View Full Version : Think we're gonna need a bigger boat...
Ah its landed mate...very smart.thatll glow in the dark. Yup another boat may well be needed:eyebrows:
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/21/968ba533669f68c5d21ac11ee868e688.jpg
Thanks Grant.
Moving the rack out a bit tonight...hopefully look a bit better.
Will sit smaller feet under it, get it to snick under the telly.
I must be mad :mental:
Idlewithnodrive
21-09-2015, 15:38
:stalks: What a fantastic looking (and I bet sounding) set up.
Ali Tait
21-09-2015, 16:21
Amp sounds lovely in the short time I had after dropping it off, couldn't resist staying for a listen..
DarrenHW
21-09-2015, 17:01
Very neat and tidy. Film quote as a Gallery thread title gets a big :thumbsup: from me!
Looks great, Gaz... Enjoy!
How would you say it compares with your previous amps?
Look forward to popping round for a listen next time I'm up in Glesga :cool:
Marco.
Hey Marco,
still fresh out the packet....new amorphous AI Trannies, caps and of course the valves, but despite a long way to go before it bedded in it's easily the best sounding amp setup I've had in my system.
It replaces a Mini One T-amp I had in temporarily on loan from a mate, which did the business but it's not in the same league as the 300B Set.
Had a Chinese KT88 integrated amp before, it's not even on the same planet as this thing.
Putting a review up "propa" when it's had a few weeks under its belt, but sounds wonderful straight out the box.
Nicks built something special here, been playing vinyl pretty much since Ali left this afternoon and its stating to open up already.
Build quality second to none as you'd expect from Nick, props to Mr Eddingdales himself Colin Topps to who did the woodwork.
Its driving the Eddingdales superbly btw, even though it's less than 9 watts a side!
Soggy limp 300B Set sound...rolled off treble and no bass?
Not a chance, this thing is something else.
Love to have your lugs give a listen mate next time your up in the old Country. :)
It's certainly big and valvey. Some sort of custom made dual mono SET job?
EDIT Ah see you have already answered that. As you were ;)
brian2957
21-09-2015, 18:13
Hopefully get over sometime tomorrow to have a listen mate :)
Pretty much Martin, asked Nick Gorham to design & build a 300B Set power amp for me.
Nick knows his valve onions so this will be my final amp I reckon.
Great match with my Densen pre.
Got the amp today and I can't stop playing vinyl... :eek:
It's certainly big and valvey. Some sort of custom made dual mono SET job?
EDIT Ah see you have already answered that. As you were ;)
archiesdad
21-09-2015, 18:51
Lit up pics required, glowing in the dark is good.
Cosy...
http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61/gazjamster/Kit%20pics/1_1.jpg
http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61/gazjamster/Kit%20pics/3.jpg
Warms the cockles
Thinking the 300Bs will be good for drying my keks...two sets at a time so will have a spare :D
brian2957
21-09-2015, 19:43
Don't think it's wise to sit on the amp chaps :lol:
might shrink your piles though:stalks:
Burn 'em off more like :stalks:
Some piccies from Brian took from the day.
http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61/gazjamster/1_2.jpg
http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61/gazjamster/2_1.jpg
http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61/gazjamster/3.jpg
brian2957
22-09-2015, 16:32
Just spent a most pleasant afternoon visiting oor Gary and getting a look and listen to his new valve amp . This is a very impressive piece of kit . Fit and finish are of a very high standard and the photos just don't do it justice , but I'll do my best .
This excellent amp fits in beautifully with the rest of Garys fantastic system .
Question is , how does it sound ? Gary told me that the amp and valves have to settle in for a couple of weeks or so before making a proper assessment , and I took this into consideration while listening . My assessment so far is that if this amp doesn't get any better than this then I would be a very happy man. This amp is stunning as it is :eek: If it gets better than this over the next few weeks then I'm sure Gary will be very pleased indeed.
When you're listening to favourite tracks which you've been listening to for 20 or 30 years , and know very well, and hear new detail then you know you're listening to something a bit special . Weight and scale were impressive with a huge soundstage placing artists and instruments in their own space . This amp takes the Edingdales by the scruff of the neck and drives them beautifully .
I'll be making an appointment to pay Gary another visit in a week or so to have another listen . Better get the biccies in mate :lol:
walpurgis
22-09-2015, 17:39
Nice system. I like that table/stand thingie. The whole lot looks very smart.
archiesdad
22-09-2015, 20:12
Lovely lit up pics as requested, now to do some toast in front of them.:D
brian2957
22-09-2015, 20:44
Nah , full English Martin :lol:
Thanks for posting your thoughts Brian, great wee afternoon even though I didn't have any biscuits for our tea. ;)
Yeah..this big box of copper glass and wood is something special.
300B Set doesn't do rock music?
Sounds like a massive solid state amp in the bass, tight deep and punchy as hell.
Spun Porcupine Tree yesterday at a neighbour worrying volume, bass and kickdrum pinned you to the back wall.
Amazing!
Cant get the volume past 10 o'clock before the windows start rattling...
All of this from 8 watts per channel :D
What was interesting was that we finally heard how good Brians Klotz MC5000/MS Audio cables actually were?
I was using my "best cable" between Power amp and Pre, a far more expensive...uhm...controversial commercial cable to connect them.
In comparison the Klotz is a more neutral transparent cable and doesn't add anything to whats being played.
When swapping between the two it was like the expensive cable added a "loudness control" and was less of an enjoyable listen. More digital and processed sounding we thought.
All about synergy of course, I had always preferred it in my previous setup to the Klotz,(using the wee Mini-1 as a poweramp) but with the new "open window" valve amp in place it let us hear just how the cables actually were.
Poweramp comparison: surprisingly the sound changed quite a bit...
http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61/gazjamster/tamp.jpg
Cant wait to hear this beast with a few hundred hours under its belt.
Aside from (maybe) a tonearm upgrade later in the year...
I'm done with the kit.
Just enjoying the music now. :)
Spectral Morn
23-09-2015, 09:59
Looking very nice Garry
Regards Neil
Firebottle
23-09-2015, 11:28
Wouldn't mind an internals shot Gaz, but maybe you don't want to go that far.
Looks the biz anyway, nice big output traffos :D
It's AE amorphous trannies Alan.
Zero problems with with huge dynamic swings at any volume..some massive heft!
not a valve amp tinkerer so staying well clear!!!
Brilliant stuff, Gaz. With the right speakers, 8W of valve lurveliness [especially in a properly designed amp like that], is as they say, perfectly 'adequate'! :eyebrows: :eek:
I'm not surprised in the slightest at what you've described you're hearing, as I've heard that effect many times with valves (beguiling grace and control), not least also in terms of what I get at home with my own 'glowy' set-up. Apart from achieving window-rattling levels of unflappable loudness, you should also be able to listen at whisper levels late at night, and still hear that every nuance in the music is intact and sounds 'out of the box'.
I've never heard any SS amp do the same trick that valves can, in that respect, in terms of achieving such levels of clarity/expressiveness and musical 'presence'. Therefore, although you can crank it up and put a big grin on yer chops, you won't need to do so, in order to make the music (or your speakers) come alive - and that's what I love about valves, when done properly!
For me, the high-efficiency speakers, coupled with low/lowish tube power route, is the way to go. Not cheap to do properly, granted, but when you get it right, music has an expansiveness and sheer communicativeness/fun-factor than no low-efficiency speakers, driven by a huge behemoth SS amp set-up I've heard, can do. The latter approach, for me, is simply too compromised and 'arse about face'.
So, spill the beans, which "controversial commercial cable" are we talking about that the MC5000s ousted - Slic??
Vastly overpriced/viral-marketed pish, IMO :D That fact becomes obvious when you use it in a system that doesn't need its 'sound tailoring effect', which is why the 'open window' you've got going on now responds far better to cables that just allow the music to flow freely, rather than being impeded by the effect of a glorified filter.
Anyway, enjoy! If you're around mid-October (as I'll be up in Scotland then), I'll pop by and have a wee listen-ette :cool:
Marco.
P.S I must've missed it, but what are you using as a preamp?
Firebottle
24-09-2015, 13:11
Densen DM20, come on Marco keep up :eyebrows:
OK I'll let you off this time, with all the posts you have to read ;)
Indeed, lol! How could I forget those big knobs.... :doh:
Gary's set-up I suspect might be crying out now for a nice passive... Depends on whether he wants to go there or not ;)
Ma
Ali Tait
24-09-2015, 14:25
He'll get a chance to try mine at some point soon.
Would be interested in the results of that, Ali. My prediction is that the Densen is on borrowed time... ;)
Marco.
Ali Tait
24-09-2015, 14:59
Aye maybe! :-)
brian2957
24-09-2015, 15:05
Mmmm! Wait until you hear this system with the Densen guys :eek:
I don't doubt it sounds fab, but a good (high SPPV) passive could move things on even further and perhaps free up some funds for Gary to spend on music! ;)
As good as the Densen no doubt is, don't rule out the possibility of it being ousted by a quality passive, as IMO, his system is now crying out for one. I could certainly take the Goldpoint round, as it should have arrived from the States by then.
Marco.
Think the Densen is only slightly amplified.. I saw a pic inside and there was very little inside... Its a suoer amp. Sure Ali will try a passive on it though:eyebrows:
Its all looking bloody superb and he is a lucky man unlike his poor neighbours :lol:
Brilliant stuff, Gaz. With the right speakers, 8W of valve lurveliness [especially in a properly designed amp like that], is as they say, perfectly 'adequate'! :eyebrows: :eek:
I'm not surprised in the slightest at what you've described you're hearing, as I've heard that effect many times with valves (beguiling grace and control), not least also in terms of what I get at home with my own 'glowy' set-up. Apart from achieving window-rattling levels of unflappable loudness, you should also be able to listen at whisper levels late at night, and still hear that every nuance in the music is intact and sounds 'out of the box'.
I've never heard any SS amp do the same trick that valves can, in that respect, in terms of achieving such levels of clarity/expressiveness and musical 'presence'. Therefore, although you can crank it up and put a big grin on yer chops, you won't need to do so, in order to make the music (or your speakers) come alive - and that's what I love about valves, when done properly!
For me, the high-efficiency speakers, coupled with low/lowish tube power route, is the way to go. Not cheap to do properly, granted, but when you get it right, music has an expansiveness and sheer communicativeness/fun-factor than no low-efficiency speakers, driven by a huge behemoth SS amp set-up I've heard, can do. The latter approach, for me, is simply too compromised and 'arse about face'.
So, spill the beans, which "controversial commercial cable" are we talking about that the MC5000s ousted - Slic??
Totally agree mate, valves done right are a bit special.
and Yup, that's the one...
Vastly overpriced/viral-marketed pish, IMO :D That fact becomes obvious when you use it in a system that doesn't need its 'sound tailoring effect', which is why the 'open window' you've got going on now responds far better to cables that just allow the music to flow freely, rather than being impeded by the effect of a glorified filter.
+1 (about more open window, couldn't possibly comment on the other bit...)
Anyway, enjoy! If you're around mid-October (as I'll be up in Scotland then), I'll pop by and have a wee listen-ette :cool:
Marco.
P.S I must've missed it, but what are you using as a preamp?
You bet, by that time the amp will have had a bit of run in time too.
Catch up nearer the time Gov'nor. :)
Be interesting to hear Ali's new Pre and your Goldpoint Marco in my setup?
Be good to compare to the Densen now the caps and new Transformers have bedded in, as Grant says its a wee bit different from the norm.
As always its what hits your lug'oles that counts. :)
http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61/gazjamster/Kit%20pics/Densen%20polish/20150420_162538.jpg
Ali Tait
24-09-2015, 17:07
Mmmm! Wait until you hear this system with the Densen guys :eek:
I have! :-)
brian2957
24-09-2015, 17:08
Ooops ! Forgot mate :)
Re terminated my speaker cable so I can now e the 8ohm speaker outputs on the amp?
Oh...that's better.
More grip and drive from the speakers now, great what you can do with 8 watts. :eek:
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