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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 21, 2017 14:52:21 GMT -6
Well. That was weird. Contacted VK to see if they had hem I. Stock here in Nashville. He said no, they weren't in high demand. Said they had one but no one bought after comparing to other DAs. Idk, th hat sounds pretty suspect to me. I have a dbox now - a 10 year old product - that still smokes most other DAs I've tried. VK can be kindve snobby...which makes me think there's some ulterior motive in play here.
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Post by LesC on Jun 21, 2017 15:44:07 GMT -6
I'm sure the Dangerous Convert 2 is great, but it's very expensive. For that kind of price, the users who have tried both seem to prefer the Crane Song Solaris which is also less expensive. Or the Mytek Brooklyn DA, which is even less expensive. Or even the RME ADI-2 Pro, which is much less expensive and is highly regarded as both AD and DA.
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 8, 2017 1:42:29 GMT -6
But does anyone have any objections against the Amphion monitors themselves... minus the amps? Amphions are great nearfield monitors, but not what I would consider a full range mastering speaker, find a used pair of B&W 801's. Really? You think so? They are significantly less expensive, which would be nice. You mean a used pair of their most current version? I really loved the Amphions but I will do some research!
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 8, 2017 1:49:34 GMT -6
Well. That was weird. Contacted VK to see if they had hem I. Stock here in Nashville. He said no, they weren't in high demand. Said they had one but no one bought after comparing to other DAs. Idk, th hat sounds pretty suspect to me. I have a dbox now - a 10 year old product - that still smokes most other DAs I've tried. VK can be kindve snobby...which makes me think there's some ulterior motive in play here. I currently have a D Box as well and love it, though I plan on getting a Crane Song Avocet IIA after I get the Amphion Two18s, and I guess... a Jim Williams modded GFA 555. I'm wondering if I can find a stock amp which would be just as good in that $600 or so price range to save myself the mod time. That is really the only amp I have explicitly seen people say is a great match for Two18s besides the $1,800 Amp500, which I am trying to avoid now if possible. Also, I know Vintage King has some deals with certain companies... so maybe that is a contributing factor to the whole Convert 2 thing. My original thoughts were a Monitor ST and Convert 2, until I found the Avocet IIA, which just seems more practical. Dangerous is one of my favorite companies though. A 2Bus+ is high on my list. Anyways, it seems like the 545s may be pushing it in terms of power. I see that getting a used pair of B&W 801's was mentioned... but I am still pretty sold on the Amphions. I preferred them over everything I tested that was $10k or less. Again, I plan on these being my first "real set of mastering monitors".
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 8, 2017 1:50:07 GMT -6
But does anyone have any objections against the Amphion monitors themselves... minus the amps? Amphions are great nearfield monitors, but not what I would consider a full range mastering speaker, find a used pair of B&W 801's. Are the Series 3 ones the most recent? And aren't they floor standing?
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 8, 2017 1:59:30 GMT -6
But does anyone have any objections against the Amphion monitors themselves... minus the amps? Amphions are great nearfield monitors, but not what I would consider a full range mastering speaker, find a used pair of B&W 801's. Also, are the 802s and 803s even better? Soooo many models of the 800 series and B&W is one of those companies I know very little about... besides the fact that I had a pair of their headphones once back in the day. One side of them died... so I got a new pair... and the same thing happened. Moderate listening levels, definitely wasn't blasting them.
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 8, 2017 2:05:35 GMT -6
Yep, I totally agree! I have my room treatment completely taken care of though (clouds and the whole 9 yards), and have decided on the Amphion Two18s with the Amp500 for the monitor upgrade. So the conversion and monitor controller is my next step. I haven't heard the greatest things about the Amphion amps. I bet you could find a used Bryston or Lexicon for similar or less. Sorry I am just now revisiting this topic btw. I need to get better at taking some time to check RGO. Is there a particular model Bryston that you would recommend? These Amphion Two18s are 4ohm and say 50-200 watts per channel... so I'll go with 200 or so watts per channel since that is close enough to the Amp500. Again, if I could avoid a mod process, that would be great. But if getting a modded Adcom will sound the best, that is what I will do.
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Post by jin167 on Jul 8, 2017 2:59:43 GMT -6
I've tried XPA-2 on amphion 18s and it slew the amp100 with ease.
gen2 can be bought for around $600 and they can be sold relatively easily so give it a go if you can.
It does 500 W per channel (4 ohms) btw.
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 8, 2017 8:30:04 GMT -6
Yeah, the Emotiva is a good option. The Lexicons were rebranded Brystons. Actually says it on the back. The NT212 is a Bryston 3BST and the NT225 is the Bryston 4BST.
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,937
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Post by ericn on Jul 8, 2017 12:03:40 GMT -6
Amphions are great nearfield monitors, but not what I would consider a full range mastering speaker, find a used pair of B&W 801's. Also, are the 802s and 803s even better? Soooo many models of the 800 series and B&W is one of those companies I know very little about... besides the fact that I had a pair of their headphones once back in the day. One side of them died... so I got a new pair... and the same thing happened. Moderate listening levels, definitely wasn't blasting them. I am not an 800 series fan except for the very rare 808's. They are a standard of the mastering trade and the older versions are still useable , acceptable and reasonably priced. The main difference between 801,802 is the bass drivers though 801's tend to be the standard.
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 1:21:57 GMT -6
I've tried XPA-2 on amphion 18s and it slew the amp100 with ease. gen2 can be bought for around $600 and they can be sold relatively easily so give it a go if you can. It does 500 W per channel (4 ohms) btw. That sounds great! Based on your tests.. that should smoke the Amp500 then! And god, that is PLENTY of wattage, haha. How many gens are there? Maybe I'll get that and save myself the mod process since that is basically the same price.
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 1:25:59 GMT -6
Yeah, the Emotiva is a good option. The Lexicons were rebranded Brystons. Actually says it on the back. The NT212 is a Bryston 3BST and the NT225 is the Bryston 4BST. Gotcha! What is the difference between the 3B/4B and 3BST/4BST? I was looking around last night and found some of each, though unfortunately, not all seemed rack-mountable. Well, I guess the Emotiva isn't either, so that isn't a deal breaker by any means... rack space is getting slim around here anyways, and I am going to have to stack racks if I want to make room for anymore. That Emotiva seems like a great option though, but would an old Bryston be superior ya think? This will be my first pair of passive monitors where I am realllly looking into the amp (not counting NS10s, Auratones, etc.. and even then, I currently have the active Avantones), so this is a subject I am not well versed in.
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 1:29:24 GMT -6
I've tried XPA-2 on amphion 18s and it slew the amp100 with ease. gen2 can be bought for around $600 and they can be sold relatively easily so give it a go if you can. It does 500 W per channel (4 ohms) btw. I answered my own question as far as how many generations they have... but have you ever heard Gen 3? Is it vastly superior to a Gen 2?
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 1:44:59 GMT -6
I've tried XPA-2 on amphion 18s and it slew the amp100 with ease. gen2 can be bought for around $600 and they can be sold relatively easily so give it a go if you can. It does 500 W per channel (4 ohms) btw. Reading up on it... that Gen 3 looks pretty sweet. $999... hmmmm. Still $800 savings VS the Amp500. The modded option would run me about $600-$700 total it seems... people want a decent bit more for those old Adcoms than I remember, haha.
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Post by jin167 on Jul 9, 2017 2:15:24 GMT -6
it seems that they have made a few changes on their gen 3 models so I'm not sure how they compare to the gen 2 models. SMPS and modular system.. I don't know but if I was you I'd stick with gen 2
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 3:24:26 GMT -6
it seems that they have made a few changes on their gen 3 models so I'm not sure how they compare to the gen 2 models. SMPS and modular system.. I don't know but if I was you I'd stick with gen 2 Both definitely seem great. I guess I could get the XPA and then upgrade to something like the Bryston 4B SST2 in the future if I really wanted to as well, which it seems like I might not even need to. So here is a question regarding amps in general... looking at tons of bench tests tonight regarding THD+N... it seems that many power amps, besides select amps that are much more expensive... perform the best when they hit about 1/3 of their rated wattage and up. Since I will be monitoring most of the time at low and medium-low volumes.. and since the Emotiva is rated up to 490 WPC at 4ohm... does that mean I would be getting lower distortion from other less powerful amps instead?
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 9, 2017 6:02:34 GMT -6
I had two Emotiva mono blocks (https://emotiva.com/products/xpa-1l) and sold them in favor of the Lexicon...I've found you kind've get what you pay for in amps...except for the Lexicons...which are Brystons with a Lexicon label.
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Post by jin167 on Jul 9, 2017 7:25:47 GMT -6
plenty of cheap brystons can be found on ebay as well so you've got a lot of options on your hand.
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Post by Hudsonic on Jul 9, 2017 10:20:32 GMT -6
Solaris is top top sounding unit. When I installed and heard it through my PMC super stack, depth rendition was much increased. Inner detail as well. Timbre was more accurate than anything else I have tried. Endorsed here.
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Post by LesC on Jul 9, 2017 12:06:53 GMT -6
Solaris is top top sounding unit. When I installed and heard it through my PMC super stack, depth rendition was much increased. Inner detail as well. Timbre was more accurate than anything else I have tried. Endorsed here. I'm happy to see you here! Have you had a chance to hear the ADI-2 Pro? If so, can you offer any comparison of the DA to the Solaris? I'm considering adding a 2-channel AD/DA and the ADI-2 Pro is considerably less expensive than the Hedd with the quantum upgrade, so I'm hoping to find someone credible who has made the comparison.
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Post by kcatthedog on Jul 9, 2017 12:50:53 GMT -6
Not certain what your concern is with William's mod, I had almost immediateturnaround ? Curious, when peeps say Amphion isn't full range how low do you need to go and are you including sub ?
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 15:28:21 GMT -6
I had two Emotiva mono blocks (https://emotiva.com/products/xpa-1l) and sold them in favor of the Lexicon...I've found you kind've get what you pay for in amps...except for the Lexicons...which are Brystons with a Lexicon label. Which model Bryston / Lexicon do you have now? I may just put down some more money for the amp and get something I won't have to upgrade for a very long time. If I am going to be getting the Two18s... I certainly don't want to cut myself short on the amp.
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 15:43:12 GMT -6
Not certain what your concern is with William's mod, I had almost immediateturnaround ? Curious, when peeps say Amphion isn't full range how low do you need to go and are you including sub ? I personally think the Amphion Two18s are full range enough for most applications... though I will also likely get a sub to occasionally turn off and on for reference. The Audio Upgrades mod seems great based on what I've discussed with him... bringing the response up the 300KHz apparently (though I don't know the scale for that... if it is +-1dB, 3dB, 10dB, etc). Being that I haven't heard it personally though and am just going off of recommendations, I am just gauging my options. Buying an old Adcom off of eBay and hoping it holds up / is in great shape seems like a bit of a gamble (though I guess it is with all used gear / amps), though I am sure Jim would fix it up if that is the case, or my personal tech could. I want to make sure I am getting the best bang for my buck possible here, and not cutting myself short after getting the Two18s. If spending closer to the price of the Amp500 to get another higher end amp will drastically improve the response of the monitors... and keep me from having to upgrade longer, then maybe I will do that and get a more expensive amp from the start. But yeah, Jim's mod is certainly a front runner for what I am considering still. Originally, I was going to go with that or a similarly priced amp and spend the savings on some smaller stuff around the studio, but if I am better off getting a $1,500 or so used amp that is not the Amp500, that is what I will do. Also, is there any difference between the Adcom GFA-555 that is rack mounted and the one that is not? I also see a non-rackmountable one that says Adcom GFA-555 II on eBay, so not sure if all of that makes a difference, or if all that aren't rackmountable are the II version. I will also call Jim if I end up going that route. I was originally thinking a GFA-545, but I do not know if that will have a high enough wattage per channel, so in that case the GFA-555 seems like a better bet. Granted, I will have the Two18s at low or moderately low levels most of the time. I want to make sure whatever amp I get also performs well at low levels, and doesn't need to hit at least 1/3 of its wattage to get great distortion specs like many I have seen, including the Emotiva it seems.
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 15:45:58 GMT -6
Solaris is top top sounding unit. When I installed and heard it through my PMC super stack, depth rendition was much increased. Inner detail as well. Timbre was more accurate than anything else I have tried. Endorsed here. I am already sold on the Avocet IIA I believe! I am pretty sure that includes the same conversion as the Solaris... the 5th Gen Quantum. When I was talking to them at GearFest, I was told they have a new matching ADC coming out soon as well.
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Post by topshelfmg on Jul 9, 2017 15:49:10 GMT -6
I appreciate all this feedback on both the monitor controller / converter and now regarding the power amp. Looking like the amp is the new priority for me to figure out! But yeah, if it is wiser to spend a little more on an amp and it'll make a significant difference vs the modded Adcom or Emotiva Gen 2 or Gen 3 (which the Gen 3 seems to be greatly improved based on both bench tests and listening tests I have read / compared)
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