That's an idea Adam. It would be interesting to hear whet the Relentless can bring to the party that the M400's cannot ( if anything?). Another option, might be to try and connect the new ARC Ref 160's..which I suspect would give an entirely different presentation again. ( Assuming that they can drive the tough load of the Sonia XV??)
A Relentless Experience with D'Agostino and YG Acoustics @ Alma
- Thread starter asiufy
- Start date
@ashandger,
Here's a video of the 2nd Frisell track you requested! Hope it sounds remotely as good as it does here
I couldn't figure out how to upload it inline, so here's a link to it
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h1x0wodpge70ddn/IMG_0141.MOV?dl=0
Here's a video of the 2nd Frisell track you requested! Hope it sounds remotely as good as it does here
I couldn't figure out how to upload it inline, so here's a link to it
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h1x0wodpge70ddn/IMG_0141.MOV?dl=0
This past Thursday I was fortunate enough that Alex was able to accomodate me on short notice. He gave me an informative tour of his well thought out showroom floor and then proceeded to give me a fantastic demo of the MSB Reference which was the focus of my visit. He also gave me the opportunity to compare the Reference to the Aqua Formula DAC. I quickly got acquainted with the uber system (noted above) after hearing a few cuts off of familiar albums. It was only a few seconds after Alex hit the play button that I was transported back to NYC courtesy of Genesis’ “Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging”. Those familiar with this particular cut have likely never heard it the way I did in Alex’s room. It’s one thing when you hear the voice of a familiar artist on a decent system and are able to visualize the performer in front of you in all his/her glory. Been there, done that...,but imagine what it is like when you listen to a song where the performer (Peter Gabriel) through the use of engineering techniques in the studio takes on a made up character in which you have no physical reference to other than what your mind’s eye has provided, and then all of a sudden that image becomes alive and carved out in front of your eyes. What an unforgettable journey that was. I know there has been a lot of chatter re the MSB so to keep things real the Aqua Formula did the same for me, albeit a little less convincing. That being said the Aqua had little to no warm up from a cold start, and due to logistics was not provided the same attention to detail as the MSB. My next step is an in home demo which Alex said can be had. Mission accomplished! Thanks Alex.
Last edited:
Just to clarify in case anyone is wondering the Select DAC was powered by a single PSU and had the standard clock, however it had the $7000.00 upgraded preamp module. The power was passed through a Gigawatt conditioner and I think the power cable was Kubala as I am almost certain all signal cables were the Kubala. I think all the files were routed through a prototype Innuos Statement which housed the files on internal drive.
The gentleman whose Relentless was used at a Paragon special event I attended back in October has now placed his order for a pair of WAMM's.
it was a fun visit, thanks! It's always cool when folks come over that share my musical taste, so I can queue up some goodies
That Genesis is also embedded in my memory, and, as you could hear, playing it through the MSB DACs was revelatory. A lot of the studio trickery (Brian Eno consulted on the recording of that album) becomes clearly evident, way clearer than before! All without a trace of harshness, even through the much maligned new remixes.
The Aqua is a splendid DAC, that does a lot of things right. That's why it has a place here It shares the same basic architecture as the MSB (ladder DACs), but Aqua made a few different choices, mostly on the analog output side, which gives it a very warm, robust sound, that's quite appealing as well.
The Reference was the bare stock, with Renderer module (no USB) and $6000 upgraded output module. It was going direct into the D'Agostino Momentum M400, then on to the Sonja XVs.
Roon Core duties were being handled by the Innuos Statement, and wiring was all Kubala-Sosna indeed.
Thanks for the visit and the write-up!
That Genesis is also embedded in my memory, and, as you could hear, playing it through the MSB DACs was revelatory. A lot of the studio trickery (Brian Eno consulted on the recording of that album) becomes clearly evident, way clearer than before! All without a trace of harshness, even through the much maligned new remixes.
The Aqua is a splendid DAC, that does a lot of things right. That's why it has a place here
It shares the same basic architecture as the MSB (ladder DACs), but Aqua made a few different choices, mostly on the analog output side, which gives it a very warm, robust sound, that's quite appealing as well.The Reference was the bare stock, with Renderer module (no USB) and $6000 upgraded output module. It was going direct into the D'Agostino Momentum M400, then on to the Sonja XVs.
Roon Core duties were being handled by the Innuos Statement, and wiring was all Kubala-Sosna indeed.
Thanks for the visit and the write-up!
@ashandger,
Here's a video of the 2nd Frisell track you requested! Hope it sounds remotely as good as it does here
I couldn't figure out how to upload it inline, so here's a link to it
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h1x0wodpge70ddn/IMG_0141.MOV?dl=0
Hi Alex, thank you so much for doing this. Sounds awesome even via Youtube so must be totally mind blowing in your room! Enjoy this great system and when the Relentless amps are in the system, if possible, would love to hear a recording of Bill Frisell's track "Shenandoah (For Johnny Smith)" from his great album Good Dog Happy Man. It's an amazing track that I use as test track all the time. Many thanks again for taking the time from busy schedule to record this and post it. Happy listening. Cheers
Thanks for reporting. Can you give us more detail on the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging track ? What was format and origin? Can we easily get the full album? It is one of the recordings I currently can only enjoy in LP format.
Francisco,
Since I was driving the iPad, I have that info!
The regular 16/44 was from an 1987 US CD of "The Lamb" on CD:
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
The DSD was from the 2007 SACD version, with the new remix:
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
The new remixes are hard to listen to in most digital systems, being very compressed and a tad thin. On the MSB, it's fine. I played the old ATCO just for comparison, as it's warmer, but doesn't have all the detail brought out by the new remixes, which can be fun.
Since I was driving the iPad, I have that info!
The regular 16/44 was from an 1987 US CD of "The Lamb" on CD:
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
The DSD was from the 2007 SACD version, with the new remix:
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
The new remixes are hard to listen to in most digital systems, being very compressed and a tad thin. On the MSB, it's fine. I played the old ATCO just for comparison, as it's warmer, but doesn't have all the detail brought out by the new remixes, which can be fun.
Alex please correct me if I misinform. We played two versions. The first was a remaster version which to me was clearly superior to the original 44.1. The former I believe was streamed via Tidal where the later was stored on the Innuos HD. Both versions sounded very good and each were just as captivating. However, imo the remaster was technically better wrt detail, soundstage and liquidity. Never remember it sounding this good, either version, either DAC. It has been a long time since I have listened to this album and I only have the original vinyl from a bazillion years ago. Added to that I never got to a playback level with vinyl that could ever compete with just about any decent digital playback. This was more likely due to my setup ability rather than components but that is a different topic,
Yes. When these Genesis remixes first came out, each album came in CD+SACD sets (in Europe and Japan) and CD+DVD-A in the US.
Thanks. Alex, how large is your enormous room? Fortunately you placed the Momentum 's for comparison, otherwise we would not get a real idea of the Relentless size.
Photos do not do them justice. Until you see them in person it is hard to believe how large they are. The stands that HRS has made for them are very impressive too.
Similar threads
