I have the Cyber 211s and use them full-range on my 93 db efficient Acapella LaCampanellas. The sound is exceptional and the 20 watts that the 211s put out work well.
I have no idea what the efficiency of the Hyperions is, but I would suspect that speakers down to 90 db even in a large room should work full-range with them.
I have never found using two dissimilar amps works. |
Paulfolbrecht, I suspect that only you can say what you like.
I had forgotten that the Enjoythemusic review used the Hyperions. If 20 watts with the 211s works with them, your 30 watts should be just fine.
What do you mean that you blew a cap with "high voltage tubes?" I think the driver tubes are the same Phillips 6922 and 5687s I got plus the Chinese 845s. If my experience is any indication, replacing the 845 with a NOS American 845 would do wonders.
They are hard to find and I actually blew an amp with a bad RCA 211; one of three I won on Ebay. |
Paulfolbrecht, yes Cyber rates them at 16 watts, but mine put out 20, and yes, you are right that this is trivial.
All I can say is that as Enjoythemusic was right when they said the NOS tubes made a great difference, but wrong when they said the GEs were best. The RCAs are far superior.
I am telling you that NOS is superior, now given what you said you must evaluate it for yourself. :<) |
Paul, when I blew one of my Cyber 211s with a bad NOS tube, I approached the U.S. distributor to get a schematic. He said none was available. I sent them to a close friend who modifies gear for repair. Given what you were told by them, I am glad I did not trust them to repair the amp.
I had not thought of trying the 6900 tube and will probably not try it now. I am not sure that having 6900s does not violate your concern whether NOS are worth the cost.
Ethifi, I bought the 211 version of the Consonance Cyber series largely on the strenght of the Enjoythemusic review and a pair being available on Audiogon. I had also heard very favorable things about these amps. I needed greater power than the present 8 watts that I had.
Since getting the amps, I have greatly improved them by using better tubes, carefully isolating the amps on good stands, changing the fuses to IsoCleans, and putting them on ac filtering. I doubt if brand to brand variations are as great as these changes. Also the guy who repaired my amp says he thought they sounded excellent and used very good parts.
How do the prices of the amps you are thinking about compare? |
Paul, I would agree that an American counterpart to the Cybers would cost at least twice as much, but the parts, build quality, and basic circuit show shortcuts to allow the low price. I do like the sonics, however.
The power supply is very simple and limited. It is probably why you had your failure with an output tube that drew more current.
I suspect that there would be only minor variations among 845 amps, with the wiring, output caps, and ac filtering. Better of everything including tubes will improve the sound. The question is what you are willing to add to your basic model. |
Paul, there is no regulation on the power supply and it is just big enough. The caps on the outputs are of unknown origins. I agree that the build quality is okay, but the wiring, inputs and outputs, and circuit are obviously directed at cost cutting.
I am certainly not saying that I don't like them, nor am I saying that I would pay more for them given their quality.
I opted to replace the wiring and to make some reasonable efforts to make them quieter. They will probably become my backup amps or remain in my summer home.
I don't know about the 845s, but my 211s are normal for 10 volt filament amps. Fortunately I have 93 db efficient speakers rather than 103 db efficient speakers where the hum would be objectionable.
I think Enjoy the Music was right about these. They do sound outstanding and can even be as satisfying as the Onganku 211 for far less money. |
Paul, I saw some Rubycons in mine when I had it open, but I know that the big caps on the output are not Rubycons. It may be that they have changed this in recent amps as mine are from the first batch brought in.
You are quite right about the iron not vibrating. Many of the American made transformers do vibrate quite audibly. As I said, for the price I am very satisfied, but I did decide to not put an additional $750 in them to replace wire, inputs and outputs, and caps.
The amp that I have been using since I ran Beauhorn Virtuosos is the Reimyo PAT777. There is no question in my mind that this SET using WE300Bs is the best sounding amp, but it is very expensive (five times that of the Cybers) and only has 8 watts. Until I got the Cyber 211s, I was seriously thinking about limiting myself to 100 db efficient speakers.The Cybers, however, cause my Acapella LaCampanellas to soar.
I am in love with my H-Cat preamp and soon expect my 100 watt H-Cat amp. I have never heard one, especially the new one, but if it equals the line stage, I am done with both the Reimyo and Cybers. |
Paul, obviously merely buying more expensive equipment does not assure an improvement, but the Reimyo is worth the investment if you can afford it and if you have efficient speakers or a small room.
I have never been comfortable with talking about percentage improvements, and I have not infreqently found less expensive components outperforming more expensive components.
I have been at this hobby for 45 years and well remember when I drove my $2100 new Mercury Capri to pickup my three ARC components (a SP3, Dual 75A, and Dual 51). The store manager noted that these three cost more than my car. I dearly wish I could buy at those prices and earn what I presently do. |
Paul, I just got my Cyber 211 amps back after a bad 211 blew two resistors and a cap. While they were being repaired I had Siltech wire put in from the inputs to the front board and the metal oxide resistor replaced with a metal film resistor.
The improvements are substantial. For one the hum was reduced by 1 mvolt and the transparency was greatly improved largely by a cleaner top end. The wire used within the amps seems to be another instance where the cheapest was used. |
Tvad, you can see the heat waves arising over the 211. You might think about a whisper fan. I think you would greatly heat whatever was above them. |
