SoundStage! Ultra

[windler]

I have tested Q5 with DP , and 400 it works fine but it more power wouldn't be harm .
I know that Q7 has different behave then the Q5 and it more efficient but running it with 200 is like to run Fiat 500 engine on Mercedes CLS.

[darthsteph]

And it was not a 200 but... a 120 !

[IanG-UK]

Thinking about it, there are not many reviews at all (maybe none?) beyond the 170 / 200, the original D-Permier excepted? Perhaps a good thing, almost every time I have auditioned hifi based on reviews, I have come away surprised and baffled about the lack of correlation between the review and what I actually hear. Best (Worst) one ever was the ATC100 active towers in real life vs the What Hi Fi review) It's the oldest advice in the business, but there is no substitute for a decent hifi dealer and your own ears.

Well, reviews are written (by paid reviewers) to sell copy within a month then they are usually forgotten; reviews written by unpaid reviewers are generally wholly subjective using unusual ancillaries in unusual rooms; and some of the paid reviewers might be working for an audio magazine for six months, then a car magazine, then a camera magazine.

In the UK IMO the only reliable reviewers include Colloms, Messenger, Miller and Sircom - and you need to know their tastes to understand the context of their reviews.

By far the best approach is to find a good dealer and/or direct sale manufacturer who will lend you kit for a week or two.

[ogs]

I've read the review some days ago and thought WOW! The little 120 driving Q7s! I assumed Fritz was using SAM with Q7 as his description of the bass performance sort of indicated that. Then I realized there is no SAM profile for the Magico Q7! I've checked with Fritz. His comment is on a standard 120 driving the Q7. No SAM! That is even more extraordinary!

[f1eng]

I've read the review some days ago and thought WOW! The little 120 driving Q7s! I assumed Fritz was using SAM with Q7 as his description of the bass performance sort of indicated that. Then I realized there is no SAM profile for the Magico Q7! I've checked with Fritz. His comment is on a standard 120 driving the Q7. No SAM! That is even more extraordinary!

For me SAM is likley to make the biggest difference on the smallest speakers. I am not sure the Q7 would benefit as much.

[moreno1973]

[/quote]
For me SAM is likley to make the biggest difference on the smallest speakers.
[/quote]

Agree 100%

[ogs]

For me SAM is likley to make the biggest difference on the smallest speakers. I am not sure the Q7 would benefit as much.

I also agree with this. A speaker as big as the Q7 is already full range, but correction of the phase shift from bass roll off should help, even for a speaker this large.

[moreno1973]

New words from Mr. FRITZ

We don’t need Dan D’Agostino to make a quarter-million-dollar amp -- particularly when his $55,000 model broke on John Atkinson’s test bench. Mr. D’Agostino, remember your Krell KSA-250 power amp, which cost $5700 when you introduced it, in 1991? At three times the price today, an amp of similar power and quality would be considered a steal. Why can’t we have that?

We can.

There are ways to avoid the conundrum described by Craig, but it might require a reimagining of what the high end looks like. The clearest way is to forgo the notion that only separates can produce real high-end sound quality. For example, if you’re willing to abandon the bought-it-by-the-pound mentality that in part made the Krell KSA-250 so popular -- a mentality that many buyers still share today -- you can actually get better sound for much less money.

In the amplifier department, I’m thinking about the awesome products from Devialet. Consider that the Devialet 120 DAC-preamp-amp retails for $6495 -- not much more than the KSA-250 of almost 25 years ago -- and includes features that could only be dreamed of in 1991: wireless streaming, online customization, Ethernet connectivity, etc. And despite their reasonable prices, the sound quality of the Devialets currently constitutes the state of the art. But luxury buyers who just “know” that the six-figure amp must be better -- because they still believe that, to sound best, an amp must be heavier, bigger, occupy more boxes, and therefore cost a lot -- won’t even consider something like a Devialet. For you, Craig, and me: If you want to avoid the luxury/high-end conundrum, Devialet is a perfect starting and ending point.

http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php...a-solution

[GuillaumeB]

New words from Mr. FRITZ

We don’t need Dan D’Agostino to make a quarter-million-dollar amp -- particularly when his $55,000 model broke on John Atkinson’s test bench. Mr. D’Agostino, remember your Krell KSA-250 power amp, which cost $5700 when you introduced it, in 1991? At three times the price today, an amp of similar power and quality would be considered a steal. Why can’t we have that?

We can.

There are ways to avoid the conundrum described by Craig, but it might require a reimagining of what the high end looks like. The clearest way is to forgo the notion that only separates can produce real high-end sound quality. For example, if you’re willing to abandon the bought-it-by-the-pound mentality that in part made the Krell KSA-250 so popular -- a mentality that many buyers still share today -- you can actually get better sound for much less money.

In the amplifier department, I’m thinking about the awesome products from Devialet. Consider that the Devialet 120 DAC-preamp-amp retails for $6495 -- not much more than the KSA-250 of almost 25 years ago -- and includes features that could only be dreamed of in 1991: wireless streaming, online customization, Ethernet connectivity, etc. And despite their reasonable prices, the sound quality of the Devialets currently constitutes the state of the art. But luxury buyers who just “know” that the six-figure amp must be better -- because they still believe that, to sound best, an amp must be heavier, bigger, occupy more boxes, and therefore cost a lot -- won’t even consider something like a Devialet. For you, Craig, and me: If you want to avoid the luxury/high-end conundrum, Devialet is a perfect starting and ending point.

http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php...a-solution

Very interesting read... and I wonder how long Gryphon will continue advertising on their site.

Guillaume