Neolith Purchase Order Has Been Placed

[timm]

Gary.... And what about the pass 160.8s?? Very curious about these and have heard they take a lot of running in. Curious about a compare of this with the other 2 at normal listening levels.

 

[amey01]

Gary.... And what about the pass 160.8s??

What's with all these amp recommendations.

I'm sure Gary is capable of choosing an amp for his Neoliths that is to his liking.

 

[khenegar]

Neoliths

Gary: now that u have listen for a while do u feel the neoliths are as dynamic sounding as the big Wilsons, B&W's , etc? Thanks

 

[GaryG]

What's odd is that Gayle used the same gen Seigfrieds or Wotans or whatever their megawatt amps were then to drive Statements at shows, receiving high praise. I would've suspected my amps, but I had VTL, who are local, go thru the damn things before I turned 'em on. It's a puzzlement.

When I talked to the guy at VTL headquarters He mentioned that somewhere around 15 years ago they had a show in Los Angeles and they were there with Statement e2's and their VTL's and they won best sound at the show. Imagine that Statement's and VTL's winning best sound.

Gary

 

[GaryG]

Gary.... And what about the pass 160.8s?? Very curious about these and have heard they take a lot of running in. Curious about a compare of this with the other 2 at normal listening levels.

Gary.... And what about the pass 160.8s?? Very curious about these and have heard they take a lot of running in. Curious about a compare of this with the other 2 at normal listening levels.

Timm, Oh yes let me get back to where I was on post 125.

I played the last Johnny Cash hit from 2002 Hurt. Not much bass and both amps performed great. Then I connected the Pass Labs 160.5. These amps I usually have in Los Angeles paired with my Sasha's. I brought these to Vegas because I had sent my Meridian 861 v6 out for upgraded so I brought the Pass pre-amp to cover. I put Cash's "I Walk the Line" on and it was great. Smooth vocals, warm sound nice bass. "Ring of Fire" the brass was piercing. The bass was solid and the vocals were outstanding. As I said, I tested 4 positions at 4 different volumes of max 70 dB, 80 dB 90 dB and finally 100 dB. At this point I'm very pleasantly surprised at how good the Pass Labs were. But of course they must be underpowered. Perhaps they are. I put on the Phil Collins "Live at Montreux" This blu ray starts with 10 minutes of drums. A really fun first 10 minutes. I put some extra juice to the system and hit a max dB of 106 in my near listing position of 8 feet. The drums were fantastic with great punch. Yes they did get hot but the amps held up and the sound was delicious. I ran out of time because I needed to get back to LA for what was to be a very disappointing finish to game 5. I have a dB meter on my cell which I have calibrated against my home meter. During the Clipper introductions it maxed at 102 dB. The doctor next to me was wearing ear plugs. Now I'm lucky because I'm headed for game 7 on Saturday. but I'm unlucky 'cause I won't get back to Vegas until Sunday.

At this point I clearly like the XA-160's best. I'm hoping to give the bigger Pass's a listen. But still have not ruled anything out. Remember these are my opinions and YMMV.

Gary

 

[Hocky]

Good Grief!!!

Hocky, I take umbrage at the tone of your post. Over the years I have read many of your fine post that make a contribution to this forum. This is not one of those. I probably agree with your premise, but this visit is simply a starting point. The price point for these amps is 3 times higher than the amps I'm currently meticulously testing in Las Vegas. At this first visit I will probably have some coffee, Socialize with Brian and listen to some fine music. We will dance around some items and I will attempt to determine best price. If everything looks positive we will discuss a home audition. At this point I will view your post as if you were simply "having a bad hair day".

Gary

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that what you're doing is a bad idea. At the least, it is good fun and let's you see, feel, and become familiar with the product and/or dealer. I guess that my point is just that sitting down and listening to whatever the combo in that room is will tell you nothing at all about the amps and you shouldn't buy them based on that experience - lock up an in home demo or a 30 day money back deal or something. I don't care how many systems someone has listened to or how versed they are, you can't tell what an amp is doing in another room attached to another system that you've never heard before. You just can't.

 

[bonzo]

Why not older Krell FPB 750, or Boulder or Viola Labs?

 

[GaryG]

Why not older Krell FPB 750, or Boulder or Viola Labs?

Nothing wrong with those at all and periodically I check 'gon etc but over the past few months I have not seen anything that I was particularly interested in. .

 

[timm]

What's with all these amp recommendations.

I'm sure Gary is capable of choosing an amp for his Neoliths that is to his liking.

Amey. It wasn't a recommendation. He had 3 brands in da house and only commented on the Bryston and Mac. Haha. I am sure Gary is capable as well. .

Btw Gary thanks. Impressive I have heard good things about the XA 160s. You confirmed it w a very nice shoot out.

 

[Gordon Gray]

you can't tell what an amp is doing in another room attached to another system that you've never heard before. You just can't.

I don't believe Gary is doing that. I think he knows the drill regarding home audition.

GG

 

[Opes]

Hi Gary, while you have them, wouldn't it be fun to choose your favorite two pairs of mono blocks, and then use them to bi-amp your Neolith's?

For example: Use the Bryston amps to power the bottom end and the Pass 160.5 for the top.

 

[Humble-Cinema]

Hello Gary,
I just want to thank you for sharing your experiences of the Martin Logan dream with all of us! It is pure joy to read about your enthusiasm and excitement toward your new Neoliths!! Thank you, and I can only imagine how awesome they sound!!

Jacob

 

[GaryG]

- That old warhorse, the 1812 Overture, for the bells and canons.

Bernard, I finally got to the 1812, that old warhorse.

For this I chose a DVD-A. The stereo layer is at 24/48 while the 5.1 is 24/96. This is one of my favorite DVD-A's and this is the first time I have ever heard it in stereo. It is on Telarc. Erich Kunzel with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, The Kiev Symphony Chorus and the Children's Choir of Greater Cincinnati. I had some concern that I may be disappointed in the 2 channel mix. Disappointed I was not. In fact I hit the replay button 5 times, thus, playing the 1812 6 times in a row. That's more than an hour and a half of continuos 1812. The mix gave a broad range of cannon positions making me feel as though there was a broad frontal attack. The blasts had punch, echo and feel. Just plain fun.

Gary

 

[Bernard]

I

Bernard, I finally got to the 1812, that old warhorse.

For this I chose a DVD-A. The stereo layer is at 24/48 while the 5.1 is 24/96. This is one of my favorite DVD-A's and this is the first time I have ever heard it in stereo. It is on Telarc. Erich Kunzel with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, The Kiev Symphony Chorus and the Children's Choir of Greater Cincinnati. I had some concern that I may be disappointed in the 2 channel mix. Disappointed I was not. In fact I hit the replay button 5 times, thus, playing the 1812 6 times in a row. That's more than an hour and a half of continuos 1812. The mix gave a broad range of cannon positions making me feel as though there was a broad frontal attack. The blasts had punch, echo and feel. Just plain fun.

Gary

Sounds like you really gave your ears a workout!

A while ago, while watching a fireworks display, the bass thump really struck me.....literally, and I was wondering if any speakers could reproduce that.

I'm looking forward to your impressions of quieter music....maybe a solo piano, perhaps Murray Perahia playing Schubert's "Ständchen". Can those speakers convey delicacy?

 

[GaryG]

I'm looking forward to your impressions of quieter music....maybe a solo piano, perhaps Murray Perahia playing Schubert's "Ständchen". Can those speakers convey delicacy?

Bernard, Thanks for asking. I love piano, be it solo, concerto or jazz. My father was a pianist and I studied piano in my youth but gave it up when I went to college. My father's mother also played. She died at the age of 93 but in her last years she had advanced alzheimer's. While she did not recognize any family members, they would set her at a piano and she would start to play a full set. Truly amazing.

The Neolith's compete well on all the music that I have listened to. With solo piano they are at their best. I did not want to wander too far down this path as I don't want to put our members computers to sleep. On my play list and played a minimum of three times each are the following.

Liszt Douze Grandes Etudes (1837) Leslie Howard. These are technically difficult pieces to play. If you do not have this please get it. I guarantee you will enjoy.

Chopin Polonaises (Selections) Sandor Falvay, piano. The ever popular Polonaise in A Flat Major, Op. 53 was one of my fathers favorites.

Earwitness Transcriptions - Steinway Reproducing Piano. This is a double CD of some of the old masters from 1927 on an extremely accurate player piano for the very rich early in the last century. It came to me a number of years back free with the purchase of my Proceed equipment.

Rachmaninov Piano concertos Nos. 2 and 3. Yefim Bronfman with The Philharmonia conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. When I lived in LA for 10 years I had season tickets to the L.A. Philharmonic. These were the Salonen years. In the early years Salonen brought in Bronfman for the Rachmaninov #3. The concert was pure magic. I had brought a friend. Somewhere during the first movement during a solo part the music becomes emotional. You could see the audience was locked in place. No movement. Just focus. I looked over at my friend and tears were streaming down his cheeks. At the end of the movement the audience just exploded screaming, cheering and applauding. It was a long ovation with multiple bows. I have been to concerts all over the world. This was my favorite and this CD brings back the memory. When I first played this on the Neolith's, I cried. They are that good. True story.

Gary

 

[Bernard]

Wish I could listen to those speakers!

Are you familiar with Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Sonata? Now there's a tear-jerker. I like the Pollini.

 

[GaryG]

I am familiar with the "Hammerklavier" Sonata and agree it is certainly a tear jerker.

 

[rasmaudio]

The 1812 overture cannons is a great way to test the bass performance of your speakers.
The cannons have transient energy to below 5 hz, but unless your speakers can reproduce
this, you are not getting the awesome bass energy that is on this recording.
I use a Thigpen Rotary Subwoofer that can respond down to below 1 hz! (Just awesome)
Your Neoliths are great speakers, but, believe me you are missing a lot.

 

[amey01]

The 1812 overture cannons is a great way to test the bass performance of your speakers.
The cannons have transient energy to below 5 hz, but unless your speakers can reproduce
this, you are not getting the awesome bass energy that is on this recording.
I use a Thigpen Rotary Subwoofer that can respond down to below 1 hz! (Just awesome)
Your Neoliths are great speakers, but, believe me you are missing a lot.

Why haven't you posted your system? You should.

 

[khenegar]

pictures

Why haven't you posted your system? You should.

agree would love to see them in there environment. cant listen to them probably never will.