kippy

Thanks kindly for the warm welcome! I'm looking forward to contributing to the team

I have an MHA-150 on the way to test for amp differences. Last week, I tried swapping out pre-amplifiers and seeing differences in sound. My observations: The McIntosh C8 tube pre-amp sound is lush, detailed, almost holographic with vocals and mid-range frequencies. It looks beautiful and I could hear deeper into the mix as compared to the Bozak CMA-10-2DL preamp mixer I have. I could hear it instantly upon switching it over. Sound source was switched from a turntable or a Sonos connect streaming uncompressed sound via the DA2 converter in the C8. Very impressive device. Mid-bass was not very tight but the lower frequencies had a deeper boom. Felt like something was a bit lacking there. The Bozak CMA-10-2DL sound was detailed in comparison but not in the same league. It is a discrete unit and well understand to have quality analog components in it. However, where the Bozak does a terrific job was stitching everything together. Mid-bass was perfect and where there was low-end in a song, I could feel a punch as well as a boom when called for. It's as if all the frequencies were presented as a whole. Our hearing and interpretation is subjective but I enjoyed the Bozak experience more than the C8. I am keeping the Bozak and selling the C8. If the only thing I played was vocals, jazz and music that did not require really tight mid-bass, I would have kept the C8. It's magic but my taste vary wildly and the Bozak, while less detailed on the top, is greater than the sum of its frequency parts. This is an embarrassment of riches, so I feel lucky to even have the ability to play with any of this gear. It's all so well built and sounds lovely. I don't think one can go wrong picking any of it.

It's too late. I am amp-rolling now

I've had enough. Going to kick this system to the curb and just put it out with the trash! I don't think I have ever heard such clarity and presence in my life. I feel lucky. The musicians are here standing in front of me playing. I am connected to the music in a way I have not felt before.

This was great advice and a wonderful tip. Sounds much better @MMurg!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJugez1473M I think I have the system dialed in for the staging area it is in. Still a bit of reverb/echo from the room, but sounds lovely. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions!

Thanks kindly for the tip, I have adjusted and will see the result. The more time I spend with the system, the more I appreciate that they do not need much power. I feel as if the MC252s are perhaps overkill and I could get by with a much smaller/lower powered amps.

So, I couldn't wait and decided to wire up the system in the staging area. My initial impressions are that the Jubilee's are a very different speaker from the Klipschorn AK6 I had previously. Bass is deep and rich. Shakes the house (literally). I am thankful to have concrete floors in the final resting place for these speakers. There is some finicky work in arriving at the right mix of HF + LF in the cabinets. The MC252 amplifiers are barely registering signal. Maybe .25 watts for the amp dedicated to HF. Something like 10 watts at ear-bleeding volume for the amp dedicated to LF cabinets. More like 2-3 watts for regular listening level. This thing thumps and I have already decided to likely jettison my SVS sub. These don't need a sub. The bass can easily overwhelm. Now I am thinking to scale back and revisiting that thread on using MHA100's or some other lower power amps for this system.

I have given very careful (and terrifying) consideration to all this. Got a bottle of Bitter Spray and put it around all the gear. That's a Technics 1210GR2 turntable. I am praying the bitter spray works.

Yes! 6 months old. He's about 40 pounds now, should reach 50-60 when grown.

Pics of the staging area as promised...

Thanks - after seeing the post yesterday about the loaded heritage subs, I took a close look at the videos. One of them looks a lot like the lower LF bin from the Jubilees (in shape). I'll take a pick of the new system for the team and post. The equipment is in a staging space, not the final destination.

I am in the SF Bay Area. If you make it up here, happy to have you take a listen. I need about a month to redo the carpet and position everything down in the listening room.

Thanks! I had a pair of Klipschorn AK6's in the space before connected to a McIntosh MA352 amp. They were in the corners and of course, sounded good and clear but were missing a center soundstage because they were too far apart. I am probably saying something obvious to the informed parties here but despite the sealed backs on the AK6 models, they still need to be in corners. I was happy with their tone but the center was never what I wanted. This led me to the Jubilee's which, according to the literature and articles, are fine being out of the corners. I heard a pair in a demo and was impressed by the clarity (better than AK6) and bass extension. They are not so bad on the eyes either Edit: if it matters, the listening room is a subfloor that has concrete behind the walls on 2 sides, wood on the other two sides and a concrete floor covered by thick padding, vinyl barrier and thick carpet.