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Rogue Cronus Magnum with La Scala II?


amheck

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No tube set is going to have as black of a background at a good solid state, certainly class d, would.

I think if you want to try tubes, get on with it. The reward awaits you.

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Having a budget absolute ceiling can work against getting the gear that will make you happier in the long run.  Out of reach today can become within reach in just a few months.  If you’re looking at something that you’d be thrilled to have, but it costs a bit too much, keep saving and postpone your purchase for a few months and then buy it.  Sure, used stuff will disappear if it’s priced right, so anything that takes “too” long to sell is either overpriced or too esoteric to have a large number of prospective buyers.  Saving still pays off, because that way, you’ll have your cash at the ready when you spot something that’s just right but may disappear soon.  And for the esoteric components, being the first possible buyer with cash puts you in a strong bargaining position, possibly making that high price a bit less firm.

 

Having the cash ready is how I got my first Yamaha MX-D1 power amp.  I thought it would be out of reach forever, but I kept saving, then I spotted a dealer in New Hampshire who had some at a great price, and in a few days one was heading my way.  My dream amp, Class D, super quiet, with 500 Wpc!  Try to find one for sale now, lol.  Same thing with the La Scala IIs.  I thought they’d also be out of reach forever, then one day a pair popped up in the Garage Sale section here in the Forum.  They were near Vancouver, and in a couple of days I was on the ferry to the mainland to pick them up, from a fellow Forum member!

 

So first, do your research, which you’re doing, so that’s an important start.  Next, and at the same time, put some money away every month, or every week, whichever works best for you, and put it under your mattress, or in a special hi-fi bank account, again whichever works best for you.  Next, also at the same time, check every sales site that you can find, keeping in mind that anything sold in Japan will run on 100 volts, while anything sold in Europe will likely run on 220/230 volts.  However, half of Japan runs on 50 Hz electricity, and the other half runs on 60 Hz power, so that’s why many Japanese export products run on 50-60 Hz, 100-250 volts.

 

So that’s my method of buying and then upgrading my sound system, and it has worked out pretty well.  Keep in mind that you may decide to keep upgrading your system, even if it seems like “just this one last piece and it will be perfect”.  That’s especially true if you spend much time here.  If you do decide to take the long-term path to owning a really great system, realize that most of of the time, not all the components will be of the same performance level.  Maybe your turntable, or amp, or whatever, is the high point of your system, or maybe it’s the weak link.  And it can start as one and become the other over time.  

 

Don’t worry about it.  As you spend time here on the Forum, and on other sites, you’ll learn more, about what works well, what’s good value (not always important), what’s reliable (always important), and so on.  More complex concepts will start to seem less so, and your disposable income/available cash can change over time, hopefully for the better, but there are no guarantees in life.

 

In my case, I thought I knew a lot about audio, but that “lot” has multiplied three- or four-fold since I joined the Forum, a month after I bought my first La Scalas.  At present, my system has evolved so far from its not bad beginnings that I couldn’t have even imagined having a setup like this in my living room.  Over time, my ideas grew and changed, but I kept investing some money every year, and it gradually improved, sometimes surprising me with the changes.  Now it’s at a point where the upgrades are more expensive and the gains are smaller, so I’ll leave the hardware as it is and start to see how I can upgrade the room to work better with the stereo.

 

Naturally, that will mean more research, and more saving, and more watching, but it’s part of my way of living at this point.  As well, 2021 was the first year since 2006 that I spent nothing on the system.  Yes, nothing!  I did buy some discs (CDs, DVDs, LPs) in 2021, and I really enjoyed listening, but I kept saving, so the budget looks good, plus room treatments are not all that costly (most of the time), and you don’t have to run power lines to them.

 

Depending on your level of commitment, and budget, of course, you may have your dream system in five years.  Or more.  Or less.  It’s up to you.  As long as you can lean back close your eyes, and notice a great big smile has found its way onto your face, or if you and everybody in the room can’t resist getting up and dancing, fast, slow, it doesn’t matter.  “The music is the magic, and the music’s in me”, you’ll say.

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2 hours ago, Schu said:

No tube set is going to have as black of a background at a good solid state, certainly class d, would.

I think if you want to try tubes, get on with it. The reward awaits you.

 

Some Class D amplifiers are said to have a “tubey” sound, and are very easy to live with, but if you’re tube-curious, nothing else will do.  Only you can decide what makes your day to listen to.  If you decide later that a particular amp or type of amp is not for you, consider it a lesson learned, and lessons have value in themselves.

 

And as another member pointed out, the better the signal you feed your La Scala IIs, the better they’ll sound.  They’re pretty fine speakers.

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Aaron, I have a deal you may be inclined to ponder.  If you will come to Plant City in a few weeks, you can take my Quicksilver KT88 monoblocks and Quicksilver line stage preamp.  Try these out for a month or so and if they appeal to you, they will be a bit less than your budget.  If not, bring them back and try something else.

I have had this gear for 20 years and have paired this setup with dozens of speakers from Magnepans to Klipshorns.  I am not actively selling but I know you and these no longer get much use.  I use vintage McIntosh for the Klipshorns and a Heresy in 3 channel stereo (magical) and use a Powernode with my Zu speakers.  I think I am going to settle on these two systems for a while.  That leaves a lot of electron manipulators I have managed to accumulate over the years lying around unused.

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34 minutes ago, Cicerogue said:

Aaron, I have a deal you may be inclined to ponder.  If you will come to Plant City in a few weeks, you can take my Quicksilver KT88 monoblocks and Quicksilver line stage preamp.  Try these out for a month or so and if they appeal to you, they will be a bit less than your budget.  If not, bring them back and try something else.

I have had this gear for 20 years and have paired this setup with dozens of speakers from Magnepans to Klipshorns.  I am not actively selling but I know you and these no longer get much use.  I use vintage McIntosh for the Klipshorns and a Heresy in 3 channel stereo (magical) and use a Powernode with my Zu speakers.  I think I am going to settle on these two systems for a while.  That leaves a lot of electron manipulators I have managed to accumulate over the years lying around unused.

If you don't mind sharing, what vintage McIntosh are you using? 

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On 4/28/2022 at 2:06 PM, amheck said:

Doing a little research ahead of time of a possible La Scala II purchase.  I'd like to try tubes and thinking $1500 is my max on a good integrated setup.

 

I saw suggestions of the Quicksilver Horn Mono's but that doesn't leave any $$ room for a pre-amp.  I read really good things about the Cronus Magnum and think I may be able to get close to my price for the 2nd version.  I think for sure on the first version.

 

But I did see a couple mentions of the CM having some noise with the heritage speakers.  Anyone here have this combo care of chime in?  I'd, of course, would like to avoid noise and hum if this combo is prone to that.

 

I will most likely just use 1 source, probably a streamer of some sorts.  I don't believe I would mind having to bias by hand as long as the process is pretty easy, which is seems to be on most of these.  Haven't ruled out the VT-70 kit yet, but if I could get something comparable that's already built, I would probably do so.  I see Quicksilver also has a integrated amp, maybe could get lucky on price on a use unit, but I think I'd much prefer somewhere where the tubes are visible.

Willsentton-R-300B-Single-ended-tube-power-amplifier-HiFi-Pure-class-a-amplifier-2.jpg

 

 

I got this 300B IA from Willsenton, last week with my LS II's, and the sound was amazing, and captivating. can be had under 1500 online. Not my first tube amp by any means,, but the cheapest so far, and it does hold it's against the 4-6 k tube amps I have from Cary Audio and Dennis Had, and others. 

 

Willsenton R300 Single-ended Integrated 300B tube amplifier& Power amp : China-hifi-Audio audiophile tube amplifier online store, Willsenton, Boyuurange Reisong, Muzishare Integrated Amplifier, power amp, preamp, SoundArtist Speaker for sale [MUIA9832276] - $983.18 USD

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1 hour ago, Cicerogue said:

Aaron, I have a deal you may be inclined to ponder.  If you will come to Plant City in a few weeks, you can take my Quicksilver KT88 monoblocks and Quicksilver line stage preamp.  Try these out for a month or so and if they appeal to you, they will be a bit less than your budget.  If not, bring them back and try something else.

I have had this gear for 20 years and have paired this setup with dozens of speakers from Magnepans to Klipshorns.  I am not actively selling but I know you and these no longer get much use.  I use vintage McIntosh for the Klipshorns and a Heresy in 3 channel stereo (magical) and use a Powernode with my Zu speakers.  I think I am going to settle on these two systems for a while.  That leaves a lot of electron manipulators I have managed to accumulate over the years lying around unused.

 

Wow, that's a super generous offer.  I am definitely intrigued in the Quicksilver stuff.  And plant city is an easy drive. 

 

I'll be in touch...I really appreciate it. 

Edited by amheck
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56 minutes ago, Cicerogue said:

 

MC 2105

 

There was one of these on Craigslist maybe a month or two ago.  It had been refurbished by Audio Classics a few years ago but had a front cracked faceplate. I think it was listed for 1500 and seller dropped the price another 100.  I still wonder if I should have picked that up. 

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