Thanks Musicfile, and sorry Darkmoebius, I've been out of the hobby for a few months now and haven't been checking Agon nor upgraded anything :)

In a way, that also answers your question, the MSB M200s has stopped my amp whoring, lol. (Not entirely true, I've also gone back to playing music more than listening.)

While it's not the best sounding amp I've tried (the Komuros were), the MSB comes out tops overall. Bearing in mind context-- driving a pair of mid-sensitivity speakers, here are its strengths: mids to highs, just about the best amp I've had in my system, only rivalled by (and in some ways soundling like) the Kronzilla on mids and Atmasphere on highs. Body and bloom are fantastic with some warmth like those amps I mentioned but none of the halo around images. Has those class A mids, none of the congestion or intermodulation distortion artifacts, images are rendered very clean but not clinical, textures are gorgeous but I'd say stopping short of lush.

Weakness: bass damping could be better, but then this is a balancing act, too much and it gets unnatural for me. The Komuro was perfect in this regard, and even the Linar I've had before had slightly more grip and definition. Where the Komuro beats them all is it might not come out with 10s across the audiophile checklist but it consistently comes up with 8s or 9s on every parameter except-- heat/environmental and maintenance. In comparison the M200 betters the Komuro on highs, almost even on mids (Komuro slightly ahead), loses out on bass... but but but, it doesn't run as hot nor needs tube maintenance :)

We've often heard it said, how the best solid-state amps don't sound like solid-state and, to a lesser degree, it's sometimes mentioned how the best tube amps don't sound like tubes. While it's tempting to say that both technologies are "converging," for me, they still sound different, although there is much less of the "traditional" sound we've come to associate with each technology. I'd never mistake the M200 as sounding tube like, nor the Komuro sounding like SS, but what's common is that both amps remind me less of how they're implemented.

Best regards!

tmij July 14, 2009 15:22

Can you give us your opinion of the MSB M200's, and compared to other amp you've tried?

darkmoebius June 27, 2009 18:43

You sir have a system designed for music ..Bravo !

musicfile April 07, 2009 14:39

Sent you a private message, Scottsmrnyc.

tmij February 19, 2009 16:05

Acoustic Panels- Can you give me the name, address and phone # of the acoustic panel dealer. Thanks Scottsmrnyc

scottsmrnyc February 19, 2009 10:26

Thanks for the kind words, Halcro, I guess that makes us mutual admirers :) Your 3 motor TW + Copperhead is the stuff dreams are made of ;)

tmij February 18, 2009 03:28

I'm a little weak at the knees after clicking your 'more pictures'! Just great stuff, congratulations.

halcro February 17, 2009 04:09

Scottsmrnyc, I got these RPG Variscreen acoustic panels from a dealer friend in NYC. More pictures in the link below as well. Thanks!

click

tmij February 16, 2009 22:28

Hi, I am wondering where you go the folding acoustic walls from? Can you give me any information about them. Great system as well. Thanks Scottsmrnyc

scottsmrnyc February 16, 2009 20:15

System edited: You're right, Albert, can't emphasize it enough :) Edit: Updated picture added.

tmij May 19, 2008 21:53

No doubt this was a superb upgrade. Most people have no idea how important the room is, looks like you went after the acoustics side of the equation 100%.

Thanks for sharing and the links to great images.

albertporter May 17, 2008 03:27

Thanks Rubyboogie, Albert and Flkin and, to be honest, I chose my virtual system title mostly because I had to keep the rig darklit all the time, lol. The reason is because the room had been untreated in the couple months since I've moved.

Fortunately, that's not the case anymore and, now, it looks (and sounds!) much better. See the front wall's "before" and "after" here. I used 16 panels of RPG Variscreen, which are absorptive on one side and diffusive on the other, to *wrap* the listening room. These treatments now cover the concrete wall on the right and glass windows on the left with absorptive sides facing towards the room.

The RPGs are held in place by speaker spikes biting into the ceiling and I also hinged one panel so it's easy to open or close the windows. The front wall has four diffusors in the center facing the room and one absorber on each corner.

Before I had addressed the room issue I couldn't get myself to upgrade anything! Now... well, let's just say I'm not embarassed to keep the rig in the dark anymore ;)

Rubyboogie, love your system as well! And ASR is probably my favorite SS brand . Albert, thanks for the lyrics, very appropriate, haha.

Before the Rack of Silence, I've only used cheap stands and the RoS was a definite improvement. In terms of isolation/damping/energy transfer I'm sure you know the (or three, if you will) schools: mass loading vs the use of suspension/quick dissipation, and the RoS is a good implementation of the latter. When I got this rack it came with the Feet of Silence, not the stock cones but since the weight of the rig exceeds the FoS' capacity, those are now squished to the floor, eliminating their benefit.

Ideally, with a suspended rig you'd like to have everything "floating" and I'd say the RoS sufficiently decouples components from structural vibration *but* crank the stereo enough and the metal in the rack itself "rings." Not much one can do about airborne vibration anyway, except to either play not too loud or position the rack further away or, last but not least, slather the innards of each component with some magical anti-damping mayo ;)

Flkin, I've described my experience with the MinusK in my review here. The only other shelf I've used was the Neuance and I haven't tried any other isolation platform for my table.

Thanks again!
Tito

tmij May 16, 2008 19:54

I like what you've done with vibration control. Does the MinusK work well? Did you make any comparisons between it and other isolation platforms, active or passive?

flkin May 16, 2008 09:03

Tmij, Deep Space Orbit?

Well, then the following song lyrics are called for :^).

Ground control to Major Tom Ground control to Major Tom: Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground control to Major Tom: Commencing countdown engine's on Check ig-nition and may God's love be with you

albertporter May 16, 2008 03:27

Hi Tmij
Love the look of your system. Nice choice on your analog rig. Bet it sounds fantastic.
Did you do any comparison on the Solid Tech Rack. How do you like it's performance. I am in the market to get a new shelf , I like the Grand Prix Audio ouch on the price and also the one that you have. Any opinions?
Thanks so much.

rugyboogie May 16, 2008 02:54

How's it goin, Paul? The speakers in the pictures are just how they were initially setup after I moved and the room is only about 2 feet narrower than my previous apartment. I've since moved the speakers further apart and closer to the couch and while this room has a more even response and sounds tighter and more focused than my previous apartment, the soundstage is also less wide and deep. For now, I'm just trying to figure if I can live with a "less immersive" listening position :)

tmij February 23, 2008 14:17

Hey Tito

How is your new room sounding. Things look a little more squeezed compared to your old place.

Paul

pcosta February 21, 2008 01:08

Thanks, Rickmak, for small ensemble acoustic music and vocals, I prefer the Koetsu and the Uni for everything else. Although most of the time I really don't think about this and just alternate between both carts to get more even playing hours on both.

tmij January 01, 2008 16:07

Nice turntable, good cartridge choice ! Which one do you like better, the ZYX Universe or the Rosewood ?

rickmak December 31, 2007 20:09

Thanks, Tympani!

tmij December 27, 2007 17:26

What nice stuff! Zyx Universe and Koetsu Rosewood cartridges - beautiful choices. Congratulations on some fine gear.

tympani December 25, 2007 15:57