Bill,
I'm glad to see that you found some tube amps that work best in your system. Hopefully you'll keep them for a while and enjoy the music.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone !
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Hi, I recently bought a matched quad of the great NOS Siemens CCa tubes from Victors contact for these in Germany. They have not been plugged in once. They are just sitting in the box he sent them to me in from Germany. I am not using their great pre and don't need them. Just looking to recover the $650 & $15 shipping I paid for them. Anyone interested? See my feedback (rob755)..most legitamate! You can give a call or whatever. Thanks, Rob 541-404-0296 |
Hi Rob,
I'm curious why you ordered these Siemens Cca tubes and never used them. Did you buy them to put in the TP 2.0 preamp or for another preamp? |
If my memory serves Victor promised a major annoucement here about the 2.0 upgrade at the end of October. Did I miss it? |
Joe,
I don't recall reading the announcement, but I'd guess that the announcement was made earlier when Victor said that the upgrade cost would be increased an additional $75.00 due to the length of time needed for Joseph to complete the upgrades. |
Hi all, scrolling through 6moon's site. It appears the
Tp 8.0 MC is coming up for review. I am very close to a purchase of Joseph's phonostage anyone have first hand or ears experience with any of his Tp 8.0. I have much respect for Joseph and his team! |
Wow! I just had to voice my preliminary impression of the upgrades done to my TP 2.0 pre and 8.0 phono stage. I hate to simply echo the many comments that have already been posted, but I'm pretty freaked. I guess one gets quite excited when his system takes this kind of major leap forward.
Truth be told, I was a little cautious about the upgrade to 2.1 specs having read some discrepancies on this thread. I'm so glad I decided to pull the trigger. The sound that I'm getting even at this preliminary point (about 50 hours) is just plain scary. Detail, immediacy and dynamics - not much imagination is needed to hear things you only get from the live event. This is truly high end sound.
As for the 8.0 phono stage, I previously had the MM coupled with external step up transformers. The step ups were Bent Audio MUs, which are by no means slouchy. But I always felt that the 8.0 just didn't give me that last bit of excitement. All that has changed with the internal installation of the MC version of the 8.0 by Joseph. Setting aside the fact that this phono stage is just dead silent, it is simply outstanding in every way (and this is with an over-achieving, but "budget" cartridge). My comparison is to some very well-regarded phono stages, some costing 3 times the cost of the 8.0.
Please excuse my effusiveness. It comes from knowing that this pre is going to get even better time. I still have things I want to upgrade, but this preamp (which has all Siemens E88CC gray plates) is not going to be one of them.
Thanks so much, Joseph and Victor. Cheers!
Sang
System: Joule VZN 160 OTL monoblocks, ICEH2O Audio S250 Amp, Bi-amp'd Magnepan Tympani 4's (crossover mod's), Michell Orbe, SME V, Denon 103R and Koetsu Urushi, G&D Transforms Reference One CD player, Behringer DCX 2496.
*And for the record, I have no affiliation with nor do I receive anything from Audio Horizons other than their bill for services, which I appreciatively pay.
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Well it's about time someone spoke up,this thread has been
very silent as of late.Trust all is well with everyone and best of the Holiday season to all. Mark |
SWO - looks like you have created a very sweet system. THanks for posting as I am still obsessing whether to do the 2.0 upgrade. I love the sound so much now and yet I hate to miss out if it could be better - horns of a pleasant dilemma. Happy holidays everyone!
Joe |
My SET amp (right channel) went out so very little music playing of late. Anyone know of a repair guy in Connecticut?
Happy Holidays to one and all.
Luis
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La45, Sorry to hear about that. Get an ART SLA 1 amp on Ebay for $170 as a backup. It is very nice sounding and you will be very pleased. No kidding.
I am loving my Canary 300b amps with the AH preamp! The upgrade is now fully burned in and my music sounds wonderful.
Bill |
Hi Sang,
Welcome to the AH preamp club. I hope you have many wonderful hours of musical enjoyment to come. I haven't posted lately because my VAC amps have been at the factory for almost six weeks now. I originally sent them back for a check-up, but apparently either during shipment to the factory or previously when the amps were shipped to me ( and I wasn't aware of it) one of the transformers broke loose from the chassis so they had to send it to a specialist to have it re-welded and spray painted. There was initially a two week queue before they could even look at the amps, but now there has been further delay due to the transformer welding job. While the amps are there, the tech is upgrading a few parts to improve on the sound as well as lower the noise level. I am hoping to have the amps back to me before Christmas so that I can once again enjoy my main system. Merry Christmas everyone. Have a safe and happy holidays. |
Here's a little Christmas video for you all:
http://badaboo.free.fr/merryxmas.swf
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Nice Sherod, thanks !
Hope 'your' Vacs return safely, my 220 monos got forked up ! |
Hello all i am up and running, i have my room acoustically hooked up and sounding great after the new floor install. I have taken Tvads lead and have a pair of lessloss PCs coming for my Ref 9 se V2s. They are so backed up its taking longer than expected. I also have some of Josephs Dimension biwired speaker cables on the way along with a Dimension rca for phono amp to 2.1. Santa came to south Louisiana early ho ho ho. Wishing all a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays. |
Bill,
Thanks for the info on the Art. I will take a look at it.
Stltrains,
On the Lessloss PCs, please let us know if its worth its name. Just love this hobby and its quickerness.
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Jojo about 70+ hours in on upgrade, absolutely no regret everything across the board sounding clearer, defined and even more refined. Must admit several changes as of recent besides standard upgrade 1 similar 6H30 set up as i think you ended up with, changed my musical surroundings Phonomena phonostage for Joseph's TP 8.0MN, also to a major surprise to me i auditioned cables from Joseph, and ended up replacing various Cardas Golden and Neutral Ref's even an Audience 24u interconnect. When auditioned side by side it was immediately apparent which cables to keep. I dropped off Joseph's cables at my brother in laws place, he has spent $1000,s in meter sets and was taken back as to how refined these cables are. Anyways if there is anyone on the fence for the upgrade here's one more write up to consider! |
Ralphcast is right on about AH cables. I use AH transparency cables throughout my system and they sound wonderful. They beat cables costing many times the price of the AH cables.
I also love the upgraded AH preamp and find more refined as Ralphcast said.
Bill |
hi ralph ~ nice to hear from you. i'm glad to hear that
you are very safistied with what you are hearing so far
btw, the sound will improve as more time permits and the smile on your face will become bigger :o) i totally agree with you and bill "grannyring" regarding the ah cables. i too own the transparency xlr cables, and the harmony speaker cables they both bested more expensive and over priced cables. i am currently saving some funds for the ah phono preamp to replace my older ms phonomena. one more thing has anyone here tried the ah tube buffer?
HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all you folks out there...
jojo |
i just received bi-wired Dimension speaker and a rca interconnect for between my phono amp and 2.1. i was so impressed with Dimension xlr between 2.1 and my amps i had go the entire system with Dimension wire. Joseph burned them in but i think they need a little more time before full break-in. for the price you get a super value in cables in this out of site part of audio IMO. I dont see much other than the price of Dimension on AHs web site but take it from me this is some fine wire. |
Holy Sh** I've been demo'ing the Fusion Impulse power cords that Sherod had previously discussed on this thread. Sherod wasn't kidding. This pc is monster. It is expensive, but I wanted to try it out to see if the benefits were worth it. They certainly are and then some. It's hard to believe how much better this preamp gets with every tweak. |
Yes Sang. The Fusion power cords, once broken in, do indeed give you a spiritual enlightenment. Well, folks. It is a new year. Hopefully a better one than last year. I just got my monoblocs back from VAC. Due to extreme mis-handling from our guys at Fedex, one of my transformers had to be re-welded. This took some time and while the amps were in the shop, the owner of VAC, Kevin Hayes, took the time to do a few circuitry upgrades with some better resistors. I just hooked everything back up a few hours ago and the sound is so much better than before. I currently have my preamp in the original 2.0n version, but after a while, I might re-try the 2.1n newer version. I have the parts diagram from Joseph to do this( simply taking out a couple of diodes and adding a couple of electrolytics, along with the new output caps). I am going to simply enjoy the exquisite sound I'm getting now over the weekend and maybe make a New Year's resolution that I'm going to cool it for a while with the upgrades and tweaks in my system and just enjoy the music. I wish all you fellow Audio Horizons component owners a very happy and prosperous new year. |
Sherod
Glad that amps are back safe, sound and better than before. Wish the thread members a wonderful New year. For our family it may mean a move from North Carolina where I have been for about 30 years to Ashland Oregon - we have many friends out West and are due for a change. Of course I am scanning properties for potential dedicated sound rooms. |
Wow, Joe! From one coast to another. Is this a job relocation? Oregon is a very beautiful State. I hope you find a home with the right listening room for your system, especially after designing your own there in N. Carolina. My daughter currently lives in Fayetteville, N.C. |
Yeah for Joe. Nice to see a fellow audiophile making a change in life or at least surroundings.
Sherod, we wish you happy and prosperous New Year. Please let us know if you have a change of heart on the AH upgrade. You are a big influence on this thread perhaps more than you know.
Rx8man and Markwatkiss, best wishes to both of you.
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Sherod glad your system is up and running, man it would be a real bummer for me and the wife to be with out music.
My AH speaker cables have fully broke in and no doubt Josephs wire is first class in build and sound very impressed.
I have Lossless PCs ordered since early Dec. Still no delivery. Looking forward to giving them a try hopefully soon.
Wishing all the very best sound this New Year. |
Thank you all for the best wishes. I realize how influential that I've been since I was one of the early buyers of Joseph's preamp. I am still feeling positive about Joseph and his work. Victor is also very loyal to Joseph and he is a very considerate and helpful person for AH. I will keep you all posted on my journey with the AH preamp. |
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 ? |
Pat,
I'm sorry to have made this upgrade issue so confusing. Actually there was nothing wrong with my amps. The damage they suffered was caused during the shipment from me to the factory. All VAC did was replace a few resistors to a little better and quieter ones; basically to prevent future noise issues. I did, however, have a problem with my speakers. After returning them to the factory in Canada, they found the mid-woofers to have both voice coils to be strained. They rebuilt them for no charge and what's amazing is the speakers had already gone past their guarantee coverage. What a great company Reference 3A is. I want to get a feel for the sound once again of the original 2.0n version and after a while, I will replace the parts required to upgrade to the 2.1 version for a final evaluation. I apologize to those who were either considering an upgrade or were considering buying a new 2.1 preamp and were unsure because of my posts. So far, I have been the "only" one who had issues( sonically) with my upgraded preamp. Everyone else has been very happy when they have upgraded. So maybe I had wax in my ears during that time or I was so stressed out that I wasn't focusing on my listening. Just remember that for those who are considering in trying out a new preamp, Audio Horizons still offers a money-back guarantee, so for those newcomers who have been sitting on the fence waiting to try a preamp in this price range, I say go for it and don't hold back. I would imagine that Joseph is very busy, so if you want to upgrade your 2.0 versions to the 2.1 version, you had better call Victor now to find out what the queue is for Joseph's schedule. Before I put back in the 2.1n upgrade, I am going to replace the original internal wiring harness as that's the only thing left for me to have the original version back as it was. As an experiment, I am going to hear for myself the difference that the wire harness alone has on the sound. Stay tuned for an update.
Now Pat, don't wait for me. You do the upgrade and let us all know what you think. And hurry up with your decision on the new speakers ( Sasons) that you will be getting. I hope that you and the wifey got what you wanted from Santa. |
I just wanted to add that after talking with Joseph and Victor over this last year and a half, I have come to the conclusion that not only are they both honest and sincere, they both have a strong love of music and both of them desire, like most of us audiophiles, in achieving the purist, most natural reproduction of that music through their audio systems. I really appreciate that. |
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. |
Pat,
I'm happy to hear that those Nuforce monos fed by the TP 2.0 pre are keeping you up late at night. If I had only three monitor speakers to choose from, I would have picked those same three that you did. I hope you can arrange a trial of each in your own system. Keep us posted. |
Here's an interesting thread you might find intriguing. read the posts by Stehno, new owner of the TP 2.1:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1198942394&read&3&4&
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You'll never guess who he received the recommendation from. |
I already know that it was you, Pat. You da man!! |
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. |
I've followed his rack building from the beginning. He makes some mighty fine looking racks. I see that some manufacturers are using his racks at the RMAF and CES. I know that Stehno has gone through quite a few outstanding preamps over the years and with his claim recently that the new AH TP 2.1 preamp is the best he's ever heard is great praise indeed. |
Add one more member to your group.
I will be getting mine next week hopefully and let you all know my thoughts about the preamp. It is going up against a hot-rodded Dehavilland Ultraverve. Other components include Bastanis Prometheus mkIIAF, Quicksilver monoblocks, and CAL DAC.
Mine is a non-balanced version but hope it nears the performance of the balanced version that others write about. |
Frankk i auditioned both balanced and non, i went with balanced due to the super quite delivery. i could have lived with the non balanced 2.1 for sure.
you will be very happy with the non balanced 2.1. you may want to look into some tube rolling when the time and your pocket book are right.
i'm sure other posters to this thread will chime in.
welcome and enjoy. |
I forgot to ask but does the unit have two pairs of outputs since I will require it for my self powered woofers. |
Welcome Frankk,
My unit has two sets of outputs. I would confirm with Victor or Joseph. Tubes do have a major impact on the unit's sound. The Siemans tubes sourced by Joseph are the best I have heard in the unit. Not sure if you paid the extra cash for these NOS tubes? They are well worth it as an FYI.
Bill |
I thought about them but will listen to the preamp first with my NOS tubes and will alter it later if I want to go in a particular direction. |
I want to thank everyone on this thread for influencing my decision. I just today received my TP2.1R from Joseph and Victor, and my immediate reaction was astonishment.
This is an absolutely wonderful Preamp. I just played music non-stop...music I thought I knew very well. Cliche as it may be, I had amazing decay of notes, clarity of even the breath before the flute was played, depth of stage and sweet tight bass and the subtlest of instumental nuance just gave me a Yo Yo Ma concert in my living room.
You guys really got it right. This is one excellent preamp!!!!! |
Congrats. Eddie any comparisons to other preamps you have owned.
Does anyone know if one can use two different pairs of tubes without problems or do you have to go with an identical quad. |
I tried two Siemans cca's in position 1&3 and two Siemans e88cc in positions 2&4. This worked quite well, though the matched quad of cca was slightly better. I also mixed EH tubes with Siemans - it was not as ideal but still OK |
I've tried a lot combinations, including amperexes and telefunkens. I think all Siemens is best. Two Siemens gray plate E88cc's in the 1 & 3 positions and telefunken E88CC's in 2 & 4 did sound very dynamic; however, it seemed to flatten my already flat soundstage. I think as a concept, however, combinations worked very well in the TP 2.0. |
I have reverted back to the original TP 2.0n version. The older wire harness, although not quite as quiet, sounds much more natural than the new harness( at least in the TP 2.0n version). Regarding the tube choices, I have found that an early 1960 Siemens Cca with the grey plate to sound the best in the critical 1 and 3 locations. I want to experiment with some different versions/brands in the less critical 2 and 4 locations. In the meantime, I like some late 60's(?) Siemens A-frame E88cc in those locations for now. The combination gives me a very large soundstage with excellent depth. My next minor tweak will be to experiment with some copper shielding for the old wire harness. For now, I am back to my happy-go-lucky self. I am also happy to still be in the AH preamp family, although you may call me the black sheep of the family, if you wish. (o: |
Sherod,I just played the Badaboo White Xmas.
Clyde Mc'fadder and the Drifters.
Circa 1954.I had the original on a 45rpm Atlantic label.
It brought about smile (actually a grin)
Thanks for the memory.
Now i may even look into this preamp |
The White Christmas video is one of my favorites. I never knew who sang it. Thanks for letting me know. Every Christmas, I e-mail this video to my family. It is my "signature" Christmas video. |
Sherod to a nube here i have to say if it wasnt for your posts to this thread i may not be a Audio Horizons owner now. glad you are happy in music again. keep us posted on 2.0
My new dimension wire is settled into my system and i am very pleased. replaced my JPS superconductor 2 wire.
Got my Lossless PCs in and using them with my nuforce amps very well made and sounding power cords. they replaced my black sand violets. |
