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barmar46

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I think the Meridians sound good (not good price to performance ratio, tho), but I thought you had a balanced dac with a transport already. Why not try it out? On the other side of the ledger, I really do believe that the 307A is VERY revealing of your source so if you are going to spend that much for an amp and your current source is lacking, then you had better get a better source.

The various modded Denon 2910/3910 etc are a really good value and the ones with a tube output stage would mate nicely with the TTVJ. I would err on the warmer side -- which is one reason I think Todd likes the G08 for it. Something too cold and sterile is not going to complement the 307A because the amp will not warm it up. The APL 3910 mod that tkam and spritzer have, or one of the others like guzziguy has, are some good options to consider. They are on audiogon most times and APL will mod one if you have patience...

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The APL 3910 mod that tkam and spritzer have, or one of the others like guzziguy has, are some good options to consider. They are on audiogon most times and APL will mod one if you have patience...

I have an eXemplar modified Denon 2900. I think that it's a great deck for Redbook CDs and ok for SACD and DVD-A. Mine is only single-ended, not balanced. eXemplar does a balance mod and they can either add it to an existing single-ended eXemplar or as part of a general mod. I suggest checking eXemplar out if you can.

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the g08 was my first wow source experience. i seriously considered buying one, but couldn't get over it's artificial presentation coupled with that seemingly silky wet delivery. basically everything felt over-processed, chopped-up and reassembled. after hearing a true stock 508.24, i thought it was the better of the two units as i preferred the more organic presentation and it got 90 to 95% of the information across without seeming digitally processed to death.

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What should I expect to pay for the various moded Denons(2900,3910.3930) and what's the process, cost, and expected "patiience" factor in waiting for APL? It seems that one keeps coming up and I know Mr. Boonama just received her new baby. I'll be waiting for a month for the Monster anyway

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I guess that means you think the EMM Labs is a cut above ;)
:palm:

no, not partially... i've not spent enough time with the Emm Labs to form a conclusory opinion, but i think each player does certain things better and also each has different shortcomings. for what it's worth, a professional composer friend of mine has heard both in his rig and prefers the Reimyo. in a nutshell, his main complaint is that the Emm Labs, as good as it sounds, smears the notes whereas the Reimyo sounds closer to the real thing.

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What should I expect to pay for the various moded Denons(2900,3910.3930) and what's the process, cost, and expected "patiience" factor in waiting for APL? It seems that one keeps coming up and I know Mr. Boonama just received her new baby. I'll be waiting for a month for the Monster anyway

I understand that you can actually get really good performance from a modded unit...... but I can't help but think that it is analogous to putting Type R stickers and a Milo tin exhaust on a Civic.

If it were me dropping 6 grand on an amp, I would absolutely buy something that is top-shelf to start with and not screw with it.

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What should I expect to pay for the various moded Denons(2900,3910.3930) and what's the process, cost, and expected "patiience" factor in waiting for APL? It seems that one keeps coming up and I know Mr. Boonama just received her new baby. I'll be waiting for a month for the Monster anyway

i've heard the after order delivery wait can be months and months. a friend decided not to go with them because APL didn't even respond to his two or three initial inquiry emails. another factor to consider, is that APL is always updating designs and in relatively short time, which drives some bonkers.

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What should I expect to pay for the various moded Denons(2900,3910.3930) and what's the process, cost, and expected "patiience" factor in waiting for APL? It seems that one keeps coming up and I know Mr. Boonama just received her new baby. I'll be waiting for a month for the Monster anyway

i've heard the after order delivery wait can be months and months. a friend decided not to go with them because APL didn't even respond to his two or three initial inquiry emails. another factor to consider, is that APL is always updating designs and in relatively short time, which drives some bonkers.

I bought my eXemplar 2900 used. When it arrived, there was a problem with the drive/display circuit. I sent the box to eXemplar for repair. While there, I added two mods that brought it up to the "fully modded" state. As I remember, I was without it for about 3 weeks. Communication was good during the time and, because I bought addition mods, the repair was free.

No matter which way you choose to go, you'll get a much larger bang for the buck by buying used.

Edit: I just remembered that eXemplar has a dealer network. They may have something ready to ship. Call John Tucker@eXemplar to find the dealers selling his products and then contact them.

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:palm:

no, not partially... i've not spent enough time with the Emm Labs to form a conclusory opinion, but i think each player does certain things better and also each has different shortcomings. for what it's worth, a professional composer friend of mine has heard both in his rig and prefers the Reimyo. in a nutshell, his main complaint is that the Emm Labs, as good as it sounds, smears the notes whereas the Reimyo sounds closer to the real thing.

Hehe, I was just poking fun...either one would certainly be suitable for an amp of this caliber, a lot more so than a G08.

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i thought as much, but still want to respond to that utterly absurd comment. ;D

Edit: I just remembered that eXemplar has a dealer network. They may have something ready to ship. Call John Tucker@eXemplar to find the dealers selling his products and then contact them.
you be shilling :P
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From my very limited experiance, people who like meridian cdps really really really like meridians. and people who dont, really dont

They can only be considered ok if you get them really cheap and can sell them again for a profit. Look inside one and it's easy to see that those that really like the Merdian's don't have a clue... :palm:

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They can only be considered ok if you get them really cheap and can sell them again for a profit. Look inside one and it's easy to see that those that really like the Merdian's don't have a clue... :palm:
Why, what's inside them? I didn't find their sound syrupy at all. My biggest complaint about the G08 is that it took some serious matching -- more so than other systems I've heard. Is that because the analogue section is 'weak'?
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