Going Out of My Head over You …

Audire

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Pass X260.8s amps
Pass XP22 Preamp
Luxman D-08u SACD
Aurender N100H Streamer
Magico A3’s
Magico A3 Grills
Shunyata Hydra Alpha A12 Power Conditioner
Shunyata Cables
Bamboo SVT Quadrasphire Racks (x3) and Amp Stands (x2)

First, I would like to thank Mike, the owner of Suncoast Audio in Sarasota, FL., for suggesting such a marvelous system. Awesome!!!

Initial impressions

Mere words can’t do justice to what I’m hearing coming from my SACDs playing on the Luxman D-08u. I’m simply there in, with, and around the music all at once; captured in the moment. The spacious soundstage and imaging are absolutely breathtaking. It sounds better than any live concert I’ve ever been too. It’s only been a few hours and the music is already entrancing. Positively majestic! I’m already at a new plateau in my listening experience and the system isn’t even broken in yet ...

IMO, the Pass 260.8s (which are barely warmed up now) have a tube-like sweetness – a harmonic richness to them. Their sonic signature is just perfect to my ears! They dig deep into the emotional side of the music and yet deliver a brilliantly balanced engaging detailed sound. Power and then some! WOW!!! I normally play my music kind of low, so all I’m hearing is in Class A. And while every amp has its own character, to me the Pass sound is simply music. It’s so engaging and real! I’m in absolute awe.

I initially thought the Magico A3s may be too small for my room, but they fill the entire space (Great Room, Gathering Room, Dining Room, and Kitchen) with beautiful music. The Magico A3’s deliver an excellent bass; a powerful bass grip and remarkable slam for their size! This is complemented by the very fine detailed mids and highs. The spacious soundstage is so involving – it’s huge. The imaging is absolutely extraordinary. Magicos are stunningly musical and yet deliver a wonderful articulate sound as well. The speakers sort of disappear and all you hear is the music. Music the way it should be – at least to my ears. These Magicos are so good, I can’t even image what a set of M2s would sound like. The Q7 Mk IIs I heard some years back though were transcendent! And I understand the Ms are even better.

IMO, there is sufficient speed to deliver amazing rhythmic magical pacing (pun intended) on recordings of all musical genres (esp. my favorites jazz and soft rock). I thought for sure I might miss the sound I enjoy so-much from the B&W 802s and Wilson Yvettes that I’m so familiar with and the Martin Logans 13As which I auditioned numerous times at different dealers. Properly driven these are all amazing speakers. IMO, each is excellent. They each do many things exceptionally well. However, for me personally the Magicos are delivering a class-leading level of detail and dynamics that to my ears surpasses them all. They’re unbelievable.

Being more than a sum of all its parts, IMO this Pass / Magico system effortlessly recreates every aspect of the music. It displays a rich dynamic expression, detailed resolution, and tonal sophistication I haven’t heard at this level before. I’m drawn “into” every note. It has already given me a new appreciation for music.

And yes, I’m just a little excited. :)

First Planned Improvements

There is always room for improvements. And needless to say my room(s) needs a lot of work. While it will never be perfect (none really are) no matter what system resides here, at a minimum acoustical improvements are needed at least behind the audio system itself, in the coffered ceiling, and above the kitchen cabinets. I have to research which acoustical materials would be best (and wife friendly, like Guilford of Maine) and someone to properly install them. An EtherREGEN is in the future. A Turn-Table and / or Headphone system may be in the future as well.

We will probably move some of the components around when Suncoast comes to put the final touches on the system – including some more Quadraspire rack polls.

For the present we will enjoy the music just as it is.

A Huge Thank You

As stated above Mike at Suncoast Audio designed the system. Thanks Mike, it’s absolutely stunning! And the set up this system was an amazing job as well. It was delivered early! I want to thank Suncoast for taking such great care with all the components, their technical knowledge, and answering all my questions so completely. I’m so very grateful.
 

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Musicguy

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Jun 9, 2019
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I really like your choice of components, it feels like a perfect chain, excellent from start to finish.
Also beautiful set-up, racks behind with components low to the ground, speakers has room to breathe and
give you that splendid imaging. It's looks like you're enjoying great synergy here, i can understand your excitement.
Congratulations and thank you for sharing.

Regards,
Guy
 
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Audire

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Thanks Musicguy. It does sound great. But there's still a lot of work to be done to make it sound even better. The Magico A3s are fantastic, so good that I hope to upgrade to a set of Magico M2s in the process. The room though is my chief concern. We have some accoustic pictures on the wall already and the patio sliding door (which aren't in the pics) has Guilford of Maine materials on the slider to help with reflections, etc. So, it's coming along, but we still a ways to go. Thanks again.
 
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thedudeabides

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Jan 16, 2011
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Beautiful system Audire. I hope some of the credit for the sound is attributable to the Lux CDP. I absolutely love my D06u.
 
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Audire

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Beautiful system Audire. I hope some of the credit for the sound is attributable to the Lux CDP. I absolutely love my D06u.
Many thanks. This was the first Luxman piece I've ever owned. It is absolutely amazing. It's built like a tank. My SACDS have never sounded so good. The DAC on this Luxman is so VERY GOOD. Mike at Suncoast said its synergy with Pass was excellent. He was so right!
 

thedudeabides

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I have a Pass 250.5 amp in my system and agree with the synergy comment. Did you find that the Lux CDP needed some play time before it started sounding "right"?
 
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Ron Resnick

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Jan 24, 2015
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Congratulations on setting your system up! I am very happy for you!
 
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Audire

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I have a Pass 250.5 amp in my system and agree with the synergy comment. Did you find that the Lux CDP needed some play time before it started sounding "right"?
Pass 250.5 - that's cool. I began by looking at the Pass 250.8. There're all so very good. Love the clean pure detailed power.

I think the Luxman is still breaking in. From what I was told, it takes 400-500 hours for this process to complete. This said, it sounded amazing right out of the box. The Luxman is a keeper. Can't even imagine what the new 20 sounds like!

I know it's somewhat taboo in the audiophile world, but the Luxman SACD sounds so good I may not need a TT. I thought for sure I would be purchasing one. I've even been pricing them out - only the 30K-40K ones (not uber expensive ones like my friend has and that I'm accustomed too ...). But for the time being I've stopped.

The Luxman is absolutely astounding.
 

Audire

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Congratulations on setting your system up! I am very happy for you!
Many thanks Ron. Still a lot of work to do. For instance, I'm going to make this into a two stack 3 shelf system as soon as the other Quadrasphire poles get here. It's too spread out right now. Have to do something about hiding some of those cables too.

But at least I'm hearing some good music. :)
 

thedudeabides

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Jan 16, 2011
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Pass 250.5 - that's cool. I began by looking at the Pass 250.8. There're all so very good. Love the clean pure detailed power.

I think the Luxman is still breaking in. From what I was told, it takes 400-500 hours for this process to complete. This said, it sounded amazing right out of the box. The Luxman is a keeper. Can't even imagine what the new 20 sounds like!

I know it's somewhat taboo in the audiophile world, but the Luxman SACD sounds so good I may not need a TT. I thought for sure I would be purchasing one. I've even been pricing them out - only the 30K-40K ones (not uber expensive ones like my friend has and that I'm accustomed too ...). But for the time being I've stopped.

The Luxman is absolutely astounding.

RE TT. Depends on the individual. Taboo in the audiophile world? NOT! I gave the TT up some 30 years ago and sold all my records to Doc. Way too much hassle and effort for me and I do what makes me happy and connected to the music. And there are many fine systems that are based on CDP playback.

And yes, my experience indicates that the Lux takes a lot of time to break in. If you love it now, just wait. You're in for a very pleasant surprise.
 
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Audire

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RE TT. Depends on the individual. Taboo in the audiophile world? NOT! I gave the TT up some 30 years ago and sold all my records to Doc. Way too much hassle and effort for me and I do what makes me happy and connected to the music. And there are many fine systems that are based on CDP playback.

And yes, my experience indicates that the Lux takes a lot of time to break in. If you love it now, just wait. You're in for a very pleasant surprise.
My first system had a TT which I really enjoyed. And then in my second one I went all digital. However, the time I've spent at one of my friend's home who has multiple systems re-introduced TTs back in to the picture.

In some ways I like them, but in many ways I don't. And now with such an excellent SACD player I'm definitely not seeing the need any longer. So, at least for the time being I'm going to concentrate on maximizing the sound of this digital system.
 

Audire

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The system has been run for app 200 hours now and is sounding better than I could have even imagined. We have moved around some of the components. The new Quadrasphire polls should be here soon. Then we will be able to install the headphone amp - HPA-1 shelf. IMG_0015.jpg
 

Audire

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Still updating. Adding some more shelves to house a Pass Labs HPA-1 and Aurender A10 Streamer / Ripper. It sounds wonderful. Lots still left to do though like a full loom of Shunyata Alpha cables.
IMG_1189.JPG
 

Audire

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