Upgrades XS2

Haha. Sounds wonderful! 

The Strat (Fender) posted:

Somebody once told me Living Voice and Naim was a match made in hell?

Sounds rather tempting ...

Well, I am 5 days in with the SN2 and the Hugo TT.

The Hugo TT added some width to the soundstage (not a great deal), as well smoothing things in a more serene way, not blurred or masked though. it's quite nice. Possibly a very subtle change but a big one. However for the extra £2000 at this point, it feels like one for the future (Maybe - I still enjoy the airey nature of the little Hugo, even if it is a teeny weeny bit less refined. More musical?). It was easier to make this part of the call.

The Supernait 2, well it's very nice. The big stage which feels engrossing in a different way to the XS2 is quite a lure. The soften way it plays means it's good for background at lower levels too. It's not got quite as much POW! as I thought. The composure is what is most striking.

BUT... having stripped all of these lovely, expensive things out of the system (And I did try one at a time and both together), I've put the XS2 back in and I feel refreshed. Ok, the XS3 does not have the refinement of the SN2. And the Hugo does have a tiny bit less refinement than the TT. But the XS2 + little Hugo + Proac speakers is free, sparkly, musical, jovial and dynamics glide and drift in a more free way. The sound is smaller, thinner stage, yet the music swirls more in the air around the room. Feels like daylight in the music. 

So I'm sending both back to the dealer. I may go back to the Flatcap XS and be done now. But even then I remember that constraining things a little.

I like the XS2 bare. It's a lovely little amp for my room/system. It drawsy attention, into a deep long stare. It sounds more like music is live and atmospheric.

Does anyone know if any of the higher pre / power systems offer a similar sound to the XS2? Because the Supernait sounds VERY different to my ears. 

Thanks Thatsnotmyname for your very refreshing post. You have done it. How many of us do that? Sending back toys of upgrade on trial to the dealer. Not that many. Better, you did it while appreciating them for their pros and cons. Cheers. 

Chag - 

Chag... posted:

Thanks Thatsnotmyname for your very refreshing post. You have done it. How many of us do that? Sending back toys of upgrade on trial to the dealer. Not that many. Better, you did it while appreciating them for their pros and cons. Cheers. 

Chag - 

It's a bizarre one! I was dead certain it was all going to be a super upgrade.

But I just felt like I'd lost a leg. The Pros of what I have, for me, outweigh the pros of the demo units. Money is not really a factor (Although it's nice to not have to fork out). If the upgrades were right I'd of forked out.

By the way I've found Atlas Hyper 3.5 to be a very nice match with Chord Hugo, XS2 and Proac 118. It adds a little weight that nothing else has but is hugely open and engaging. So makes up for some lightness of the Hugo and 118s. Odyssey 2 makes things a little too thin and emotionless in this system - although to date it's been my preference out of many other cables.

On the Supernait 2 I found the Odyssey 2 slightly preferable. The Hyper 3.5 with SN2 maybe just added a bit too much roundness. NAC A5 would of been good to try with the SN2 as well as Chord Epic. I tried those with the XS2 once and didn't like them. NAC A5 being dry in the mid but open and Epic slower things down a bit. As the SN2 slows things down, i think maybe Epic would be too much of that type of thing. But NAC A5 opening up the SN2 might be great.

Bizarre maybe not, at least you've done the demos and have now come to a reasoned conclusion! Hopefully you won't be left with anymore 'What if's?' now.

Interesting that you say SN2 sounds a lot different to XS2. I haven't heard XS2 but for me, SN2 has much of what the XS1 is about so I assume XS1 and XS2 must sound quite different as well. I did find that SN2 seemed to sound slower but I think that was more about control and composure (compared to XS1), allowing me to absorb more information from the track.

I have had Chord Epic with SN2 and it was a good cable, but I found Tellurium Q Black seems to really add some magic by opening things up at the top end and tightening up the bass. If you haven't sent your bits back then I'd recommend giving it a quick whirl if you can, if not then it is definitely worth giving it a go on your XS2

Mayor West posted:

Bizarre maybe not, at least you've done the demos and have now come to a reasoned conclusion! Hopefully you won't be left with anymore 'What if's?' now.

Interesting that you say SN2 sounds a lot different to XS2. I haven't heard XS2 but for me, SN2 has much of what the XS1 is about so I assume XS1 and XS2 must sound quite different as well. I did find that SN2 seemed to sound slower but I think that was more about control and composure (compared to XS1), allowing me to absorb more information from the track.

I have had Chord Epic with SN2 and it was a good cable, but I found Tellurium Q Black seems to really add some magic by opening things up at the top end and tightening up the bass. If you haven't sent your bits back then I'd recommend giving it a quick whirl if you can, if not then it is definitely worth giving it a go on your XS2

I don't have any "What if's" now, no. It's definitely the slower vibe that puts me off. I really love the composure... but one of my favourite tracks is Everything But The Girl - Twin Cities, and the slower vibe killed it for me. Small difference. But the vibrancy of the XS2 does it for me. I wish there was a midway point between the two! ha never happy.

Have you by any chance compared Chord Odyssey to Epic? I actually did this comparison ages ago when I going through 'the pain barrier'. I found Odyssey again more snappy and Epic slower sounding but more refined. But Odyssey is a quite tizzy in the upper mids/top and tiresome after while die to relentless liveliness. If it was refined it would be an 'Epic' cable! See what I did there!? ha I'm liking the Atlas Hyper 3.5 for full body and warmth. But I miss the Chord transient shimmers and freshness. Told you, never happy.

TQB I also did, but I did it as an attempted cure months ago in the wrong setup and it made things awful... because it's so transparent it showed my system up. I'm scared to try it again! Although it was clearly very capable. The only problem I found with it other than it's honesty (at the time), was that it felt rather dry in the middle, losing a little feeling / romance that the Chord's give. I found it a bit clinical? Maybe I should give it another go... hmm. 

Huge posted:

For a neutral presentation it's also well worth investigating Spendor and Harbeth.

That would be my suggestion as well. Despite being somewhat limited I've been longing for a pair of P3ESR for sometime. Just make sure to keep a pair of backup speakers if you like to party.

When comparing, Proac will make unnatural sounding speakers sound...unnatural.

Dynaudio might be worth a try as well. Their tweeters are anything but grainy.

Iconoclast posted:

Huge posted:

For a neutral presentation it's also well worth investigating Spendor and Harbeth.

That would be my suggestion as well. Despite being somewhat limited I've been longing for a pair of P3ESR for sometime. Just make sure to keep a pair of backup speakers if you like to party.

When comparing, Proac will make unnatural sounding speakers sound...unnatural.

Dynaudio might be worth a try as well. Their tweeters are anything but grainy.

Only heard Harbeth once, at an audio show with some Long Dog Audio equipment. Sounded ear splitting. I'm sure it wasn't the Harbeth!

I would love to own multiple pairs. 

So you mean ProAc are well balanced then? I'm thinking about DTwos. Proac seem to be a great all rounder to me. Very clean. Dynaudio, as much as I love a dance, might be a bit much for me, not exactly nice looking either. Look like DJ speakers! I will try Harbeth and Spendor though. Any recs up to 3k?