July Meeting Report
For our July club meeting, we are very pleased to have Alex Wilson from the Lifestyle Store present the Dynaudio Special Forty anniversary speakers. All the equipment is being kindly provided by Vinod, John and Alex at the Lifestyle Store in North Parramatta. (Refer to https://www.lifestylestore.com.au/.)
Details of the system….
Dynaudio Special Forty anniversary speakers. “The new Special Forty anniversary speaker draws on 40 years of cutting-edge research – and brings it totally up to date with Dynaudio’s most celebrated techniques and technologies.” – Dynaudio website
Refer to: https://www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/special-forty/special-forty and
https://www.lifestylestore.com.au/dynaudio-special-forty-bookshelf-speakers.html and
https://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/sound-image/dynaudio-special-forty-stereo-loudspeakers-review-481429 and
https://www.whathifi.com/dynaudio/special-forty/review
McIntosh MA252 Integrated amplifier. “The MA252 Integrated Amplifier is the first hybrid integrated amplifier from McIntosh. Taking retro design cues from the legendary McIntosh MC275 Vacuum Tube Amplifier, the MA252 combines the best of vacuum tube and solid state circuit design to create an amplifier that’s both visually and sonically stunning.” – McIntosh website. 100 Watts into 8 Ohms, 160 Watts into 4 Ohms.
Refer to: https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/integrated-amplifiers/MA252 and
https://www.lifestylestore.com.au/mcintosh-ma252-2-x-100-watt-hybrid-integrated-amplifier.html and
https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2018/03/30/review-mcintosh-ma252-tube-solid-state-integrated-amplifier/ and
https://www.stereo.net.au/news/mcintosh-ma252-hybrid-integrated-amplifier
Front-end player. As yet to be decided.
Cabling. Chord Epic series.
The second half of the music sessions will be our popular BYO. Members and guests are welcome to offer music to share with us all. So bring along your favourite music on CD (sorry, no vinyl or flash drives this month). All we ask is that the music and recordings be interesting. We'll ask you to tell us a little about the artist/recording before it is played. Tracks over 6 minutes will be faded out, to give everyone a fair go.
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, you will have the opportunity to listen, learn and share your experiences with others. Feel free to come and hear the capabilities of the system, or to just share the experience with like-minded music lovers in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Guests are welcome – we are a very friendly club so you don't need to know anyone to join us for an afternoon of fine music and sound.
Venue: Epping Creative Centre, Dence Park
Address: 26 Stanley Road, Epping
When: Sunday 8th July 2018
Doors open 1pm
Meeting starts at 2pm
Best regards,
Tom Waters
President
Sydney Audio Club
W: www.sydneyaudioclub.org
FB: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyaudioclub
E: [email protected]
Follow-Up Report
Our July meeting was a fairly quiet affair – it seemed the cold weather made people want to stay at home. Nonetheless, we had over 30 people in the first half. Alex Wilson from Lifestyle brought in more gear than anticipated (see, you should have come!). As well as the Dynaudio Special Forty speakers and McIntosh integrated amp, he also brought the PMC Twenty 5 speakers and a Moon 340i integrated amp. The CD player was the Moon 260D - a lovely player. All cabling was Chord Epic series. Alex ensured we had enough identical cabling such that both amps were driving the speakers with the same cabling.
Our first half of the meeting involved some comparisons between different cable, amp and speaker combinations to see what people thought worked the best. We also had a club member present some viewpoints on digital formats, digital cabling options and music sources. Our second half was our usual BYO session where members and guests bring music to hear on the systems. For our second half we listened to the McIntosh to Dynaudio speakers for 30 minutes, and then the McIntosh to the PMCs.
Here are some comments from the feedback forms…
"Very interesting meeting. Comparisons are always engaging."
"Great! Alex was most accommodating to requests. Gear is very good for the price. The McIntosh sounded great with both speakers. The Dynaudios were a bit bright for my taste - also with some recordings the sound was a bit unnatural. The PMCs were much more forgiving and a much more pleasant speaker to listen to over time."
"Thought the PMCs were more balanced than the Dynaudios."
"I enjoyed the meeting. Thank you. Liked the PMC speakers more than the Dynaudios."
"A wonderful musical afternoon. All the gear sounded superb. CD player was excellent."
"Very enjoyable. Liked the PMCs and Moon equipment. McIntosh sounded great too."
"Both are great speakers. Loved the McIntosh amp."
"Interesting meeting. The talk on digital was good. Liked the PMCs and McIntosh amp combo most."
Details of the system….
Dynaudio Special Forty anniversary speakers. “The new Special Forty anniversary speaker draws on 40 years of cutting-edge research – and brings it totally up to date with Dynaudio’s most celebrated techniques and technologies.” – Dynaudio website
Refer to: https://www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/special-forty/special-forty and
https://www.lifestylestore.com.au/dynaudio-special-forty-bookshelf-speakers.html and
https://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/sound-image/dynaudio-special-forty-stereo-loudspeakers-review-481429 and
https://www.whathifi.com/dynaudio/special-forty/review
McIntosh MA252 Integrated amplifier. “The MA252 Integrated Amplifier is the first hybrid integrated amplifier from McIntosh. Taking retro design cues from the legendary McIntosh MC275 Vacuum Tube Amplifier, the MA252 combines the best of vacuum tube and solid state circuit design to create an amplifier that’s both visually and sonically stunning.” – McIntosh website. 100 Watts into 8 Ohms, 160 Watts into 4 Ohms.
Refer to: https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/integrated-amplifiers/MA252 and
https://www.lifestylestore.com.au/mcintosh-ma252-2-x-100-watt-hybrid-integrated-amplifier.html and
https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2018/03/30/review-mcintosh-ma252-tube-solid-state-integrated-amplifier/ and
https://www.stereo.net.au/news/mcintosh-ma252-hybrid-integrated-amplifier
Front-end player. As yet to be decided.
Cabling. Chord Epic series.
The second half of the music sessions will be our popular BYO. Members and guests are welcome to offer music to share with us all. So bring along your favourite music on CD (sorry, no vinyl or flash drives this month). All we ask is that the music and recordings be interesting. We'll ask you to tell us a little about the artist/recording before it is played. Tracks over 6 minutes will be faded out, to give everyone a fair go.
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, you will have the opportunity to listen, learn and share your experiences with others. Feel free to come and hear the capabilities of the system, or to just share the experience with like-minded music lovers in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Guests are welcome – we are a very friendly club so you don't need to know anyone to join us for an afternoon of fine music and sound.
Venue: Epping Creative Centre, Dence Park
Address: 26 Stanley Road, Epping
When: Sunday 8th July 2018
Doors open 1pm
Meeting starts at 2pm
Best regards,
Tom Waters
President
Sydney Audio Club
W: www.sydneyaudioclub.org
FB: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyaudioclub
E: [email protected]
Follow-Up Report
Our July meeting was a fairly quiet affair – it seemed the cold weather made people want to stay at home. Nonetheless, we had over 30 people in the first half. Alex Wilson from Lifestyle brought in more gear than anticipated (see, you should have come!). As well as the Dynaudio Special Forty speakers and McIntosh integrated amp, he also brought the PMC Twenty 5 speakers and a Moon 340i integrated amp. The CD player was the Moon 260D - a lovely player. All cabling was Chord Epic series. Alex ensured we had enough identical cabling such that both amps were driving the speakers with the same cabling.
Our first half of the meeting involved some comparisons between different cable, amp and speaker combinations to see what people thought worked the best. We also had a club member present some viewpoints on digital formats, digital cabling options and music sources. Our second half was our usual BYO session where members and guests bring music to hear on the systems. For our second half we listened to the McIntosh to Dynaudio speakers for 30 minutes, and then the McIntosh to the PMCs.
Here are some comments from the feedback forms…
"Very interesting meeting. Comparisons are always engaging."
"Great! Alex was most accommodating to requests. Gear is very good for the price. The McIntosh sounded great with both speakers. The Dynaudios were a bit bright for my taste - also with some recordings the sound was a bit unnatural. The PMCs were much more forgiving and a much more pleasant speaker to listen to over time."
"Thought the PMCs were more balanced than the Dynaudios."
"I enjoyed the meeting. Thank you. Liked the PMC speakers more than the Dynaudios."
"A wonderful musical afternoon. All the gear sounded superb. CD player was excellent."
"Very enjoyable. Liked the PMCs and Moon equipment. McIntosh sounded great too."
"Both are great speakers. Loved the McIntosh amp."
"Interesting meeting. The talk on digital was good. Liked the PMCs and McIntosh amp combo most."
