Synergy and recommended pairings

Given the experience that Robbo recently had, whereby the importance of component matching was highlighted to an extraordinary degree, I wondered what other combinations have been found to gel and produce a sound that is more than the sum of the two parts.

This is, after all, what a good dealer is able to offer. With the collective experiences of this forum, we must have more knowledge of this than most retailers.

So come on, share those secret combos that simply click.

 

Arcam Alpha 9 + Arcam Alpha 8R/8P + Mission 773e


Alpha 9 around £350

Alpha 8R around £150

Alpha 8P around £100

Mission 773e £199 from Mr Richer

2 x QED Qunex 2 £60

6m QED Silver Anniversary BiWire £50

That's one helluva system for just over £900.

The Alpha 9 CD will stand quite expensive future upgrades too. This is one of the all-time great CD players, especially at this price.

Chris

 

This topic is so subjective, and people are just going to list components that they own/have owned.

 

Well of course. I could hardly recommend a system I hadn't owned now could I

The above system was arrived at through lengthy auditions and was head and shoulders above every other combination that was tried at that price.

It then went on to give three years of outstanding service and was only upgaded because I could afford to. It still had the ability to raise the hairs on the back of my neck and make my jaw hit the floor after three years.

Chris

 

Dual 505 - NAD 3020 - AR18s

 

Hi,

A fine combination from yesteryear. I heard this many times in the early 80's. I remember picking up a pair of AR18s about 10 years ago. Very good for the money.

My older brother had a very similar combination. He had a

Dual 505 - NAD 3020 - Heybrook HB1

This gelled quite well. At the time, I was amazed at the overall sound quality. It seemed a step up from most of the budget gear at the time.


SCIDB

 

Bryston > PMC

Dynavector > Shahinian

Stealth > Briks > Mana

NAP 250 > Kans

Canaries > Living Voice

DNM > Living Voice

Creek > Epos

Densen DM10 > AE1s (I hope)

Alex

 

Any good source into any good amp into any good speakers. Subject to nominal technical compatibility and a degree of source-firstness of course. Claims of synergy are usually the result of complementary inaccuracy leading to euphonic mush. But then some listeners like euphonic mush....

Paul

 

Paul, you classic arrogance is indicitive of a bored ex grad I beg to differ, the evidence of your above ministry of therorisation and non real life testing, could easily be heard at the show last weeked, where any number of electronicaly correctly matched sources and amps, simply did not 'synergerise' and were even beyond euprohic mush, although much dryiness was in eveidence some kit Justworks with others, even WHEN the numbers & indepth universe conceptual understanding quantum physics prefectly tally to within 1 nano fart of a knats chuff piece suggest otherwise. I'm sure you'll trawl around for a few hours and 'Find' a calculation and equation to 'fit' no doubt, and merey bend the numbers in the direction of your theroy.
Perhaps your talents are wasted on a mere hifi forum, you should think bigger and better, shame on you for a waste of intelliect. WM

 

Hi


Voyd - Audio Innovations - Snell.

This grouping is the main reason I got into valve amps. I heard this combo in the mid 80s & enjoyed the sound. I found it had a good number of strengths that outweighed the weaknesses. It gave more of a natural balance to the music. It had a good sense of resolution & detail plus, IMO, good long listening music capabilities.

Elite Rock II/Rock reference - Audio Innovations 300/500/first Audio - Snell J


These are combos I have owned to good effect.


Wadia - Border Patrol - Living Voice

This got me on the road to the Border Patrol amps.


SCIDB

 

I wasnt having a go BTW, just saying that is what will happen. I think my system is a good synergy, but that doesnt stop anyone else thinking its a pile of wank does it?

 

Don't you use linn products Paul surely the LP12 Naim partnership is one of the classic examples of two imperfect products improving each other.

For me, at the lower end, I've always found that Dynaudio speakers driven by Rotel amplification produces excellent results.

Also, Martin Logans sound good with most amps, but really gel with medium powered Audio Research gear. I'd also go with The Border Patrol/living Voice pairing. Also JM Labs/Aloia

 

Paul may accidentally have hit upon something:

Low powered, usually valve, amps of high quality > Living Voice.

I don't know the quantum physics but 135s > Living Voice was truly the worst sound I've ever heard.

Have to say that contrary to Paul's erudite findings, synergy, system matching, call it what you will, is absolutely vital.

 

Alex, you be right mate, that'd I'll be the 135's then

 

I'll second that. Sadly out of my price range though.

I've also been impressed by:

Sugden c21 + Sugden a21 + Living Voice Auditorium

Chris

 

Originally posted by Alex S
Canaries > Living Voice



Only problem with that combination is getting them to go ''cheap''

 

Any decent amp and Living Voices, IME, so Paul is onto something I think. Living Voices are very good speakers, I've never heard them sounding bad (but then, I've never heard them with 135s).

-- Ian

 

...which leads me onto the converse of this thread - components that fight like buggery!

Martin Logan (Ascents) + NuVista M3: each an excellent component in its own right (no sniggering there...WM and the Naimies), but together they are a marriage made in hell!

 

Bad equipment connected to bad equipment might be expected to sound bad. Why are you surprised?

Suggest some good equipment that is a technical mismatch yet happens to work well.

The kind of thing I had in mind is Apogee speakers and almost any valve amp.

'improving' is the wrong word, it cannot happen. Components can be mutually concealing or flattering, but that's the recipe for euphonic mush and such combinations are blind alleys.

Paul

 

OK Paul. So rather than go up a bind alley, how about you show us the road to damascus What was your system again? Wasn't it Linn based

A good example of the black art would be the loading used with say a Koetsu. great sound at 47k, but really designed with 100ohms in mind. Different loadings, different results, different requirements in different systems. Difficult to measure though isn't it

And I'm still struggling to understand this. If Linn kit is so well engineered, why does it sound so damned average in a system context