I have been* in Chennai for couple of week and got an invite* from Mr balagopalan to have a listen to some of the niche amplifiers . I have also got the Naim xs2 now and carried it for the comparison
We paired these amplifier with the b & w bs and nautilus series fs speakers.
Initially it was between the bryston and Naim xs , one obvious thing, both are complete extremes , if you like the naim , you may not like the bryston.
In this setup , bryston is more powerful , was really pounding on the speakers , with the Naim the immediate change is bass is less pronounced , highs are tamed and mids are in a way I like it, however my friend who was along with me liked the bryston for the over all thump.
Next we connected the symphonic line amps with the b & w fs . to me it is in a complete* different league compared to Naim & bryston . it is more transparent, neutral amplification that changes very well to the sources . this was* very evident when we changed three
different DACs. The Naim was not able to drive the fs , it was muddied and some notes are bloated. Though I have not had any real reference of how a specific track should sound, I always have a imaginary reference ( exclude those meridian & gold mund actives from reference
** , I can say the symphonic line was able to come closer, would have been even better with my fav speakers , this amp somehow reminds me of my exposure amp, but this much more powerful* and due to which it controls every segment of spectrum really good. Nothing bloated or sounds coloured . personally b & w is not really my favorite , but with the symphonic line and audio gd DAC I liked it , everything was good . I could only imagine how this would sound with the good source. Even my bass loving friend likes the deep, controlled bass from these.
I missed* the* opportunity to pair it with the spendors as I could not carry it to Chennai. This kind of neutral tone , powerful drive across the entire spectrum should really really sound good with spendors and for the same reasons with harbeth.
It is like this , if I have symphonic line amp , I can tweak the signature in the source to my liking . the same may not be true for bryston and naims which looks like have got their own* flavour.
This amp is really high on my wish list now , with the budget being the only constrain.
Naim used to be fav for sometime , but looks like this has changed now . obviously this was not a fair comparison considering the price point , but I doubt growing up within Naim would not free it up from its signature. It is funny that I also like naims signature and presentation . But, but .... The symphonic line overrides it.
I like the way Naim handles the high compared to other amps , the reason is with Naim it is more listenable , while other amps are harsh , but when I listen to symphonic line I understand the compromise that Naim does.
I like the tonal qualities of Naim in the mids which is rich in general comparison , but with the symphonic like I could easily see what is bloated and colored, at the same time in no context it is clinical or boring or uninvolving. I am sure Naim should be good match for some of speakers with the lean signature at its price point.
Classical speakers , cohesive speakers with good tonal qualities should really benefit from this as the amp does not do anything to boost and a real strong drive to overcome those less sensitive drivers... I missed to pair it with spendors
And brystons , was high on my wish list, but disappointed now, it is bright for me and little beached out tone , not sure if that is pairing issue , but on the job for Mr balagobalan , serves well for him . doesn't it prove that we hear differently. It is sad for me that symphonic line is covered and idle and bryston plays the duty . okeys !!!!* as long as the owner is happy , who am I to complain.
In the end it is just personal tastes, and to my surprise , for the first time I realize that the preference could vary to a greater extent , one might prefer bryston over SL while for me it is simply the SL
This part should have come in the beginning , but I am not good in editing in mobile devices, feel the risk of loosing or messing up with the content .
Thanks a lot to Mr balagobalan for the invite and the opportunity to listen to these amps , and for your patience and effort in the multi combo trials
We were four at this event, will be more interesting to hear from others
Pls excuse typo ---- and it is just my personal view , i have very limited exposure to the audio gears
We paired these amplifier with the b & w bs and nautilus series fs speakers.
Initially it was between the bryston and Naim xs , one obvious thing, both are complete extremes , if you like the naim , you may not like the bryston.
In this setup , bryston is more powerful , was really pounding on the speakers , with the Naim the immediate change is bass is less pronounced , highs are tamed and mids are in a way I like it, however my friend who was along with me liked the bryston for the over all thump.
Next we connected the symphonic line amps with the b & w fs . to me it is in a complete* different league compared to Naim & bryston . it is more transparent, neutral amplification that changes very well to the sources . this was* very evident when we changed three
different DACs. The Naim was not able to drive the fs , it was muddied and some notes are bloated. Though I have not had any real reference of how a specific track should sound, I always have a imaginary reference ( exclude those meridian & gold mund actives from reference
** , I can say the symphonic line was able to come closer, would have been even better with my fav speakers , this amp somehow reminds me of my exposure amp, but this much more powerful* and due to which it controls every segment of spectrum really good. Nothing bloated or sounds coloured . personally b & w is not really my favorite , but with the symphonic line and audio gd DAC I liked it , everything was good . I could only imagine how this would sound with the good source. Even my bass loving friend likes the deep, controlled bass from these.I missed* the* opportunity to pair it with the spendors as I could not carry it to Chennai. This kind of neutral tone , powerful drive across the entire spectrum should really really sound good with spendors and for the same reasons with harbeth.
It is like this , if I have symphonic line amp , I can tweak the signature in the source to my liking . the same may not be true for bryston and naims which looks like have got their own* flavour.
This amp is really high on my wish list now , with the budget being the only constrain.
Naim used to be fav for sometime , but looks like this has changed now . obviously this was not a fair comparison considering the price point , but I doubt growing up within Naim would not free it up from its signature. It is funny that I also like naims signature and presentation . But, but .... The symphonic line overrides it.
I like the way Naim handles the high compared to other amps , the reason is with Naim it is more listenable , while other amps are harsh , but when I listen to symphonic line I understand the compromise that Naim does.
I like the tonal qualities of Naim in the mids which is rich in general comparison , but with the symphonic like I could easily see what is bloated and colored, at the same time in no context it is clinical or boring or uninvolving. I am sure Naim should be good match for some of speakers with the lean signature at its price point.
Classical speakers , cohesive speakers with good tonal qualities should really benefit from this as the amp does not do anything to boost and a real strong drive to overcome those less sensitive drivers... I missed to pair it with spendors
And brystons , was high on my wish list, but disappointed now, it is bright for me and little beached out tone , not sure if that is pairing issue , but on the job for Mr balagobalan , serves well for him . doesn't it prove that we hear differently. It is sad for me that symphonic line is covered and idle and bryston plays the duty . okeys !!!!* as long as the owner is happy , who am I to complain.
In the end it is just personal tastes, and to my surprise , for the first time I realize that the preference could vary to a greater extent , one might prefer bryston over SL while for me it is simply the SL
This part should have come in the beginning , but I am not good in editing in mobile devices, feel the risk of loosing or messing up with the content .
Thanks a lot to Mr balagobalan for the invite and the opportunity to listen to these amps , and for your patience and effort in the multi combo trials
We were four at this event, will be more interesting to hear from others
Pls excuse typo ---- and it is just my personal view , i have very limited exposure to the audio gears
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