All change....
Posted by: Marksnaim on 27 May 2016
Just got my LP12 back from the dealer where it had a service, new motor and Kore fitted. All well and good. The only problem is that it has given me a bit of a dilemma. I had just also purchased a pair of late model Isobariks. The idea was to test them out then put them in storage pending the completion of building work on the house. However when I plugged the refettled LP12 into them via the 282/HCDR/250DR I had to rethink what passive Briks were capable of. Admittedly it had been 20+ years since I last heard them but even so I'm sure they weren't performing anything like as well as this. That was with Pre Cirkus Valhalla LP12/Ekos/Troika/32.5/HC/250. So I've squeezed them into the front room with 282/SC2/250DR and they sound fantastic. Not the speed and clarity of the active IBLs but the smoothness, integration and tonal quality is wonderful and there's still plenty of detail and control. That wonderful bass not flabby in the least. There's not enough space here for the black boxes to run them active so I have that to look forward to. Only remaining problem is how to molify SWMBO regarding how the front room now looks.
Suggest a trip to Harrods should do the trick....with your debit card of course 
jon honeyball posted:active briks are a thing of beauty -- i still remember visiting a hifi dealer in london (KJ near oxford street maybe) where they were playing some dark smokey jazz on a set, with six, yes SIX 135s. It was stunning.
Only bettered by active DBLs, of course :-)
Never heard the infamous DBL's, how would you compare them against the Briks ?
I can't wait to get Active again, Eyeballing a SCDR this very moment!
Cdx2/282/Hi Cap DR/ 250.2/ 250.2/ 250.2/Fraimlite/Linn K-20/Tri-Amped Passive PMS Briks
Grace Jones, Slave to the Rhythm, Remasted CD Release, Really Kicking this very moment!
Allante93!
Christopher_M posted:Now that you have the fully loaded Sondek, the SC and the passive Briks, the NAC252 can't be far away now, Mark?!
Chris (Like a dog with a bone).
No changes now until the new room is ready later this year hopefully. The SC will then go on the Snaxo 362 so I'd need another SC to replace the HCDR before considering a 252. My dealer however falls into the 282 over the 252 camp so I'm not being that encouraged. Interestingly enough we were talking about 552 when he picked my LP12 up and he didn't feel that offered sufficient improvement for the £££s. Anyway, priorities will be SCDR for the Snaxo, SC to SCDR for the 282, tart up the Briks. At that point it'll be all about the LP12. Dealer is raving about the Booplinth. Thinks it's a bigger upgrade than the Keel and Radikal. Must admit it does look the part. Oh, and the wallet is getting seriously depleted so a pause for breath is in order.
Marksnaim posted:Christopher_M posted:Now that you have the fully loaded Sondek, the SC and the passive Briks, the NAC252 can't be far away now, Mark?!
Chris (Like a dog with a bone).
No changes now until the new room is ready later this year hopefully. The SC will then go on the Snaxo 362 so I'd need another SC to replace the HCDR before considering a 252. My dealer however falls into the 282 over the 252 camp so I'm not being that encouraged. Interestingly enough we were talking about 552 when he picked my LP12 up and he didn't feel that offered sufficient improvement for the £££s. Anyway, priorities will be SCDR for the Snaxo, SC to SCDR for the 282, tart up the Briks. At that point it'll be all about the LP12. Dealer is raving about the Booplinth. Thinks it's a bigger upgrade than the Keel and Radikal. Must admit it does look the part. Oh, and the wallet is getting seriously depleted so a pause for breath is in order.
Trust me you're on the right Track, the 1% Club Active Systems! That's one thing the Forum is great at, spending your money.
Take the crossover out of the equations and the Speakers began to sing, no Phase distortion, which is present in the best of Speakers.
Ask Lawrence Dickie, Head chief at Vivid Audio, Speaker Designer of the 40K 2014 stereophile award winning speaker of the year! That's his 3rd Tier affordable Speaker!
""Laurence Dickie: "I have always been a keen advocate of the active approach to loudspeaker design, believing that the direct connection between amplifier and voice coil offers the purest route and that the precision and linearity of active electronics give a clear advantage over passive alternatives. However for pragmatic reasons we felt it unwise to go to market with only active speakers. An important part of the design phase of the first Vivid Audio products was a re-evaluation of passive crossover design. It has to be said that the use of computer-aided circuit analysis has really changed the game. The accuracy possible to meet target responses while presenting a safe load is quite remarkable. This coupled with drivers which present constant impedances across a wide range of drive levels, non-polar film dielectric capacitors and air-cored inductors has permitted us to create passive designs which really challenge the active alternatives."
I'm no expert by any means, but I would guess the Active upgrade surpasses the Trickled down DR technologies!
And together, Well just ask DB, Graham, etc.......
Allante93!
Marksnaim posted:No changes now until the new room is ready later this year hopefully. The SC will then go on the Snaxo 362 so I'd need another SC to replace the HCDR before considering a 252. My dealer however falls into the 282 over the 252 camp so I'm not being that encouraged. Interestingly enough we were talking about 552 when he picked my LP12 up and he didn't feel that offered sufficient improvement for the £££s. Anyway, priorities will be SCDR for the Snaxo, SC to SCDR for the 282, tart up the Briks. At that point it'll be all about the LP12. Dealer is raving about the Booplinth. Thinks it's a bigger upgrade than the Keel and Radikal. Must admit it does look the part. Oh, and the wallet is getting seriously depleted so a pause for breath is in order.
I'm thinking... time to change your dealer ! (use mine if you like - he hits the happy medium between salesman and informed advisor)
rjstaines posted:Marksnaim posted:No changes now until the new room is ready later this year hopefully. The SC will then go on the Snaxo 362 so I'd need another SC to replace the HCDR before considering a 252. My dealer however falls into the 282 over the 252 camp so I'm not being that encouraged. Interestingly enough we were talking about 552 when he picked my LP12 up and he didn't feel that offered sufficient improvement for the £££s. Anyway, priorities will be SCDR for the Snaxo, SC to SCDR for the 282, tart up the Briks. At that point it'll be all about the LP12. Dealer is raving about the Booplinth. Thinks it's a bigger upgrade than the Keel and Radikal. Must admit it does look the part. Oh, and the wallet is getting seriously depleted so a pause for breath is in order.
I'm thinking... time to change your dealer ! (use mine if you like - he hits the happy medium between salesman and informed advisor)
To be fair to my dealer, the above are his opinions, and we've not always agreed. Also it would be easy for him to extol the virtues of 252 and 552 to me on purely commercial grounds and I think it's to his credit that he doesn't do that. He offers opinions and options. I use my ears and experience to make up my own mind what sound appeals to me most and spend my hard earned £££ as I see fit.