Hello everyone,
Like all of you, I too am a avid music lover. Like my sound a little warm/ organic.
I am based in Bombay. Lawyer by profession.
My journey to set up my music rig, like all of yours', has been expensive, frustrating but extremely fun and rewarding. Will take this forum as a opportunity to talk about it and in the process, give my take on the same.
Speaker: Dali Oberon 5
Amplifier: Depending on genre of music/mood and source, I use one of ) Rega Elex Mark 4, b) Marrantz PM 8006 and c) Boyuurange MT 34 Mk III
Source: tidal/Spotify and some WAV files through Digital out of Eversolo DMP A6 (Master Edition
DAC: Weiss Minvera
Speaker Cables: Tellurium Q2 Black.
Interconnect: Mogami Reference 2803.
Coaxial: Othelo Reference (from Sound Foundation)
Review of source/DAC
Digital out of Eversolo is clean. It does what it is supposed to do, delivery a clean signal to the DAC. The interconnect Mogami 2803 is also clean and netural. These don't add any colour of their own.
DAC: Weiss Minerva when launched was a luxury product and like most luxury DAC, it's dead neutral. Great separation of instrument. No colour. Big soundstage. The built in transformer inside it help on this front. Fortunate that one of audiophile friend was gracious enough to pass this on to me.
Endeavour was to ensure the source/DAC/interconnect deliver a clean, neutral sound to the Amplifier sans any colouration. The result in this regard with the above chain is satisfactory.
I feel since Amplifier/Speaker effects the sound most, it's important to that Source/DAC/interconnect, provide a clean and neutral sound, allowing Speaker/amplifier to perform at their best.
Amplifier.
(Note- To be able to notice notable difference in various Amplifiers, it all comes down to how transparent your speakers and your source/DAC/interconnect combo is.)
In my case, Dali Oberon 5, all though not dead neutral, is transparent enough to reveal remarkable differences between Amplifiers Amplifiers.
1) Rega Elex Mark 4 - Dead Neutral. Revealing to such an extent that if you remove a single wire, play Spotify after Tidal, play a bad recording, it will lay it bare. Great soundstage. Great Dynamics. Huge head room.Doesn't add artificial thickness to midrange/treble/base. Great current supply gives a feeling of beautiful rhythmic precision. If you have high quality files, speakers that are not overtly bright, Rega is superb. Also, with Rega, you can change wires/DAC and it responds very well. The downside to such an amplifier is you can't give it a bad recording and speaker have to be little warm or else the details it can produce, specially in higher frequency can be fatiguing. The solution is to use a warmer DAC/Speaker with Rega.
2) PM 8006: With my Source/DAC combo, 8006 sounds clean. Treble is rolled up considerably, giving it a warm feel. Base is impactful but not speedy or pitch accurate. With Dali, it pairs well. Their is a feel of sufficiency in this set-up. You can hear this for hours. Also, midrange (vocals and string instruments) sounds really good. Definite muscle and body to it. Plus you get tone controls. You won't get wowed by anything but this is like a everyday combo. I suspect with warmer DAC/Cables etc etc, PM 8006 may sound muffled and lacking in detail. Since my set-up is otherwise revealing and clean, it sounds just right.
3) Boyuurange MT34 : This is the most surprising one. With the Stock EL34 From PS Vane, stock 5Z4P rectifier and stock Chinese made 6N1 preamp tubes, I found that there is unbelievable base articulation for a tube amp. Their is a distinct tone. Midrange was decent with some body to it. Sound stage compared to Rega/marantz was less deep and wide. Their was nothing holographic about it. But 25 watts felt incredibly sufficient. It was fun.
Under advice and guidance of friends, I installed Mullards EL 34 NoS, Mullard GZ34 rectifier and Russian Made 6HI ones. It sounded unbelievably different. Huge soundstage, the midrange just pops in each and every song. Base and treble take a back seat. Not very dynamic. It's a distinct sound. Great for unplugged songs. There is no center imaging, rather vocals feels coming from the wall between your speaker and gives a floating sense of sound, which I feel compelled PPL to call Tube sound holographic.
Few days later, I reinstalled the stock Rectifier, as I was told, Rectifier being the tubes that controls the current supply changes the sound too. This time I felt, sound stage reduced slightly. Sound Stage although at par with a rega/Marant and but not as holographic. The base and treble and midrange has more balance. Midrange is still good, but doesn't pop out. It terms sound, its sounds more modern with good base and good midrange. It terms of tonal character, it's sits between the revealing (lively) Rega and the warmer Marantz. Surprising that different Rectifier can have such an effect. Tube rolling is real and it changes sound. Period.
Dali Oberon 5.
For Small homes like In Mumbai, you will be hard pressed to find a better speaker. It's transparent. Great balance of all frequency. Nothing fancy. Revealing enough. Unfussy about placement/toe in. Not super detailed i.e. it's organic enough to make you both appreciate and analyse music. White oak looks great too.
PS: The DAC in DMA 6 Master Edition is also very nice. It's not as detailed as Weiss Minvera. On flipside, it's more organic, has coloration i.e. midrange feels emphasized. This helps to calm the neural and revealing amps like Rega
Speaker Cable: Tellurium Q2 black. After spending a lot on these, I found that any good speaking cable from a reputed brand does the job. Q2 black may be superior in focus and ensuring that it doesn't add any colour of its own, but that's minimal. Only with a amplifier like Rega, you will notice it.
So, I firmly believe, ensure your source/DAC/interconnects/ Speaker cables are faithful and clean. Than it's upto you to play around with speaker/Amplifier to get the sound you want.
I like warm and non analytical sound and given the lack of high quality files always at my disposal, I prefer Dali with Marantz/Boyuurange. But With a good recording and a warmer (less detail orientated DAC), Rega gives you that WOW factor at times, that is addictive.
Thanks
Attaching some pics of my rig as well.
Like all of you, I too am a avid music lover. Like my sound a little warm/ organic.
I am based in Bombay. Lawyer by profession.
My journey to set up my music rig, like all of yours', has been expensive, frustrating but extremely fun and rewarding. Will take this forum as a opportunity to talk about it and in the process, give my take on the same.
Speaker: Dali Oberon 5
Amplifier: Depending on genre of music/mood and source, I use one of ) Rega Elex Mark 4, b) Marrantz PM 8006 and c) Boyuurange MT 34 Mk III
Source: tidal/Spotify and some WAV files through Digital out of Eversolo DMP A6 (Master Edition
DAC: Weiss Minvera
Speaker Cables: Tellurium Q2 Black.
Interconnect: Mogami Reference 2803.
Coaxial: Othelo Reference (from Sound Foundation)
Review of source/DAC
Digital out of Eversolo is clean. It does what it is supposed to do, delivery a clean signal to the DAC. The interconnect Mogami 2803 is also clean and netural. These don't add any colour of their own.
DAC: Weiss Minerva when launched was a luxury product and like most luxury DAC, it's dead neutral. Great separation of instrument. No colour. Big soundstage. The built in transformer inside it help on this front. Fortunate that one of audiophile friend was gracious enough to pass this on to me.
Endeavour was to ensure the source/DAC/interconnect deliver a clean, neutral sound to the Amplifier sans any colouration. The result in this regard with the above chain is satisfactory.
I feel since Amplifier/Speaker effects the sound most, it's important to that Source/DAC/interconnect, provide a clean and neutral sound, allowing Speaker/amplifier to perform at their best.
Amplifier.
(Note- To be able to notice notable difference in various Amplifiers, it all comes down to how transparent your speakers and your source/DAC/interconnect combo is.)
In my case, Dali Oberon 5, all though not dead neutral, is transparent enough to reveal remarkable differences between Amplifiers Amplifiers.
1) Rega Elex Mark 4 - Dead Neutral. Revealing to such an extent that if you remove a single wire, play Spotify after Tidal, play a bad recording, it will lay it bare. Great soundstage. Great Dynamics. Huge head room.Doesn't add artificial thickness to midrange/treble/base. Great current supply gives a feeling of beautiful rhythmic precision. If you have high quality files, speakers that are not overtly bright, Rega is superb. Also, with Rega, you can change wires/DAC and it responds very well. The downside to such an amplifier is you can't give it a bad recording and speaker have to be little warm or else the details it can produce, specially in higher frequency can be fatiguing. The solution is to use a warmer DAC/Speaker with Rega.
2) PM 8006: With my Source/DAC combo, 8006 sounds clean. Treble is rolled up considerably, giving it a warm feel. Base is impactful but not speedy or pitch accurate. With Dali, it pairs well. Their is a feel of sufficiency in this set-up. You can hear this for hours. Also, midrange (vocals and string instruments) sounds really good. Definite muscle and body to it. Plus you get tone controls. You won't get wowed by anything but this is like a everyday combo. I suspect with warmer DAC/Cables etc etc, PM 8006 may sound muffled and lacking in detail. Since my set-up is otherwise revealing and clean, it sounds just right.
3) Boyuurange MT34 : This is the most surprising one. With the Stock EL34 From PS Vane, stock 5Z4P rectifier and stock Chinese made 6N1 preamp tubes, I found that there is unbelievable base articulation for a tube amp. Their is a distinct tone. Midrange was decent with some body to it. Sound stage compared to Rega/marantz was less deep and wide. Their was nothing holographic about it. But 25 watts felt incredibly sufficient. It was fun.
Under advice and guidance of friends, I installed Mullards EL 34 NoS, Mullard GZ34 rectifier and Russian Made 6HI ones. It sounded unbelievably different. Huge soundstage, the midrange just pops in each and every song. Base and treble take a back seat. Not very dynamic. It's a distinct sound. Great for unplugged songs. There is no center imaging, rather vocals feels coming from the wall between your speaker and gives a floating sense of sound, which I feel compelled PPL to call Tube sound holographic.
Few days later, I reinstalled the stock Rectifier, as I was told, Rectifier being the tubes that controls the current supply changes the sound too. This time I felt, sound stage reduced slightly. Sound Stage although at par with a rega/Marant and but not as holographic. The base and treble and midrange has more balance. Midrange is still good, but doesn't pop out. It terms sound, its sounds more modern with good base and good midrange. It terms of tonal character, it's sits between the revealing (lively) Rega and the warmer Marantz. Surprising that different Rectifier can have such an effect. Tube rolling is real and it changes sound. Period.
Dali Oberon 5.
For Small homes like In Mumbai, you will be hard pressed to find a better speaker. It's transparent. Great balance of all frequency. Nothing fancy. Revealing enough. Unfussy about placement/toe in. Not super detailed i.e. it's organic enough to make you both appreciate and analyse music. White oak looks great too.
PS: The DAC in DMA 6 Master Edition is also very nice. It's not as detailed as Weiss Minvera. On flipside, it's more organic, has coloration i.e. midrange feels emphasized. This helps to calm the neural and revealing amps like Rega
Speaker Cable: Tellurium Q2 black. After spending a lot on these, I found that any good speaking cable from a reputed brand does the job. Q2 black may be superior in focus and ensuring that it doesn't add any colour of its own, but that's minimal. Only with a amplifier like Rega, you will notice it.
So, I firmly believe, ensure your source/DAC/interconnects/ Speaker cables are faithful and clean. Than it's upto you to play around with speaker/Amplifier to get the sound you want.
I like warm and non analytical sound and given the lack of high quality files always at my disposal, I prefer Dali with Marantz/Boyuurange. But With a good recording and a warmer (less detail orientated DAC), Rega gives you that WOW factor at times, that is addictive.
Thanks
Attaching some pics of my rig as well.
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. but in Europe, I am seeing 2000 euros for this DAC. I just saw this on the internet and thought to share it here.
