I've built my system over 4 decades now - I still have the first album I bought - well actually most of the albums I bought (unfortunately some were stolen in college).
My system is the best sounding it's ever been and I'm enjoying music more than ever. Of course these are my personal opinion and what I think are improvements may simply be different. I've appreciated listening to different systems and their characteristics - especially over the last few years - and understanding the sonic aspects I find pleasant.
Hi Nick...enjoy your path! The last few years I've been able to listen to many awesome systems. I'm lucky in the fact of my local dealer treats me well. I haven't heard Modwright stuff yet I have heard great tube systems (Audio Research, VTL) and think they sound great. Ultimately my decision came down to sound and convenience - Moon's 390 is a Pre-amp/DAC/Streamer with a phone stage in one box and I thought the sound from the Moon was dynamic and detailed...a pinch behind the ARC reference without the tube maintenance.
I trust what ever path you choose, you'll have a smile as you get lost in the music.
Thanks for your thoughts Kevin! I am in between the moon 330a, a pair of 400m monos or a Modwright KWH225i integrated with a big amp and a tube pre. I already have a JC2 which could be sold if I go the integrated route but would need to be keep it with either moon amps. This hobby is nutty, too many options to try to find your ideal sound. Enjoy your night!
@nicholaslytle Thanks! I did prefer the Moon 330A over the MC 462 - I ended up buying M400 monoblocks. The reason is I listen to things a little louder than most and the M400 are the mono version of the 330A. I think the Moon 330A is an excellent amp and its even harder to beat at it's price.
You are right in that I now have 860A v2 - I traded up the M400s to the 860A v2...got a steal of a deal on a demo model. There's a significant jump in price between the M400s and the 860 - the 860 has another level of finesse and clarity. So my journey with Moon has been enjoyable for my ears, my audio budget is a little more stressed.
Very nice setup Overthemoon! I had a pair of Olympica IIIs years and they were fabulous speakers! I saw in one of your posts you mentioned you loved the Moon 330a over the MC462 and wanted to see if you bought so I could pick your brain. I saw in your system profile you had the 400m monos and now the 860a. How did your moon journey go?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated as I never listened to any of their gear until yesterday and was quite impressed with the 330a, cheers!
Thanks @ghdprentice - I appreciate the suggestions. It is something I have an opportunity to learn about. And the system is in an large open area (open concept floor plan with kitchen and dinning area to the right, open area to ground floor etc)
Beautiful. I used to own Olympica 3… fantastic speakers. Love your dog… most important thing in life. You have a tremendous opportunity to improve sound quality with room treatments. If you move the components from in between the speakers, add a heavy wall hanging to absorb sound your soundstage will improve immeasurably and deeply in depth. Absorption at reflections of side walls will increase soundstage. Great system… with even greater potential.
My experience with Kimber has been positive but the first speaker cables I tried were the 12 TC and the irritated my ears with high frequencies and didn't have consistent spatial presentation - the Bifocals were night and day different between the 12 TCs and my previous cables.
My description of their sound is they allowed the space between notes to be quieter thus making the sound more dynamic for a symbol crash or pluck of a bass.
I really like tubes and drool over some Audio Research stuff and I'm afraid of the extra attention and maintenance tubes require. Simaudio has been a blessing and a curse - I must learn not to visit hifi stores!
