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View Full Version : A further meeting of the French massive



Gordon Steadman
19-09-2014, 21:03
Alan (Firebottle) and his wife Shirley are down here this weekend to see the annual car fest in Angouleme - motor racing at the Circuit de Remparts.

This is the theory anyway. Really of course, he's down here to fix all my hi-fi!!

We have listened to a few tunes. One point of great interest is that he bought his new OTL amplifier down. Those who have tried his products won't be at all surprised to hear that its a bit special. Only 25 watts per channel but it has superb depth and control over the Teufels particularly in the bass which is tactile and has real drive. With some minor adjustments to come, this is going to be very special indeed.

As ever, vinyl trounced the CDs with totally believability, helped in no small measure by the Firebottle phono amp.

So a few more tunes and very possibly the odd glass or two will pass our lips this weekend. Day one is almost gone with two more to go. Tough times in France.

Andrei
19-09-2014, 21:13
Gordon, I followed the build of the Tuefels closely, but did you put a review of their sound anywhere?

Gordon Steadman
19-09-2014, 23:42
Gordon, I followed the build of the Tuefels closely, but did you put a review of their sound anywhere?

Hi Andrei,

I don't think I did actually review the Teufels, I was concerned mostly with the the build.

As one of Alan's little jobs down here is to get the Quads working again, I have been listening at length to the Teufels.

They don't have the glorious mid range that I'm used to but very few speakers can match the Quads there. What they do have is a very expended top and a slightly rich bottom end, although that can be adjusted by adding jumpers across the passive drivers. As I listen to a lot of jazz, it suits me very well, the acoustic bass takes on a nice woody thrum, just like the real thing.

What they do need though is plenty of drive. The Stereo 20 sounds just a little underpowered at around 8 watts a channel. Teufel recommend a minimum of 100 watts!! They sound good with the Musical Fidelity A100 at 50 watts but even better with 25 watts of OTL.

I've changed the midrange driver though. The titanium unit, dare I say, sounded too metallic for me and I swapped it for a paper coned JBL mid. The balance is still perfect but the slightly softer presentation feels more natural to me especially on classical guitar.

I can't wait to get the Quads back up and running but, should disaster strike and they don't work for any reason, I could happily live with the Teufels now. Not many speakers I could say that about.

Andrei
20-09-2014, 00:01
Hi Andrei,

What they do need though is plenty of drive. The Stereo 20 sounds just a little underpowered at around 8 watts a channel. Teufel recommend a minimum of 100 watts!! They sound good with the Musical Fidelity A100 at 50 watts but even better with 25 watts of OTL.

My opinion is that the amp / speaker combination is important - to the point even that I think neither should be seen in isolation. Not surprised at your comments about the OTL as my understanding is that valve watts are 'more equal' than SS watts. As an aside, I have named my Amp 'Dominatrix' because she has perfect discipline over my sweet little French speakers.

Gordon Steadman
20-09-2014, 00:23
My opinion is that the amp / speaker combination is important - to the point even that I think neither should be seen in isolation. Not surprised at your comments about the OTL as my understanding is that valve watts are 'more equal' than SS watts. As an aside, I have named my Amp 'Dominatrix' because she has perfect discipline over my sweet little French speakers.

Strange thing this SS versus valve watts. We are told that a watt is a watt is a watt but that is certainly not the whole story. The Teufels are the first speaker I've had that the Leak doesn't sound terrific with in spite of the low power output. Inefficient boxes like the KEF 101s sing away quite happily and the Quads are brilliant of course.

I doubt that many 8 watt per channel SS amps would offer the same amount of drive.

Gordon Steadman
20-09-2014, 19:39
Day 2.

A mix of stuff today. We spent an enjoyable time looking at huge numbers of classic cars. Loads of the Brits come over and its great to be able to get up close to some great machines.

The Gordon blue chef then cooked a not bad steak dinner and then Alan retired into the music room with his soldering iron. I now have two working Quads which is a relief.

So the Teufels are relegated to the as yet unfinished lounge upstairs. They really didn't work well downstairs but in a much larger room and with some OTL power through them the opened up considerably. Still not as good as the Quads but perfectly acceptable as a second string. Its nice to be able to get well away from the speakers and let them breath.

Alan also laid his hands on the Pioneer and it just worked. I swear thats all he did. I tested everything, swapped all the leads and one channel was down, he touches the damn thing it it give up in horror!

Anyway, his new OTL managed to show the Pioneer a clean pair of heels, 25 watts to 100 watts or not.

He will be in the UK in the New Year and I reckon you should all get the chequebooks out and order one on spec:)

Firebottle
21-09-2014, 07:20
Some interesting testing over the last couple of days, particularly with respect to power output levels.

In the music room downstairs 10W from the OTL was satisfactory to give a healthy volume, but moving to the large room upstairs required a bit more.
With it turned up loud I could hear the OTL running into clipping. Using the full 4 output valve complement giving 25W restored things to :wow:

Well pleased with the performance :yay:

Alan

Firebottle
21-09-2014, 15:24
A feline with some good taste:

http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/Paramotorpilot/P1040376.jpg

:cool: Alan

Gordon Steadman
21-09-2014, 16:12
Good taste he might have. Dirty feet he has too. Its a good thing I've protected the top of the Teufels with some fake carbon fibre vinyl wrap:rolleyes:

Gordon Steadman
22-09-2014, 16:46
More playing in Alan's absence. Rearranged the speakers to fire across the room rather than down it and its much better balanced now. Interesting to compare the Teufels and Kefs. I have always preferred the little Kef 101s to the LS35A, finding them more 'alive'.

Ronnie and I listened to the standard test of Brubeck and Take 5. I preferred the treble and mid on the Kefs but missed the bass. Ronnie preferred the Teufels but just as much for the treble and mid as the bass!! Just goes to show how subjective this all is.

Quite enjoyed the music but thought I'd pop down and listen to the now working Quads. Yeah well, the Germans did their best:lol: