What a fantastic demo system, but bear in mind the possibility that all components are/may be supplied by the same distributer (as pointed out by PAR in a recent post). Clearly this system is truly high end but perhaps not optimun.
Zapp, to add an additional name to the mix, I am a huge fan of my Ypsilon Phaeton integrated paired with my Rossini Apex and Clock. The Phaethon, is a hybrid design (tube preamp/solid state power amplifier) that provides a conservative 110Wpc into 8 ohms and its ābridged, single-endedā output stage is biased in Class A. In terms of sound, the Phaethon produces a clear, sweet treble and projects a sublime midrange with a strong bass performance and control. If you can audition one you wonāt be disappointed.
Frank, I am sorry for hijacking my own thread, I need your help. Since you own the DāAgostino S350 Stereo Power Amplifier, I read its depth is about 58 cm. I have room for that, but the shelf it will have to sit upon is only 50 cm deep. I have no problem with height and width, now my question is: will the 50 cm be enough for the four feet of the amp? Maybe you can measure the external footprint?
Or, if Frank is not available, maybe anyone else can help me with that? I got no answer from the DāAgostino website.
Thank you
A.
I just measured it. From the front of the front foot to the rear of the rear foot is 18ā or 47cm.
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Thanks!!! So it WILL fit ā¦ Gonna tell my wife 
A.
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You are right, Ben. That is a Momentum stereo amp. I assume they run straight from the dCS DAC to the amp.
Telarc 1812.
Not an issue if you had a system that could properly handle the dynamic range given thatās what it sounds like if you are at an actual performance of the 1812.
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Hi Ben,
I volunteer a third category: Franco Serblin speakers
: )
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I use a DāAgostino Progression Integrated with Rossini Apex/Vivaldi clock and Kudos 606. An excellent combination which I can thoroughly recommend.
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Ok, I have had the dāAgostino Progression S350 for a month now. I love it.
I shortlisted a few signal cables from the Rossini into the dāAgostino: MIT, Transparent, Hijiri, and the last ones are in my opinion the most enjoyable. Rossini + S350 are making my Suesskind speakers sing.
I have one question for other dāAgostino owners: what is the meter actually measuring? I havenāt had the pleasure of seeing it get even close to 100W on my 4 ohm speakers, so I thought the meter may be measuring Volts instead of Watts.
Now I am back on the market shopping for speakers. Based on listening and some advice (tnx) I shortlisted Wilson, Focal, Magico, Borresen, YG.
I love liquid, precise, fast sound with a lot of harmonics. No long bass, no forward voices: I hate āin-your-faceā presentations, I really like the depth, height and width that the dāAgostino has added to the soundstage, the continuous āwall of soundā with well-localized sources. I want music to breath without congestion, I want to hear emotion in voices. I listen to any kind of music. My listening room is 14ft(W) x 20ft(L) x 10ft(H). Listening position is 10ft from speakers.
I am totally open to further advice from you all.
Thank you
A.
I can barely see any movement on my M-400ās meters when listening to my Alexandria X2 S2.
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I donāt have a DāAgostino amp, but in general speakers need a lot less power than the specs imply. Doing an SPL calculation for your speakers shows that at 100W youād be getting 102dB at the seating position. I think even loud listeners would likely only be seeing transients at this level, so if the meter on your amp is a slow/average response type you may never see them jump this high.
In my room I have never seen my CH M1.1 meter go avove 5W!! Iām using very efficient speakers in a small space, but those 5W sound plenty loud enough.
Regarding your speaker hunt, Iāve been impressed with the recent Wilson models. Iāve also demoed Magico. They excelled at sound staging but I had trouble engaging with the music. I canāt really fault anything with their technical performance, but they helped me realize that accuracy is not my top priority in a speaker.
I ended up buying Stenhiems. They excel at harmonics, lack of congestion and emotion while remaining uncoloured. Some of your other options are probably more transparent and fast. As usual, youāll need to listen to really know what you like!
Cheers,
Jeff
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I assume the meters display watts and mine jump around quite a bit, frequently past 100.
Speakers are a very personal choice and listening in your room with your electronics is the only way to truly evaluate them. But, that is not very practical unless you live close to a few dealers.
For me, it was between the Wilson SabrinaX and Magico A5. I chose the A5 because I preferred the bottom end. Also, I have never read so many reviews of a product with such universal acclaim.
Ok, so, after 8 months of hard study I demoed the Borresen 02 Cryo and absolutely loved them. I had with me a substantial number of CDās to do the usual 30-seconds listening test for each track and then fast forward to the next one. I simply couldnāt. The music had such a natural flow, dynamics, effortless presentation, details, precision, zero fatigue, that I had to listen to each track from start to finish. They reminded me of some electrostatics from the 80ās, but with some - quite holographic - presence at the lower end (best piano left hand I ever heard: Rach II by Ashkenazy has a new meaning to me).
For good measure (bank account VERY worried at this point), and only because my wife really pushed me (envy anyone?), I placed an order for the 03 Cryo instead. Now I am waiting for the elves in Denmark to finish building and testing my speakers and for Santaās sleigh to appear from up North (it is possible, although not likely, that I get to enjoy the new speakers during my Christmas Holidays). Know the feeling?
I think they will sound pretty well. Any other experience with Borresen?
A.
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The way you describe the kind of sound you enjoy, I would add Marten Mingus 2 Quintet to your list and Rockport Avior II.
Chris, Zapp is not looking for a list of alternative speakers. He has made his choice, has ordered the Borresens and is awaiting delivery. He says that he is looking for usersā experience with them.
Ah, ok, I was on his post of 8 months agoā¦Now he has the next list, in case the Borresens donāt play very well in his house
Few months ago i went to up-grade my amp and i try the Dan progression, integrated and the pre + monos and then i listen to the integrated darTZell CTH8550 MK2 and i fall in love, thereās something special in the way iuts the music and the good news is that after >600h of use the amp went to another lever, i had gave more or less 250h of braking in and the usual manual recommends 170h but after the 600h the amp had a new life, i never had a amp that need so many time to give his best.
The i use the Wilson Alexia 2 and the Bartok Apex and CD transport from Metronome.
Cables i had the Nordost TYR2 power cable from the wall to the QB8 and then power was the Heimdall 2 and XLR and speaker cables TYR2.
I up-grade the power cable from the wall for the Odin and the rest with TYR2, amazing up-grade. Now Iāll receive Friday the Valhalla 2 to replace all the TYR2.
I also invest in the Grounding system QKore 6, Qnet and Qsource with a BIG SQ improvement, one of the best up-grades i did.
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I went through something similar when looking to break a +20 year love affair with my Naim 552/500 system. After speaking with some trusted friends, and demoing several alternatives (including a DāAgostino S250MxV amplifier at home) I demoed the DarTZeel 8550 fronted by the same Rossini/Clock which I have at home.
Just like you I was extremely impressed. It would have been easy to live with this super integrated however, knowing myself and my years of Naim upgradeitis, I decided to step up to the NHB-108 model 2 and NHB-18NS mk 2. I agree break in is extremely long with this brand.
How are you connecting your dCS to the DarTZeel? I started with single ended RCA however I have now moved on to XLR (and am in the process of breaking in the XLR outputs of my Rossini APEX). Several emails with my dealer and ultimately the designer of DarTZeel led to the change in connection, even though DarTZeel is envisioned as a single ended amplifier. There were significant changes made to the XLR inputs of the pre which led to recommendations to utilize that input.
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@glevethan I think thereās a lot more people like us, but darTZell does not invest in marketing and shows, but for me they are the best.
Iām happy for you, but Iām not in a āPre+powerā mode, because I donāt have place to put the gear but because I truly believe that the price diference does not justify, but I respect fully the other opiniƵes. Other thing for me is importante, less cables and so i can invest in better cabling.
I also love the costumer support and actually when i need them Mr HervĆ© himself reply to me, thereās not a lot of owners of other brands that can say that the owner of the brand reply to him with is personal email.
I use the XLR from Nordost, now the TYR2 but Friday ill receive the Valhalla 2 XLR that is in Vidar process of bur in .
I just arrive from snow vacations at home at 16h, its 21h now and im listening to music until now, my wife told me āyou are with music hangoverā 
I was
Happy
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