hello to all sifus here...a couple of questions on my upcoming hifi setups

i used to be on home hifis...in fact was running on Audiolabs 8000 series together with Epos.....
then went into ICE.....am still in ICE...and now planning to get a better hifi set for my new home

i also noticed that quite a number here r SF fans and close to perfect hifi

i was browsing through the perfect hifi website and saw their SF Grand Piano speaker pairing with Audio Analogue.

Now....i've listened to SF Grand Piano in Bangkok, and i must say it just took my breath away. OK the Cremonas is abit pricey for me....besides..
i still love floorstanders...Cremona floorstander....wah...pocket beh tahan
d Grand Piano was paired with a McIntosh C200 and MC275 tube pre/power and also McIntosh cdp.....

I have two setups in mind:

Setup 1:
Densen Beat 150
Densen Beat 420 CDP
Focus Audio FS-688 SE
XLO Signature 3 cables

Setup 2:
Audio Analogue Puccini Settanta
Audio Analogue Paganini CDP
Sonus Faber Grand Piano
XLO Signature 3 cables

now i've auditted both systems and both hv their pros & cons which leaves me undecided. price wise...they r bout d same

i chose XLO cables over Transparent and Zu bcoz of personal taste of characters which i hv spent hours auditing with couple of frens

IMHO....the SF grand piano with audio analogue is sweet, smooth and transparent. abit laid back compared to the densen/FA combi.
the densen/FA combi has more dynamics, accuracy while it lacks the vocal smoothness and character.
The SF set seems to have my kinda of taste...just a little bit lack of dynamics and attack when i need it...

i must say both produced accurate imaging, staging, height & depth
for transparency i would vote the SF
for more accuracy and control..esp damping factor i would vote densen/FA
for vocals smoothes, warmth, character...SF would seem a better choice
FA lacks of very low bass due to bookshelves while the Grand Piano is good at low but lack of mid bass attack
d Densen produced better headroom compared to d Audio Analogue...but argueable due to different sound room

so i hope d sifus here can share their views.....
i hv spoken to alot of ppl....and d more dilemma i'm in now....

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Added on October 5, 2008, 2:22 amalso...my setup 3 option:

McIntosh MA6300 or MA6900
McIntosh MCD201
Sonus Faber Grand Piano
XLO Signature 3 cables

This post has been edited by hushymushy: Oct 5 2008, 02:22 AM

nice setup!!!

enjoy....

@win1983 ....... i oso started with simple setup last time..... as time goes on..... the poison just gets in..... but i have to honest.... it is hard to buy everything at 1 go...

it took me a while to get this setup.....

Nice Densen amp you've got there....

just had my spotlights re-positioned last night

nice setup....the speaker stand.....

noticed you elevated the floor standers....what changes do you notice compared to directly putting it on the floor?

wah liao....Mcintosh headphone amp.....ncie nice nice

bro...may I ask how much it cost??

My latest craze...headfi...though not as high end some of the taikors here....

Headphones: Audeze LCD-X for now.....maybe Focal next....or Audeze LCD 4......

Source: Computer & Asus Tinkerboard running Volumio

DAC: Musical Paradise MP-D2 MK3 with Sovtek 5AR4 rectifier, quad matched EH 6H30p gold pins, Mundorf Supreme Silver/Gold Oil coupling caps

Headamp: Schiit Mjolnir 2 with Telefunken EC88 matched tubes

USB Cables: Furutech GT2 and Supra, iFi USB Silencer and iPower for Asus.

XLR: DIY upocc with Furutech XLR terminals

headphone cable: upocc with Neutrik termination

Power cord: upocc with Furutech termination and earth isolation

















This post has been edited by hushymushy: Oct 29 2017, 11:44 PM

got it through Stars Pickers at 4800.
If I were to ship direct, it would be closer to 5100 including shipping and tax.

Nice simple setup with bluetooth.

I am looking for a proper LDAC bluetooth device to connect to amp...but so far not able to find