Audio Horizons TP 2.0 Preamplifier

Sherod,

I also noticed the Musicbloc 160's !

My 220's are just as good, so I'll rest my anxiety hunger attack and watch them dissapear shortly !

The VACs sure sound heavenly awesome with the TP2.0 agree ?

Hey John,

Mr. Pat here to say :

Send an email or call Joseph for a trial audition with the upgraded input transformers and Siemens tubes, you'll never send it back, guaranteed !

Hi Rob,
I sent you an email.

Hello to the other folks here, I hope you're all doing fine !

Agree with all the above :

Review the top preamp *without* the phono stage (as a line only, how it originated)

Also, I'd like to see it pitted against some big-name, expensive preamps we're familiar with reading about in these threads.

Congratulations to Joseph "Commander" Chow (I like that La45 !) and Victor Comerchero.

Thanks for the imfo Victor.

Count me in for an upgrade, even though it sounds great in original form.

I'm sure the other "members of the family" will be interested as well.

Mdhoover,

I'll run that question by Victor Comerchero, that would be a very good idea to get Joseph's preamp on the map.

I've been spreading the good word on those Summit speakers, another product that needs to get noticed.

Joshclark,

Contact Gamecock and Cedar, one of those two had a 5.5, they could give you more insight from ownership.

Markwatkiss,

This is the moment I've been waiting for, a comparison with a REF3, beautiful.

I never got the chance to do my shootout, my amps have been down for a while and so am I.

Anyone else get their TP 2.0 upgrade ?

Thanks for your concern Sherod,

One of the VACS had a sizzle and smoke experience upon turn-on.

I was looking at two sets of non-working amps sitting in my room (depressing)

I'm re-capping the B&K M-200's shortly, less heat and headache for now.

A local audiophile member (Tedmbrady) invited me to his place when he gets his room together for the Sasons.

Mark,

Keep us posted on that REF 3 comparison, should prove very interesting !

I personally like my original style (others may or may not agree) because of the additional room inside to work with)

Having remote does not interest me either, I'm much more concerned with sonics and having Joseph hot-rod my TP 2.0 to even higher levels than imagined (more $$ of course)

Grannyrings *3rd paragraph* of his initial impressions echoes mine to a proverbial T.

Increasing the volume "without strain or hardness" is a VERY BIG issue with me.
(I think it has to do with the size and build quality of the power supply, besides noise issues)

Having the music pour out in a huge, liquid, stable, unstrained and totally relaxed manner is paramount in my preferences (the highs, mids, bass etc, etc, should already be a given when attaining this status)

I've had many top preamps (owned, on-loan, borrow) pass through my shelf in the years besides my highly modded SA-5000A and none of them could pass this test (yet)

Of course, AC treatment and other components should be chosen carefully.

A buddy of mine has a Walker-Steelhead combo that literally kicks major butt and passes the test quite handily on many ocassions (due to recording variances) so I feel I have a pretty good reference of what I like (it's NOT the sound adjective descriptives like I said above) it is the *way-of-the-entire-presentation* the so-called magic of the soundstage.

I think Joseph's preamp is his forte' and has even greater potential than imagined.

Sherod (and the gang)

I'm glad I covered my butt having The UPS Store double-box and over-insure the
VAC 220 monos I sold last week, lesson learned.

The working amp got a huge faceplate gouge and two knobs sheared off,
5 outta the 8 KT-88's crushed upon arrival.

I can't believe they had the guts to deliver them to the recipients door step.
(the damage being obvious)

Nice job UPS, now pay the claim and hire a responsible forklift operator, pony express would be safer.

Easy Sherod, you'll get there in due time, I know about patience, it's one of my non-virtues !

Mark, enjoyed your post, it's comforting to know the AH 2.0 is in good standing with a reference preamp as the AR REF 3.

That says a LOT about the AH 2.0, but I bet the gap "would close" with a 2.1 fully-broken-in (2 weeks solid) put to the test.

I see it like this, the REF 3 is the latest factory incarnation available from AR at this time and the AH 2.1 is Joseph's latest factory incarnation available, that would really put things into perspective.

I'm confused as to where this upgrade is going, left, right, up, down, break-in or break-out ?

Like La45, I'll wait for all the dust to settle, then make a decision.

I'll stick with my original mods, the acrylic top, floating the circuit boards and adding a Furutech gold IEC inlet for the time being.

The AH is already in batting distance of the infamous REF 3, what more could you ask from a 2.5K preamp ?

Now, I have to find some musical, dependable mono amps to get my tunes back up and runnin ........

My post somehow got moved under Victor's reply, making mine look moot, otherwise, my *confusion part* would never have been mentioned !

I should have known that tube selection (different gain issues) has a big influence and not everyone is running the same quads.

Victor, I KNEW the power supply would be a large part of the upgrade, will the new two-chassis preamp have a tube regulated power supply ?

I like this design idea (and the point-to-point wiring) it would seem to isolate any further noise issues, however, an umbilical cord and extra power cord gets thrown into the mix.

Hi Rob,

This was a fairly common problem with all my tube preamps of the past.

You could try cleaning all the tube pins with Caig, if it still persists, you may have a slightly finicky/faulty tube that might need replacing.

I'm sure the ceramic tube sockets are OK, they're high quality and grip like a vice.

Thanks for the mention La45 !

My kit contains the (slightly) longer screws to match the butyl washers.

I hope Victor sees my last post, otherwise I'll contact him directly about my two questions.

I'm really curious of his mention of a two-chassis preamp and point-to-point wiring,
no boards to float and hopefully ?? a tube regulated power supply, how killer this would sound !

In the very begining, I called Joseph and asked what he thought of a separate power supply, but so much has been happening since that time, he may have forgotten.

Think about it kids, an all-out-assault preamp effort from Joseph ??

As good as the AH 2.0 and 2.1 are, this thing (maybe call it a 2.2) ? could literally smoke any and all competition in its path (probably still very affordable too)

Sherod, you and I would have to keep our curious hands off the insides !!

I can't wait to hear of an actual prototype, this could be very exciting.

Bill,

You may want to check into these http://www.ariaaudio.com

Hybrid design, stereo upgradeable to mono versions, power to spare, on-site voicing (if desired) a trial basis and lifetime warranty.

FWIW: an owner replaced a pair of Darts with the WT350 monos and preferred them to a pair of Karan 1200s.

I'm looking to hear more comparisons to other Hi-End preamps, like Mark with the REF-3.

I'm having Joseph mod the livin crap outta my TP 2.0, maybe then it'll compare,
but I probably won't give a rats butt anyway.

Nice Sherod, thanks !

Hope 'your' Vacs return safely, my 220 monos got forked up !

Thanks La45 !!

Sherod, you might get the upgraded version again, strange, maybe your amps had something to do with your original decision ?

This was slightly confusing to me, possibly to others ?

Sherod'

You are forgiven, my brother from another, no further explanation necessary !

I have 3 possible contenders : Intuitive Delta Summits, RSAD Sasons or SP Techs.

I'm enjoying the NuForce monos behind our TP 2.0, the sound is truly sublime.

You'll never guess who he received the recommendation from.

Thanks Sherod !

Not to side-track, but John Stehno is da man when it comes to minimalist rack designs and techniques, seeing and hearing them is believing.

The Audio Horizons TP 2.0 sounds heavenly with the NuForce 9 V2 SE's.

I already heard a modded, tubed Transporter into the same amps and was not nearly as impressed.

If that's the case, send your preamp to Joseph near Fall, have him do everything at once and be done with it.

There are certain things I do, but when it comes to small, fine soldering on sensitive circuit boards with close components forget it, I'd leave that to Joseph, trust me.

It's about time Sherod, we're all counting on you, the pioneer with the big machete, start choppin boy !

I'll fourth the same suggestion, stay with making preamps (with room for future upgrades),
it's Joseph's forte'.

Besides, as quiet as the preamp is, it sounds as if power conditioning is already incorporated within it.

I'd like Joseph to design a TP model with a really killer power supply and call it the TP 2.2 ?

"Topology" that's the word I was looking for last night Sherod.

My guess is Joseph is taking care of family matters at this time.

Sherod, U-DA-MAN !!

A tube regulated power supply with oil filled caps is my next question.

I'm curious about Sherod's Clarity Caps and a tube-regulated or larger power supply option.

Anyone know Victor's contact number ?

I contacted Joseph today, no need for Victor's number.

I concur with Sherod about the Caps........ past, present and future.

Tuesday will be my day for listening pleasure with the ClarityCaps and some other goodies I had installed.

I'll post results when I run more hours on my unit, but so far what I gather from Sherod's results, it's a clear winner.

Before I listened to the ClarityCap installation, I returned my pre to Joseph for the power supply upgrade as well.

This should merit quite a phenomenal improvement across the board, without changing the original voicing or magical qualities already present.

I'll post in the next couple weeks when all breaks in and solidifies.

Thanks to Sherod, I had him post the photo of my preamp in its finishing stages.

Mark, I agree about room to spare, having the flexibility to accomodate future upgrades within a clean, simple, well executed design environment, or as Sherod quoted 'topology'

I should receive my pre next Tuesday (that's if FedEx or UPS don't perform a miracle disaster on it with their kid-glove services)

Actually, there is one (bad-boy, ultra linear, super quiet, EMI-RFI minimal radiating tranny) replacing the other two.

Look mom, no more copper wraps !

I parted with mine for almost 3 weeks (thanks to FedEx and UPS) you'll all get over it, I did.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Sherod.

After mine settles in, comparisons with other top-flite preamps is in order, just to have a better idea where it stands.

OK,

First evening with the preamp, initial impressions :

VERY, very relaxed and easeful, music has greater separation, dynamics and harmonic structure.

Much smoother and flowing, like water in a river, it's so easy and beautiful to listen, like real music.

I'm done for now, the preamp and I are slowly disappearing in the chain.

I'm around the 150 mark, still waiting for more to happen, but I'll hang in there, cause it still sounds awesome.

Mike,

Is Joseph installing your ClarityCaps ?

Hey Bill,

Wonder how the Dude would compare to the A.H. with all the current updates ?

(I had to ask !)

Guys, it's that power supply, the brothers at TRL have that down to a science, they made (past) / make (present) some of the best equipment on the planet, bar none.

My NuForce / A.H. sounds great, but things can change as we know.

Thanks Mark and Sherod, for the after thoughts about me.

Mark's unit (the one I sold him) had nearly all future (at the time) and current parts, many of these were my wild ideas at the time.

I knew what the preamp needed for a bigger and better sound, which it definately has, Mark can attest to that, he really has a quite special pre.

Nice to see this thread is still alive and hasn't been removed again by the powers-that-be.

Take care guys.