Very nice. I admit I’ve never heard of most of those you listed.
If you’ve heard all of those for any reasonable length of time, you have a good start already.
1 Like
I’ve heard most of them long enough to come to a conclusion greater than they’re good or they’re bad lol, generally wouldn’t put something in here that I think I didn’t have proper time with (which did cause me to omit some options that were fantastic but too brief with them to really say anything)
1 Like
Were these all speakers which have passed through your home before?
1 Like
Only ones I owned and had in house were these:
The rest of them were either listening at friends setups, at a dealer, or at longer demos within a show but really more the friends and dealers. Typically at least more than one time over time as well. The only one off demo I heard in the list was the vimberg which was only for an hour and so, but it was genuinely so impressive I had to include it
1 Like
Excellent.
I don’t have opportunities to go to shows, and dealers are few and far between from where I live. However, later this week I will be attending a small demo of McIntosh and Sonus Faber at a dealer not too far from me. I found this place randomly yesterday and it’s an easy drive for me.
3 Likes
Oh sweet, will be curious on what you think of the demo 
1 Like
I’ll be sure to report back afterward.
I was clicking on McIntosh’s website and the find dealers section. That’s how I found this place I’ll be going to. It looks like a very high-end shop with a lot of brands I’ve not heard of.
I’m sure it’ll be a good time.
3 Likes
I’ve only heard a couple on your list but man the dyns and B1s are fantastic. Dyn because the drivers are amazingly smooth and the B1s hit way above their price point.
1 Like
Yes the B1 are real solid for the money. The Dynaudio is an interesting one to me, I was never really impressed with most offerings I heard from them, but the special 40s had this awesome energy and directness that I think a lot of their even higher end models lack, and it’s a surprisingly good value too. It’s picky on placement and sources, but man when it’s right it’s right lol.
Completely agree, I used to use those drivers in active setups in a couple of vehicles. Placement was key for that tweeter as it wants to be on axis as much as possible, but when you get that placement right holy hell it was amazing.
1 Like
You deserve a heart from everyone that passes this post @M0N. I’m blown away by the time it has taken you to not only write that up, but also spend time with all that gear!
I’m curious on one device though I didn’t see on your lists: The RME ADI2DAC FS? I’ve been enjoying this thing to death but my experience with source devices is about 1/25th of yours ha!
3 Likes
I will be honest, I don’t really like that dac. I think it’s mediocre for the money unless you really need dsp options, otherwise I don’t think it’s on the same technical level as other options in the price point. I don’t think there’s anything really bad about it, but I also don’t think there’s anything that great about it either. But the build is solid, the DSP is good if you use it, and lots of features. But hard sell for me personally
2 Likes
A friend loaned it to me, and comparing it to the DX300 MAX digital audio player, I preferred the DX300 MAX over it.
I would prefer the same, although that is definitely not a fair comparison lol
1 Like
Understood. I am coming from a Modius/Jotunheim2 combo and I don’t necessarily find it to be leaps and bounds above…but I agree on the feature set. Also, its definitely more transparent to my ears when plugging in my headphones. Still, it’s powered everything I have so far just fine.
For sure agree on value though. It took me a bit to consider the purchase since I don’t do splurges like that typically. For me it was more for the feature set as stated.
I don’t want to derail your post here though, so I’ll end on that. Thank you for your thoughts however!
I would agree with that with the modius, I don’t really think it’s all that big of a jump from the modius, which imo is a problem since compare to a bf2 and that gap is pretty noticeable. It is a lot cleaner than a modius though for sure, and it is more technical
Can’t really beat the features for the money, and it’s a reliable all rounder
I don’t really care about that to be honest, so if you have something you want to discuss in the the thread (that’s audio related) than I don’t mind, since it’s my thread for once you don’t have to worry about derailment of a thread with no real strong topic lol
1 Like
Alright so I got another for ya.
Until my ADI2DAC, I was all Schiit. Started out with the Magni Heresy/Modi3 combo. Then upgraded that to the Modius/Jotunheim2.
Well, now that I have the RME I’m considering moving on from my Mod/Jot2 just to listen to other things. I’m not even really concerned about balanced listening any longer. I’ll just have to grab an adapter for the XLR which is easy enough.
I’ve thought about checking out either an iFi AMP or possibly the Topping stuff of some kind. Or the LP2. Just curious on your thoughts as the Jot2 is a very unique amp in that the SE has a different sig from the Bal. That’s the only thing I’m sure I will miss…though so far everything has sounded great on the ADI2DAC.
Honestly, I’d either suggest taking the next step with amps like a liquid platinum, g111, rnhp, monotor, iha6, etc, depending on what you’re after and what you plan to pair. All of which should have no issues with the adi2.
I’d skip the topping amps as imo the jot2 has bested any that I’ve heard, and ifi, I think the only ifi that makes sense for you would be the pro ican, and while that would be a step above the aforementioned and a worthwhile consideration if you like what it has to offer, it is a pretty decent price jump vs previously mentioned (although surprisingly well priced used).
You could just make the jump to other amps in or above the range of the ican, and that would likely be worthwhile as well, but all depends on what you’d be looking for and what you’d pair with as well (although if you go far enough the dac will become the bottleneck again)
1 Like
The Pro iCAN is a pretty impressive amp. Especially if he could get an OG, used model. The flexibility is amazing and the options are just a ton of fun.
1 Like
Thank you both. Yeah I’m highly considering the LP for my next amp to move on from the Jot2. Gives me more options with the hybrid aspect of it too.
2 Likes