The M700’s arrived today. The amp I have been using for the 8 days we have had the Stellar Gain Pre Amp is an Axiom ADA-1500. It’s a beast of an amp. Axiom and Bryston collaborate on both speakers and amplifiers and make some excellent quality gear. The Axiom amp is rated at 325 WPC into 8 ohms and 650 into 4 ohms. It has been here for a little over 2 years, and is obviously quite well broken in.
There were 2 items that were immediately noticed: The Axiom drives the 8 inch woofers in the Martin Logans with more authority. The M700’s are smoother. They give an almost analog feel to an all digital system.
AND … this is with NO break in time at all. This is during the first 30 minutes of use. I have left the system running in our basement, with Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” set to loop. The next couple of days are going to be pretty busy, but hopefully Saturday afternoon will allow for some more listening to see if 40 plus hours of break in brings some more bass.
The M700’s are already impressive. OH … and for now, they are stacked. Let’s give them a good week before we separate them.
After arriving home from a long day at work plus the gym, I just had to give a listen to find out if anything happens after 24 hours of burn in. I fired up the second half of “The Wall” again. This is a great reference disc partly due to all the background material. The resolution of the Stellar Gain Pre Amp and M700’s through the Martin Logan Electro-motion ESL’s has surpassed even what the Legacy Signature SE’s were doing with the Marantz set up.
One can clearly make out background conversations that were heard, but the words undiscernible with other systems. Lines I never heard before like “47 German planes were shot down” … and “36-24-36” to describe Rose are now clearly audible.
Bass has also improved after 24 hours. We may have to throw the Axiom M100’s back into the mix - they are pretty flat to about 30 Hz, and their three 6.5 inch woofers can move some air.
For now, the PS Audio electronics are impressing the heck out of me.
As mentioned earlier, I have owned both M100’s and LFR-1100’s from Axiom. Over the past 2 days, I have become increasingly less than satisfied with the Martin Logans. They deliver detail, but are just plain too harsh sounding. SO … I put the M100’s back into the system. The M700’s/Stellar Gain are making some really nice music with the M100’s.
Here is a review from another, better known reviewer (especially here) on the M-100’s:
https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/speaker/floor-standing/axiom-m100-floor-standing-speakers-review/
Hi all - time for another update. The M700’s along with the Stellar Gain Pre have taken the Axiom M100’s to new levels of performance.
That’s not the news, though.
After several weeks of discussing speakers with several manufacturers, I ended up having a lengthy conversation with John Strohbeen, president of Ohm Loudspeakers.
Ohm has been around even longer than PS Audio, and are also American made (Brooklyn, New York). We are ordering a pair of the Ohm SSC-4900 loudspeakers. John thought they represented the best value in the line up at $4900 per pair. Personally, I have wanted to experience Ohm Walsh Speakers since the 70’s, and cannot wait for this experience. We are waiting for finish samples, then the order will be placed.
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We have ordered a pair of he SSC-4900 loudspeakers from Ohm Acoustics in the Rosewood finish. Production starts the week of March 5, and as with all Ohm speakers, they are built to order.
In the mean time, the Stellar Gain / M700 system is thrilling us with the Axiom M100’s. Bass is surprisingly deep without a subwoofer, and the width/depth of the sound stage is outstanding. I could not be more pleased with the performance of this $4700 pre amp, DAC and power amps.
Another update - The PS Audio / Axiom combo is making better music than ever. I ordered a new copy of the regular CD version of the Eagles “Hell Freezes Over” concert, and have listened to it 3 times in the past week. In Hotel California, there are new audible cues that were missing before. The sound of fingers across guitar strings, quiet words from the back of the stage, and an ability to make one WANT to listen to more and more music.
In 40 years of being an audio nut, the only other time I experienced this much love for a component was my beloved (and still with me) Marantz 3600 / 250M combo from back when Marantz was still made in the USA.
It has been 4 months since the OHM SSC-4900’s arrived. There will be a complete write up this fall, when weather brings us back indoors. For now, when traveling on business I have visited several very high end stores (2 of which sell PS Audio), and the Stellar Gain-M700-OHM SSC-4900’s is astonishing. Bass is deep and taut. Imaging is precise and the soundstage is HUGE. A lot of $100,000 plus systems with speakers from Magico left me scratching my head as to why someone would spend that much for decent sound when amazing is available for so much less.
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