A200's with Magico S5

[baskinshaw]

Toga
Sorry I just pop in every now and then but I have an A200 question for you. I recently started burning in a pair of S5 Magico. I decided to swap the A200's after about 600 hours with a Bryston 14Bsst2. It seems to have a more full midrange with the Bryston and easier to listen to. The Accuphase has better bass and seems to be very controlled , more precise and it attacks the music more. You think the relaxed sound of the Bryston may just be a better match with the already lively sounding S5? I would have never imagined I would say that the Bryston is warmer and fuller sounding than the A200's but it is to my ears. C3800 preamp. Does this sound normal to you?

[Masterlu]

Very interesting; $15K Bryston amps dancing with $70K Accuphase amps.

[Mike1998]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Very interesting; $15K Bryston amps dancing with $70K Accuphase amps.

A pair of A200 cost $70k in America, they retail for about $25k in Japan, so it is not that far off from the Bryston...

[TOGA]

Baskinshaw,
You mean me?

I have never tried C3800+A200 with S5. Only with Q3 and that was very long time ago.
And I never heard Bryston in my system too.
But I believe at this level of performance, you will have to take time to fine tune with different cables, receptacles,
These can fine tune and I am sure you will make Accuphase sing beautifully.
I didn't go for these combo because of unique problem of mine, it was about XLR pin assignment of Accuphase preamp
That is different from other components and that will be confusing to me.
Toga

[imprezap2]

The Accuphase amplifiers have an absolute phase switch, you can adjust per input. I am using a Wadia CD player (american pin setting) and that works great on the E-560.

I believe Toga in saying that tuning is a big part in this league, but maybe the Bryston is a good match for the S5. (in price also)

Olaf

[baskinshaw]

Thanks guy's. I have used the phase switch accordingly. The S5 is extremely neutral and very high resolution. The Bryston is very relaxed sound so maybe just sounds better to my ears. The Accuphase has more resolution than the Bryson and really seem to attack the music. It's not bad just different.

[baskinshaw]

I'm using Diamond IC's, PC's and speaker cables. Going to switch back to Tara Lab Omega and Zero Gold. That should be a fuller sound.5

[Dafos]

Baskinshaw, I'm not at all surprised by your experience. The local Focal dealer, speakers I've never cottoned too due to a somewhat spotlit top end, sounded best to me with the top of the line 28bsst, besting other much more expensive amps in ease of presentation, warmth and fullness of tone. The 28bsst's at 20k are not cheap but with 1kw on tap and the tonal balance it presented, they almost seemed like a bargain.

[baskinshaw]

I agree. I have Focal Maestro's as well and never could find one of my amps to work with them. I think you are spot on with the Bryston working well with Focal.

[bvdiman]

Baskinshaw,
I would re-check : Break-in issue / Cabling synergy / Source quality

Unlike Accuphases of past, I'd describe A200 as colorless with just a tint of warmth and sweetness ~ add to that, the Magico which is a similar beast of sort. This killer combo will almost definitely reflect whatever upstream of it be it good, bad or ugly. Having such resolution and transparency at hand, as Toga mentioned, careful tuning is essential to extract best sound. Recall Toga also commented when demoing PS1220, that improvements he noticed was in way similar to your complain (maybe he'll chime in on this), so probably in your case ~ too much of a good thing? Tuning/toning it down with cable is one way, but best to do it once sure that your S5 is fully broken-in and stabilized.

I've been using the A200 for a year now, and never thought them to be lean in the slightest sense, if anything to nitpick was that its bass speed and attack although good, could be better - this in comparison with some notoriously fast amps - FMA and Soulution. Its tonality, quite the contrary to your finding, is that I felt they were nice and fulsome sounding like good 6550 when paired with C3800 (using Siltech cabling ~ this in a way prove of their colorless/chameleon-like quality). However, since I was aiming to voice system more towards 300B's attribute type of sound - a little purer, faster, more holographic ~ hence pairing them now with FMA pre ~ happy combination for sure.