I would expect good things from teh Allnic. Tube pre-amp, right?

What is the input impedance of your amps (SS I believe, correct)?

What is it replacing again?

Higher input impedance for a SS amp will generally produce better results with a higher output impedance (than SS) tube preamp int terms of detail, dynamics and distortion, but you really have to listen to know for sure.

Did Getting more distance to the walls have a positive effect?

mapman November 10, 2011 17:33

I would expect good things from teh Allnic.

What is it replacing again?

Did Getting more distance to the walls have a positive effect?

mapman November 10, 2011 17:30

before I get an answer from Hessec I have decided to bring home the Allnic L3000 pre amp, totally brand new and I'm the first owner :)

I have read some reviews and looking for information about this pre from internet and everything seems very very good. many dealers - both importer and none - and audiophiles told me I will not regret if I give the Allnic L3000 a shot then I did :D

the amp will arrives tomorrow and the Valhalla interconnect will follow by Friday, I will make some short reviews how the pre sounds in my system.

has anyone listened to this pre and how do you think?

sonrock November 10, 2011 00:38

Thank you very much Hessec for clarifying and explaining these for me. To be honest, I am renting a house and I dont think I am living here for long. so a bit lazy to do room treatment etc...

Regarding the placement of equipment behind my speakers, it is very difficult as I said I do not have enough space for everything as my tiny room with stupid design doesnt let me though. the mbl's have been packed and boxed now, so I'm using only one pair Magico V2's.

I am still setting up the V2's to get the best position and I think I have it now.

What's your system Hessec? Do you have any suggestion for my future valve pre? I am looking for ARC REF5 and AN M6

sonrock October 31, 2011 00:50

Sonrock, regarding the rug... I am talking about taming side reflections off the walls not the floor which is something I believe would help the MBL's as well and probably every other speaker in the world. You can buy expensive room treatments or experiment with something you might have around the house- like a couple cheap rugs... Your equipment in front of your speakers (let alone a fireplace right next to them) will seriously mess up your imaging along with every other audio superlative you can come up with.... I have a room with a similar issue in my house. It is larger than my current listening room (11 x 13) vs about 17x 14 with 11' ceilings. In this larger room I move them out about 5 ft from the front wall (back wall however you look at it...) Even having components between your speakers can have ill effects. You can read old threads or just use plain common sense on speaker placement. The magicos will actually have better bass and imaging when placed further into the room. you can see my previous comments for more clarification. In my experience, they sound terrible when placed against a wall. Use your ears to decide where they should be. But placing anything in front of a speaker is obviously far from ideal. Ultimately, it is you that has to be happy, not anyone else. In my small room, my v2's are about 6' apart tweeter to tweeter, 3' from the back wall measured to the tweeter and about 7' from my ears with very little toe in. These measurements are not exact so don't take them as gospel. In a non-recatangular or square room you will have to offset each side differently to compensate for balance issues the same holds true to square rooms which is why I say my measurements are not exact. I have experimented endlessly...... this sounds best to me.

hessec October 29, 2011 15:51

@Hessec: Could you pls explain why I should put the speakers forward and equipment behind?

sonrock October 29, 2011 04:07

Hi Mapman and Hessec

Thanks for your inputs and advices. Today I have moved my speakers to be far enough from the side and rear wall, also closer to the seat position. However due to my tiny place and it is extremely difficult to move the equipment behind the speakers as spaces limitation.

I am renting a very old house which was built in 19th century, and the room is not a perfect rectangular. It is bias on the left and go deeper on that side than the right one. In addition, as an old house, British owner built chimney in the middle of the room, therefore there are 2 spaces beside the chimney, then they blocked the ground by stone and concrete - 2 platforms as you can see from the pics.

There is nothing I can do with that, and even I can forge the amps go behind the speakers but the distance will be too close to the listening position.

The house is carpeted every where, so I am wondering I need to buy another rug because the carpet is very thick indeed.

To be honest, I am very tempted a valve pre but I am also very interested in Turntable + phono and Vinyl; as I have never listened to Vinyl and TT before as well as try them in my system. Many audiophiles say TT + Vinyl sound absolutely better than CDs no matter how expensive the CDP is and well recorded files in CDs. So I am wondering a bit between a valve pre and TT + phono.

In fact, Wadia suggest not to add any pre between the CDP and Amps as the cdp itself can do fantastic job in music playback and tone control. But many says a decent pre would lift performance to a new level!!!

I am going insane, haha.

sonrock October 26, 2011 22:46

Thats a bigger room than I have my V2's in currently. At a minimum, put your components behind them. It is harder for the drivers to integrate the closer you sit to them but when they are pressed against a wall there is no depth, no focus and, no low end which causes them to become bright. You have some very nice gear there. In order to maximize your $$$ spent, you're going to have to move some things around. In my experience, the V2 sounds awesome in a smaller room as they become very fast and punchy with no bloat or overhang in the mid range or lower end. Side reflections do however need tamed. On the cheap, a 3' x 5' rug works wonders but you can spend to your hearts delight. Have fun.

hessec October 26, 2011 11:29

Yes, you are limiting sound stage depth, focus and imaging which are major components of a high end sound with those speakers so close to the rear and side walls due to early reflections. If it has to be that way (not uncommon) so be it but you will be limited in this regard likely no matter what so I would not swap speakers and take a financial hit trying to do better in that regard unless you can get the placement better.

mapman October 26, 2011 00:36

Wow Gents, thank you very much for all suggestions and advices. My room is very small I believe, from around 13.5-16.0 m2 I believe, therefore the speakers' position is the best I can get in this room. Even I wish my place was bigger but this should be in the future when I finish my PhD and move house.

Regarding valve pre, I see many people using AR REF5 pre-amp so this amp might be in my consideration. I see some other brands which are highly regarded and recommended such as: Ayon, Lamm, Conrad Johnson, Einstein - my very interesting pre to be honest - Wavac, Audio Note/Kondo,Allnic, BAT, Nagra...

So there are so many choices, but I am after s/h or ex-demo products only. In case I have to purchase sth brand new I dont want to say good bye so soon :P as I always do, therefore your knowledge and recommendation is very important to me.

In the UK, it is quite difficult to get home demo with one of the above brand/equipment. 99% equipment in my system has been purchased blind without any inspection or audition. This time I believe will not be an exception.

In fact, there are also many other ss pre-amps very good out there, but as I said I have never tried valve in my system, hence this time I hope I can get a pre home.

many thanks and best regards,

SR

sonrock October 25, 2011 23:07

Were it me I'd have Audio Research Ref3/5/Anniv on the short list, seem to work well across different systems. Cost no object, Robert Koda K-10

defride October 25, 2011 19:12

How big is your room? I can tell you for certain that the magicos are too close to the wall. Minimum 3 ft from front wall better still at 5ft. I don't have a room large enough to try them any further out than that. In any case, they should be in front of your electronics,not behind. Just a little friendly advice. Enjoy.

hessec October 25, 2011 16:12

Well, Sonrock...

My shortlist would include Atma-Sphere and VAC. These are solid companies offering quality products with stellar customer support.

Solid company...quality products...stellar customer support has culminated in my all BAT system :-)

There are other manufacturers that merit consideration, of course. If practical/possible, audition the valve pre's in your system/room ;-)

The AudiogoN community benefits from members with technical knowledge and alacrity. If I had a question relative to impedance, differential balance circuitry, et al., I would consult Almarg...he is a GREAT teacher!

Very best regards,

Sam

c1ferrari October 25, 2011 06:01

thank you very much Sam, now not sure which valve pre I should bring home for matching with my current system :), any advice please?

sonrock October 25, 2011 00:07

Congratulations!

I might add a valve pre in the future as I am too busy with my baby at the moment, just become a father for more than 10 days. so now doing research about valve pre, tt + phono!

So happy for you :-)

Best regards,
Sam

c1ferrari October 23, 2011 20:32

Thank Sam and Def. I made a very long review about them compared to the MBL 121's but too lazy to translate into english :P.

I don't know and can't explain about the running period and warming up the speakers, but after a proper time they sound completely different from the first time receive them.

In fact, Magico's and MBL's are different type and therefore sound completely different. I cannot say which is better than the other because it is 100% personal taste.

Comparing the V2's and 121's are uneven and unfair for the 121's as they are smaller and sensitivity is lower. However, if you are in the USA and thinking to upgrade, then moving from 121's to V2's is a great option and you'll never be disappointed. But if you are in the UK or EU, you should consider very carefully about this path because the money spent is massive different from the US. In case you truly want to try sth bigger and sound different, besides you have enough fund for the new speakers then go for V2's. If not, I highly recommend you stick with the 121's as they are not as good as the V2's in term of bass only; the rest I can confidently say - personal choice.

I might add a valve pre in the future as I am too busy with my baby at the moment, just become a father for more than 10 days. so now doing research about valve pre, tt + phono!

sonrock October 23, 2011 14:38

Nice one Sonrock, looking good. Bet its sounding wonderful. Will be interested to see how your system develops particularly when you have a chance to put a really good pre in.

defride October 22, 2011 20:27

Sonrock,

Glad you were able to post the new pics :-)
Let us know how you like the V2's!

Best,
Sam

c1ferrari October 22, 2011 11:43

System edited: I have bought a pair of Magico V2's

sonrock October 20, 2011 23:35

thank you Sam, could you please let me know how to add the speakers in the system and change the picture? I tried many times yesterday and not succeeded :(.

now I have 2 pairs of speakers, really nice indeed but the MBL's might go soon for spaces.

sonrock October 19, 2011 18:09

Wow...congratulations, Sonrock!

-Sam

c1ferrari October 19, 2011 06:07

the magico v2's arrived today and they sound stunning, truly wonderful and superb. I made a very long reviews and compare the V2's over the MBL 121's. will translate into english very soon. don't know how to update system and change the pictures :(

sonrock October 19, 2011 00:44

hi Mapman

sorry as my mother tongue is not english therefore I cannot 100% fully understand what you wrote.

you meant my sub-woofer is behind one MBL speaker? if yes, it is used in my HT system which contains Onkyo 5007 avr and Pioneer LX-08 bdp.

cheers,

sonrock

sonrock September 17, 2011 02:13

You may be modest, but not the rig.

All out assault I would say, except perhaps for the monitors, unless the lowest octave is not a concern.

Whatever. Nice stuff!

Are those cinder blocks behind? I wonder how that affects the sound if so?

mapman September 15, 2011 20:33

thanks Sam

now I am wondering between Kharma 2.3 Be's and Magico V2's. will open a thread soon asking for advices.

cheers,

sonrock

sonrock September 15, 2011 17:50