When Joan Rivers had her Fashion Police show she was fond of making fun of outfits that were too coordinated; she would say disparagingly “matchy matchy!”
Ron I saw that you are selling your VTL mono blocs and have announced an upcoming surprise.
I am wondering if on the heels of your new Gryphon speaker purchase will you be revealing a Gryphon preamp and Gryphon amp to go with it?
The reason I am asking goes to a larger question.
I recognize the fun of the hobby is mixing and matching; finding the best phono cartridge that corresponds to your taste; same with a phono stage; perhaps you like the work of a one designer’s amp but he is not the best on preamps so go to another brand; all understandable.
I have always believed if I were at the point where I could afford upper echelon separates it would always be from the same brand. Why? Because I realize that I am buying into that designer’s outlook.
So if I were a Pass Labs fan it would Pass phono stage Pass line stage Pass amplifier. Similarly it would be VTL + VTL or CJ + CJ, D’Agostino + D’Agostino or Naim – Naim, T+A + T+A.
In this way it would avoid impedance mismatching between preamplifier and amplifier although we like to consider ourselves pretty savvy about not making those kinds of mistakes.
More importantly I believe there would be a kind of cohesiveness to the overall sound. Joan notwithstanding it WOULD be matchy matchy in the best sense.
I have a sense that you do not subscribe to this idea. More like you are making a soup and the various components are ingredients coming together to make the result.
Of course the speakers can be different because that are not many firms that manufacture electronics and also manufacture speakers to go with those electronics but increasingly we are seeing more of this.
Tidal comes to mind and I am certain you can name many more; https://www.tidal-audio.com/philosophy/
I have long held that this approach makes sense. I would love to know your take on this approach.
Most recently I came across a review by AHC where he reviews three pieces by the same manufacturer. The idea being so the reader gets a feel for what could be the heart of a system.
The Case for Choosing Electronics from One Manufacturer
The number of different electronic components that can add their own special sound character to a high-end system has also gotten higher. Many setups now have a separate front-end component for streaming, another for phono playback, and a separate SACD/CD transport or player. Some add a fourth to a preamp and power amp. This means four to seven active components—not counting the phono cartridge—and each then has its own cable connections, which also often involve different manufacturers, generations, levels of sophistication, and coloration.
A Determined Lack of Coloration
Regardless of the intentions and skill of the designers, mixing and matching means buying equipment designed to meet at least slightly different standards, and adding at least some low levels of coloration. Moreover, the chances of one coloration properly correcting another are slim. This makes a strong case for at least considering a “suite” of electronics
I appreciated this from the summary:
A preamp is a preamp, and I’ve already described the sound character of the Mark Levinson units. I also realize that calling an audio unit neutral, transparent, and uncolored lacks excitement, and will, to some, sound a bit bland and unexciting. It is more fun to claim that the product under review generated an epiphany bordering on a seizure, brought tears of joy to the eyes, or transformed the entire performance. Put differently, however, “neutral, transparent, and uncolored” means an excellent capability to actually reproduce what is on the recording, which I greatly prefer to saying that a unit revealed some unique aspect of the music that, in practice, is often a set of codewords for some form of coloration.
Thank you in advance for sharing your particular point of view on this subject
Ron I saw that you are selling your VTL mono blocs and have announced an upcoming surprise.
I am wondering if on the heels of your new Gryphon speaker purchase will you be revealing a Gryphon preamp and Gryphon amp to go with it?
The reason I am asking goes to a larger question.
I recognize the fun of the hobby is mixing and matching; finding the best phono cartridge that corresponds to your taste; same with a phono stage; perhaps you like the work of a one designer’s amp but he is not the best on preamps so go to another brand; all understandable.
I have always believed if I were at the point where I could afford upper echelon separates it would always be from the same brand. Why? Because I realize that I am buying into that designer’s outlook.
So if I were a Pass Labs fan it would Pass phono stage Pass line stage Pass amplifier. Similarly it would be VTL + VTL or CJ + CJ, D’Agostino + D’Agostino or Naim – Naim, T+A + T+A.
In this way it would avoid impedance mismatching between preamplifier and amplifier although we like to consider ourselves pretty savvy about not making those kinds of mistakes.
More importantly I believe there would be a kind of cohesiveness to the overall sound. Joan notwithstanding it WOULD be matchy matchy in the best sense.
I have a sense that you do not subscribe to this idea. More like you are making a soup and the various components are ingredients coming together to make the result.
Of course the speakers can be different because that are not many firms that manufacture electronics and also manufacture speakers to go with those electronics but increasingly we are seeing more of this.
Tidal comes to mind and I am certain you can name many more; https://www.tidal-audio.com/philosophy/
I have long held that this approach makes sense. I would love to know your take on this approach.
Most recently I came across a review by AHC where he reviews three pieces by the same manufacturer. The idea being so the reader gets a feel for what could be the heart of a system.
The Case for Choosing Electronics from One Manufacturer
The number of different electronic components that can add their own special sound character to a high-end system has also gotten higher. Many setups now have a separate front-end component for streaming, another for phono playback, and a separate SACD/CD transport or player. Some add a fourth to a preamp and power amp. This means four to seven active components—not counting the phono cartridge—and each then has its own cable connections, which also often involve different manufacturers, generations, levels of sophistication, and coloration.
A Determined Lack of Coloration
Regardless of the intentions and skill of the designers, mixing and matching means buying equipment designed to meet at least slightly different standards, and adding at least some low levels of coloration. Moreover, the chances of one coloration properly correcting another are slim. This makes a strong case for at least considering a “suite” of electronics
I appreciated this from the summary:
A preamp is a preamp, and I’ve already described the sound character of the Mark Levinson units. I also realize that calling an audio unit neutral, transparent, and uncolored lacks excitement, and will, to some, sound a bit bland and unexciting. It is more fun to claim that the product under review generated an epiphany bordering on a seizure, brought tears of joy to the eyes, or transformed the entire performance. Put differently, however, “neutral, transparent, and uncolored” means an excellent capability to actually reproduce what is on the recording, which I greatly prefer to saying that a unit revealed some unique aspect of the music that, in practice, is often a set of codewords for some form of coloration.
Mark Levinson No 5101 Network Streaming SACD Player and DAC, No 5206 Preamplifier, and No 5302 Power Amplifier - The Absolute Sound
Mark Levinson No 5101 Network Streaming SACD Player and DAC, No 5206 Preamplifier, and No 5302 Power Amplifier - With the new 5000 Series, Mark Levinson brings its advanced technologies to more accessible price points. Anthony H. Cordesman reports.
www.theabsolutesound.com
Thank you in advance for sharing your particular point of view on this subject