Aahhh, the Majesty of the power with just about all the attributes of the SE84CS. I now have over 120 hours on my T3 and I am very pleased.
As tonepub stated in his review; ".....the Torii strikes a perfect balance of rendering additional tonal richness without
altering the music’s fundamental character.
Via the Torii, Moraine’s “Uncle Tang’s Cabinet of
Dr. Caligari” from Metamorphic Rock is an absolute
prog freak-out, with layer upon layer of maniacal
synthesizers and overdubbed guitars all kept in order
with larger-than-life drums. Whatever your taste
in complex tunes—be it prog, metal, or full-scale
orchestral music—you will find intoxicating the
Torii’s ability to maintain musical pace".
For me, Solid State with its grain, etch and haze need not apply in any price range.
So I can do comparisons with my SE84CS, I have it with the following, even though this system is different, I am enjoying the synergy here, as I do with my Signature ref system synergy (listed below) with my SE84CS. Though, I now use a pair of Polk SDA 1's without the SDA function.....the SE84CS drives them with aplumb within reason. This within reason can get quite loud too before compression or clipping and maintains all the nuance, tonal character, timbre and transparency that the SE84CS delivers like magic.
System is: Sony DVP-NS57P as transport > Stereovox XV2 digital cable > Dac Magic (soon to receive new power supply designed by Peter Madnick) > Kimber Silver Streak Interconnect > Torii MK3 > Kimber 8TC Speaker Cable > LS90 with Kimber 3033 Low Pass jumpers.....after market XLO Pro Power Cord to MK3.
In comparison, the SE84CS has the extra special Lit from Within and Transparency to die for..... . However, the MK3 is so close and so beats solid state with its realism, organic and yet powerful presentation (and I have heard some upper price solid state through the Audio Society of Minnesota at the Pavek Museum in St. Louis Park) that I look forward to enjoying both for many years to come. All I need to do is swing my Listening Chair to the System of choice for a particular disc and just enjoy.
Please stop in and play our original 1929 RCA Theremin,
listen to our Western Electric theater speakers, or perform live radio shows in our 1960s era studio.
http://pavekmuseum.org/Cheers, Happy Holidays.......Stone of Tone