Hassel's McIntosh-Shahinian dream system

by hassel on Opinions Please

Description

The most important part are the speakers: Shahinian has changed my opinion on what is a realistic high end-system more than every other speaker I have ever heard. McIntosh was another discovery - although I must add that I was seduced by the georgeous looks, too. There probably are lots of other good amps. I had a McIntosh MA 6500 integrated amp and must admit it was blown away by a Densen preamp-amp-combination my friend had. Still, I upgraded within the McIntosh-line bcs I had money to burn. A good other discovery were the cables from LAT International. One of the most important components, however, is the room. The best component for 250 $ was a dedicated line I laid for the system only. Absorbing platforms for the system, and at one point, for the speakers (Shahinian Obelisk) did more to improve the sound than more expensive steps. Covering the wall behind the speakers and building bass traps (Helmholtz-resonators) were a most decisive step, too. So what remains? Finding a good power conditioner that stabilizes the voltage, cleans the power and offers balanced power, - if possible, all in one, and without humming. Hard to find as a 220 volt-version that I need. Another addition I think about is a used Tact 2.0 RCS
Read more...

Components Toggle details

    • Audionet Art V2
    Top-loader of one of Germany's best high end firms
    • Chord DAC-64
    as musical as it is small and beautiful. Sounds like vinyl, excellent resolution and bass
    • Shahinian Acoustics Diapason
    This omnidirectional speaker is a juwel of loudspeakers hundreds of Audiogoners would enjoy - if only they could listen to it. In Europe, Shahinian is very favourably reviewed and sells well in England, Germany and other countries. I started out with the Shahinian Obelisk and upgraded when I found a used pair of Diapason in the US. It got flown from LA via Frankfurt to Moscow, where I live - and I convinced Russian customs I should not pay customs. If the McIntosh needs burn-in-time, this is nothing in comparison to a Shahinian. These speakers already are angry with you when they are not played for a couple of weeks. But then, there is nearly no other speaker that so much gives the impression of being at a live concert. The Diapason needs good room acoustics, though. Only after I had covered the wall behind them with material that made the wall acoustically dead did they come into full bloom
    • Shunyata Black Mamba, Sidewinder
    I addition to these cables, I use power cords from LAT and HMS. These are good cables and more worth their price than the Shunyata Sidewinder I bought first. The Black Mamba, however, is so good a cable, and changes the sound so much that I started to realize that the whole buzz about expensive power cords is (unfortunately) true. I will probably add more Shunyatas (used) before I buy a power conditioner (Exact Power, Furman, Burmester or a German MFE)
    • Creaktiv 1-4
    German stand with absorber-platforms that make better defined bass, better room-definition, you name it. Beautifully built, not cheap - but worth every $ (or Euro)
    • McIntosh C-200
    Greta sounding preamp and a huge step from the MA 6500 I had before. Before buying, I compared the preamp-section of the MA 6500 to the C42, the C2200, and the C200. The C200 was even better than the C2200. It's expensive but I got it used, with a steep discount
    • McIntosh MC-402
    I was diappointed when I first got it. The bass was there alright, but the highs sounded harsh, voices sharp. The amp easily took a few hundreds of hours to burn in. Now, it is a dream come true: excellent control, good sounstaging, more air around instruments, very naturally sounding. An amp like a tube-amp - with the authority of solid state.
    • PS Audio XStream Statement
    PS Audio's best power cable - and the best there is in my system now
    • Eichmann Express Power Cable
    Another good power cable - not as good as the PS Audio, though, but more flexible
    • Exact Power EP15A
    pwer stabilizer and conditioner that did one of the most noticable improvements in my system
    • Exact Power SP15A
    Added a few weeks after the EP15A, it added another audible improvement. Not as significant as the EP15A, but still one of the best improvements I can think of
    • Scheu Premier MkII
    known in the US as Eurolab, I looked widely for finding a TT as good as that for the money - I think it`s a best buy indeed
    • Scheu Tacco
    This Scheu-arm runs head-on-head with a Schroeder-arm, but costs only half as much
    • Ortofon Venice
    In Germany, the Ortofon-distributor SWS has own models built for the German market which, at least acording to SWS and the German mags, are more versatile and better-sounding than the ordinary Ortofons. The Venice is the second from the top down of these models, it works excellently with the MC-input of my McIntosh C200 preamp, and sounds gloriuosly. On the other hand, I am only back into vinyl - let´s see what comes next
    • Living Voice Mystic Mat
    This TT-mat improved the sound of my Scheu TT in a manner I did not quite expect, although I had read the review in Stereophile. One of the best upgrades I ever did to my system. I ordered it in Singapore, and paid much less than in the US or Germany (150 Euros)
    • Furutech RD-2
    A CD-demagnitizer that works - an upgrade I can highly recommend to anybody possesing CDs
    • LAT International DI-30 Signature Digital Cable
    In comparison to its predecessor DI-20, this digital cable adds more air, details, punch
    • LAT International SS 1000 Mk II
    An improvement over the older SS 1000 D I would not have thought possible, and which I have described more thoroughly in a review here on audiogon.
    • LAT International IC-300 Signature
    Like its brothers of the new LAT-line, a considerable improvement over the older IC-200 line: More dynamics, inner detail, and sounding more harmonic and musical
    • Shahinian Acoustics Obelisk
    This speaker being my entry into the Shahinian-world, I kept it when moving up to the Diapasons. I tnow graces my wife´s system, but it still roll it over sometimes to compare and play around.

Comments 12

Sign in to comment
Hi,
any news in your nice system?

breezer

Owner
Arthur,
I will do so as soon as time allows.

hassel

Hey Hassel - very interesting collection of gear. How about some pics of it? I would really love to hear your setup. Arthur

aball

Owner
System edited: I have during the last three months exchanged all cables from LAT International for new cables from the same firm. Taken together, the new IC-300 Signature, DI-30 Signature, and the SS 1000 Mk II have taken my system to a higher, more dynamic, more musical level, an improvement as if I had, say, bought new, much more sophisticated and more powerful amps. After a lot of comparisons since I first bought LAT-cables, sometimes to cables several times their price, I still think that these cables are exceptional in the high end cable-market.

hassel

Owner
System edited: System edited: I added the Exact Power-duo ayear ago, and found it to be an improvement on the scale of a new, much better amp or source - but for the whole system. A few months ago (October 2004), I went back into vinyl, too. It´s fun to play with, but after quite a few comparisons I must say that the quality depends much more on the quality of the recording than on vinyl or CD. Next thing might be a change in cables. Thinking about Ridge Street Audio, Argent, Pure Note, you name it. And there might be a better cartridge outside - the Magic Diamond from Switzerland. In that case,however, I need a step-up-transformer for the C200. Thinking about Jensen or the Lundahl-set from K&K

hassel

Nice set-up, I have the mac 352, mac C2200 and the mcd205 changer. speakers: 805 Signature. Looking to move up to possibly the mezzo's.
Shahinian & Obelisks I am not familiar with at all.
Dave

valleyplastic

the mac 402 will drive the shahinians using about 6 to 15 watts of their rated power...i have also been the proud owner of the of the densen for two months, only to sell it and return to a mac 602 to drive the shahinians(it and the 402 produce bass like no other and i've had these babies since 1991) as well as the gradient revolutions( since 94)....try the mc205 before you spend your money...its sound is completely 'natural' and believe me i've spent a fortune over the last ten years trying to find a digital front end that fits that word.

jrd351

Owner
Jrd351,
I do not have the impression you have listened to Densen-amps yet. In fact, the friend who has these amps fell in love to Shahinian speakers as well, after listening to mine. He bought a pair of Obelisks. The Densen Beat 300 XS power amp, his power rating of 100 watts RMS notwithstanding, is very powerful, delivering a lot of current - exactly what Shahinian-speakers need. As far as my front-end is concerned - I doubt that you have listened to it as well. Audionet's CD-transport is one of the best in the market, and so far I have heard no DAC that comes close to the Chord for that kind of money.

hassel

the densens will crumble just looking at the shahinians...ditch the overpriced front end for the mac 205 changer and prepare to enter audio heaven.

jrd351

Owner
The Densen-combo that blew my MA6500 away was the Beat 200 preamp and Beat 300 XS power amp. I listened to them in my system, just exchanging the Mac for the Densen's. The Densen's and the Mac sounded nearly identical as far as instruments and voices and soundstaging were concerned - but the Densen-combo offered better bass control and slam. The all McIntosh C200 preamp-MC402 power amp-combination I have now definetely is better than the Densen - but much more expensive. I got good deals, but still spent 10000 dollars on this combo.

hassel

Owner
System edited: I included preamp and amp in the system-posting, but it seemed to have get lost. Therefore, the update now.

hassel

Blown away by Densen? I'd like to hear more about that. What Mcs do you have now? Arthur

aball

Displaying all 12 posts
  • 42.9 Thousand
  • 12
  •  0
© 2025 Audiogon.com