two differnt setups

[nusiclover]

this is a proposal for what i think are two very good matching system setups.

the first comprises of
1. Musical Fidelity A3.2 Integrated Amp ($1495) with
2. Dynaudio Audience 52 Special Edition Speakers ($1400)
Total $2895

the second is
1. Jolida JD 202A Integrated Tube Amp ($750) with
2. Von Schweikert VR-1 monitors ($995)
Total $1745

The first system is $1,150 more expensive. But both have their pros and cons. I honestly just dont have the audiophile vocab to explain them. But, in my own terms, i think that the first system was just more awesome sounding whearas the second system is more fun to listen to. I cant decide if the $1150 is worth paying for to have bigger brand names. I somehow wonder if that IS what id be paying for. lol. Does anyone have two cents to add?

Your Comments are welcome.

[RGA]

Part of this is going to be directly attributable to the tube amp. Tubes have a kind of smoothness that many ss amps simply just suck the life out of. The SS amps sound technically superior but in the process sound highly technical. People throw around words like detail...but when you go to live events you don't say things like "check the detail out on that guitar. Arguably the detail of SS is a distortion the manufacturers don't want to measure.

If you have the budget I think system 2 is starting at a better place. For system one's budget you could get my speakers and the Jolida 302B. MF is overrated and over-priced IMO.

I would caution you on the Jolida. Antique Sound Labs offers up very similar amps but offer better build and a 5 year warranty over the 1 offerred by Jolida. I'd be cautious.

The VR 1 gets lots of praise.

Not to discredit the Dynaudio 52 because with the tube amp it may have sounded better than the VR1 set-up.