Quote:
Originally posted by bossobass:

i've read posts favorably comparing an hk 520, sherwood 6070, pioneer whatever, etc, to the 950, all the while my headache mounting. i've read complaints aplenty concerning the 950's remote, lame 5.1 setup, unacceptable hiss, double bass, switching from stereo to 6 ch. bypass, at this point suffering a migraine extraordinare.

now, it's the anthem for twice as much money (though i really would like to know who is selling one, with upgrade, for $1850, including sales tax). it sounded better? somebody call mike wallace.

the avm20 is a great piece of hardware. but, the 950 incoherent, mushy, flat, lifeless, very muddled soundstage???

my pain completely left me when suddenly i realized the answer!!!!!!!!...my 950 is a freak. c'mon, Scott, fess up....mine is modded, hot-rodded, juiced......SOMETHING.

when i finished reading the post above, i panicked, ran into my listening room, popped in spyro gyra "in modern times" multichannel sacd. cut #4. cranked it. closed my eyes.....
ahhhhhhhhhhh. crystal clear coherence. i could follow scott ambush's fingers on that azola fretless as they slid down to drop me with the deepest, smoothest low note, while the tiny percussion symphony danced through the widest soundstage i've ever heard in a room, behind, in front, overhead, swimming, floating through lush reverb and subtle keyboard triggered effects, all introducing the sax (an instrument i normally am annoyed by) that demanded i realize precisely where it is positioned and that the melody belonged to it.

auditioning the 950 with a stereo cd and a dd soundtrack is like test driving an s series mercedes by coasting down your driveway with the engine off.

yes...the anthem is a step up, but it ain't no $1500 step. not to me. and certainly not to my obviously (what else would explain it) super-charged, custom modified, 950.

oh, and yes...i HAVE listened to rotel, lex, krell, tag, b&k, onkyo, denon, marantz, hk, pioneer, yamaha, sony and macintosh, with extra cheese.


Bosso,

The twice the price referred to $5000 for the AVM20/MCA-50 combo.

As for my observations, I have absolutely no agenda. It's just what I heard.

Regards,
Santa Clara Jim