Tell me about valve equipment

[Ali Tait]

True,as you say,more info would be better,but I'd say the KEL will work with almost all mainstream speakers that don't have a silly load.It will even drive my ESL III's!

[symon]

hehehe - alright, Neil, answers on their way. Just need a quick cigarette and to remind myself exactly what speakers I have!

[Spectral Morn]

hehehe - alright, Neil, answers on their way. Just need a quick cigarette and to remind myself exactly what speakers I have!

No problem Symon and the rest of your kit too please.


Regards D S D L

[symon]

Alright, here goes:

My main System:
Pioneer PD S703
Technics SL DD33
Quad 33
Quad 405
Acoustice Energy AE109s

Also have a TASCAM DA 20 and DA30 mkII, a Revox B215, and a MD player of some sort (can't remember and it's too hot to get up and look!) These aren't connected to anything at the moment but could be.

Planned changes/additions - a DAC (probably a Beresford DAC) and change the Technics for a Lenco GL75 with stock arm with a Shure M75 ED type 2 thingy.

I really like the Pioneer CDP, the Technics is ok but I'm looking forward to hearing the Lenco when it is working properly.

I like what I'm hearing, but there's something not quite right. I don't what it is and I don't what I'm looking for. This is all new to me so I have no idea what 'better' sounds like.

As for what I listen to. Well,
folk - Martin Carthy and any permutations he has been in; Bert Jansch; Imagined Village
Rock - Led Zeppelin; Reef; Rage Against the Machine; Queens of the Stone Age; Pink Floyd; Genesis
A bit of jazz
Singer/songwriter stuff - Kelly Joe Phelps; Jane Taylor
some female vocalists - currently digging Melody Gardot.
So classics and new stuff, folk to Rock to Jazz to electronic stuff (DJ Shadow, Roni Size)
And I have a fair bit of classical on vinyl which I don't listen to much at the moment.
Oh, and blues!

My budget is modest. The most expensive bit of kit I have at the moment is the Quad combo which cost me about £100. Everything else has been free or cheap. The attraction of the Cadet intially was the price. I'll come back to this.

Do I want to fettle? No. I have limited (ie non-existent) DIY skills, definitely don't know how to use a soldering iron. So, easy to use, built like a tank (like the Revox or Tascams). So, yes, a safe high quality entry that will give me pleasure for a long time with minimal fuss.

So, I've never heard valve kit but have a suspicion that it might be what I am looking for. Cheap would be good, but I realise this might be an impossibility. So, at a push I suppose I would eventually be looking at up to £500 maybe, but that really is pushing it. I'm trying not to be in a rush. I suspect the answer lies in the Croft budget pre-amp - putting that through the 405.

Have I missed anything?

[symon]

An extra bit - I mostly listen to CD at the moment. I'm saving my vinyl for the Lenco. So, I intend to listen to CDs and records (and maybe even tapes!!!)

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Symon

The AE109's are not easy to drive IMHO. So the Cadet would be a waste of money. AE speakers of that vintage are fairly power hungry IMHE....not as much as a pair of AE1's. The problem is control of the bass.

You need an amplifier with more power perhaps than the ones I have mentioned...at the very least you will need to find away of getting a listen in your own room.

The Pre-amplifier route might get you part of the way but I am not sure about the Quad amplifier....in my mind they are soft warm and not the most transparent thing in town but are musical and reliable. However in my experience it is the mix of valves in the pre and power the whole package that has the magic, combinations just don't cut it in my opinion. I have tried the valve pre solid state power amplifier road in the form of the Pathos Classic 1, and while it is very good it just lacked the full valve sound. Solid state pre with valve power is a better compromise but still IMHO does not go the whole way. I was playing around with this idea before my Music reference valve power amp went wrong....so I can't give you any more than it was promising. I will revisit this when it is fixed. However in my heart I know the outcome will probably be that I will prefer the full sound of valves in the pre and power.

You present a difficult challenge....I suspect that the speakers may be the source of your dissatisfaction. I would explore that possibility as well.

What is it about your current set up that you don't like ?


Regards D S D L

[The Grand Wazoo]

The AE109's are not easy to drive IMHO. So the Cadet would be a waste of money. AE speakers of that vintage are fairly power hungry IMHE....not as much as a pair of AE1's. The problem is control of the bass.

A quick spin on Gurgle tells me the AE's are 90dB sensitivity & a 6 ohm load - I'd have thought a Cadet III could cope with that, Neil - as long as the room's not to big.

I agree the price is too high, though.

[Spectral Morn]

A quick spin on Gurgle tells me the AE's are 90dB sensitivity & a 6 ohm load - I'd have thought a Cadet III could cope with that, Neil - as long as the room's not to big.

I agree the price is too high, though.

Despite the spec I felt that a pair we had in the shop S/H once were a bit hard to control properly.....certainly though we are talking about a push pull amp of at least 30 watts plus with very stiff power supply and excellent current output.

Symon will have to try some amps at home. Its hard Chris to recommend remotely I always prefer (sorry I forgot I am out of the trade now) to get the product into the end users home system for a try. Theories great but practical use is what counts.


Regards D S D L

[Ali Tait]

I'm pretty sure someone brought a pair of these to one of out DIY meets along with a clone of an Avantic Beam Echo,which drove them to very high SPL's in a very large room.I remember a few peeps commenting on how big a sound from a smallish speaker.I think something like a KEL would be fine with these IMO.

[Ali Tait]

Peter,just a thought,if you post on the WD forum,there will be someone nearby who may let you have a listen to a KEL.