Shark Bay?
Kings Park,Perth. So there…do I win your old used up Magicos as a prize?
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Despite what you wrote in your original post, I actually don’t mind the criticisms you’ve discussed. Forums like these shouldn’t solely be all out praise-fests toward the company that owns the forum. Sometimes the truth hurts but the truth, afterall, is the truth. I also want to say that just because you don’t own any currently selling PS Audio products I hope you remain active here. It will give others some perspective as to what other products from other HiFi manufacturers sound like by comparison.
PS. Beautiful system. I hope one day I’ll have something similar. My career is just starting out (I’m 29) so I have plenty of time to figure out where all the money needed for such a system will come from 
hehe For now I’m happy with my relatively modest system ( by comparison).
I’m loathe to criticize something I haven’t tried myself. My approach to these things, I like to learn from other peoples experiences in order to help steer me in a direction I might want to go. Eventually you need to put your toe in the water and try swim by yourself. As I mentioned before, there are sharks in the water, I try not to let them bite me.
None of what I currently own was purchased as a result of demo’ing anything. It was all bought sight unseen and sound unheard. I’d never seen a pair of M3 before, except for photos on the internet. I don’t trust what many reviewers write, and I’m skeptical about what marketers say about their own products. But I do trust what other owners write, good, bad or indifferent, because they bothered to dip their toe in the water and that gives them some unbiased credibility in my book. It is also important to have a dealer you can trust who is street wise to all the ever changing products in the market place, and is prepared to give you a straight and honest opinion. One dealer alone has handled about 90% of my orders, and I’ve never tried to beat down their price…some other dealers I’ve found to be their own worst enemy and actively lose a potential sale.
It might seem that I’m changing my stuff all the time, but most of it I tend to own for many years. Especially the core components which all work flawlessly, and reliably, and sound great. Sounding great in the absence of those other things just isn’t good enough any more.
I’m the same way. None of the products I currently own were auditioned in person before buying them. For me at least, it’s more about learning who to trust on the internet more than how much a certain product is getting praised overall. If there is a reviewer I trust, usually based upon the fact that I’ve purchased something they’ve reviewed and found my experience very similar to theirs, I will generally trust that person on other reviews or comments they make.
Back in 2016 I read a review in Stereophile for the Monitor Audio Platinum PL300 II’s. I trust Robert Deutsch and the fact that he bought the pair of PL300 II’s after he reviewed them to use as his reference gave me an inkling as to their performance, but also he went into great depth explaining why he liked them so much. The same qualities he prefers in a pair of speakers I happen to like too. So while I don’t have the budget for the PL300 II’s, I ended up buying the PL100 II bookshelves and pairing them with a set of Bowers and Wilkins subwoofers (one for each channel). Huge upgrade over my previous speakers, especially now with the updated Snowmass firmware for the Directstream DAC. So my philosophy is avoid general comments giving praise, find reviewers you trust and use them to guide you on what to buy. It will save a lot of people a lot of money in the end. Or, if you’re loaded, just try everything in home haha 
I have bought equipment without listening to it and been happy with my decision, which also included PSA equipment… Not trying to cause trouble and just speaking as an owner, but I would audition any further purchases of PSA equipment! This is simply down to the ongoing problems with the DMP. The TSS will only be considered when I have read glowing reports from other TSS owners. This wouldn’t have been a consideration prior to the DMP firmware farce.
I seem to remember reading on a thread about 4 years ago how you were having problems with the DS & Bridge. Also: that you loaned your DS to someone and it returned with a big score on the top cover … Did the person responsible / he who scored the top cover pay for a replacement cover ? Did you eventually change said top cover.
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I think it must be interesting to marketing folks like Lebs, that many people with a lot of money and your approach exist (I write this without criticizing).
It’s just that I think an expensive product for people with this approach is designed very different from what PSAudio does and imo has much lower sound/money ratio. It’s simply a different approach on both sides, but this observation for sure is important to learn from as manufacturer.
As long as whomever you’re buying it from is giving you some sort of trial/return period, I guess it’s OK…in which case it does in fact get auditioned prior to purchase.
Otherwise it sounds like buying a house without walking through it in person, or a costly sports car without driving it.
I have done the latter a few times with great success.
There are quite a few expensive sports cars one will never be able to test drive.
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Do you mean like a rare vintage vehicle that you know as a collector you want? Or a new and exclusive one that you have to order sight unseen or will not get one? Curious.
Also still curious about The Royal Albert thing…
Well I think aside the audition or not topic, different people have different priorities and if one can afford quite every gear then time of compromises besides the pure sound quality aspect is over I guess.
What level of critical listening ability does it take to choose a component without evaluating it?
New, and I drive it.
I see no sense collecting anything. That is like dating a super model and not having sex with her, saving her for the next guy.
We are sworn to secrecy.
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Massive ability and years of experience.
Gorgeous set-up. Haven’t heard those Magicos but I’ve been told by people that I trust that they are fantastic. $10k for those pod stands sounds crazeee expensive for what they are. I’m mean they look cool but I can’t believe they would even cost $1k to build.
Hope you will stick around the forum.
Enjoy!
The top plate came back scratched after loan, yes, but I wouldn’t describe it as a big score. It went from being a 9/10 on the Audiogon scale to about a 6/10. I didn’t replace the top plate, I sold it “properly described - as is” which obviously lowered its resale value. The guy ended up buying my Power Plant P10 after it was returned from repair, which itself was a replacement for a P5 which had broken down and repaired twice, but the repaired P10 broke down on him also and had to go back for repair again.
I put the sub-woofer back in and dialed it’s volume down to -36dB and the pass filter down to as low as it will go (the sub-woofer is connected to a full-range stereo XLR signal from the pre-amp). The M3 doesn’t need a sub-woofer, they play plenty low enough. The whole system can be EQ’d via the Krell processor (Krell sub-woofer setting = none). Whilst the Krell is great for multi-channel HT, for music it isn’t even in the same zip code as the Esoteric.
I also put the Magico Qpods, which used to live underneath the Esoteric, under the sub-woofer. I haven’t decided whether to keep the sub-woofer. An Accuphase PS-1230 is on my radar to replace the Power Plant P3 (I was going to buy a Power Plant P20 but that plan came unstuck).
Can you explain the reason for Accuphase power condition rather than P20? I am very curious. Thank you.
The PS dealer *issed me off so I will spend my money somewhere else. Simple as that.
Thanks and good luck with Accuphse unit. I assume you do not see the difference of the effectiveness between the two?