All-in-one speaker sounds fun and tweak-free, but that is trouble-free to the extreme! I will be so bored once it has broken in. There are no cables to play with and no gear tweaking? That will be anti-audiophile.
Jeremy left to be with his father who is ill. Family first…respect.
George was let go from Gryphon because from what it sounds like he doesn’t meet the new criteria laid out by Gryphon including being open 5-6 days week and some miscellaneous inventory requirements.
George is living in Georgia–the east European/West Asian country now.
Yes that is a conflict imo. Hard to serve your customers from the other side of the world.
Well-stated, DC 
. While I know your remark is probably tongue-in-cheek, it comes with a lot of truth! Anti-audiophile, LOL. Yet truth be told, what the hell is wrong with tweaking, burning in power cables and Mountaintop Software if the process is enjoyable? Even if the effect is placebo, as in homeopathic “alternative medicine” … well, Boiron Arnica Montana is healthier than Voltaren!
I’ve had my fair share of tweaking and upgrades. As p!ssed off as I am for the DS MkII DAC dropped a mere 4 months after my purchase, JUST as much (or more) I have to admit to the JOY of tweaking the original Perfectwave DAC …. 14 years, two upgrades in the same chassis, 8 mountain top upgrades …
So, no regrets. But there comes a time (to some, and I’m one of them) when this is no longer fun. For me, it became time to declutter and lose the media. This is why I changed from separates to an Aurender AP20 (used with Vivid Giya 1 Spirit).
Speaking of Spirits: That’s also why Aangen’s post about the Kii option HUGELY interests me! This is another option of “declutter” I have not considered (or even known about!).
I wouldn’t like to change the conductor interface, so will probably remain with Aurender. But heck! An Aurender N20 or N30SA with BXT?
Aangen … I wonder about ‘locking in’ with the Kii speakers / system?
A few years down the road when future upgrades / updates become available you lose out on the possibility of upgrading?
Unless Kii will make their products upgradable?
The reduced room interaction along with amplification designed specifically for the drivers does make these a great solution. The sweet spot is sweeter…and a little smaller…but most of the time we are listening by ourselves so that is not a big/relevant sacrifice. I wish MBL would make an active design in the 120 or 126 size.
I thought the sweet spot was wide when listening.
Kii has been constantly upgrading the 3 over the years. They already do offer the upgrades to existing customers. They have not changed the name to 3.1 3.2 3.3 etc.
My current system is at the point where upgrades exist, but it’s nearly foolishness to consider them. New DACs are pretty much all I could consider. I’ll be 70 in June, I most likely could stay with what I have. But getting rid of most of my gear to arrive at similar sound would please my wife, something I can’t do normally.
Aangen … good news, nice knowing you’re not locked into a system that will eventually be out of date.
I heard somewhere: “Happy wife, happy life”.
I have decided if I do go the Kii route I will stop offering audio advice. I will leave that to ADP.
My advice would be to listen to @vkennedy61 and not me, except to move speakers further apart
Vince is a Focal and DCS guy. I am the exact opposite. So not very informed advice. A fine joke though.
I hear that at least weekly … hence my lack of frequent upgrades. Audio does not make her happy, but if it makes me happy on occasion then that is ok.
The Stealth “The Grande” power cord arrived today. I connected it to the MSB Cascade power base then into the Shunyata X power conditioner. The cord is not quite as stiff as the Dream 2020. While the cord may need some time to settle in, I could immediately hear more details compared to the Dream 2020 power cord with more depth to the sound stage, albeit a bit etched, not terrible but might become fatiguing over long listening sessions. It will stay there for a few hundred hours to see how the sound settles in. Once it settles, I’ll play with the tuning ring which is set a few inches from the component end input.
Move it to at least six inches back. Tell me what you hear okay?
Should solve the etched problem.
The Grande definitely needs time to smooth out, a couple hundred hours are minimum, but I had a new Omega-x showed up not long after so I couldn’t tell how many more hours are needed. My Grande has the ring about one foot away from MU2. This position sounded nice, but I have not moved it to a few inches away from MU2 to form an opinion yet.
Our suite in Vancouver is nice, and the weather is not as cold as I expected. The next few days will get warmer too. Wife is still sleeping so I have a little time
That trick removed the edginess. I’m only 24 hours in with more time to burn in but the edge is not noticeable now.
Nice tip and thank you!
Have you tried the Furutech Vault and the Project V1 power cable? It would be great to hear your impressions.