SA-250 / XSP-1 Gen2 system up and running!!
May 19, 2016 14:51:34 GMT -5
rocky500, frenchyfranky, and 1 more like this
Post by nwobhm on May 19, 2016 14:51:34 GMT -5
Finally up and running!!
Just for some perspective, I've been an avid lover of music for well on 35 years now and have owned a lot of gear.... a LOT of gear.... ha ha. I've had Naim, Cayin, NAD, Primaluna, Rogue, Von Schweikert, Usher etc. equipment over the years - a lot of tube based gear.
I mostly listen to vinyl because I find I enjoy the sound of it much better than any other format and it's frankly all I've ever owned or bought, even when it wasn't "trendy" - I actually long for the CD days when quality used vinyl was plentiful and cheap, but that's a story for another thread. I listen to a wide variety of music - from classic rock (Stones, Cactus, Groundhogs, etc.); to punk (The Saints, Monorchid, Hot Snakes); to hard-bop jazz (Sonny Rollins, Monk, Art Blakey); to classic 70's/early 80's metal / sludge (Sabbath, Big Business, Melvins), etc. - at one point in time I had one of the largest collections of NWOBHM (Bleakhouse, Hollow Ground, Damascus) 7" singles in the world - not bragging, it just happened over a long period of time between 1981 - 2000; I sold it off around 2004 at the height of the genre's value - again, a story for another thread!
Anyway, all this to say, after a month of daily listening I can sincerely state that this may be my favorite combination I have ever put together. There is a level of detail and punch that I've rarely heard. The Emotiva / Tekton combination provides crystalline clear extended highs that are neither bright nor harsh and a deep punchy bass without an ounce of bloat. I could not sincerely be any happier and hope to have this for the long haul.
Interestingly, I was convinced on the front end that I would find the phono stage in the XSP-1 Gen2 lacking and went straight to an external phono preamp in the way of both a tube based Parks Audio Budgie and the Lounge MKIII LCR out of the box. After a few weeks of playing around I started rolling tubes through the Budgie and comparing to the built in phono preamp. After a lot of critical listening, the internal XSP-1 Gen2 phono pre (which I believe is the exact same thing as the XPS-1?) was the clear winner. One note on it, however, is that the rated 40db of gain in the MM stage is severely underrated. It sounds more like 45-48 to me, which makes it all the more impressive how quiet, etc. it is.
I could not be a happier listener and the system does exactly what it is supposed to do - gets the hell out of the way and makes me want to listen to records!!
I've attached a few shots - apologies in advance for the chicken legs...
Just for some perspective, I've been an avid lover of music for well on 35 years now and have owned a lot of gear.... a LOT of gear.... ha ha. I've had Naim, Cayin, NAD, Primaluna, Rogue, Von Schweikert, Usher etc. equipment over the years - a lot of tube based gear.
I mostly listen to vinyl because I find I enjoy the sound of it much better than any other format and it's frankly all I've ever owned or bought, even when it wasn't "trendy" - I actually long for the CD days when quality used vinyl was plentiful and cheap, but that's a story for another thread. I listen to a wide variety of music - from classic rock (Stones, Cactus, Groundhogs, etc.); to punk (The Saints, Monorchid, Hot Snakes); to hard-bop jazz (Sonny Rollins, Monk, Art Blakey); to classic 70's/early 80's metal / sludge (Sabbath, Big Business, Melvins), etc. - at one point in time I had one of the largest collections of NWOBHM (Bleakhouse, Hollow Ground, Damascus) 7" singles in the world - not bragging, it just happened over a long period of time between 1981 - 2000; I sold it off around 2004 at the height of the genre's value - again, a story for another thread!
Anyway, all this to say, after a month of daily listening I can sincerely state that this may be my favorite combination I have ever put together. There is a level of detail and punch that I've rarely heard. The Emotiva / Tekton combination provides crystalline clear extended highs that are neither bright nor harsh and a deep punchy bass without an ounce of bloat. I could not sincerely be any happier and hope to have this for the long haul.
Interestingly, I was convinced on the front end that I would find the phono stage in the XSP-1 Gen2 lacking and went straight to an external phono preamp in the way of both a tube based Parks Audio Budgie and the Lounge MKIII LCR out of the box. After a few weeks of playing around I started rolling tubes through the Budgie and comparing to the built in phono preamp. After a lot of critical listening, the internal XSP-1 Gen2 phono pre (which I believe is the exact same thing as the XPS-1?) was the clear winner. One note on it, however, is that the rated 40db of gain in the MM stage is severely underrated. It sounds more like 45-48 to me, which makes it all the more impressive how quiet, etc. it is.
I could not be a happier listener and the system does exactly what it is supposed to do - gets the hell out of the way and makes me want to listen to records!!
I've attached a few shots - apologies in advance for the chicken legs...
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