KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

[asiufy]

Needless to say, the D'Agostino amps (all of them) are awesome on YGs, in spite of what 213Cobra thinks. This is actually the amplifier that Keith has heard most on my YGs, and the one that helped form his appreciation of the speakers, that resulted in a purchase. As we know, speakers don't work on their own, they need amps... And those amps were usually D'Agostinos in the auditions here.
But I do respect the fact that Keith doesn't want t go "there", and is investigating less costly options. That's perfectly valid, and doesn't decrease the validity of the D'Agostino option. I just wish I had more exposure to less costly amplifiers on YGs. If the Ampzillas are indeed as good as Keith tells me, I'll gladly recommend it as a viable, lower price option.

 

[spiritofmusic]

What was your fetish, Marc, to tell you while getting spanked "your sound sucks, your Zus are bad" and alternate that with caresses of lovely linear tracker? Pain and pleasure?

You sound like one of those audio journalists who upon getting the "special" invite, made yr excuses and left the party.

Absolutely this hobby, and Zus ownership, is S&M. How much is S, how much is M, depends on the customer, depth of pockets, pain threshold on screwing it up and going back for more.

 

[bonzo75]

Lol at the first statement

 

[andromedaaudio]

They are specified as 3ohm minimum. Good 4ohm amp is all they need.

Did JA test them or Soundstage ?
Or is that the nominal value specified by Yg nominal doesnt mean anything .
Impedance means that the resistance changes per frequency.
You wanna see a graph the resistance plotted over the 20- 20 khz band.

 

[KeithR]

Did JA test them or Soundstage ?
Or is that the nominal value specified by Yg nominal doesnt mean anything .
Impedance means that the resistance changes per frequency.
You wanna see a graph the resistance plotted over the 20- 20 khz band.

No, that's minimum impedance as spec'd by YG. I trust them on that. Nominal is definitely a manufacturer game from time to time.

I absolutely would love to see a full suite of measurements - all I have are FFTs from my house

 

[KeithR]

Needless to say, the D'Agostino amps (all of them) are awesome on YGs, in spite of what 213Cobra thinks. This is actually the amplifier that Keith has heard most on my YGs, and the one that helped form his appreciation of the speakers, that resulted in a purchase. As we know, speakers don't work on their own, they need amps... And those amps were usually D'Agostinos in the auditions here.

Agreed. D'agostinos have always been a good match with YG in my experience. When Dan changed his amp designs entirely with the Momentum, he really improved the sonics. They don't sound like Krell at all.

 

[bonzo75]

Agreed. D'agostinos have always been a good match with YG in my experience. When Dan changed his amp designs entirely with the Momentum, he really improved the sonics. They don't sound like Krell at all.

Dagostino are excellent amps.

 

[andromedaaudio]

So dan d agostino remained true to that design concept then.
The krellls were also known to drive anything.
Did he actually start that concept or was that the levinson brand?
Its a bit before my time actually.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Krell MRA ,if every hope fails you wanna hook these babies up.

 

[213Cobra]

Krell MRA ,if every hope fails you wanna hook these babies up.

View attachment 61705

If YGs make one resort to that dreadful thing, send the speakers to a car crusher. -Phil

 

[andromedaaudio]

I would love to hear them .
But coming back to keiths choice , i think barry made a good suggestion first get the power/ electrical sorted to make sure every amp has an equal chance .
The dagostino might eventually be the right choice but they are indeed not cheap .

 

[213Cobra]

I would love to hear them .
But coming back to keiths choice , i think barry made a good suggestion first get the power/ electrical sorted to make sure every amp has an equal chance .
The dagostino might eventually be the right choice but they are indeed not cheap .

Every amp does have an equal chance. They all have to perform with a floating ground. I don't think that circumstance is getting a fix anytime soon. Keith's Torus isolation transformer may provide some mitigation but ultimately, for the time being power is via two-wire conduit. The Ampzilla seems to be doing a great job regardless. D'Agostino amps are somewhat differently voiced from Krell but still not musically convincing amplifiers. Dan just can't help himself from undermining the whole purpose of high-end audio, unless one thinks that the whole point is pointless sonic jewelry. That would not be a step forward.

Phil

 

[andromedaaudio]

Thats your opinion phil im sure it doesnt count for everyone.
One mans wish is the other mans curse .
Or whatever the saying was .
I havent even heard d agostino or dartzeel properly
Since i have the CAT i became completely ignorant.

 

[DaveC]

If it's a rental I'd demand the landlord fix the issue with AC power, unless the component was designed not to be grounded it needs to be grounded. Floating grounds is certainly not safe! Even if the home is older I doubt renting it out without a modern grounded AC system is legal.

 

[GSOphile]

Keith, if the Ampzillas don't work out, I'm thinking the new Parasound JC1+ monos might be the sleepers you've been looking for.

 

[tima]

Agreed. D'agostinos have always been a good match with YG in my experience. When Dan changed his amp designs entirely with the Momentum, he really improved the sonics. They don't sound like Krell at all.

Keith, first, congratulations.

Two questions...

What are your room dimensions?

From something that Phil said I'd like to learn your take.
What do you generally consider are the YG's (or Haileys specifically) "tonal liabilities"?

 

[Folsom]

Keith, if the Ampzillas don't work out, I'm thinking the new Parasound JC1+ monos might be the sleepers you've been looking for.

I wouldn't.

 

[microstrip]

Every amp does have an equal chance. They all have to perform with a floating ground. I don't think that circumstance is getting a fix anytime soon. Keith's Torus isolation transformer may provide some mitigation but ultimately, for the time being power is via two-wire conduit. The Ampzilla seems to be doing a great job regardless. D'Agostino amps are somewhat differently voiced from Krell but still not musically convincing amplifiers. Dan just can't help himself from undermining the whole purpose of high-end audio, unless one thinks that the whole point is pointless sonic jewelry. That would not be a step forward.

Phil

Ground performance is an old audio myth, mainly due to the poor performance of many power transformers or improperly wired systems. In a quality system, as I think it is being addressed , ground is only used for safety purposes if the connections of the system are correctly done. It is all written in the Ralph Morrison "Grounding and Shielding Techniques" many editions, but those just wanting to check it can see it in the classical seminar "An Overview of Audio System Grounding & Shielding" by Bill Whitlock of Jensen Transformers. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=26&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjq4eLJttnnAhWLyYUKHcjwAYEQFjAZegQICBAB&url=https %3A%2F%2Fwww.bennettprescott.com%2Fdownloads%2Fgrounding_tutorial.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1dvf_JE9CHZlfoilqcAyB3

“Those looking for a better earth or better ground to solve a noise problem are looking
for pie in the sky.” Ralph Morrison

In daily use I always ground my system for safety. However, after rewiring the whole system I sometimes inserted a cheater just to compare floating ground with grounded - if everything is OK there is no difference in my spectrometer or in sound quality.

However, considering that some grounding devices used with success by audiophiles are just noise generators nothing should be white and black in audiophile grounding matters ...

 

[bazelio]

If it's a rental I'd demand the landlord fix the issue with AC power, unless the component was designed not to be grounded it needs to be grounded. Floating grounds is certainly not safe! Even if the home is older I doubt renting it out without a modern grounded AC system is legal.

It's legal here. But it's not smart. Though it's a ton of work in a lot of these old Cali houses to rectify. It took me three weeks to rewire my 1950s house and I cut open many walls in the process. Had I not, I might still be work on that job. Thank God for skilled drywall and texture contractors.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Is a balanced power transformer a la EquiTech an option? I run the UK equivalent Westwick, and it's been a life saver w the regular outtages we have as flocks of birds regularly fly into power pylons around here.