Re-imagining "Class A" Amplification

seatrope · Jul 9, 2024

@MarkusBarkus Excited to hear about your audition of the REI bridged. That's going to be pretty awesome.

I've had great results running their own dedicated 10GA lines for each REI monoblock (I just have a single pair, not bridged) using MC solid core Cu 10/2 from a dedicated subpanel being fed by copper 2-2-2-4 GA 100A service from my main panel. I've been using Shunyata CopperCon outlets with Furutech carbon faceplate and wall frames.

Right now I have 6 circuits from that subpanel, all with the same cabling, and all measured to approx the same length to avoid ground loop/differing ground resistance back to the subpanel. No additional power conditioners in the mix, all direct to wall.

In fact, my electrician is coming by tomorrow to install another (7th) 10GA circuit just for my new Quest, which is sounding amazing compared to a direct H connection to the REIs

for which i'll provide more details later. Thanks again @gleeds and @LampiNA!

What's interesting and inconvenient to test is that I have a bank of 48 kWh LG RESU16 x3 batteries that I can run the whole house on, peak power of the 3x 7.6kW inverters is 22.8 kW. I am getting MUCH lower THD when completely isolated from the grid (1%) measured on an industrial AC power THD analyzer as compared to grid-synced (4.5%). However, it's annoying to switch over to isolated mode as the whole house power goes down for 3 seconds, turning off the Extreme which as you know does not sound good for a while after power off. So not an experiment I am sure of yet.

Keep us updated!

MarkusBarkus · Jul 9, 2024

I am looking forward to this epic demo. Gary has been a prince to sort through the logistics of pulling this demo together.

The Quest arrived yesterday, ensconced in its Pelican travel shell. I unpacked and powered it up to ensure all is good. REIs are scheduled for Friday. I have made an offering to the shipping gods at FedEx for a good outcome.

The power feed you describe @seatrope looks like an excellent way to manage things. I have considered a sub-panel more local to the audio gear, which makes it easy and technically smooth to run a few dedicated lines.

As it is, I have two dedicated lines: a 12ga and a 10ga running the show. I may not get a new line run before the weekend, so I am wondering if OK for demo to run four REIs off a 12ga line with two Shunyata duplex outlets.

In no way do I think that's optimum, but I may not be able to reasonably expand in the next few days. We'll see.

steve williams · Jul 9, 2024

MarkusBarkus said:
I am looking forward to this epic demo. Gary has been a prince to sort through the logistics of pulling this demo together.

The Quest arrived yesterday, ensconced in its Pelican travel shell. I unpacked and powered it up to ensure all is good. REIs are scheduled for Friday. I have made an offering to the shipping gods at FedEx for a good outcome.

The power feed you describe @seatrope looks like an excellent way to manage things. I have considered a sub-panel more local to the audio gear, which makes it easy and technically smooth to run a few dedicated lines.

As it is, I have two dedicated lines: a 12ga and a 10ga running the show. I may not get a new line run before the weekend, so I am wondering if OK for demo to run four REIs off a 12ga line with two Shunyata duplex outlets.

In no way do I think that's optimum, but I may not be able to reasonably expand in the next few days. We'll see.

I had a bridged version plus Quest in my system when Gary first took on the line. I was gobsmacked. You are in for a real eye opening experience. I have told Gary and Angus that this amp is IMHO underpriced . It truly checks all boxes.

MarkusBarkus · Jul 9, 2024

...yes, but don't tell them to raise the prices until after I sort myself out! You may be costing me money, Steve!

Looking forward to the demo. Will have a few folks enjoying it with me as well.

steve williams · Jul 9, 2024

MarkusBarkus said:
...yes, but don't tell them to raise the prices until after I sort myself out! You may be costing me money, Steve!

Looking forward to the demo. Will have a few folks enjoying it with me as well.

If your friends are audiophiles, tell them to bring their check books as the amp/preamp and phono stage for the money makes for a killer system. If I weren't a tube guy for most of my audiophile life, I would own these without a second thought and call it a day as your quest (no pun intended) will be over

seatrope · Jul 9, 2024

I've spent my day off today trying to figure out how to get the Quest (and the Horizon; they have similar remotes) programmed into a universal remote. Has anyone had any luck?

I am attempting to have a one button activity that turns on the Horizon - delay - Quest - delay - REI. REIs are the easy part, I have them triggered on a 12V Lutron RadioRA2 switch that is linked to Alexa and my main home automation system. It's the IR-only Quest and Lampi Horizon that has been the issue. Integrating it all would also automatically turn on the "listening dim lights" in my room (a pair of salt lamps via Lutron, already integrated), turn off the LG heat pump (already integrated), and turn off the air purifier (already integrated).

Using a Harmony Elite, the Harmony claims to "learn" the commands after many attempts but some don't work (Volume Down works but Up does not, no matter how many times I relearned this).

When I actually capture the Quest IR codes with a Global Cache iTach Flex, the codes seem to change/alternate. At first I was super excited as one code would only turn on the Quest but subsequently sending the same code does nothing. The next code seemed to turn off the Quest only. But if I used the remote to toggle the Quest, now the functions of these two distinct codes reversed, with the one formerly doing "power on" now ONLY doing "power off".

You can actually test this yourself with both the Horizon and Quest remotes, interestingly. If you click the power button, then cover the IR window with your hand, and press it again, the next (3rd) press will do NOTHING. the 4th press will work again, and so on. If you keep covering the IR window with every other press, the power button will never work.

I am dreading that both the Horizon and Quest are on some "rolling" code system, which makes it nearly impossible to integrate into a HA system

Does anyone have personal experience?

Just a silly little side project that has nothing to do with sound quality and more to do with WAF who hates too many remotes.

MarkusBarkus · Jul 19, 2024

I still have a couple of days of listening to the Westminster Labs system before I have to package up the demo to travel, but that's like having a couple of spoonfuls of dessert left.

You already know it's delicious, but may as well get that last bit of happiness off the plate to savor the taste.

Sweet it is. And a just dessert after a FedEx fire-drill, which split deliveries into two different days, *and* a Saturday morning 20 mile trip to the FedEx hub to liberate the last two amps. Gary's plane was delayed the day before, so it was really feeling like things were swirling the drain for a while, but Gary is ridiculously optimistic.

And things did come together. We spent a long time listening to my system as a baseline, chatting in-between tracks, laughing, lunching and settling into a comfortable groove.

Eventually, we rigged up the Rei monos to the Quest preamp which I had put in place a few days back (thanks FedEx). We actually left the monos in place for the weekend so I could get a good baseline, and a few friends who were interested in the mono config could get a really good read on the sound. Which BTW is very nice. I could live with the monos. Easily. And the 35 pound weight and small form-factor add a lot of options for placement and general management. You kind of have to adjust to the small size generating that big sound.

The MSB Reference dac and Taiko Extreme server makes for a very clean front end, and the Magico A5s likewise are clear and fast. The Westy monos fit right in, handling the clean signal feed with agility and grace. And bass. Fine bass.

I like my Luxman m900s and c900 pre, and I think they are soulful and sweet, albeit perhaps a bit "slower" than the Westminster Labs gear. However, the Westy boxes are very transparent and tasty, but not clinical or any of the nasty audio words used to indicate a lack of full-sound. These little babies sing. Or sob. Or wail. Whatever you need them to do.

Eventually, Gary had to head back to SoCal to get ready for the show up in Emeryville this weekend. We had a great time and probably talked more than we listened. Definitely talked more than we listened.

But as the weekend closed out and the new week rolled in, I finally got the other pair of amps connected and warmed up. Gary stated the Rei amps need about a half-hour to fully blossom.

I have my Luxys bridged, so I have some familiarity with the set-up, but it's always a check/double-check moment in the bridged environment. And the Asian market does use different color schemes for "hot" and ground on cables, so it's another layer of mental check-in (I am using the Westminster Labs cables, BTW. Full loom).

I had an audio pal check my work, and coincidentally, Gary called to check on progress, and we reviewed the connections over the phone.

And wait 30 minutes. Then release Quadzilla. Wow. It's really very nice to hear the Quest with two sets of Rei monos paired up. Super fast. Clean. Clear. Detailed presentation. Whoah, and excellent bass.

The quad set-up runs a wee bit hotter than the Luxmans, about 97-114F versus 104F (at 70F ambient temp-below grade room). But interestingly, the heat is dispersed in such a way that you don't really feel much radiation being emitted, compared to the Luxys which have a notable convection tower when you place your hand over them. In any case, nothing to worry about with heat on the Westy boxes, even when you request additional volume.

I have run these amps through the paces at soft to loud volumes, with all types of music, and they really sound great.

A very experienced friend listened with me today, and had a few wows. He loved what it was doing with massed-strings and orchestral pieces. And funnily enough, he dug up a couple of pieces that sucked, which he was glad to confirm sucked here as well as everywhere else he has played those pieces. Some recordings just suck.

Overall, music is punchy. Fast. Detailed. With a layered presentation...allowing you to follow specific instruments and lines of play.

Another friend, a classical guitarist with a global performance itinerary was very impressed. Even when I tortured him with his own recordings. He noted the nuanced presentation as exceptional.

Now all good things must come to an end, so I have a few more guests over the weekend, and then I will have to return Gary's demos. And really face the music with Sweetie about how to get some of this music here long-term.

Highly recommend you get your ears on these Westminster Labs components, if you can.

Arif_in_Japan · Jul 19, 2024

MarkusBarkus said:
I still have a couple of days of listening to the Westminster Labs system before I have to package up the demo to travel, but that's like having a couple of spoonfuls of dessert left.

You already know it's delicious, but may as well get that last bit of happiness off the plate to savor the taste.

Sweet it is. And a just dessert after a FedEx fire-drill, which split deliveries into two different days, *and* a Saturday morning 20 mile trip to the FedEx hub to liberate the last two amps. Gary's plane was delayed the day before, so it was really feeling like things were swirling the drain for a while, but Gary is ridiculously optimistic.

And things did come together. We spent a long time listening to my system as a baseline, chatting in-between tracks, laughing, lunching and settling into a comfortable groove.

Eventually, we rigged up the Rei monos to the Quest preamp which I had put in place a few days back (thanks FedEx). We actually left the monos in place for the weekend so I could get a good baseline, and a few friends who were interested in the mono config could get a really good read on the sound. Which BTW is very nice. I could live with the monos. Easily. And the 35 pound weight and small form-factor add a lot of options for placement and general management. You kind of have to adjust to the small size generating that big sound.

The MSB Reference dac and Taiko Extreme server makes for a very clean front end, and the Magico A5s likewise are clear and fast. The Westy monos fit right in, handling the clean signal feed with agility and grace. And bass. Fine bass.

I like my Luxman m900s and c900 pre, and I think they are soulful and sweet, albeit perhaps a bit "slower" than the Westminster Labs gear. However, the Westy boxes are very transparent and tasty, but not clinical or any of the nasty audio words used to indicate a lack of full-sound. These little babies sing. Or sob. Or wail. Whatever you need them to do.

Eventually, Gary had to head back to SoCal to get ready for the show up in Emeryville this weekend. We had a great time and probably talked more than we listened. Definitely talked more than we listened.

But as the weekend closed out and the new week rolled in, I finally got the other pair of amps connected and warmed up. Gary stated the Rei amps need about a half-hour to fully blossom.

I have my Luxys bridged, so I have some familiarity with the set-up, but it's always a check/double-check moment in the bridged environment. And the Asian market does use different color schemes for "hot" and ground on cables, so it's another layer of mental check-in (I am using the Westminster Labs cables, BTW. Full loom).

I had an audio pal check my work, and coincidentally, Gary called to check on progress, and we reviewed the connections over the phone.

And wait 30 minutes. Then release Quadzilla. Wow. It's really very nice to hear the Quest with two sets of Rei monos paired up. Super fast. Clean. Clear. Detailed presentation. Whoah, and excellent bass.

The quad set-up runs a wee bit hotter than the Luxmans, about 97-114F versus 104F (at 70F ambient temp-below grade room). But interestingly, the heat is dispersed in such a way that you don't really feel much radiation being emitted, compared to the Luxys which have a notable convection tower when you place your hand over them. In any case, nothing to worry about with heat on the Westy boxes, even when you request additional volume.

I have run these amps through the paces at soft to loud volumes, with all types of music, and they really sound great.

A very experienced friend listened with me today, and had a few wows. He loved what it was doing with massed-strings and orchestral pieces. And funnily enough, he dug up a couple of pieces that sucked, which he was glad to confirm sucked here as well as everywhere else he has played those pieces. Some recordings just suck.

Overall, music is punchy. Fast. Detailed. With a layered presentation...allowing you to follow specific instruments and lines of play.

Another friend, a classical guitarist with a global performance itinerary was very impressed. Even when I tortured him with his own recordings. He noted the nuanced presentation as exceptional.

Now all good things must come to an end, so I have a few more guests over the weekend, and then I will have to return Gary's demos. And really face the music with Sweetie about how to get some of this music here long-term.

Highly recommend you get your ears on these Westminster Labs components, if you can.

Agree with your review very much. I also switched from the M900/C900 combo to the Rei/Quest and it has been a switch with no regrets. The Reis play great with a variety of cables/speakers. I have not tried the full WL cables loom yet since I am already quite content but is a possibility down the road. Once you hear these, it is hard to go back.

MarkusBarkus · Jul 20, 2024

...one of the last things I will do is run the Westminster Labs speaker cables with my original set-up to see how they sound by comparison.

Unfortunately, with four amps, I don't have enough of my own cables to run that system without Westy wires, so I'll be limited to a speaker cable comparison.

Initially, we ran the monos with my speaker cables, and that was very good. No strong "need" to use other wire.

Perhaps the Full-Westy was a bit more incisive, but the real kung-fu was in the hardware; the cables were sonic sprinkles on the cupcake.

Some low-hanging fruit from this demo project was born out of extensive conversations with Gary, wherein he suggested changing the rather tall central gear-stack to maybe gain a bit more image depth.

I agree 100% and have been studying the concept. My vertical gear erection was an evolutionary process that just happened, adding onto my existing rack with extensive DIY mods as I added the multi-box MSB dac, and later the Digital Director. Next thing you know, it's the audio Burj Khalifa.

It's a good time to re-evaluate and relocate some gear, the likely outcome of which will be to start with the purchase of some longer Westy ICs and shorter speaker cables, if the shootout goes well. And why wouldn't it?

seatrope · Jul 20, 2024

Great thought on getting the center rack away or at least not as tall. Mine is 30 feet away from center, towards the side wall at listening chair depth. I found substantial soundstage improvements. One thing among others I took away from Jim Smith’s guide.

Problem is that you need to get a good pair of IC 30 feet long!

MarkusBarkus · Jul 20, 2024

...I'm not afraid of longer ICs (other than cost!), so I am open to the change.

Initially, I may have held on to the concept that "shorter is better" which made certain locations subservient to that concept. My room makes some locations better than others no matter what length cables I might use, but within those possibilities, there is room to mambo.

The Westminster Labs gear was sonic air-freshener for the room and the heart, so a different paradigm seems possible. It also helped that Gary Leeds has seen/set-up a lot of systems and brought that to the project.

Ron Resnick · Jul 20, 2024

Thanks for this report, MarkusBarkus!

I was very happy with the sound of the WestminsterLab amplifiers, preamp and cables on my friend Cyrus' Clarisys Auditorium system in Spokane. I continue to tell Cyrus that I am trying to move the sound of my system in the direction of the sound of his system.

I also am very happy with the sound I am getting from the WestminsterLab REIs and Quest on the Clarisys Piccolos I am exhibiting this weekend at the California Audio Show. Angus appears to me to be some kind of a genius.

gleeds · Thursday at 7:44 PM

Although the California Audio Show was small, those who attended seemed to enjoy themselves while at the same time wishing there were more exhibitors. Ron asked me to support his West Coast debut of the Clarysis Piccolo speakers, and I was glad to oblige. Based on my experience with Cyrus's Auditoriums, I was confident the Westminster gear would match up well, but I was completely unprepared for how good the baby Clarysis was!

The sound on Bill Evans and Pat Metheny/Charlie Haydyn discs was sublime, providing great tone, depth of the stage, and shockingly deep, nuanced bass in our roughly 450-square-foot suite. Ron brought along Beethoven's 9th and other large-scale classic works, and again, the Piccolos did not disappoint.

The Lampizator Horizon and WestminsterLab Quest pre-amplifier fronted the system and certainly contributed to its synergy. As a planar enthusiast for decades (Maggies, Quads, KLH 9s, Apogees, and Innersounds), I encourage anyone who is curious about what modern ribbon speakers can do (especially in this price class), to seek them out for a listen.

SeagoatLeo · Thursday at 7:55 PM

gleeds said:
Although the California Audio Show was small, those who attended seemed to enjoy themselves while at the same time wishing there were more exhibitors. Ron asked me to support his West Coast debut of the Clarysis Piccolo speakers, and I was glad to oblige. Based on my experience with Cyrus's Auditoriums, I was confident the Westminster gear would match up well, but I was completely unprepared for how good the baby Clarysis was!

The sound on Bill Evans and Pat Metheny/Charlie Haydyn discs was sublime, providing great tone, depth of the stage, and shockingly deep, nuanced bass in our roughly 450-square-foot suite. Ron brought along Beethoven's 9th and other large-scale classic works, and again, the Piccolos did not disappoint.

The Lampizator Horizon and WestminsterLab Quest pre-amplifier fronted the system and certainly contributed to its synergy. As a planar enthusiast for decades (Maggies, Quads, KLH 9s, Apogees, and Innersounds), I encourage anyone who is curious about what modern ribbon speakers can do (especially in this price class), to seek them out for a listen.

Those particular Clarisys speakers in their color and design look like a modern art piece which would fit nicely into most modern higher end homes which typically are bereft of color (white/gray/monotone). Their appearance to music lovers/audiophiles would evaporate when they're playing music. I just realized at $20K, they are both an affordable art work and great speaker.

Ron Resnick · Thursday at 8:36 PM

SeagoatLeo said:
Those particular Clarisys speakers in their color and design look like a modern art piece which would fit nicely into most modern higher end homes which typically are bereft of color (white/gray/monotone). Their appearance to music lovers/audiophiles would evaporate when they're playing music. I just realized at $20K, they are both an affordable art work and great speaker.

And they can be ordered in any RAL color you wish!

howiebrou · Thursday at 9:13 PM

Ron Resnick said:
And they can be ordered in any RAL color you wish!

I like the Maritime Sail-like look of the Piccolos. Can we get them with a Jolly Roger Pirate Flag atop??

MarkusBarkus · Thursday at 11:32 PM

After twelve days of cooking with Westminster Labs fuel, it's time to move them along to their next stop.

It really was a great time comparing my Luxman set-up to the monos, and then the quads. And after a week and a-half, removing the Westy boxes and cables, I was actually looking forward to running with my own gear to really get a contrasting opinion for where I had been.

My pal Carl and I removed some of the Westy Wires (leaving the speaker cables and a set of XLRs) and moved each amp up to the audio-room bar top. We plugged in the M900s and pre, and hit ignition.

I left the speaker cables and a set of the Carbon Ultra XLRs in place, as my first action will be to get these cables from Gary to allow me to relocate my amps and too-tall central gear rack. The cables are excellent, BTW. And flexible, which my Iconoclast XLRs are not. Nor my Straightwire Crescendo3s, which are a helluva stiff kielbasa.

We fired up the Luxys and listened to Ellington's Malletoba Spank, from Jazz Party, and Nancy Wilson with Cannonball Adderley on A Sleepin' Bee (lyrics by Truman Capote!). Beautiful track, great imaging.

And then we got the hell outta there as fast as we could for lunch.

The amps had been unplugged for the entire demo, so I knew they would need a little time, but right off the bat, the difference was a bit stark, actually. An hour later, they had come back a bit, but they did not have the sizzle and sweetness we had enjoyed for the past week-plus. They just don't.

We listened to the demo tracks we had bounced around all week, and some new things. The system sounds good, but comparatively, not as good. A little cloaked. Not muddy, not that drastic, but colored in a way I had not previously noticed. Less "air" and not quite as dynamic sounding to me. Not so "easy. "

The Westminster Labs REIs are small in size, so we can't call 'em The Big Easy. Maybe The Little Easy...but with the big sound. Aged Angus beef. Savory sonic goodness.

Ugh. Now what? I invited the monster into my house. Carl and I discussed what we heard and what we missed, and I was trying to figure out a solution that didn't include a divorce attorney.

Fortunately, my pal asked if I thought any of the Westy magic lived in the Quest pre, and not only in the bridged amps. I thought all of the juice was in the amps and the pre was along for the ride, but reconnecting the Quest to the Luxman amps was very, very nice.

Not all of the magic, but surely some of it. Easy to hear. The Quest is more neutral, and faster, with more openness/air.

Since we were in experimental mode, we hooked up the Reference dac to use the pre/direct connection to the Luxman amps. Vince Galbo has suggested this to me several times, but I like the Luxman C900 pre, so I never tried it direct. Mistake. It's very nice with the Luxman amps. It takes some of the sting out of moving out all the Westminster Labs gear while I devise a story to tell Sweetie.

So here's a bit of a boil-down for folks following along at home:

--REI monos are excellent (NB: I only tried with Quest pre). They are clean and fast. They don't run hot and the size is amazingly versatile. In a tight urban setting, smaller apartment, or a place where you don't want to "feature" audio gear, it's a slam dunk. Tomahawk dunk.

--Add another set, and Quadzilla is swimming toward Tokyo harbor for sonic destruction. The bridged REI amps are quite nice, IMO (again, I used them with the Quest). Very dynamic/fast. Such detail...but just part of the music, not hit with a hot-pink high-lite marker.

I didn't find myself thinking about the sound so much as enjoying it. But when you do think about it/talk about it, because this *is* a demo, there is a lot to intellectualize over. Pace. Drive. Punch. Clarity. And musicality. Emotion.

--Westminster Labs cables are suitably fast and detailed. Bass is articulate and punchy. No wooly-bears here. And they offer very good flexibility. I demo-ed the Ultra Carbon, I believe they're named. I plan to add them to my system, as a first step, while moving my gear around.

--Quest preamp. Maybe more going on here than we thought. Than I thought, for sure. It's a very clean, clear signal path, and it shows sonically. To my ears, I would prefer it to MSB Reference direct, by a nose.

As I have a Taiko Olympus coming soon, I told Gary I would like to jam on some cables to sort myself out, and then plunk down that new server for a bit before introducing another variable...like fours amps and a pre. Ugh. That's five variables!

Westminster Labs REI amps and Quest preamp: I wholeheartedly recommend a serious listen, if you can swing it.

ClarisysAudio · 2024-07-26T02:19:11-0500

Thank you Gary! We are very happy to have wonderful equipment on our speakers. We put all our efforts into making a neutral and coherent speaker that truly shows everything, and in the case of WestminsterLabs, it shows

KeithR · 2024-07-26T07:29:32-0500

MarkusBarkus said:
After twelve days of cooking with Westminster Labs fuel, it's time to move them along to their next stop.

It really was a great time comparing my Luxman set-up to the monos, and then the quads. And after a week and a-half, removing the Westy boxes and cables, I was actually looking forward to running with my own gear to really get a contrasting opinion for where I had been.

My pal Carl and I removed some of the Westy Wires (leaving the speaker cables and a set of XLRs) and moved each amp up to the audio-room bar top. We plugged in the M900s and pre, and hit ignition.

I left the speaker cables and a set of the Carbon Ultra XLRs in place, as my first action will be to get these cables from Gary to allow me to relocate my amps and too-tall central gear rack. The cables are excellent, BTW. And flexible, which my Iconoclast XLRs are not. Nor my Straightwire Crescendo3s, which are a helluva stiff kielbasa.

We fired up the Luxys and listened to Ellington's Malletoba Spank, from Jazz Party, and Nancy Wilson with Cannonball Adderley on A Sleepin' Bee (lyrics by Truman Capote!). Beautiful track, great imaging.

And then we got the hell outta there as fast as we could for lunch.

The amps had been unplugged for the entire demo, so I knew they would need a little time, but right off the bat, the difference was a bit stark, actually. An hour later, they had come back a bit, but they did not have the sizzle and sweetness we had enjoyed for the past week-plus. They just don't.

We listened to the demo tracks we had bounced around all week, and some new things. The system sounds good, but comparatively, not as good. A little cloaked. Not muddy, not that drastic, but colored in a way I had not previously noticed. Less "air" and not quite as dynamic sounding to me. Not so "easy. "

The Westminster Labs REIs are small in size, so we can't call 'em The Big Easy. Maybe The Little Easy...but with the big sound. Aged Angus beef. Savory sonic goodness.

Ugh. Now what? I invited the monster into my house. Carl and I discussed what we heard and what we missed, and I was trying to figure out a solution that didn't include a divorce attorney.

Fortunately, my pal asked if I thought any of the Westy magic lived in the Quest pre, and not only in the bridged amps. I thought all of the juice was in the amps and the pre was along for the ride, but reconnecting the Quest to the Luxman amps was very, very nice.

Not all of the magic, but surely some of it. Easy to hear. The Quest is more neutral, and faster, with more openness/air.

Since we were in experimental mode, we hooked up the Reference dac to use the pre/direct connection to the Luxman amps. Vince Galbo has suggested this to me several times, but I like the Luxman C900 pre, so I never tried it direct. Mistake. It's very nice with the Luxman amps. It takes some of the sting out of moving out all the Westminster Labs gear while I devise a story to tell Sweetie.

So here's a bit of a boil-down for folks following along at home:

--REI monos are excellent (NB: I only tried with Quest pre). They are clean and fast. They don't run hot and the size is amazingly versatile. In a tight urban setting, smaller apartment, or a place where you don't want to "feature" audio gear, it's a slam dunk. Tomahawk dunk.

--Add another set, and Quadzilla is swimming toward Tokyo harbor for sonic destruction. The bridged REI amps are quite nice, IMO (again, I used them with the Quest). Very dynamic/fast. Such detail...but just part of the music, not hit with a hot-pink high-lite marker.

I didn't find myself thinking about the sound so much as enjoying it. But when you do think about it/talk about it, because this *is* a demo, there is a lot to intellectualize over. Pace. Drive. Punch. Clarity. And musicality. Emotion.

--Westminster Labs cables are suitably fast and detailed. Bass is articulate and punchy. No wooly-bears here. And they offer very good flexibility. I demo-ed the Ultra Carbon, I believe they're named. I plan to add them to my system, as a first step, while moving my gear around.

--Quest preamp. Maybe more going on here than we thought. Than I thought, for sure. It's a very clean, clear signal path, and it shows sonically. To my ears, I would prefer it to MSB Reference direct, by a nose.

As I have a Taiko Olympus coming soon, I told Gary I would like to jam on some cables to sort myself out, and then plunk down that new server for a bit before introducing another variable...like fours amps and a pre. Ugh. That's five variables!

Westminster Labs REI amps and Quest preamp: I wholeheartedly recommend a serious listen, if you can swing it.

Markus, glad you are enjoying the WestminsterLab demos. I know the Luxman gear quite well. With your Magicos, I would suggest a tube preamp with the REIs. That will provide the best of both worlds.

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