"What are your thoughts on Audio Research versus Lamm?"
November
24, 2010
Marc,
I
have really enjoyed my time with Wilson Audio Sasha W/P speakers and Lamm M1.2 Reference
monoblocks. Due to a recent move, I had to sell off all my gear. I have decided to
purchase a pair of Wilson Sophia 3s for my smaller listening room in the new house. The
room is 13' x 21' x 10'. I am looking to partner the Sophia 3 with either Lamm or Audio
Research electronics. I really enjoyed the tonally full and harmonically rich sonic
signature of Lamm. I find that I prefer darker to lighter and tonally rich to lean, even
if it results in a slight loss of perceived transparency and detail. Will I regret going
with Audio Research? Will the new Reference gear give me that similar "meat on the
bones" sound, or will it come across as threadbare by comparison? I have the
Reference CD8, Reference 5 and Reference 110 in mind. What are your thoughts on Audio
Research versus Lamm?
Serge
Brotsky
I
answer more questions about Audio Research and Lamm than any other brands of electronics,
perhaps because they share a number of sonic characteristics that, like you, I value.
Given your admiration of the Lamm sound, I don't think you'll regret going with a complete
Audio Research Reference system in your new digs, especially if space is a consideration.
I have all of the Audio Research products you mention along with a pair of Wilson Audio
Sophia 3s, and they comprise a smaller-scale system that delivers true reference-level
sound. I've heard the Reference 110 drive loads tougher than Sophia 3s in large rooms
without running out of power, and the Reference 5 and Reference CD8 are the perfect mates
for it -- no surprise there. This system is far from "threadbare," producing a
sound that I think is more truly neutral than so much of the lean-sounding electronics
that are touted for their neutrality. "Meat on the bones" describes the sound
well -- though you don't have to sacrifice detail retrieval, for instance, to get it. With
each of its Reference products, Audio Research lives up to its "High Definition"
motto.
Another
configuration to consider would be one that mixes and matches the two brands. I use Lamm
M1.2 monoblocks with the Reference 5 and Reference CD8, and it's a great combination,
sounding a bit more fleet than the all-Reference system in the lower mids and into the
bass, which also has greater power. The palpable midrange of the Reference 110 is hard to
equal at any price, but the M1.2s' mids come close. -Marc Mickelson
New from Esoteric -- "I hope you will review one soon"
November
19, 2010
Marc,
I
just noticed a new product listing from Esoteric -- the K-01. This is said to be released
in November, with a new-and-improved VRDS transport, new 32-bit DAC's, four filter options
including two that are the new apodizing type, among many other improvements. This product
is found under the "DAC" listing on Esoteric's website, but it is obviously a
new CD/SACD player that betters the X-01 series, and (my guess, due to the advanced
technology) their separates such as P-01/D-01 and P-03/D-03.
When
the new X-01 came out, it was followed soon after by the P-series separates. I'm hoping
this happens again. Your review of the P-03/D-03 was influential in my purchasing them,
and I have enjoyed these immensely over the past three years or so. I am also aware that
no matter how good digital products may be, technology advances so quickly that even the
highest-performing units will be surpassed within a few years as new technology appears.
You
may already be aware of this, or may possibly even be reviewing a K-01 as I write. If not,
I hope you will review one soon. With the K-01's technology as described, I would be
surprised if it did not surpass the P-03/D-03 in many ways. I'm hoping there will be new
K-series versions of the P-03/D-03 following. If not, the K-01 may be my next digital
front-end.
Brian
Alberts
I
visited Esoteric last month and talked with them about two new players, the K-01 ($22,500)
and K-03 ($13,000). Both will debut at CES in January, although they are listed on
Esoteric's website right now. Among their features, as you mentioned, are new VRDS
transport mechanisms and 32-bit DACs. There are also digital inputs that can handle
24-bit/192kHz data, including a USB input that is asynchronous capable. As with previous
Esoteric players, both the K-01 and K-03 are fully balanced and use multiple DACs per
channel. The P-03 and D-03 will remain in Esoteric's product lineup, and there are no
plans for K-series separates.
We're
not in the process of reviewing the K-01 right now, but Esoteric has promised TAB
the first of the review units shortly after CES. -Marc Mickelson
Zanden
synergy
November
16, 2010
Marc,
You
mentioned in your review of the Zanden Model 3000 line stage that adding more and
more Zanden components created a synergy effect (you stated it differently) as the
combination of more Zanden equipment created additional benefit. Is this something you can
comment on in somewhat greater detail? How do you experience this effect from a listener's
point of view? If I remember correctly, Roy Gregory in his review of the Zanden Model 3000
line stage and Model 9500 mono amps had the same opinion.
Ray
Demerse
The
point I was trying to make in my review of the Model 3000 preamp was that while that unit
has a different sonic character from the Zanden amps and digital gear, all of these
products still worked exceedingly well together. This is a different kind of synergy than
the one with Audio Research electronics, for example, which is really a matter of carrying
the same sonic character from CD player through to the amp. I will speculate that the
Model 3000's "inherent out-of-the-signal-path neutrality" is deliberate. Because
of the preamp's central spot in the audio system, the Model 3000 was designed to simply
pass the signal, allowing all of the qualities of the Model 9600 mono amps and the digital
separates to blossom. If the ultimate goal of any preamp is to be sonically invisible,
then the Model 3000 reached the ultimate goal, and it works especially well with the other
Zanden products because of this. -Marc Mickelson
Paradigm
Signature S6 v3s: heard 'em?
November
12, 2010
Marc,
I
read your review of the Paradigm Signature S8 v3 speakers. I currently own
Paradigm speakers, and I am looking to upgrade, but I wanted to know if you had heard the
S8 v3s. I am looking at several speakers, actually, not just Paradigms. How much would the
Signature S6es cost?
Philip
Susi
I
haven't heard the Paradigm Signature S6 v3 speakers, but given that the tweeter, midrange
and woofers are identical to those used for the Signature S8 v3 and the cabinets of the
two speakers are very similar, I would expect the overall character to be about as close
to what I describe in my review as possible, though with less bass depth. Sensitivity is
above average and about the same -- a 1dB difference, actually -- so both speakers will
play very loud without a lot of power. The Signature S6 v3 costs $2899-$3199 each,
depending on the finish. -Marc Mickelson
Too
much beauty?
November
10, 2010
Marc,
I
read with great interest your reviews of the Zanden
Model 3000 preamp (and earlier the Zanden 9600 amps) and the Tidal
Contriva Diacera SE loudspeakers. I wonder whether you were able to combine the Zanden
electronics with the Tidal speakers. Did they prove a good match? If you did not combine
these components, what would you expect from combining the beautiful-sounding Zanden
amplification with the beautiful-sounding Tidal loudspeakers?
Victor
Rudy
Unfortunately,
I didn't use the Zanden electronics with the Tidal speakers, as the amps, preamp and
digital gear had left by the time the speakers arrived. In speculating on how the two
would work together, I can say that while both offer beautiful sound, they don't do so in
a grossly colored, cloying way. The very best audio gear is able to straddle the
beauty-truth line deftly enough to have you wondering which way it leans -- if it does so
at all. Both the Zanden electronics and Tidal speakers do this, never sacrificing truth
for beauty, or vice versa. On theoretical grounds, they would seem to be a good match.
However, whether the Zanden amps have enough power to drive the Tidal speakers or exhibit
the bass control the speakers require is a different question. A mismatch could certainly
skew the results, causing a sonic outcome that's unbalanced. Unfortunately, high-end audio
is about empirical experience, and I just don't have it with these two brands. -Marc
Mickelson
Ayre
MX-Rs and Wadia?
November
8, 2010
Marc,
Have
you had a chance to hear the Ayre MX-R mono amps, and, if so, what are your thoughts? I'm
trying to put a system together, and I'm wondering if the MX-Rs would work with a Wadia
781 front-end, bypassing the preamp.
Pete
Bare
I'm
working on my review of the Ayre MX-Rs right now, so you'll get to read my thoughts on
them soon. For many good sonic reasons, I think they would work very well with your Wadia
CD player going directly into them. For more details, stay tuned for my review. -Marc
Mickelson
Looks
like...
November
5, 2010
Marc,
The
review of the Vivid G1 Giya is most encouraging, not because I shall ever hear this
speaker's like, but that, like so many other things, it exists.
Regarding
the appearance, could it not bring to mind the treble clef?
Many
thanks for this and other reviews.
C.
Paul Barreira
You're
right -- the Vivid Giya does look like a treble clef. I wish I would have made
that observation in my review. -Marc Mickelson
"...game-changing
products"
November
3, 2010
Paul,
Very
interesting review of Nordost Odin. The reason for my e-mail is that you stated
"Odin stands as one of the five most important and game-changing products I have
heard." Okay, I will bite. What are the other four?
Harold
Hughes
Over
the course of 15 years of audio reviewing, I'd have to say these were game-changers --
they changed the way I listened to and greatly expanded the sense of what was possible in
music reproduction.
Halcro dm58 mono amplifiers (2002-2003)
VTL TL-7.5 Signature line-stage preamp (original version, 2003)
Wilson Audio Sasha W/P loudspeakers (2009)
mbl 1511 CD transport and 1521 DAC (2000-2001, the first great digital I ever
heard in-house)
Nordost Odin (2010)
I
have heard the Audio Research Reference Anniversary line stage in very familiar
surroundings, and it will probably make that list when I have a chance to hear it in my
own system -- it has been that impressive in the three systems in which I have heard it.
Based on what I heard at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, the Technical Brain electronics may
well be another contender. So the list of five may soon become a list of seven. -Paul
Bolin
Reference
CD8 versus C-5xeMP
November
1, 2010
Marc,
I
was just enjoying your review of the Audio Research Reference CD8. I noticed you had an
Ayre C-5xeMP in your stable but did not compare its sound to that of the CD8. Those are
the two players I'm thinking of buying, and I will not have a chance to hear them at home.
Any info you could give me would be appreciated. I'm using the Ayre KX-R preamp, a Mark
Levinson No.431 amp, and Revel Salon speakers. I listen to mostly jazz, some rock/pop, and
lots of female vocals, not usually at to loud of levels.
Tim
Soroski
Putting
aside the difference in price and the fact that the Ayre C-5xeMP plays DVDs and SACDs and
the Audio Research Reference CD8 does not, I think you'll find that both players are
highly resolving with CDs. The Reference CD8, however, offers Audio Research's standard
enormous soundstage and a very direct, unadorned midrange. Its bass is also deep and
rhythmic, if not exactly the last word in weight. The C-5xeMP sounds quick and even-handed
throughout the musical spectrum -- like your KX-R in a general way. It's not as
spacious-sounding as the CD8, though certainly neither pinched nor limited in the way it
portrays space. It keeps closely to an ideal of neutrality, giving the formats that it
plays the room to sound distinct, which they do. I would recommend that you audition the
C-5xeMP and CD8 balanced, as both sound their best from their XLR outputs. The difference
with the C-5xeMP is great -- I wouldn't use it any other way -- while the CD8 is close in
quality balanced and single-ended. -Marc Mickelson
