GDHAL I think based off what you are saying I really need to start getting into the Grateful Dead.

Btw I love your ongoing review of upgrading from the triton 1 to the reference. Very descriptive and it makes me very tempted as a Triton 1 owner... Actually thinking of keeping the T1s and upgrading to TRef for L and R for home theatre duties..

Thanks, Steveo, for the idea. I'll check it out. I have a lot of requirements for my "ideal" server.

GDHAL wrote: Lets be honest, none of us have the wherewithal to "audition" each and every piece of gear out there. So, we rely on each other! Of course, "professional" reviews and other do diligence is also worthwhile and advisable.

Besides, I primarily listen to Grateful Dead. Trust me, they're a band beyond description regardless of the playback mechanism

Yes, it's impossible to know what would work the best without trying everything. I got the Bel Cantos on reputation because I knew I would never be able to judge them in someone else's system. There are too many variables involved.

So, those bootleg cassette recordings of Grateful Dead concerts. How do they sound on the Trefs?

How would the Bel Canto REF 500S stereo amps perform? Just a notch below the 600M?

charliehatch wrote: So, those bootleg cassette recordings of Grateful Dead concerts. How do they sound on the Trefs?

I'm way beyond bootleg cassettes

All of my trading is performed via peer-to-peer bit torrent. All digital. The overwhelming majority of the live recordings are pristine quality. I have soundboard, audience, matrix and video material. Much of my material is 24 bit. I have 20 terabytes. My collection dwarfs the likes of sites like youtube, archive.org and virtually anyone (seriously). I'm collecting over 30 years. To date I have acquired 2026 **unique** show dates. The maximum possible is 2323 (2318 according to deadbase X statistics, but my statistics are more accurate) and there are approximately 300 shows not in circulation (i.e. no one on the planet has it, to date)

You can have a look at my list: halr.x10.mx/shows.html

EDIT: Oh, sorry, forgot to answer your question. If I said the Grateful Dead sound "exactly perfect" when played through the Triton's it would be an understatement. There is bass material that the Dead perform in many of their 90's concerts that go below 20Hz and can only be played faithfully through the Triton's (or something else with sub's). And the voicing is perfect.

In my teens and through my twentys, I was a huge Jethro Tull fan. I saw them 91 times in that time frame (still have all the ticket stubs). Most of their concerts were the same though. With each new record, they played that and then all the other tunes, the same way, etc. Is that the same with the Dead? I only saw them one time on Cape Cod at the Cape Cod Coliseum and the concert was pretty special, especially with the wall of sound powered by all McIntosh amps. However, all the songs seemed to go on and on and on. Is that the case with all their concerts?