heard an amp that can do this like the Cherry.
I was very impressed with Gary's (Toprounds friend, I hope his name is Gary) preamp! I forget what he said he'd charge for it but I remember thinking that it would be a stompin' bargain at that price, with no sense of bargain performance.
As for the passive attenuators, I give them a "meh" like I did at Jim's in September. If I only listened to solo female voice, maybe.
Joe, you suck! The Kaplan Cable is excellent - I have done some swapping w/ the Pangea and while the Pan has a more gut-whomping bass, the Kaplan is far more even-handed throughout the range. I really like it! Haven't removed the Gabriel Golds yet so don't really know what they contribute, but certainly when we popped them in the sound took on a greater sense of ease and musicality. Very nice. Oh, you suck because I now know when I return these to you my system will sound worse than it does now!! Thanks a LOT!
Thanks, Topround, for the beautiful weather. And Mother Nature made her point by sending a 5 minute sprinkle our way, just to remind us what's waiting for next year!
Thanks again to the gang, see you around.
-Mike
