HIFI Demo List

Hi all,

Here is a run down of my last 2 years auditioning in search of the unicorn system.

I wrote this up with the view it may help others. I've done it to death (Well, nearly!)

MUSIC:
Sarah McLachlan
Lene Marlin
Foo Fighters
Incubus
Ben Watt
Scott McKeon
Gavin Degraw
Simply Red
Roxy Music
George Michael
Talk Talk
The Styke Council
Blof (Dutch band - try "Watermakers" or "Ondanks jezelf")
Kurt Nilsen
Johnny Hates Jazz
Enya
Duran Duran
Fleetwood Mac
Usher
Justin Bieber
Adele
Chicane
Everything But the Girl

I love house, prog and old school trance but this system is about evening music.

Current system:

ProAc 118/SugdenA21/Chord Hugo2/Innuos Zenith. Chord cables. Naim Powerlines. 

SPEAKERS:

ProAc 118 (Own)
Pros: Open, dynamic and lively but with that ProAc midrange mood.

ProAc SM100 (Will buy these one day - source/amp depedent)
Pros: Most magical midrange I have ever heard. Quite special. Brilliant for a party and also a deep dive.
Cons: Very revealing. Best used with smoother and high quality equipment.

ProAc D20R (If I had a bigger room would consider)
Pros: Super open and musical.
Cons: Big base for smallee rooms a problem.

ProAc D2 (Not for me)
Pros: Heavy bass for a stand mounter.
Cons: Midrange is missing. All top and bottom. Music is in the midrange! Sound stiff and dull.

ProAc DB3 (Nor for me)
Pros: Heavy bass for stand mounters.
Cons: Rear ported. Boomy in small room close to wall. Sound very boxy compared to SM100, D20R, 118s.

ATC SCM12 (Not for me)
Pros: Can't miss a note.
Cons: Droll and void of emotion.

Dynaudio Special 40 (Nope)
Pros: Not much for me
Cons: Stiff plastic cone. Lack expression and dynamics. A bit boxy sounding.

Dynaudio Excite (Nope)
Pros: Fun and lively. Upbeat.
Cons: Not very bassy. Might be a nightmare to live with.

PMC 25.21 (Possibly)
Pros: Big sound for a small speaker. Fast.
Cons: Lack the musical midrange of ProAc. A tad bit more clinical. Might appeal. ProAc are moodier and warmer.

PMC 25.22 (Would buy)
Pros: Closest thing to a positive upgrade to ProAc 118. They have similar open midrange and dynamics. Very involving.
Cons: Can't really criticise. Great speakers. The midrange is as special as the SM100. But you do get an easier listen.

Spendor Classic (If I had money to waste Id have em for occasional)
Pros: Beautiful balanced and easy going. Refined.
Cons: Lack boogie and dynamic slam.

B&W CM6 S2 (Nope)
Pros: None
Cons: Stiff, muddy midrange. Bright, harsh highs.

Russel K - Red 100 (Not for me)
Pros: Quality, open, fast speaker. Crystal clear. Snappy. Acoustic music is cracking.
Cons: A little lean and cold.

Audio Note AX1 (Not for me but nice)
Pros: Midrange is stupidly open and organic.
Cons: Lack bass and drive. Lightweight sound.

I would still like to hear:
Totem Sky
ProAc Tablette Anniversary

AMPLIFIERS:

Sugden A21L (2017 - Own)
Pros: Just a lovely amplifier. Clean. Musical. Weighty and full. Sounds controlled and powerful. Lovely class A.
Cons: A teeny bit glassy which makes it hard to get right inside the music - but this is also a positive when you want to relax. A hard amp to move away from..

Rega Elicit R (Not for me)
Pros: Twinkly and musical. Separation. Has free.
Cons: A bit lightweight and I found it tiresome.

MF M5si (Nope)
Pros: Has that weird but lovelty Musical Fidelity fluidity.
Cons: Bit cool and light sounding.

Naim XS2 (Previously owned)
Pros: Rhythmic. Fairly transparent and easy to get inside the music. That fluid Naim dark syrup sound is addictive (Some days).
Cons: I found it to be a bit boomy and sometimes a bit thin with some music. A bit frantic and hard to relax to. Quite cold and lacking sweet emotion.

Naim SN2 (Can't critise it. Just not for me).
Pros: You don't miss anything. Powerful. Lots of slam. Lots of control.
Cons: Found it way tooo clinical and lacking emotion/warmth.

Sonneteer Alabaster (Nope).
Pros: I really didn't like this amp.
Cons: Jangly and lacking togetherness. It really didn't work for me.

Sugden A2SE (Maybe if nothing else floats my boat).
Pros: Loses the glassiness of the A21. A wonderful amp.
Cons: Nothing of note. Only I found it a bit less musical and a bit heavier sounding vs A21. Wasn't a revelation moment.

Luxman 505ux (Super amp would buy)
Pros: Big, focussed, controlled sound, tight, big bass, musical as hell, smooth mids, clean highs. Best all round amp I have heard. Feels closest to being my 'Misses right'.
Cons: Not sure I can state any.

Luxman 550ax: (Maybe)
Pros: Takes the 505ux to Class A territory. Some will prefer it. Some won't.
Cons: I preferred the 505ux A/B model for slam, musicality and tighter bass. But you could toss and a coin and if I bought the 505ux... i'd probably end up changing to the 550ax at some point. Both have differing wonderful characteristics.

Exposure 3020s2d (Maybe)

Pros: Big, expressive and musical. Fast. Cons: A bit too obviously solid state sounding. After Class A that is.

Croft Intergrated (Non R) (Maybe as a second cheap amp very nice)
Pros: Musical, fluid, open and rich. Probably beats most other amps for pleasure. Eva Cassidy - People Get Ready sounds sublime on this. It has a draw factor.
Cons: Lacks a bit of conviction and control.

Croft Integrated (R Line) (Maybe)
Pros: More control than the none R. Considerably more grip and fullness.
Cons: Loses a bit of flow due to regulation. A bit like going from XS2 to SN2.

Plinius Intergrated (£5.5k forget the model) (Nope)
Pros: Not sure
Cons: Sounded lightweight and vague at the bottom. Generally uninspiring.

Burmester X83 (I think) (Nope)
Pros: Clear and open. Musical.
Cons: Sounds German. £7.5k is too much. It wasn't that much more enjoyable than the A21 Sugden at £2k.

Leema Tucana (Nope)
Pros: Fun, musical and fast sound. Bags of atmosphere and sparkle.
Cons: Can see it being tiresome. Lightweight basslines. Which surprised me for the money.

SPEAKER CABLES:

I've had Chord, Atlas, TQ cables but have always return to Chord. Seem more together and seem to have more flow.

Chord Rumour:
Pros: Basic. Do a job. Cheap. Warm.
Cons: Smeared compare to Oddysey and Epic.

Odyssey
Pros: More open. Lively and musial.
Cons: It's instantly relegated by Epic.

Epic:
Pros: Musical as feck.
Cons: Non of note.

Chord Signature
Pros: More open again
Cons: Your source needs be natural as hell or it'll sound cold. Dynamics seem a bit soft maybe due to shielding. The higher Chord cables seem to be darker and less twinkly. A bit boring.

TQ Black
Pros: People love it?
Cons: Make sure the system works for it. Sounded cold and clinical in my system.

Atlas Hyper 3.5:
Pros: Warms and thickens things up like a good broth.
Cons: Smooths over transients and loses excitement. One day I like all copper... the next I prefer a bit of silver. Can't win.

INTERCONNECTS

Chord Chameleon
Pros: Was fine as a starter
Cons: Later fundamentally flawed.

Chord Shawline
Pros: Musical as crap! Open, fast, dynamic and snappy
Cons: Not sure there are any

Chord Sarum TA
Pros: Smoother. Less edge to highs
Cons: Sounded surpressed and soft. Preferred Shawline even though I heat in some sense the Sarum is more competeng.

USB CABLES

Chord Hugo 15cm stock (A-Micro B)
Pros: Free and fine
Cons: When you discover a proper decent USB cable it's obvious what was wrong with it.

Chord Hugo 1m stock (A-Micro B)
Pros: It's longer.
Cons: Compressed and digital sounding. Squashed dynamics. Short cables will sound much better. Surprisingly so.

8x random 15cn stock (A-Micro B)
Pros: Super cheap
Cons: None of these sounded as good as Chords stock 15cm.

Chord Silver Plus (A-B)
Pros: Lively
Cons: Bright and a bit separate

Curious (A-Micro B)
Pros: Open, natural voices
Cons: Seem to be a bit forced.

Vertere D-Fi (Single) (A-Micro B)
Pros: Balanced and even sounding.
Cons: Tended to prefer the Chord 15cm stock for dynamics. But less refined as the Vertere.

Vertere D-Fi (Double) (A-Micro B) (Own)
Pros: Amazing presentation. Super and lacks nothing compared to all others. Must be the separate data and power cords.
Cons: Relatively pensive at £200.

Nordost Blue Heaven
Pros: Equally as good as the Vertere.
Cons: A bit sharper/brighter/louder. But not much in it.

POWER CABLES

Naim Powerline (Own 3)
Pros: I can't get over these. Even in a non Naim system. I have three. They add a silky, dark, deep, musical mood.
Cons: Expensive. Soundstage takes a little reduction in height / width. Voices can be a little wirey

Chord Signature
Pros: Expressive and bigger soundstage. Smoother voices
Cons: Kills musicality. Flat and lacks depth.

Russ A 350 Rhodium
Pros: Open
Cons: Bright as ....

MUSIC SERVERS

Melco N1-A
Pros: Much better than a Mac.
Cons: Not as confident as the Innuos Zenith.

Innuos Zenith
Pros: Rich, detailed, controlled, musical, timing is mega, dynamic, just a fantastic purchase (Add a powerline). Super reliable and easy to use and rip.
Cons: Nothing.

DACS:

Chord 2Qute:
Pros: Sounded better than anything Sabre. Fast, punchy, weighty and tight.
Cons: Metallic highs I found. Irritated me.

Chord Hugo:
Pros: More natural that the Qute. Musical and fluid. Vivid. Volume output control.
Cons: Could be prone to noise and still had a digital edge to my ears.

Chord Hugo2 (Own):
Pros: Fabulous space, dimension and fullness. Sounds most like music to date. Super detailed and mesmerising mood at times. Sure it's more capable than my system allows
Cons: Hard to say without hearing more DACs. Could be smoother. I am keen to heat it vs an Invicta Mirus, Auralic Vega, PS Audio Direct Stream, Schiit Yggdrasil, T+A DAC 8 DSD and that bloke DAVE. (I don't dare talk to Dave though...).

Chord Hugo TT:
Pros: Smooth, solid, refined.
Cons: Lacked space and dimension of Hugo2. Less musical.

Naim DAC V1
Pros: Naim sound. Punchy and organised.
Cons: Didn't have the deftness and delicacy or flair of the Chords.

Audiolad M-DAC (Nope)
Pros: Fluid
Cons: Vague and soft bass. Smeared. DAC V1 kills it.

Audio Note DAC 0.1x (A hesistant no).
Pros: More natural than the Chords.
Cons: Lacked weight and groove vs Hugo2. Somethings i loved. Others a bit missing. A bit thin sounding.

Schiit Gumby (TBC)
Arriving soon for home demo!

DECRAPIFIERS

Uptone Regen + TP PSU
Pros: Sound was softer but seemed less organised to me.
Cons. Didn't feel right. Possibly to do with cables and power supply. Zenith > Short USB > DAC sounded more musical.

PSUs

Flatcap XS
Pros: Improved XS2 in some senses; Soundstage, clarity, depth.
Cons: Sucked some musicality and warmth out of the XS2. Less moody. Less Naim.

POWER STRIPS

Heretic Star Earth
Pros: Funnily plugging a Powerline into this from mains and then all electronics into the sockets brings a bit of cohesion and a raise in SQ.
Cons: Nothing of note. Apart from needing to buy yet another Powerline!

ADVICE

My advice to anyone starting out:
1) Don't buy until you've listen to a lot of brands (DACs, amps, speakers).
2) Spending many more thousands of pounds does not necessarily give you more satisfying sound. I guarantee this.
3) Buy comfortably in terms speakers and amp - Spend the money on your player/source, power cables, isolation, transfer cables and get that RF/mains noise under control. It'll give you the biggest step up in naturalness and tone (DAC particularly).
4) Listen for the groove. If the groove isn't there, it's not working. After all the A/Bing is done... you just want to sink into the music. Sometimes you can be fooled on a short listens.
5) Home demo everything. It always sounds different at dealers. And don't be pressured. Some dealers are pushy.
6) Get some acoustic panels for back wall, side walls and traps behind speakers / in corners. Do this first... or you aren't hearing your system. Just blurred reflections.
6) Recommended or custom made low resonance stands and racking do make a great deal of difference especially in midrange. Quite amazingly so.
7) Power supplies do not provide any silver bullets. Only differences.
8) Good combos I have found (For differing tastes or music); Naim & PMC. Sugden & ProAc. Luxman and ProAc/PMC. Chord DACs and Sugden/Luxman.
9) Don't take my word for it. Listen for yourselves! I don't claim to be intelligent or correct. This is all just my opinion.

10) Some of the big money amps and equipment sound "too serious" and lose the fun. In some cases it gets ear bleeding and/or empty sounding. You can get a thoroughly enjoyable system for a reasonable amount of cash.

In terms of Naim. I started my journey with Naim. I am fond of part of the Naim amplification signature. That darkness and mood. I am somewhat tempted to have another stab at SN2 since upgrading various system elements. The XS2 was too frantic for me and the Flat Cap spoilt it's good bits. So if I did return it'd have to be SN2. I want to do one last comparison betweeb Luxman and SN2.

Barring pre/power and silly money stuff like McIntosh there isn't a lot more to listen to. Maybe Lavardin, LFD and that french man. Can't remember his name. But from reports I can't say these soundlike my kinda amps.

Any suggestions welcome. Or if any wants any more info.

Cheers,

Moderated Post:  I've had to remove two things; the first was mention of a company who have told Naim that neither they nor their products should be mentioned or discussed on this forum.  The second was mention of a non-Naim power supply, discussion of which is not allowed as it constitutes an unauthorised modification to Naim equipment.