Wow, now those are( boulder) amps! Mark are you still shopping for mono blocks?

Mark:

I don't have the spec's, but I do know 2 things:

1) at 450 lbs each you are going to need major help moving them around.

2) at $180,000.00 for the pair you won't be hearing them in my listening room.

Jeff

 Allen,

I'm still undecided on which brand of mono's I am going to buy.

I was just curious about these Boulder 3050's and the spec's on them. I have heard through the grapevine that the spec's are amazing. Unfortunately, I cannot afford these at 180 grand. But, I have heard a pair of 850's that I love and the price is much, much more reasonable.

I still want to hear some different tube amps as well. Everyone is urging me to go tube with my EW Andra II's

I met Rich Maez of Boulder in Atlanta at the Axpona show. We mostly talked about the 2050's and the 2010 Isolated Preamp. Pushed for time, I did not get to speak to Rich about the new 3050's.

At 180 Grand a pair, It might be about 20 years down the road on the used market that these will be affordable for me.

But damn! aren't they Beautiful.

To my own fault, I am big on the aesthetic appeal, even though I really shouldn't be.

You can actually pick up a pair of 850 mono's that are more reasonably priced.

Here's a pair of 850's, 200w @ 8ohms. You definitely want have any problem tightening down the spades on these binding posts.

i would definitely steer clear of tube amps with the eggs.  the speakers have a very low impedence dip in the 1.8 range at appx. 70--90 hz.  i have a pair of andras that i pull out and use on occassion when their owner comes to visit.  my amp is a cary cad 120s, a bulky 120watt per side heavy-duty kt88/6550 amp that will do 3 ohms in a pinch, but it cannot do justice to the bass that the eggs are capable of.  the owner has used spectral for the amp and it delivered what the speakers were capable of.  the only problem with spectral is that you then have to commit to that MIT wiring.  anyway, i think they sounded as good as they could sound using the spectral.

just my experience

tom

Hey there Tom. Nice hearing from you again. That's good info. Before I commit to a major investment, that is the info I seriously need. I did find a used Spectral DMA 180. I have heard of the Spectral DMA 360, MIT, Avalon Radian combo that is recommended.

Tom,

Could I still use the DMA 180 with other cables? The rear panel looks pretty straight-forward as far as cabling goes, and it looks as if I can use any brand of cabling. Or is it that the MIT network that is critical? Not sure. Have any advice on that for me?

Thanks!

Mark

Mark:

Indeed, they are beautiful. If I only had the $180,000.00 ... going out to get a lottery ticket now.

Jeff

Mark,

would like to hear a demo of your system sometime.

Allen,

That would be great if I still lived in Alabama. I wished we could have gotten together back then for a few beers and great music, but I live in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee now. Huge job offer that I could not pass over.

Talk later,

Mark

Mark,

I did not know that you had moved. Any high-end retailers in your (new) area?

Yeah, I got a really great job offer up here that was too good to turn down. Hopefully that will facilitate some new gear! well....hopefully anyway.

There is a Hi-Fi Buys in Nashville. Other than that, I'm not sure. I rarely purchase anything from retail stores, I usually do it all online anyway.

The EgglestonWorks factory is in Memphis, but that is on the other end of the state.

Good hearing from you Allen.

Have you obtained any new or used gear lately?

Mark

Hello Mark,

Hi Fi Buys is a Levinson dealer if I am not mistaken. Have you visitied the Eggleston plant yet? No new gear here, as there are some products I want to demo. Keep in touch.

I Haven't traveled to Memphis to visit the EW facility yet. I would like to. It would be oh so cool to listen to the Savoy and Ivy model. I have heard that once you hear the Savoy's, you will want to sell your Andra's. I can't imagine that. :-)

I think these are keepers.

Yeah, Allen.. They do carry ML products.

Great Mark. So, are you still shopping for mono block amps? Tell me about your new job.

..still shopping around for some monos. Looks like solid state is the way I will go. I got the opportunity to hook up a pair of McIntosh MC 240 monos. I did not like the results. Maybe it was this particular pair, but I noticed some hum and some extra noisy artifacts.  

I also tried a pair of Quicksilver Triodes and they did pretty good except I noticed a loss of volume. But they looked cool.

Solid state is the route I am going to take. I have heard that the Halcro DM68 monos are the absolutely best match for the Eggs, but those are outrageously priced. I wouldn't never pay for what they want for those amps.

The new job is good. I work as a purchasing agent for a family in eastern Tennessee.

Great Mark,

I have heard the Halcro amps and did not like the sound for that kind of money.

Did you audition the Classe' mono blocks yet?

I have long held the belief that there are three kinds of amplifier designer

1 - The Flowery arty farty
2 - The wheel re-inventor
3 - Isambard Kingdom Brunel/Ramses III (which ever leviathan scale builder you choose)

The Arty's come up with an amplifier festooned with yards of glass, acrylic, spark eroded exotic/semi-precious metals; that looks like it belongs in an art museum rather than doing the important job of merely making a little signal into a bigger signal.

The Wheel re-inventor (or sometimes known as Onkyo) or anyone regurgitating previous old models/boring techniques used up by Marconi - stick a different metal skin on it and flog it to the next passer by.

Then there are those who feel that building on a scale that would make Ramses III look like a preschool modeler is somehow going to impress. What welding kit is inside those two lets face it, ugly boxes? I mean that's like being the designer to Ferrari and coming up with a high top delivery van. They are about as appealing as three butt cheeks sewn together. It's even making me warm toward the arty fartys.

I wonder...when installed into the "Domicile Pulchrum" (Beautiful home) do 6000 overseer whipped slaves drag them in ? ...and how good does the container of your wife, hearth, life and tranquility look when two blocks carved out of the load bearing members of the worlds biggest oil tanker are now the dominant feature at your fireside.

But put all my personal flamboyant venting of spleenic fluids to one side, how the hell can any amplifier justify the cost?...at what point does "Value" expire and the rest is just exceeding into a mammoth sphincter twitching "Price?"

If you "only" have 20 grand or so to spend, I would highly recommend the big Bryston monoblocks, which have received RAVE reviews from both Stereophile and The Absolute Sound.

I very much doubt that ANYTHING sounds better with any speaker (except maybe the huge tube Audio Research monos, which may be the best amplifier of the century).

The sound is to die for with either one!!!

A 20-year warranty from a reliable company like Bryston is rather nice too.

lmao! That was a great read D. truthful and funny. :-)

The last question is very important. Just exactly how does an amplifier builder justify, say.. 30 Grand for a piece of gear? I guess that would fall under the 'proprietary' moniker. lol! Of course, I could be wrong.

This is one brand I have never had the pleasure of auditioning. If it were possible, I would like to hear the 8B SST sst and the 14B SST. And like Classe', another great product from our friends in the Great White North. And I agree, I have never read anything negative regarding the Bryston brand.

Now if I can find a dealer close by that carries them. Of course, I wouldn't mind driving a bit if since they do have such a great reputation/warranty. :-)

I would have to say that I believe the Canadiens 'get it' when it comes to reputable audio.

If you want the specs on those amps, why wouldn't you just go to the manufacturer's website???

I use the Bryston 3B-SST amp, which "only" has 150W per channel at 8 ohms, and a lot more into 4 ohms, and which will power 98% of the speaker systems on the earth...lol. It only costs about $4000, and the sound is to die for when used with my Audio Research LS-26 preamp.

I don't think there is better sound to be had anywhere than this combo, for $10k.

If you have 3 or 4 times that much money to spend, then the Audio Research Reference preamp for $12K with the Bryston monoblocks would be a step up (but only a tiny one...for 4 times the money).

They didn't have it. Well. at least not yet.

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Happy New Year!

Mark,

where are you on the power amp(s) buying?