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General Car Audio
$181,000 stereo system
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<blockquote data-quote="thylantyr" data-source="post: 1411574" data-attributes="member: 560358"><p>Some things just can't be posted on that forum.... My response to his post .. here only ...</p><p></p><p>snip... from link.</p><p></p><p><em>Yesterday afternoon, I went to an audition of the latest and greatest "flagship" McIntosh audio system. Although it was *just* a stereo system, it consisted of:</em></p><p></p><p><em> </em></p><p></p><p><em>The XRT2K Speaker System. These speakers stand over 7 feet tall and contain 110 drivers on each side of the stereo pair; six 12" woofers, sixty-four 2" mid's and forty, 3/4" tweeters. </em></p><p></p><p>XRT2K is an improvement over their older stuff, but not really a design</p><p></p><p>amazement. Look at the low sensitivity rating of that speaker -- lol</p><p></p><p><em>MC2KW Tri-Chassis Amps. Each channel consisted of an output module and two 1,000 watt power modules, combined to supply 2,000 watts per channel. The dealer had to have an electrician come in and run five new dedicated circuits just to supply power to these babies.) </em></p><p></p><p>Nice amp but is it worth paying $30k MSRP each ? What's the big deal with 2000w/ch ?</p><p></p><p>You can get proamps for less with more power at a fraction of the cost.</p><p></p><p><em>C1000 Tri-chassis Vacuum Tube/Solid State pre-amp .</em></p><p></p><p><em>MDA1000 D/A Converter</em></p><p></p><p><em>MCD1000 CD transport </em></p><p></p><p>More expensive stuff not needed.</p><p></p><p><em>It was phenomenal! I've never heard *anything* even remotely close. On some music, it sounded better than any live concert I've ever attended. </em></p><p></p><p>Line array's plus high power give you this impression.</p><p></p><p><em>The sound was open and "airy" like nothing I've ever experienced in a music playback system. I went with a friend, (who is also a member of this forum) and we were both struck by the size of the soundstage, the pinpoint accuracy of the imaging and the "attack" of sounds like plucked strings and percussion. </em></p><p></p><p>My cheap NSB array does the same thing...</p><p></p><p><em>And then there was the bass, aahhh..., the bass! In an oddly shaped room, with no acoustic treatment and no EQ or room compensation, the bass was the tightest, cleanest and smoothest I've ever experienced. </em></p><p></p><p>I don't have a bass array, but I can build one using $20 Dayton woofers</p><p></p><p>that would give this type of response.</p><p></p><p><em>Nonetheless, every bass note was distinct and clear, with zero distortion. </em></p><p></p><p>Line arrays have low distortion.</p><p></p><p><em>The soundstage was very wide and very tall, but lacked a little in depth. </em></p><p></p><p>Typical response from any line array audition. Depth can be added by using</p><p></p><p>a digital delay on one channel.</p><p></p><p><em>However, that could have been affected by the room they were in, (a large open room with glass windows just 2 feet behind the listeners). The imaging was really good almost anywhere in the room. However, when you found the "sweet spot" the imaging became breathtaking. The sweet spot wasn't very big, (it was right at the equilateral triangle formed by the speakers and the listener), but once you heard the imaging from that spot, the system was a revalation. Voices and instruments hung in space in a way that was totally believable and realistic. </em></p><p></p><p>More line array boner stuff.</p><p></p><p><em>Voices had startling realism, with no chestiness or nasaliness. On recordings of "live" music, voices took on the large soundstage of amplified reproduction. With "studio" recordings, voices had the pinpoint imaging that made you feel like the singer was standing right in front of you. However, occasionally, some voices sounded overly "big," like the singer's mouth was 5 feet wide and 10 feet tall. </em></p><p></p><p>Again, line arrays do this.</p><p></p><p><em>This must have been the recording because not all voices sounded that way. I guess these speakers are just so accurate that they are going to portray every recording exactly as it was recorded. </em></p><p></p><p>Any line array will do this.</p><p></p><p><em>The struck keys of a well-tuned piano...</em></p><p></p><p><em>Nora Jones belting out "Come Away With Me..."</em></p><p></p><p><em>Drumsticks tapping a symbol...</em></p><p></p><p><em>Brushes on a snare drum...</em></p><p></p><p><em>Buddy Guy's fingers plucking his guitar strings...</em></p><p></p><p><em>The "kick" of a bass drum...</em></p><p></p><p><em>Diana Krall's voice...</em></p><p></p><p><em>The breath of an unknown (to me) flutist on an unrecognized (by me) "New Age" selection... </em></p><p></p><p>Stuff my NSB array can do.</p><p></p><p><em>I heard things with a clarity and depth that I've never experienced before in recorded music reproduction. The clean dynamic range, the sheer, distortion-free volume, and the effortless stereo imaging were head and shoulders above anything I've heard before. </em></p><p></p><p>More line array boner stuff.</p><p></p><p><strong>Summary</strong></p><p></p><p>The real magic he heard was caused by the speaker and lots of power, not the sources,</p><p></p><p>and even in an untreated room, you can get that reaction. I can replace all those sources</p><p></p><p>with cheap stuff and use low cost proamps and he'd never know.</p><p></p><p>$181k for that. I can do something similar for $2k DIY plus $1k for amps, $250 for</p><p></p><p>crossover, and $125 for the source. Ideally, a nice preamp would be cool,</p><p></p><p>but not mandatory. I can probably mimimick his experience more accurately with another</p><p></p><p>$1k to the budget.</p><p></p><p>Never reveal DIY to these people, they will never believe that someone</p><p></p><p>can recreate that experience by only spending less then $5K ... DIY style...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="thylantyr, post: 1411574, member: 560358"] Some things just can't be posted on that forum.... My response to his post .. here only ... snip... from link. [I]Yesterday afternoon, I went to an audition of the latest and greatest "flagship" McIntosh audio system. Although it was *just* a stereo system, it consisted of:[/I] [I] [/I] [I]The XRT2K Speaker System. These speakers stand over 7 feet tall and contain 110 drivers on each side of the stereo pair; six 12" woofers, sixty-four 2" mid's and forty, 3/4" tweeters. [/I] XRT2K is an improvement over their older stuff, but not really a design amazement. Look at the low sensitivity rating of that speaker -- lol [I]MC2KW Tri-Chassis Amps. Each channel consisted of an output module and two 1,000 watt power modules, combined to supply 2,000 watts per channel. The dealer had to have an electrician come in and run five new dedicated circuits just to supply power to these babies.) [/I] Nice amp but is it worth paying $30k MSRP each ? What's the big deal with 2000w/ch ? You can get proamps for less with more power at a fraction of the cost. [I]C1000 Tri-chassis Vacuum Tube/Solid State pre-amp .[/I] [I]MDA1000 D/A Converter[/I] [I]MCD1000 CD transport [/I] More expensive stuff not needed. [I]It was phenomenal! I've never heard *anything* even remotely close. On some music, it sounded better than any live concert I've ever attended. [/I] Line array's plus high power give you this impression. [I]The sound was open and "airy" like nothing I've ever experienced in a music playback system. I went with a friend, (who is also a member of this forum) and we were both struck by the size of the soundstage, the pinpoint accuracy of the imaging and the "attack" of sounds like plucked strings and percussion. [/I] My cheap NSB array does the same thing... [I]And then there was the bass, aahhh..., the bass! In an oddly shaped room, with no acoustic treatment and no EQ or room compensation, the bass was the tightest, cleanest and smoothest I've ever experienced. [/I] I don't have a bass array, but I can build one using $20 Dayton woofers that would give this type of response. [I]Nonetheless, every bass note was distinct and clear, with zero distortion. [/I] Line arrays have low distortion. [I]The soundstage was very wide and very tall, but lacked a little in depth. [/I] Typical response from any line array audition. Depth can be added by using a digital delay on one channel. [I]However, that could have been affected by the room they were in, (a large open room with glass windows just 2 feet behind the listeners). The imaging was really good almost anywhere in the room. However, when you found the "sweet spot" the imaging became breathtaking. The sweet spot wasn't very big, (it was right at the equilateral triangle formed by the speakers and the listener), but once you heard the imaging from that spot, the system was a revalation. Voices and instruments hung in space in a way that was totally believable and realistic. [/I] More line array boner stuff. [I]Voices had startling realism, with no chestiness or nasaliness. On recordings of "live" music, voices took on the large soundstage of amplified reproduction. With "studio" recordings, voices had the pinpoint imaging that made you feel like the singer was standing right in front of you. However, occasionally, some voices sounded overly "big," like the singer's mouth was 5 feet wide and 10 feet tall. [/I] Again, line arrays do this. [I]This must have been the recording because not all voices sounded that way. I guess these speakers are just so accurate that they are going to portray every recording exactly as it was recorded. [/I] Any line array will do this. [I]The struck keys of a well-tuned piano...[/I] [I]Nora Jones belting out "Come Away With Me..."[/I] [I]Drumsticks tapping a symbol...[/I] [I]Brushes on a snare drum...[/I] [I]Buddy Guy's fingers plucking his guitar strings...[/I] [I]The "kick" of a bass drum...[/I] [I]Diana Krall's voice...[/I] [I]The breath of an unknown (to me) flutist on an unrecognized (by me) "New Age" selection... [/I] Stuff my NSB array can do. [I]I heard things with a clarity and depth that I've never experienced before in recorded music reproduction. The clean dynamic range, the sheer, distortion-free volume, and the effortless stereo imaging were head and shoulders above anything I've heard before. [/I] More line array boner stuff. [B]Summary[/B] The real magic he heard was caused by the speaker and lots of power, not the sources, and even in an untreated room, you can get that reaction. I can replace all those sources with cheap stuff and use low cost proamps and he'd never know. $181k for that. I can do something similar for $2k DIY plus $1k for amps, $250 for crossover, and $125 for the source. Ideally, a nice preamp would be cool, but not mandatory. I can probably mimimick his experience more accurately with another $1k to the budget. Never reveal DIY to these people, they will never believe that someone can recreate that experience by only spending less then $5K ... DIY style... [/QUOTE]
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