I meant the majority lol. Personally if I ever returned to SS it would have to be class A.
Adey
In perpetual pursuit.
I meant the majority lol. Personally if I ever returned to SS it would have to be class A.
Adey
In perpetual pursuit.
Technics SP10 mk2
Jan Allaerts MC 1 Boron mk1 cart
Miyajima Shilabe cart
Hashimoto HM-X SUT
Siggwan (gimballed not unipivot) Cocobola 12"
Aurorasound Vida LCR Phonostage
The Truth linestage
Dave Slagle Autoformer Volume Controller
Cary 805c SET amps
Audio Note ANe-SPX speakers
Townshend Isolda speaker cables
Cardas Golden Presence interconnects
AC POWER
Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
AMPS
Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
SPEAKERS
Wharfedale Evo 4.4
DAC
PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
TURNTABLE
Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
PHONOSTAGE
Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
DIGITAL
OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
MUSIC PLAYBACK
Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
Ipad Roon Remote.
Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
SPEAKER CABLES
Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
INTERCONNECTS
All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables
Location: Torquay, Devon.
Posts: 5,684
I'm Shane.
Looked on the Cary Audio site and the SI-300.2d looks interesting. Do like the notion of a hybrid (Class A and A/B). There aren't prices listed but I can imagine they don't come cheap.
That's the issue I have with valve amps. Unless you go s/hand, they tend to be out of a lot of peoples budget -- including mine. But s/hand has its pitfalls...
More than happy with my current bundles: They do everything I need from a music set-up and some...
By the same token, it's always good to see whether the grass really is greener.
Leema Pulse MKI; Electrocompaniet PC-1; PMC TB2i; Denon TU-260 MKII; Pro-ject Xpression 1 with ClearAudio Classic Wood cartridge
I got my 805c's second hand (still not cheap). Personally I wouldn't buy from Cary I'd buy from the original designer/builder of the 805's Dennis Had who is retired. He hand builds some cracking little amps in his retirement and sells them (about 6 a year) on eBay. They come in at around £900 but are very highly regarded stateside. User radioman731 - he also creates some lovely preamps. Most of the time he has nothing for sale so you need to keep checking as gear goes very quickly when he lists one. He's also a pleasure to deal with, a gentleman.
You could also speak to Nick Gorham of Longdog audio, and a fellow member. He can create something especially for you, within your budget and is a genius with valves. If and when I decide to upgrade he would be on my list of possible pathways to Nirvana.
Adey
In perpetual pursuit.
Technics SP10 mk2
Jan Allaerts MC 1 Boron mk1 cart
Miyajima Shilabe cart
Hashimoto HM-X SUT
Siggwan (gimballed not unipivot) Cocobola 12"
Aurorasound Vida LCR Phonostage
The Truth linestage
Dave Slagle Autoformer Volume Controller
Cary 805c SET amps
Audio Note ANe-SPX speakers
Townshend Isolda speaker cables
Cardas Golden Presence interconnects
I've switched back and forth between solid state, and tubes quite a few times. I've been happy with different models of both. Class A solid state amps can throw off heat just as well as any tube amp I've ever used.
Second hand amps that are likely to hold their re-sale value are the route I would take if you're looking to try them out. You'll be able to get your money back if you don't like them.
Tube amps are absolutely dependant on the transformers the circuit was designed around. I've built the circuits with off the shelf parts, and they never compare to the originals. They might sound good, but they never sound the same. Changing the tubes in them can drastically change the tone as well. Sometimes for the better.
Solid state amps don't seem to be as picky about the transformers, but if you go cheap you'll probably hear it.
I've heard warm and fuzzy, and I'm not convinced it's better. It's different. That could be enjoyable, or annoying depending on your tastes. Every amp is going to have it's own qualities. I haven't found the perfect one for all situations yet. Searching is part of the fun for me.
Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk
A bit of a generalisation there Jez don't you think?
Many valve amps have no trouble dipping as low as sub 10 Hz (not that you want that when playing vinyl) and valve amps using sufficient global negative feedback to get the output impedance down don't suffer from any lack of bass grip. The only "issue" here is whether the designer, when using negative feedback has a) used enough of it and b) implemented appropriate and competent time compensation. Some actually don't! I suspect that's why you see so many using 5 or 10dB GNF without compensation....makes you wonder if a lot of the circuit copy-cat merchants know how to implement compensation properly or at all.
The Radford STA 15 and STA25 are a point in question. They manage to deliver sub 0.18 Ohms output impedance so damping factor is superb, and there's no lack of bass or bass control. I've heard one of Anthony's Copper amps and that had no lack of control either.
The Class A amp I have compared to my Leema was Sugden. Given it was twice the retail price of my amp wasn't impressed.
It is true the Sugden had deeper bass but the Leema counters easily by giving tauter, better defined LFs. Mind you, I've yet to hear any amp below £2500 that betters the Leema in the bass dept. (and I've heard quite a few incl. Roksan Monoblocs, entry-level Bryston...)
If and when I upgrade I think it'll be a very short list of Leema Tucana, Accuphase, Luxman and probably a hybrid valve amp of some description.
Leema Pulse MKI; Electrocompaniet PC-1; PMC TB2i; Denon TU-260 MKII; Pro-ject Xpression 1 with ClearAudio Classic Wood cartridge