I might take you up on that! Im planning a Costa Rica trip right now!!!!
Got my CLXs and a little tweak...
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I might take you up on that! Im planning a Costa Rica trip right now!!!!
roberto
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tsv_1
Well-known member
Congratulations Roberto on owning (and enjoying) some of the finest electro-acoustical transducers mankind has to offer! They are, in my estimation, the most revealing, articulate, and honest loadspeakers available on the market today.
Their biggest problem (IMO) besides being a tad bass-shy in the lowest octave, is that they are so damned revealing, they act like a million candle-power floodlight shining relentlessly on the performance of any/all upstream components in your system.
Any weak link is exposed for minute examination. They've caused my to swap out most of my gear in an effort to find suitable components to match their hyper-fidelity.
A little extra work and investment upstream, and the results are absolutely miraculous!
I wish you many thousands of hours of listening enjoyment!
Kind regards,
Todd
Their biggest problem (IMO) besides being a tad bass-shy in the lowest octave, is that they are so damned revealing, they act like a million candle-power floodlight shining relentlessly on the performance of any/all upstream components in your system.
Any weak link is exposed for minute examination. They've caused my to swap out most of my gear in an effort to find suitable components to match their hyper-fidelity.
A little extra work and investment upstream, and the results are absolutely miraculous!
I wish you many thousands of hours of listening enjoyment!
Kind regards,
Todd
roberto
Well-known member
Hola Todd. Agreed with you 100%. I have a treasure now, as I did with my old CLSs...I missed them a lot too. Thanks for your recommendations...you are right with them. My power amp is an Audio Research model VT-100MKII and did several mods to it...my pre amp is an Onkyo Pro. Also I did some caps mods at the signal path and the power supply... I like what I listen now...and my video cd player is an Oppo when I play digital 5.1 concerts, and my CD player is a Proceed. Both transport and DAC. Between them I have a Sonic Frontiers Jitter bug. Between the preamp I have a harmonic recovery system...and I am having a lot of fun...enjoying my music and my system... Happy listening,
Roberto.
R.
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Felicidades Roberto!
Next time I'm in Costa Rica I'll let you know and see if we can meet up. Would love to hear your setup and meet in person.
roberto
Well-known member
Ron
Well-known member
I thought I was getting all I needed with a 400wpc sterio amp. I switched to 600wpc monoblocks. All I could say is, it really opened up these speakers, like I have never heard before.
roberto
Well-known member
Thanks Edwinr...I did listen to them a lot. I have a customer here and he had these babies almost when they came out. Every time that I wen there for any reason, specially to listen all kinds of great music, I was telling myself that I wanted them...that sound was in my head every time I listened any other system, even mine. I had my CLSs for many years (all models) and they were my reference until the CLXs... I thank God for letting me the opportunity to own these speakers...the truth is: rediscovering all my music again... you can't think the mess that I have in my room...music is every where and all kinds, piano, guitar, cello, vocals, drums, winds, percussion, electric guitar, celtic music with all this wierd instruments, ... I am truy having a lot of fun!. Happy listening,
Roberto.
roberto
Well-known member
Yes, they show up all your electronics...and a thing that I like from them, is how easy is to drive them, you can use a small 50W tube amp, and you get the sweetest sound full of harmonic texture without any stress and a nice volume level. The rule is: better quality than quantity!... Same as you, I do like a lot what I am listening, happy listening,
Robero.
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Gordon Gray
Well-known member
Hi Ron,
With all due respect, when is enough wattage enough?
The good doctor is running his with the Pass Labs 100 watt / pure Class A mono amps and seems quite happy with the results.
There has to be something else going on other than specified wattage output, don't you think?
At some point, numbers seem to become somewhat meaningless like the infamous 0.001 THD advertised spec in the early SS amps. Based on what I've read here and in other reviews, those speakers don't seem to be that difficult to drive.
GG
roberto
Well-known member
Hola...I am going to chime here with a thought... different electronics driving the same speaker can sound different for better, but not necesary by its power output wattage. Dual amplifier, dual power supply, dual PC boards, dual everything could make a change of the sound, and the specifications of his new McIntosch mono amplifiers rated at 600W/each could make a difference. As you, I don't think that the wattage is making to sound better, its their design. If you take an oscilloscope or a true RMS meter, you will find that you will be using about 30 to 60 Watts of power to fill his room with enough sound. I could be wrong, perhaps, but again, I do like what I am listening from my new speakers...they are a treasure as my CLSs, happy listening,Hi Ron,
With all due respect, when is enough wattage enough?
The good doctor is running his with the Pass Labs 100 watt / pure Class A mono amps and seems quite happy with the results.
There has to be something else going on other than specified wattage output, don't you think?
At some point, numbers seem to become somewhat meaningless like the infamous 0.001 THD advertised spec in the early SS amps. Based on what I've read here and in other reviews, those speakers don't seem to be that difficult to drive.
GG
Roberto.
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Ron
Well-known member
You may be right there. I did go from a sterio amp to a monoblock. For three weeks my supplier gave me a set of the 500wpc McIntosh monoblocks to use while I await the 600wpc. There was some improvement on the 500wpc monoblocks. This is true, the 600wpc McIntosh has been completely redesigned. You are both correct.
David Matz
Well-known member
Roberto, Congrats!!!
What amp(s) are you using? And which ones have you tried?
What amp(s) are you using? And which ones have you tried?
roberto
Well-known member
Hola David... I had tried SS, borrowed from friends, (Krell, Mark Levinson, Classe) but still my heart belongs to tube amp. I own an Audio Research VT-100 MKII which I made some mods to the power supply and some capacitors to the signal path. I really like what I listen. The speakers still are a little hard and bass shy, due to need more breake time. But if I make a comparison CLXs vs CLSs is difficult to say that a clear winner is the CLX. There is a lot of magic still at the CLSs. But to be honest, there is more palpable, more robust, more inner detail with the new model. The size of the instruments is where I am working now. Of course the CLXs are easy to drive. Usually I used at my volume control knob at -12dB and now for the same sound pressure level, the knob is at -18dB. My room is small, and also I do not need more level. If I crank it up, I do not like it... the image, and the size of the instruments are too big. The sweet spot that I have is bigger and wider. The highs are more in the air, violins are just right in tune, vocals are getting better every day. The cymbals are too present, and forward...I am working on this too. One inch toe inside makes a huge difference in my room. Most of what I am listening now is solo instrument, like piano, spanish guitar and vocals. I am now playing some sonatas for violin, and some chamber music, not too complex. The organ is super. You can listen all the pipes easily. The air passing through them. It is big sound. Now I am with female voices...I like Ana Netrebko, and Cecilia Bartoly. And Jeniffer Warnes and Marta Gomez singing pop. One thing is sure: they are very easy to drive, if I compare them with the CLS. They show your electronics and cables without any doubt. I listen more space and more air... somehow more 3D. The SS amps where more precise with the right energy for the instruments, but I did like the tubes because I listen better the soul of the musician(s) playing for me here, in my room. I get more their feeling, the way that they play the instrument(s) and I do know why is this... it is a matter of liking for sure! Happy listening,
Roberto.
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Having recently listened to several ML past and present models, I have come to the conclusion that there is not a huge difference in absolute terms between old and new - the gains are more incremental. I just think ML has made great sound quality much more accessible wit their new designs. For example, the Monoliths can sound stupendous - but with considerable tweaking and special amplification. Whereas the latest Summits can sound stupendous too, but with much less tweaking and less expensive amplification. Similarly, both the CLS and CLX models are outstanding speakers. But the CLX doesn't necessarily require handing over the mortgage papers to finance an amplifier to drive them.
If I had the opportunity and limited $$$, I would much prefer to buy the CLXs and drive them with a 'budget' amplifier. For me, like Roberto, this would mean tubes. I wonder how the CLX would go with something like the Audio Research VSi60?
If I had the opportunity and limited $$$, I would much prefer to buy the CLXs and drive them with a 'budget' amplifier. For me, like Roberto, this would mean tubes. I wonder how the CLX would go with something like the Audio Research VSi60?
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Bernard
Well-known member
Hey Roberto, I'm glad you like Marta Gomez - one of my favourite singers.
roberto
Well-known member
Hola Bernard. Chesky records sometines give the opportunity to a new good musician(s) and she is outstanding. I like very much and her band, has not too many musicians and very nice arrangement. Her voice is beautiful. If you like female voices like her, try Maria Rita, brazillian and daughter of Elis Regina and Cesar Mariano Camargo. Happy listening,
R.
Bernard
Well-known member
Roberto, thanks for the recommendation. I just listened to samples on Amazon; very nice voice. I do like female vocals, especially Latin. Did you check out the thread I stared on Latinas ?
roberto
Well-known member
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