Dang! Thought I had it Figured Out

Posted by Brian Levy (A) on May 24, 2014 at 09:47:19

Was pretty sure my quest for a small final system was over. The Sony STR6045 was added to the Sherwood S9500c/S3300 and Yamaha CT610II/CA610II units as the final contestants. The Yamaha because of the size was not really a contender but it did nicely most things so, kept it.

The Sony with either the Heresy IIs or ADS L300s presented an enjoyable presentation though more removed from my old better systems than either the Sherwoods or Yamahas. I was ready to knock out the Yamaha and get down to business with the Sherwoods and Sony. The Sony is pleasing but more veiled than the Sherwoods and less detail while more soundstage. Each has its strengths and weaknesses but the common denominator is they each do well with the speakers in contention. I still have to decide which speakers will be in the system.

I have ruled out my larger stash of receivers and other tuners and amps for a variety of reasons, some audio based and some due to some bias such as sliding controls, cheap sounding pushbuttons, etc.

Neither speaker needs power and 20 watts is more than enough. At my listening levels I seldom hit a peak of 2.5 watts as measured by my little RS led peak reading meter for the ADS and 1 watt for the Heresy IIs. So, 60 watt amps are not needed.

Sitting in my stash is the Philips 785, a nice little 25 watt receiver. I have a thing for this series of Philips but even with the largest the Heresy IIs seem even more bass shy than with any other amp. I suspect it may be that these seem to measure truly straight line over the audio frequency than almost any other amp I have had tested. Virtually no variation. I can make up for it with my Soundcraftsman equalizer by adding about 3db of boost in the low bass regions.

Anyway, I decided to throw the little Philips on almost as an afterthought. It looks cheesy and cheap on the outside while on the inside where it counts, it can run with the best; but it looks so cheap laid up against the Sony and even the Yamaha.

As expected and remembered the Heresys and it play nice except for the low end. Upper register is pronounced of course but not harsh in the least. Great detail and less coloration than with many more expensive amps I have had on them. Not quite up to the pairing challenge as are the other contenders with the Heresys but livable.

Then I switched on the L300s and oh,oh, they left the room. Just not there. Soundstage is wall to wall, not as deep as when they were on my Mc system but not that far off. Instrument placement was amazing, I could close my eyes and feel them move as they followed the location of an instrument. No veil whatsoever, almost no discernible coloration unless I went into critical mode. The Sony by comparison now sank away. It seems like it is either the Philips 785 and ADS L300 combo or the Heresys and one of the others. I do suspect it will be the Sherwood with the Heresys in the contest but now I am thinking of trying the STR6120 against the 787 though each is physically larger. From the past I know the 785 is voiced almost identically with the 786 and 787 having both while there is a far larger difference in voicing between the STR6045 and 6102. One negative against the 6120 is it is FM only and I do like to listen to AM. Inputs are about the same while the 878 has a provision for 3 sets of speakers, a plus as it provides a dedicated input for my Koss ESPs rather than having to use the switch on the energizer should I want to run a 2nd pair of speakers. Power, is the same.

Just when I thought I was about to have it all settled. Dang!
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada

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Topic - Dang! Thought I had it Figured Out - Brian Levy 09:47:19 05/24/14 (26)

RE: Dang! Thought I had it Figured Out - Brian Levy 15:42:23 06/01/14 (3)

RE: Dang! Thought I had it Figured Out - BillH 06:00:36 06/03/14 (2)

RE: Dang! Thought I had it Figured Out - Brian Levy 09:38:11 06/03/14 (1)

RE: Dang! Thought I had it Figured Out - Brian Levy 12:09:22 06/05/14 (0)

Interesting and reveals the fact there is so much - audiogatorjim 11:41:34 05/30/14 (0)

Failure! - Brian Levy 10:38:09 05/30/14 (4)

You just can't defy physics! - E-Stat 15:55:12 05/30/14 (3)

RE: You just can't defy physics! - Brian Levy 06:45:57 05/31/14 (1)

Enjoy the Heresys! - E-Stat 07:34:03 05/31/14 (0)

RE: You just can't defy physics! - audiogatorjim 18:41:31 05/30/14 (0)

AM in Toronto? - kintyre695 12:51:34 05/27/14 (2)

RE: AM in Toronto? - Brian Levy 08:19:41 05/28/14 (0)

RE: AM in Toronto? - Brian Levy 17:14:53 05/27/14 (0)

I go through this almost weekly - sberger 09:33:45 05/27/14 (0)

RE: Dang! Thought I had it Figured Out - rickl 08:25:35 05/27/14 (0)

Have you considered listening to the music? nt - briggs 20:00:34 05/24/14 (10)

RE: Have you considered listening to the music? nt - Brian Levy 21:26:55 05/24/14 (9)

RE: Have you considered listening to the music? nt - BillH 07:49:18 05/28/14 (0)

RE: Have you considered listening to the music? nt - Satxhifi 23:10:29 05/27/14 (1)

RE: Have you considered listening to the music? nt - Brian Levy 03:25:08 05/29/14 (0)

There's definitely something special - E-Stat 19:39:09 05/26/14 (0)

RE: Have you considered listening to the music? - briggs 08:57:46 05/25/14 (4)

RE: Have you considered listening to the music? - Brian Levy 15:18:34 05/25/14 (3)

L300s and Heresys - Bill Way 21:32:06 05/25/14 (2)

RE: L300s and Heresys - Brian Levy 05:02:51 05/26/14 (1)

RE: L300s and Heresys - Bold Eagle 20:24:37 05/26/14 (0)

Dang! Thought I had it Figured Out

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