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Thread: Nice Surprises. Equipment that sounded way better than expected!

  1. #51
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,779
    I'm Martin.

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    Control Ones will embarrass many small, expensive speakers. I've been saying it for years but no-one believes me. Maybe you'll have better luck
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  2. #52
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: gone

    Posts: 11,519
    I'm gone.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dalek Supreme D L View Post
    Biggest surprise in the past for me was the Pathos classic One mk2 making the Pathos Logos mk1 sound bloated, slow and less transparent than its cheaper brother. I sold the Logos and bought a Classic One.
    Pathos Classic One mk2.
    Nice one indeed, remarkably taut and controlled. If quite a bit of a rose-tinted cast to it. Definitely one for the more romantic souls among us who like the romance presented cleanly, imo.
    Interesting that it beat the Logos mk1.

    Quote Originally Posted by rigger67 View Post
    Anyone mentioned JBL Control Ones yet ??
    Yep, very nice. I have a pair in a small AV system and they provide excellent clarity (vocals are great) and surprising solid dynamics from such a small enclosure.
    .

  3. #53
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Norwich

    Posts: 1,064
    I'm Mike.

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    MYRYAD headphone amplifier cum pre. Sold my Naim HEADLINE (powered off 552) when I changed to valved pre, and pressed my old Cyrus One into service for my Senn. 650s, but although the sound was surprisingly good, I couldn't get along with the complexities of the configurations and un-marked knobs.

    Bought a black Myryad Z40 as bankrupt stock for a little over £100 (silver ones for under £100 !). It sold for £400 when it was introduced 3 or 4 years ago, and with 2 h/phone jack sockets, 4 inputs, 2 gain stages, output and class A design, I wasn't expecting too much on the s.q. front.

    Easy to use and re-route to and from my pre., the separation, dynamics and effortless frequency presentation are amazing; not least the affinity to my 650s. My Headline never sounded this good, but in fairness, my pre. changed from Naim 552 to E.A.R. 912. However, even the TV sound (via I/C from TV line level out) is superb, and that goes in direct.

    One of two others on forums recently have bought this model and been pleasantly surprised. It even turns itself off in 20 minutes if no signal is detected ! Only caveat ? You need to remove the h/phone jack to re-route (in my case TV) from input to output. Bit of a design oversight, i.m.o., but it does save a switch and potentially concomitant deterioration in s.q.

  4. #54
    Join Date: Jun 2010

    Location: Adelaide, South Australia

    Posts: 520
    I'm Steve.

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    I had a pair of control ones a few years ago now, used them in my fly away kit when I worked overseas, them, a 12volt car amp and a diskman = hand luggage. fantastic sound sound for the size.

    Om10 set up correctly sounds surprisingly good in my GH228 fitted to a Luxman PD264.
    Steve.

    Kit I have:
    CD player, TTs, Phono stages, Pre amps, Power amps, Integrated amps, DACs, Streamers, Speakers and a bunch of cables.

  5. #55
    Join Date: Mar 2018

    Location: puerto rico

    Posts: 24
    I'm manny.

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    Quote Originally Posted by walpurgis View Post
    We've probably all been there. Chopping and changing gear or buying something on a whim. It can be a disaster or a pleasant surprise.

    Mostly, I buy stuff I'm pretty confident is good and am seldom unhappy with my choices, but the odd piece of equipment fails to impress.

    However, occasionally, a real gem comes along that surprises.

    Being a tightwad (on a pension), I tend to buy second hand these days and in the last few years, the following have impressed me very much.

    The Toshiba SR-370 direct drive turntable. Available at very sensible prices and offers remarkable sound for the money. I admit I've had mine some years, but was knocked out by the sound quality when I first rigged it up with one of my Mission 774 arms.

    Goldring Eroica LX moving coil cartridge. What a pleasant surprise that was. So musical and enjoyable, far better than I'd expected!

    The Quad 306 power amp. Definitely bought on a whim, but I'd heard them sounding good elsewhere. It's a damn nice sounding unit, much better in my system than I'd anticipated, it simply does nothing wrong and is very musical. Needs careful pre-amp matching though.

    Most recently, the KEF Corelli speakers, part of the classic 'C' series from the seventies. Also bought on a whim, just for a bit of fun. They were decent when I got them, but with minor renovation and a recap, they sound quite amazing. Seems I'm not the only one who thinks so.


    What have you bought that exceeded expectations or even came as a total surprise?
    Richard Grey power conditioner . I didn't believe much in power conditioners because those that I had tried did very little to the sound , they did protect and some even made the sound worst as they constrained the current . But I needed one . Saw one at Ebay for 100 dollars ,list price was 800.00 . Bought it . Connected it to my system and has never come off since then . It really put my whole system on a higher level of musicality . Everything was better . Bass , mids , highs , soundstaging , prat . You get the idea. Never thought a conditioner could do that . In reality it isn't a conditioner but rather it creates new electrical power for your system filtering in the process everything thats in the current that not supposed to be there . And to think I bought it just for protection on a impulse . I was pleasantly surprise.

    Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk

  6. #56
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Much Wenlock

    Posts: 1,522
    I'm Gary.

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    Watford Valves had these on special offer.

    ECC83/12AX7WA square getter NOS Chinese military grade 6N4-J.

    Bought 2, can't believe how good they are.

  7. #57
    Join Date: Jan 2014

    Location: County Down

    Posts: 19
    I'm Mark.

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    [QUOTE=Bought a black Myryad Z40 as bankrupt stock for a little over £100 (silver ones for under £100 !). It sold for £400 when it was introduced 3 or 4 years ago, and with 2 h/phone jack sockets, 4 inputs, 2 gain stages, output and class A design, I wasn't expecting too much on the s.q. front.
    .[/QUOTE]

    Totally agree about the Myryad Z40. Total bargain at £100-ish on eBay.
    I find the sound completely adictive with Senn HD600s and Shure SRH840s

  8. #58
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Norwich

    Posts: 1,064
    I'm Mike.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sparker242 View Post
    Totally agree about the Myryad Z40. Total bargain at £100-ish on eBay.
    I find the sound completely adictive with Senn HD600s and Shure SRH840s
    Nice to hear. I certainly didn't realise my 650s were so good on my previous Headline. Compatibility, perhaps? Shouldn't be, though..

  9. #59
    Join Date: Dec 2017

    Location: South Africa

    Posts: 13
    I'm Brian.

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    Just picked up a mint pair of AR18s, condition is unbelievable for a speaker that’s nearly 40yrs old.. The sound has blown me away, I though most people just raged about it as a good speaker for its age, but damn these things will give a lot of modern speakers a good run for there money. I feel like a kid at Christmas again, I’ve just packed away my Mission 751 speakers, right now I’m pretty hooked on these AR18s

  10. #60
    Join Date: Dec 2017

    Location: South Africa

    Posts: 13
    I'm Brian.

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