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Posts: 7327
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000
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I received the Muse Model 100 in November 1991, and had it for years. Because I had it for so long, and during the time high-end audio experienced explosive growth, my Model 100 was used with hundreds of associated gear. Let me share some of those experiences, from which readers can learn.
When I auditioned Muse gear, I saw it in both black and silver. Because I was a Stereotypically Stupid Audiophile, without thought, I ordered mine in the ugly black. The silver faceplate wasn’t nearly as offensive looking. So that was my first regret.
Obviously, speaker choice is of utmost importance. It wasn’t until the mid-90s, did I find decent speaker matches for my Model 100. Powered by the Model 100, my NHTs, original Sonus Faber Concertino, and Totem Model 1 were the least messed-up.
I didn’t have them side-by-side, but the pseudo balanced (XLR) Muse Model 100 seemed to have higher gain, which only exacerbated the system-wide problem of the volume being too loud, even when the preamp’s volume control was at or near MIN. Furthermore, I thought the balanced version sounded worse. Though the balanced version was marginally more open, PRAT suffered. It did not lock in the music’s snap and pop. I regret not sticking with the regular single-ended RCA version.
Choice of powerline conditioner is critical. Some can even, without use of a cheater plug on the Muse Model 100’s powercord, solve the ground loop hum problem. I recommend getting a PLC which is not colored. And they don’t have to be expensive. For example, the relatively uncolored PAC IDOS and Tara Labs PM/2 worked well.
I did experiment with placing anti-vibration devices on top of the Muse Model 100. The Bright Star Audio Little Rock sucked out the music’s air, and deadened rhythms. A Shakti Stone did not seem to introduce any negatives, and did seem to smooth out the sound. No, the Shakti Stone did not eliminate or quiet the transformer buzz. It only altered the buzz’s pitch. The audiophile who took the Muse Model 100 from me reported that Mapleshade brass weights could clean up the Model 100’s sound, without messing up the music’s energy.
In the early-90s, I used SIMMS Navcom Silencers ($60/set of 4), which were quite good under the Muse Model 100. But for better focus and a leaner tonality, the Michael Green Designs brass cones were more effective. Obviously, you guys can go hog wild, experimenting with bases and footers.
I tried many interconnects (starting with AQ Quartz) on the Muse Model 100. Since the original XLO Signature interconnects were uncolored, fast, and transparent, they allowed my Model 100 to perform its best. But those interconnects cost more than half of the Model 100 itself. For $390, the Kimber KCAG was an excellent match for the Model 100. And that was before we had proper cable burn-in devices, such as the audiodharma Cable Cooker. As we now know, the Cable Cooker removes a lot of the KCAG’s grain, hardness, and fizz.
My unit came with bare copper Cardas binding posts, which seemed to dull as soon as I took the unit out of its box. Over time, the Model 100’s sound seemed to dull, too. Anyway, even when I used a wrench, these Cardas binding posts did a poor job at holding down the spades found on my AudioQuest, Kimber, and MIT speaker cables. They were much happier with banana plugs. With the Kimber KCAG upstream, the Model 100 in many ways sounded best with banana-terminated 4TC. And that was with the mid-90s blue-and-black 4TC. The current-production white-and-clear 4TC sounds cleaner and clearer.
In the Model 100’s heyday, it did not have after-market fuses. Personally, I use Hi-Fi Tuning Supreme fuses in my systems. If the Supreme does to the Muse Model 100 what it does for the rest of my gear, go for it!
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