Inoculator

Going to be a 15-20 ft run, only for speaker on left side of fireplace. Easy to run because building new frame around fireplace for tile. Will run between brick and new studs. Will be driving Ohm Walsh Tall 4000 omnidirectional speakers. Likely driven by Hegel H390.

Always thought those Ohm Walsh speakers were cool, had pair of Walsh 2s a while ago

@spwath I am excited to check them out! Never have heard omnidirectional speakers before, but our living room is a big wide open space that feeds into dining room/kitchen, so I wanted to try something that might sounds good wandering around the space. Bonus that they look nice and drivers are safe from toddler finger pokes. Now to decide on an integrated amp for them...

@rlow Slightly, but it is not fatiguing. I thought the first day I listened that "this sounds good, but I bet I get sick of it". After a week of numerous listening hours daily...I am not sick of my system. And usually by Friday I am always a bit burnt on my system.

Everything I feed it is just musical/energetic but very grain-free and non-fatiguing for a SS setup. Biggest weaknesses are what I talked about above, maybe just being a bit lean in some areas, and I don't find it very impressive or captivating at low volumes. My LS3/5A just feel so much more alive and dynamic than anything else I have tried. Maybe they are just enjoying the extra power though.

Biggest issue is I bought this for another system...but now I don't want to let it go from my office setup. Guess a Gungnir Multibit A1 and Freya+ might be hitting the FS section soon.

Also consider the Lyngdorfs.

Hegel H390 all the way in that comparo IMO. But I know Nad has a ton of useful features. Did you look at the Anthem STR integrated as well (has room correction)?

Edit: just realized Anthem has no network connectivity. Would need a streamer/endpoint.

@EagleWings I will add that into the mix. Maybe I just need to do a super integrated head-to-head for the forums? @rlow I am feeling the same way, hoping I can snag as good of a deal on the Hegel as I did on the Naim so I can put them head to head. Power needs are going to come down to whether I go for Ohm Walsh 3000 or 4000, Naim could probably handle the former but not the later.

Ohm Walsh seems like a good choice. I had my eye on a Decware Tiny Radial, although my room is much smaller

How does an omnidirectional fan work? Fans just push air on one direction! :-)

Reading on the First Watt SIT-2, sounds like a nice match for my tastes, and enough power. Just need to choose a pre.

Apparently the J2 is a commonly-liked amp.

Edit: Oof, apparently expensive unobtainium! Although there's a SIT-3 for sale on usaudiomart.

Certainly captivating and very "Hi-Fi" sounding, but sounds a bit less natural at least presentation-wise compared to my normal stack/most gear I have tried with these speakers. Going to take some brain adjustment time and serious hours to decide if this sort of presentation is for me.

The obvious immediate pros? Imaging is STELLAR, like separation/placement I have never experienced in this nearfield setup. Incredibly dynamic, you can discern dynamics of individual instruments. Vocals are stunning and realistic. Speakers doing more of a disappearing act than anything I have ever tried with them. Bass is very tight and controlled, although I am missing some of the bloom of the Gungnir Multibit A1 bass.

I bought this to be a living room streamer, so not a big deal for my use case, but I find it absolutely bizarre that this does not have a USB in other than for attached storage. No way other than Bluetooth to connect my laptop while testing this in my office. Tried HDMI, but only accepts HDMI ARC.

I guess they aren't fans of USB, other than as a storage medium.

UPDATE: Wife approved and is excited about it, so no sleeping on the couch for me tonight. Phew.

I am actually still very interested in Hegel if they get their roon integration together, and may grab a H190 or H390 to compare down the road depending on what speakers I land on.

I hope you mean "Insomnia" by Faithless...

Don't put your wallet on top of that big round thing on the right. Might wipe your credit cards.
https://www.naimaudio.com/product/uniti-nova

@rlow So far I have tried all JJ and NOS RCA in buffer/NOS Tung Sol in gain stage. Will need to do more mix and match experimenting. Things are just too thick sounding with the all NOS configuration I tried, at least for nearfield.

Oh, are they NOS Tung-Sol too? Sorry was thinking just the RCA were NOS. Have not heard the NOS Tung-Sol, so disregard my comments about being balanced - that would be for new production TS 6SN7. I can see how JJs would be a good match with Gungnir Multibit A1 though, so it makes sense - leaner and more incisive to balance the GA1 warmth and smoothness.

@rlow yeah NOS tung-sols as well. I would like to try the new production tung-sols, as I have enjoyed other new tung-sol variants. Seems they have just a hint of tube "magic" via a nice spatial/full sound, but don't sacrifice technicality.

Choosing between those DACs is tough!

@dubharmonic how is your journey comparing those two going?

They're different enough that I haven't been able to choose one over the other.

How do you know it's an A1? I'm curious to ID mine.

@Woland I am no expert, a buddy of mine who has done a ton of A2 vs A1 comparisons as well as toyed around with modding the A1 identified it for me. I think there is some way to tell by serial, but some as they transitioned are harder to identify without opening it up. Having previously owned an A2, this is for sure different. Hesitate to say better, but synergy wise with my chain it seems to be working great.

Thanks @Inoculator. I've seen a few discusisons on IDing via serial number, but none seem definitive.

Your table might have been made before the new belts were released (March). I presume a Neo PS came with the table, and you'll use the Swagman (24V AC out transformer version, right?) into that?

That's almost 300% less wow and flutter ! You gotta be willing to pay for that !

@Biodegraded I will have to look into that! I read it as these belts have been in use on the P8/P10 and now are available to upgrade other decks. But if not the case my nervosa would for sure lead to me buying them, haha.

Def. Hire movers. We just moved after 10 years in a home. Moved with a dog, 2 cats and 3 kids. Ended up using PODS to store and move stuff since we had to have interim housing (inlaws house). The PODS do a number on your stuff...lots of stuff shifted during transit, made it such a mess. Never again myself
....maybe I will never move again!

Congratulations on the new house and kid. I agree with others, movers are worth the cost. Our moving company made our move out of the city so much easier and offered an extra guy to help when a storm was coming.

Mazel tov! Even if it's just 10 minutes away, hire movers. Especially with the animals and toddler. Just do your due diligence when getting quotes, look up reviews, etc. Just doing the work of sorting what will go and what won't is going to be a Herculean task, let alone the actual moving.

Hmm, I appreciate the contrast between work mode and dedicated listening. I often use my Beyer DT880 instead of my ZMF for the same reason.

@Cryptowolf yeah I have found it to be a nice balance. Still sounds incredible via the SS buffer, just a lot sweeter, more restrained, gobs of microdetail but they are not slapping you in the face. Tube mode just begs for your attention. Speakers disappear, soundstage becomes deeper. Bass gets a bit more bloated and less precise, and vocals sound more natural, but less accurate compared to ss buffer.

I have a Saga + in my 2.1 system and it is everything you describe. The way you put it really hits home for me.

I am spoiled with all the great record spots around me. This is an example of trust the old timer hole in the wall crate digger spot for used vinyl, not the hipster "indie" record store spot for used stuff. Unfortunately everyone takes their collections when they fall out of the hobby to the hipster spot who overvalues everything.

Could it rather be HAF - she got the ok on the house she wants because it'd match your target speakers? ;)

@Biodegraded haha probably a little column A, little column B. Funny enough, I had not super seriously considered the Klipsch Heritage stuff until I saw a house that was pretty open concept with big vaulted ceilings in the living room. Then I was like, oh yeah, I need some speakers that can step up and fill this space.

If you haven’t already, try to demo the Klipsch heritage series. It is very different sounding from the Grahams and the current gen floorstanders and won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

Gateway drug, for sure. Chased the dragon all the way to Yggdrasil. Trying to be done...

Was thinking to sell mine after going Soekris (the rest of my system is the antithesis of yours, I think) but will likely keep it in case I want some of the old-school R2R sound back again.

@rlow Love to hear that as that is exactly what I am hoping for from the Freya+ with this nearfield setup. DAC2541 just did not stage correctly with my speakers. Mainly grabbed the Freya+ just because I need BAL-SE conversion for the Gungnir Multibit A1, but tube buffer is a bonus for sure.

didn't like the DAC2541 eh?! did you end up grabbing the gungnir and freya from the guy up near seattle??

@shredical Yeah the DAC 2541 was great with Auteur/SW51+...but it REALLY did not play nicely with my speakers. Guy in Seattle wasn't willing to budge on price, but scored the Freya+ with some NOS tubes via USAM and the Gungnir Multibit A1 from a buddy that had a spare.

Seems you already know what you will get. Then why not! Just make sure you would have enough distance (8-9 ft or longer).

A good point @Vtory, I am a sucker for looking for validation...and my wife is a bit less thrilled about whim $1k speaker purchases. I think I will snag and report back though, will be fun to try out and is relatively low cost all things considered.

Zu are generally too expensive for what they are. You'd be better off picking up some Tekton Lore. Better speakers for the same price. I've heard both Zu and Tekton.