New valve amp and speakers

[Lawrence001]

I spotted these on eBay the other day, I think the distributor is having a clear out. They arrived today and I'm very pleased.

The amp is a Mistral EL34 integrated and the speakers are Mistral Bow IIIs. The amp is very nicely finished for a mid range Chinese valve amp, and pretty weighty. The speakers are 2 way with a 5.25 inch woofer but with a larger passive radiator on the back, an interesting idea and rarely used these days, though it is making a bit of a comeback now (Kef and Audio Physic to name two). The cabinets are a lovely burr finish and are shaped rather like Avalon Acoustic speakers to reduce diffraction (I think). The sloping baffle also helps with driver integration.

Initial thoughts were the speakers are a bit too lightweight and bright (coming from TDL Studio 2 transmission lines maybe not a surprise!) but I've changed the signal valves in the amp to NOS and they're sounding well balanced and quite warm now. I also switched the cables from the tweeter inputs to the bass inputs, I'm not sure how much of the improvement is due to that.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191107/a85072a47107705c577f1fbb62b5becd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191107/360e22ad80bdf0403be32b9cf926d9f4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191107/620b59c65e2688a1ea1c4fa4a526b74f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191107/0ff0f1d5dd358c3ebf295fb21d0d27cd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191107/80088ec7ea98dc590140f6396855af9c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191107/c5ab94b1b3d17c906a8474f906339325.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191107/53090fc6b7aa2f1d04e6a72643214328.jpg

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[Opti-cal]

Hi Lawrence.

I tried these speakers too but ultimately they didn't sound "big" enough in my room. I tried them in a smaller listening area and they were much more at home. They do benefit from being placed about 20cm from the rear wall to add some low end however that did narrow the soundstage somewhat.

As ever it's a trade off!

Stunning looking things which is why I was initially drawn to them.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get them to sound pretty nice after some experimenting with valves/placement etc.

Cheers

Chris

[Lawrence001]

Hi Lawrence.

I tried these speakers too but ultimately they didn't sound "big" enough in my room. I tried them in a smaller listening area and they were much more at home. They do benefit from being placed about 20cm from the rear wall to add some low end however that did narrow the soundstage somewhat.

As ever it's a trade off!

Stunning looking things which is why I was initially drawn to them.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get them to sound pretty nice after some experimenting with valves/placement etc.

Cheers

ChrisGood point thanks I was sitting them on the TDLs (which were where they were as that's the distance that worked for them but then they've got a bit more bass [emoji38]). Have pushed the "stands" in a bit and even more warmth than before but, as you say, some loss in other areas. Probably better overall though [emoji16]

Overall they are excellent little speakers and the tonal balance reminds me rather of the LS3/5As I heard at Ascot (which is a compliment as that was one of my favourite rooms, and part of the reason I thought I'd look for some bookshelf speakers). Probably a bit more bottom end and a little less mid bass bump with the slightly larger driver and the ABR but the overall effect is similar. Nicer cabinets and a fraction of the price!

Another reason I've fancied a change is I listen mostly late in the evening once the kids are asleep and the neighbours have young children too so volume levels are lower and smaller speakers can offer better balance and intelligibility then.

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[steve-z]

Get some decent bi wire cables like Audioquest FLX SliP 14/4 or at the very least ditch the terminal links and replace them with proper wire links.


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[Lawrence001]

Get some decent bi wire cables like Audioquest FLX SliP 14/4 or at the very least ditch the terminal links and replace them with proper wire links.


Sent from my iPad using TapatalkYeah thought of that I'm a bit lazy when it comes to stripping wire though [emoji1]

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[Lawrence001]

Have replaced my NOS RCA 12AX7s as they were sounding a bit syrupy. EI Elites now sounding much cleaner.

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[Lawrence001]

Get some decent bi wire cables like Audioquest FLX SliP 14/4 or at the very least ditch the terminal links and replace them with proper wire links.

Thought the treble was a little rough on some well recorded choral music so dug out some old jumpers I had, all sounding nice again [emoji16]

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[steve-z]

Thought the treble was a little rough on some well recorded choral music so dug out some old jumpers I had, all sounding nice again [emoji16]

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Treble will be even better if you bi wire, it reduces IM distortion in the line to the tweeter by a noticeable amount. It’s all proven in this very in depth article.

https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/blog/2016/06/08/bi-wiring-speakers-exploration-benefits/

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[scotty38]

hmmm not sure it's proven... just my humble opinion....

[Lawrence001]

Treble will be even better if you bi wire, it reduces IM distortion in the line to the tweeter by a noticeable amount. It’s all proven in this very in depth article.

https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/blog/2016/06/08/bi-wiring-speakers-exploration-benefits/

Sent from my iPad using TapatalkI haven't biwired since the manager in Camden Superfi persuaded me it will change my life in about 2001. Funnily enough he was trying to make me part with more money when I was buying some speakers. Still, I'll try it again soon when I get the chance.

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[steve-z]

hmmm not sure it's proven... just my humble opinion....

Measurements don’t usually lie.


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