Fernando, good choice of new gear..:0)

In this hobby, like Charles1dad says, it pays to try and match gear to other gear that is synergistic with said gear. If you try and put a low efficient speaker with a low powered amp like an SE you will most likely run into the problems similar to that you are describing. Conversely, if you run horns ( typically highly efficient speakers) with very high powered amps, you may or may not get good results either; the amps could be loafing, but the preamp may be way out of its "sweet zone" resulting in again, less than premium sound.
IMHO, the room, the type of music you are looking to reproduce, the size of the room and many other variables should be considered before you waste large amounts of money on gear that cannot work well when it all comes together in: 'your system'. Just IMHO..

daveyf November 04, 2011 05:09

Fernando, I see that you have you have changed speakers again...:0)

Avalons are very nice indeed, I used to own a pair of Hales that were similar in their presentation to Avalon's. With Avalon's, once they are dialed in, and assuming your room is large enough, they can throw a very large soundstage.

I was wandering how long you would keep the WLM's? The only time I heard them, they did nothing for me....the Avalon's OTOH are a different deal IMO.

BTW, I am hearing some very good things about the new SF Guarneri Evolutions....oops, shouldn't have said that....;0)

daveyf August 14, 2011 23:35

Hi Fernando, you know I have been thinking about your experiences with the GH's and the Extrema's. At about the time you brought in your Solista, it seems that you began to like your GH's less. Your point about the Extrema's being more power hungry also applies to the GH's. I wander if you were not really driving the GH's correctly with the Solista. Which would lead me to say that the results that you were then hearing with the GH's could easily be attributed to your Solista. Frankly, this would IMHO make a lot of sense, especially as you are now enjoying a speaker that is well suited to a low power SET design.
Without doubt, the GH's will not do bass as well as the Extrema's, BUT I think they are frankly much more revealing and refined at all other frequencies,including in the critical mids than the Extrema's. Plus,IMHO the GH's are also far superior in their imaging abilities.
So therefore, to sum up, I suspect that unfortunately what occurred in your system was an amp/speaker mismatch ( with both SF models)-- which you have now corrected.

daveyf February 06, 2011 19:01

Fernando, I have been very interested in the Gamut CD1 for a while now; unfortunately never having a chance to listen to it...so your impressions will be extremely interesting ( the CD1 has great press with my local 'phile group..:0) ). Are you using it as a transport only or as a full player?

daveyf December 31, 2010 07:19

Hi Fernando, Your Viva amp looks great! I think that the Italians are really great at bringing style to everything and that includes of course audio equip.
I'm sure that the GH's love the Solista as they seem to adore tubes.
I inserted the ARC D70mk2 amp into my system and I can see why so many
people say that the GH's work best with tubes ( see my review of the ARC amp in
the audio review section). Anyway, great selection for the GH's..enjoy

daveyf June 26, 2010 05:38

Fernando, please compare the Solista to the lamm/mr combo when you have listened more. I would think that the Solista must be far more of 'one cloth'
so to speak.
What tubes are in the Solista at present? I am in the process of rolling in Tubes into my ARC D-70 mk2. Experimenting with NOS GE 6FQ7's and SED 6550 C's.
I also found a quad set of GE 6550 A's which I had forgotten I owned, I will try these as well. BTW, I am curious as to how you bias the Solista as well.. The ARC is a major pain to bias.. I have to have a tech do it..:0(

daveyf June 13, 2010 05:58

Hi Fernando, I am currently using a bi-wire pair of Nordost Red Dawn Rev 11 speaker cables with the GH's. These cables are lightning fast and VERY detailed, I am hearing things that I hadn't noticed before. Slightly bright at the moment, as they aren't broken in yet. If you can get a chance, see if you can audition a pair of these or other Nordost products.( Not anything below Red Dawn Rev 11 though, as Blue Heaven etc are way too bright). I am amazed at how well the Nordost works with the GH's. I tried Cardas, Siltech Analysis Plus and Harmonic Tech cables as well as my standard Highwire before the Red Dawns; the Nordost is more revealing than all of these !
Still waiting for the ARC D70 to come on-line.. Just replaced the full tube set and will have to have my tech set up bias, etc. Will report back once the amp is up and running, should be interesting

daveyf June 07, 2010 04:55

Hi Fernando, thanks for the sub recommendation, not sure I can support that in my very small room. How large is your room?

daveyf April 18, 2010 16:41

Fernando, The RM 200's seem to be a great choice for the SF's. I will be very interested to see what you think of the Lamm 1's when you have a choice to listen to that combo. My only concern with the Lamm's is if they have enough drive for the SF GH's.
How do the RM 200's compare to the Jadis JA 50's...which BTW I really like as well.

daveyf November 25, 2009 03:53

Fernando, I recently heard the Wilson-Benesch Torus Sub with a pair of GM's. This was a superb combo and seemed to
do everything right. The sub integrated well with the SF's and is lightning fast. Also,this sub seems very dynamic and
didn't seem to be at all of a different cloth to the G's.
If you have a chance you might want to try this sub with the GH's.. I would think might be a match made in heaven and could be an absolute world beater.

daveyf June 13, 2009 03:08

Fernando, I think the Jadis is a very good choice for the G's. Are you planning on trying any other sub's. I have heard great things about the Martin Logan sub and the JL's.
However,I have not listened to either of them, so cannot personally say.

daveyf June 06, 2009 17:15

Fernando, how is the Jadis sounding? I have not heard their equipment recently, so not sure how they would sound with the GH's.

daveyf April 14, 2009 03:55

Flg2001, Thanks, got it right first time...The PC must have a night off tonight and actually wanted to be amenable!

daveyf March 28, 2009 05:28

Fernando,
Sorry for my computer ignorance, but how do you store files in a WAV format on your iPOD?
I can definitely see how the iPOD can act as a server and
thereby increase your music library though.

daveyf March 26, 2009 06:05

FLG2001, I noticed that you use the Wadia 170i and an ipod as your digital front end. I am thinking of acquiring the Wadia 170i as well; however, I have been told by several other audio buddies that the ipod and the Wadia are not really close to a good transport with a seperate DAC as far as sound goes. Have you tried your DAC, which BTW I think is very nice unit, with a good transport? Any opinions on that if you have?

daveyf March 25, 2009 04:05

That is very interesting Flg2001. I agree that the G's are not able to push big air and in a medium to large room probably should have a sub. When you say their footprint is to laugh at what do you mean by that?
Also, you said that you had Avalon's.. why did you give up on them and how do you feel they compare to G's.. I have not heard many pairs of Avalon's but the ones I have heard reminded me of my Hales. Although, I am sure that their larger models must be pretty special.

daveyf March 24, 2009 04:40

Flg2001, How would you compare your G's to the Avantgarde's that you sold? I also own the G's and they replaced some well thought after Hales in my system.
I have never looked back, the Hales were also dynamics but had inferior drivers to the G's. IMHO, the original G's are very very hard to beat and are even better than the G Mementos and many of the well thought after Magicos!

daveyf March 22, 2009 18:22