So I thought I will post a long term "mini" review.
So called reviews one sees on the magazines is just the flavor of the months, till the next best thing overtakes it in every 6? Weeks
So after owning the "complete" Phasure system for more than a year all I can say is that this HAS been the best purchase I've ever made in my audio history. I look around occasionally at the market, and then laugh at the same old "sling with a new bling"
No ground breaking technology has made it to the market in the last 5 years. Even if it has, it's not in the realm of acceptance into my audio domain.
I recently visited THE Show @ Newport Beach. Contrary to the "joke is at the bottom of my foot" in terms or performance, there were many which did portray "some" promise .... But variables such as music genre definitely played a role. Many with the special effects CDs. But where they in par? No quite, far behind ....
Most missing the most important parts of the Phasure system, solid imaging!! The SNR of the Phasure system is incredible. Also the adaptability of the FM curves for the ear brain to quickly get acclimatized to a particular album for intense interpretation! I recently added vibration dampness to the server and the DAC, made an interesting difference. Now I was confident that I could add Clarixia back into the system, the Aqvox seemed a bit dull and slow. I'm now on all Orange in the FM curves, can play with all greems(flat) now, but I think it's the room that's responsible for present the FM settings.
It was an educational experience to go back and listen to tube amps at the show (prior owner of OTL amps). I spend a considerable amount of time with the WaVaC, the 833 tubes are indeed sexy to look at, but they are the "best worst amplifiers" as someone prevoiusly mentioned, kind of sterile, with a very precise sound. 211 are quite interesting, Bernings did play well, but they were demoeing some bass EQ device, and the music was quite bass heavy. The music was loud enough to disorient me multiple times during the demo! Those tube have some interesting under harmonics, that one can/should persue further (if looking for tube amps). I believe that amp did have plenty of vib dampening tech inbuilt. They did have a SNR which rivaled the Oreleos. The 6C33C-B tubes did a lot of things correctly, in spite of their faults, one being lower resolution. Tone and timber are quite thick and flushed. 300Bs are quite colored, at least in the topology I heard them in. One offs like the AA62B of Ayon or the GM100 from NAT are way too colored. EL84s (EAR) could not be evaluated as they were teamed with the wrong technology (ceramic drivers). Quite an educational experience to breeze through so many harmonic manipulators!! I can see why people can get caught in one of these tube traps (not in a negative way).
SS components I'm not going to comment on as there was nothing interesting, after hearing the EMM labs, Esoteric, Bicrasti M28, the MBLs.
Or even the hybrid amps like Ypsilon or Einstein!
Why am I combining a show review with a speaker review follow up. Only after living with a speaker for more than a year and with more than 2000 hrs in playback, fiddling around with every nook and cranny of the loudspeaker, and the front end I can confidently tell, I'm familiar with these speakers and also the DAC/server. And the sound they create is well beyond what is commercially available.
Do they have drawback, yes, one pressing one for me. First one has to understand that I come from a omni/dipole speaker prior to Oreleos. So soundstage can still be improved. I haven't tried the new 2.01 XXHE as yet. But I feel this part of the process requires a bit more of work.
P.S. Going back and hearing the Omnis or dipoles such as the MBLs, perfect 8 or the Larsen speakers, was not authentic enough. To faded and dim sound stage. Ofcourse these speakers can be room sensitive. Moreover I'm a classical music fan....
Overall my family and I have enjoyed more music in the last year, Since I can remember!! Every day I can appreciate the special qualities of the system. interests have changed, now in getting more music. Since last Christmas the music collection is growing rapidly.
**edit**
Forgot to add the DACs, nothing that I heard made me think to change direction at this point of time, may it be Eoteric, MSB, Lampi, EMM, Bicrasti, NADAC etc.
Kudos Peter!! **and Bert!!
VJ