MasonStorm
Member
Greetings to everyone! This will be my first substantive post here. I've had CLX Art speakers for 17 months now. They were initially run off of my Krell multichannel home theater amp, which, at the time, was the best I had heard. But it wasn't captivating. The next up was the BHK 300 monoblocks, which were nice at mdoerate volumes, if the music was not too demanding, and especially with Tungsram 7DJ8 tubes.
Finally, last week, I was able to take advantage of PS Audio's trade-in program and swap out the 300s for their 600s. What follows was largely already posted by me over on their forums.
Right out of the box of course, on day one (compared to my well-burned-in BHK 300s, with their Tungsram 7DJ8’s as recommended by Bascom in one of Paul’s videos), the 600s sounded… well…frankly terrible …like any new audio component does. Those are the hours in which one wonders if they’re going to be returning the new thing rather than sending in the trade-ins. But with enough years of experience and enough purchases under the belt, one comes to truly become accepting of this thing called burn-in . If someone could teach me in lay terms (terms fit for a small child or a golden retriever) , I would love to gain a deeper understanding of what it means for capacitors to “form” and for electronics to “settle.” (Limited talk, please, of concepts such as metals’ atomic spin axis in response to electromagnetic charge propagating down the medium
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Even during that treacherous first day (while still sounding like an overall step down at the time), hints were afoot about some of the greatness to come, such as the 600s’ ability to power through crescendo/fortissimo episodes in orchestral pieces (episodes during which my 300s would struggle, becoming smeared and obviously petering out). With the 600s, the sound simply grew to fill the room. Perhaps MartinLogan CLX Art speakers are amongst those that are particularly hard to drive (they of the vanishing impedance, such that even with me listening in the 80dB range, a 300 has gone into protection mode). To some extent, perhaps it simply is the added power and might of the 600s (with their larger power supply and doubled capacitance bank) that makes for a lot of the difference. Yet their seemingly complete control and authority to drive these speakers, with complete cohesion of the soundstage, a more “correct” placement of the musicians within that soundstage, a richer, deeper, more impactful bass than I have ever heard before, a still-detailed and pleasant listening experience even at low volume, and the ability to retrieve details in the recording that have never been evident to me with any other setup…
Well, watching the Darren Myers video about the 600s on the PS Audio webpage prior to purchase, I thought he was engaging in sheer marketing hyperbole when he said “The 300s are gone!”
He’s right. The 600s aren’t just “a little bit more of what the 300s are.” They’re a LOT better, a WORLD apart - the difference is NOT subtle. My 300s will be gone as soon as UPS can come to retrieve them! Indeed, the 600s sound so good…so fulfilling and satisfying…that they really make me wonder if a pair of D’Agostino Relentless monoblocks could possibly be worth 11 times as much. While diminishing returns would certainly apply in that hypothetical case, I feel no restraint in asserting that the 600s are definitely worth double the price of the 300s. The sound is more than twice as good.
I’m no audio engineer and I really know nothing at all about circuitry, but I’ll bet these results testify to the 600s’ overall design, not just their power. For the first time in my two-channel life, I TRULY feel that I have a high-end system…and needed to gush about a product. For all those of you contemplating this upgrade, and if the $ is not too dear (especially with their trade-in program), you most definitely will not regret it.
Just don’t judge them on that first day…but I’m sure you all knew that already.
Thank you Paul!
Thank you Darren!
Thank you PS Audio!
…and thank you, Bascom.
Finally, last week, I was able to take advantage of PS Audio's trade-in program and swap out the 300s for their 600s. What follows was largely already posted by me over on their forums.
Right out of the box of course, on day one (compared to my well-burned-in BHK 300s, with their Tungsram 7DJ8’s as recommended by Bascom in one of Paul’s videos), the 600s sounded… well…frankly terrible …like any new audio component does. Those are the hours in which one wonders if they’re going to be returning the new thing rather than sending in the trade-ins. But with enough years of experience and enough purchases under the belt, one comes to truly become accepting of this thing called burn-in . If someone could teach me in lay terms (terms fit for a small child or a golden retriever) , I would love to gain a deeper understanding of what it means for capacitors to “form” and for electronics to “settle.” (Limited talk, please, of concepts such as metals’ atomic spin axis in response to electromagnetic charge propagating down the medium
Even during that treacherous first day (while still sounding like an overall step down at the time), hints were afoot about some of the greatness to come, such as the 600s’ ability to power through crescendo/fortissimo episodes in orchestral pieces (episodes during which my 300s would struggle, becoming smeared and obviously petering out). With the 600s, the sound simply grew to fill the room. Perhaps MartinLogan CLX Art speakers are amongst those that are particularly hard to drive (they of the vanishing impedance, such that even with me listening in the 80dB range, a 300 has gone into protection mode). To some extent, perhaps it simply is the added power and might of the 600s (with their larger power supply and doubled capacitance bank) that makes for a lot of the difference. Yet their seemingly complete control and authority to drive these speakers, with complete cohesion of the soundstage, a more “correct” placement of the musicians within that soundstage, a richer, deeper, more impactful bass than I have ever heard before, a still-detailed and pleasant listening experience even at low volume, and the ability to retrieve details in the recording that have never been evident to me with any other setup…
Well, watching the Darren Myers video about the 600s on the PS Audio webpage prior to purchase, I thought he was engaging in sheer marketing hyperbole when he said “The 300s are gone!”
He’s right. The 600s aren’t just “a little bit more of what the 300s are.” They’re a LOT better, a WORLD apart - the difference is NOT subtle. My 300s will be gone as soon as UPS can come to retrieve them! Indeed, the 600s sound so good…so fulfilling and satisfying…that they really make me wonder if a pair of D’Agostino Relentless monoblocks could possibly be worth 11 times as much. While diminishing returns would certainly apply in that hypothetical case, I feel no restraint in asserting that the 600s are definitely worth double the price of the 300s. The sound is more than twice as good.
I’m no audio engineer and I really know nothing at all about circuitry, but I’ll bet these results testify to the 600s’ overall design, not just their power. For the first time in my two-channel life, I TRULY feel that I have a high-end system…and needed to gush about a product. For all those of you contemplating this upgrade, and if the $ is not too dear (especially with their trade-in program), you most definitely will not regret it.
Just don’t judge them on that first day…but I’m sure you all knew that already.
Thank you Paul!
Thank you Darren!
Thank you PS Audio!
…and thank you, Bascom.
. Additionally I have a superseded two channel Chord amp in my home office. The primary reason these amps are not too popular include their looks (a very marmite design with legs to faciltate stacking and a somewhat strange quirky/glarey look). Perhaps the biggest NO NO is their use of switched mode power supplies. Cleary the use of SMPS is the future but still frowned upon by many of todays Audiophiles.
