[QUOTE="Andrew Zakon;908599"]Thanks to all of You for congratulations and comments.
For the comparative test listening material we choose following:
1) Malia & Boris Blank album Convergence, song Celestial Echo (to test bass)
2) Shelby Lynne song Just a little loving (to test women vocal and naturality of cymbals sound in the drum kit)
During first test (All Macs) we also made comparation between MC52 internal Dac and Berkeley Audio Reference Series 2 DAC which was played through BA Alpha USB.
Everybody understood that it is a "just out of box" test for DAN D’Agostino Progression equipment (we made only 1,5 hour to break-in) and to make full critical listening test we have to give them some more time to break-in (as Bob (vintage tubes), Vern (Sharp 1080), For the Love of Music has mentioned in their comments)
But we were interesting to make comparation as they arrived.
Avoiding description of A/B switching. I will just say in general test results:
McIntosh setup played really good and I was considering MC601 to be the best in the class, until the moment that we swiched them to Progression monos. Bass was so deep that nobody could believe that the changes was so dramatically huge. It was not like, for example, when You change one cable in Your system and then You have to search for the changes by Your ears making test at least 10 times and paying attention on some instrument or group of instruments during each listening to feel the difference. It was really huge easy-to-hear difference!!! When MC52 was changed to Progression preamp McIntosh Guys has raised their hands and recognized the total victory of Dan D’Agostino. The sound stage was deep and clear, Shelby Lynne was staying in front of us and her voice was so natural and transparent, the sharp edges around her words which was present in Mc setup disappeared, voice become so smooth and sweet that nobody wants to stop listening. McIntosh guys left my room little disappointed, they believed in Wilson, they believed in McIntosh, but they couldn’t belive that changes with Dan D’Agostino will be so dramatically huge. I even can’t imagine how they will be sounding after break-in period.
Now I am waiting for my Transparent Reference G5 cables to change all my G5 Ultra. Until they come I am doing all day beak-in for Dan D’Agostino Progression components playing all king of music. Critical test day is coming...
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