At some point, I plan to try the NAT Symbiosis New as well on the Clarisys. Enjoying the music so much now not to have the inclination to do so. Magnetostat SE I prefer right now in this setup over any other pre, including the Tara 30A.
Introducing My System
- Thread starter Thundersnow
- Start date
Thank you for sharing your story, you made a big change from dynamic to ribbon speakers and from your previous NAT amplification to Solution, showcasing a clear shift toward a system prioritizing precision, neutrality, and high-resolution sound.
Enjoy your audio system for many hours.
Enjoy your audio system for many hours.
Tubes and solid state are often when the magic happens. The finish you ordered on your Clarysis looks great!
[please forgive my poor English]
These two pics are a good example of what I call the "funny outward paradox of dark planars": they are visually imposing, but physically not cumbersome because they are flat.
Mine are approximately the same size (and they even more "stealth" than yours: they are black... ;-) So, visually imposing indeed.
But since they are not against the wall, I have access to two bookcases that stand behind (since the electronics are on the side, the cables slip under a carpet; so they must be flat). This way, panels are not cumbersome. The room area seems to be comparable.
It must be a great system. Enjoy !
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I plugged the Austrian Audio The Composer headphones into my laptop to listen to this.
Very interesting, thanks ! (It almost ends up convincing me that, ultimately, system videos are credible.)
Who plays the violin in Bach, 2nd video ? It seems to be a recent recording. (Esoteric label recently issued a remaster of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, SACD hybrid, played by Nathan Milstein with his legendary Stradivarius; an amazing instrument that I heard 2 years ago as it is now played by Dutch violinist Janine Jansen)
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The process of acquiring new speakers is never straightforward, and furthermore is hardly ever without additional expenses. No two rooms and pieces of equipment work the same with two different speakers. It is therefore quite fortunate for me to be able to exchange sets of different electronics. I have throughout the years simply collected various systems rather than gotten involved in the (tedious) buy and sell process.
What this has given me is the freedom to pursue the perfect system — even for my current mood. But more so it gives the opportunity to truly match the right equipment with the right speakers.
Having gone through my “Apogee iteration” of electronics with the Clarisys, the results were very good, but I just felt like this speaker had so much more potential. Quite simply, the Apogee design is old and therefore very taxing on equipment (and not for good reasons either). Clarisys Studio Plus with the true ribbon MRT is (I’ve said it a few times and will reiterate again) a completely different and new speaker.
And so, it’s not very surprising that the NAT Symbiosis New OTL design coupled with the NAT Magnetostat SE preamp is able to have an iron grip on the drivers, much like Soulution 710 did, but with one added caveat — dimensionality and more life to the music!
Simply put, the true ribbon driver allows designs like the NAT’s to truly shine and show off the full potential of short circuit paths and relatively simple solutions that yield more presence with the music. Zero negative feedback, one giant transistor and one tiny tube in an OTL design let the air and breath of music come out from the Clarisys in a way that Soulution simply cannot match.
So as things stand, this full NAT gear (coupled with the full loom of NAT cables) will be my preferred setup for Clarisys moving forward. The music simply flows in an organic fashion — or at least much more so than with the Soulution.
What this has given me is the freedom to pursue the perfect system — even for my current mood. But more so it gives the opportunity to truly match the right equipment with the right speakers.
Having gone through my “Apogee iteration” of electronics with the Clarisys, the results were very good, but I just felt like this speaker had so much more potential. Quite simply, the Apogee design is old and therefore very taxing on equipment (and not for good reasons either). Clarisys Studio Plus with the true ribbon MRT is (I’ve said it a few times and will reiterate again) a completely different and new speaker.
And so, it’s not very surprising that the NAT Symbiosis New OTL design coupled with the NAT Magnetostat SE preamp is able to have an iron grip on the drivers, much like Soulution 710 did, but with one added caveat — dimensionality and more life to the music!
Simply put, the true ribbon driver allows designs like the NAT’s to truly shine and show off the full potential of short circuit paths and relatively simple solutions that yield more presence with the music. Zero negative feedback, one giant transistor and one tiny tube in an OTL design let the air and breath of music come out from the Clarisys in a way that Soulution simply cannot match.
So as things stand, this full NAT gear (coupled with the full loom of NAT cables) will be my preferred setup for Clarisys moving forward. The music simply flows in an organic fashion — or at least much more so than with the Soulution.
...I'm starting to think the new guidance may be: Leave 10-15% of speaker cost for travel and lodging to hear target speakers. It really is a challenge to get to the "right" option.
The sad reality is you do have to have the means to match the right equipment with the right speakers — to get that sound you really want. Of course, there is always the universal equation to get to that 80%, like I did with Soulution. But that extra inch does require careful matching. In my view anyway.
Too bad you don’t still have those Magmas…I think that would have surprised you…
Heh, trust me, I’ve said that so many times in the last couple of days you wouldn’t believe it. I still stand by my statement that the Magmas were by far the best amplifiers I’ve ever heard. The ONLY and literally the only reason why I still don’t own them is the heat generation — which just wasn’t fit for long listening sessions. I would literally sweat in the winter.
That said, I spoke to Dejan today about Magma’s (saying that very thing — that I’d think they would sound the best on the Clarisys) and he told me they did some upgrades to it that makes it sound even better.
Before you ask, I won’t go down that rabbit hole again
The heat is too much.Yeah, know what you mean about the heat. Give Aries Cerat Concero 65s a try on those panels, not as much heat and incredible sound and grunt.Heh, trust me, I’ve said that so many times in the last couple of days you wouldn’t believe it. I still stand by my statement that the Magmas were by far the best amplifiers I’ve ever heard. The ONLY and literally the only reason why I still don’t own them is the heat generation — which just wasn’t fit for long listening sessions. I would literally sweat in the winter.
That said, I spoke to Dejan today about Magma’s (saying that very thing — that I’d think they would sound the best on the Clarisys) and he told me they did some upgrades to it that makes it sound even better.
Before you ask, I won’t go down that rabbit hole again
I like it when a plan comes together. Thanks for sharing your journey. Wishing you many happy hours of listening.
I'm interested in your observation that Alsyvox and Clarisys are apples and oranges sound-wise - can you give more details?
Whenever I listened to Alsyvox, all except on Pilium gear, the presentation was more forward, with more zing in the treble and with a more aggressive tone in the 1khz-5khz range. Both speakers do bass very well, but the Clarisys Studio Plus with the true ribbon MRT has a more balanced overall sound with far less aggression in the upper mids and highs.
Well, you have not heard our True Ribbon drivers ;-)
Your experience is at this point two generations old.
But, your welcome back of course.
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