It does seem strange that they continue to advertise their products on this site, but would not respond to several e-mails from one of their good customers and proponents. I too have been curiously keeping an eye out for information on the new "flagship" preamp they posted about. |
Well, I'm delighted that this thread has been returned to service by Audiogon. It has been missing too long.
As I have reported before, I have beta tested products on behalf of Audio Horizons. These products include the various DACs, line level preamps, wire, and now I can report, a tube power amp.
The power amp I tested is a low watt SET. It is a functional unit but not in the final cosmetic form. I listened to it for about 3 weeks and returned it to AH yesterday.
I loved it and expect to buy one when it reaches production. I don't know when that will be. Based on my observation of other AH product development, cosmetics take time for Joseph to sort through. I won't expect this amp to pop out right away. A functioning unit doesn't translate as quickly as I would wish into a final product. If the past is an indicator, Joseph will continue to play with the circuit and layout, too. I don't want to raise your hopes prematurely - but the amp does exist.
My loudspeakers are 92dB efficent and high impedance - Coincident Technologies Super Eclipse III. Played through them, this amplifier delivered rich detail, tonal balance (consistency, if you will) from top to bottom of the audio frequency, airy top end, and solid tight bass. Sound stage was deep, and with good quality recording, there were no obvious boundaries to it.
I have had a number of fine solid state and tube amplifiers in my system over the years. This one is the best yet in my system.
As for details about the amp itself, it is under development by Joseph, and it is not my story to tell.
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My guess is Joseph is taking care of family matters at this time.
Sherod, U-DA-MAN !! |
Hi to all. Hope all of you are well and still abundant in these interesting times. I am very happy to see this thread is back. Just reporting in on changes. Still using my AH 2.1 with early 60's Siemens CCA's. Now have Kool Cable gold Silkworm IC and Nuforce Reference 9V2 SE mono amps and am enjoying the sound with the AH - good synergy.
It is great to hear that an AH amp is on the way. I emailed Victor in January a few times and each time received an immediate response, so maybe he is not receiving sltrains mail - perhaps call them to check? As email servers have tightened up I notice that now at times my email is blocked and stuff going to me is shunted to deleted or spam that is from private parties that I know. |
Hello Siltrains. I responded to your post earlier this morning that My server acts up from time to time and I never received your emails. If you don't hear back from Joseph or me within 48 hours, assume for some reason we never received the email and try again.
Perhaps you will get this message in a different form when the moderator approves my first post.
Victor
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I would love to hear his new amp, but am sad to hear it is a SET amp and won't work for many full range systems. I was hoping Joseph would make an amp that could work in a broader range of systems.
I own Silverline Bolero speakers that are 92db effecient and 8 ohms. While a SET amp could run them to decent volumes, it can't run them to the very loud levels I sometimes like.
Others will get to enjoy his new amp, but it seems Joseph choose a smaller target audience with the decision to go the SET route. |
A tube regulated power supply with oil filled caps is my next question. |
Victor i was checking about the upgrade to 2.1. Likely what Rx8man has in mind. No big deal for sure as i am quite happy with my AH preamp. Thanks for responding. Mike |
Rx8man and Siltrains, we will be announcing a new upgrade to the 2.0 and 2.1 some time in early April. Cedar who lives in Sacramento and acts as one of our beta testers has heard it and can comment more fully on what sonic difference it makes. More details to follow shortly.
Like others, I'm glad to have the thread back.
Victor
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I just wanted to say Hi to all the AH family outhere. Glad
to see this thread is alive again. FYI, I'm still quite happy with my AH 2.1nB preamp. Like others I am very curious in regards to the upcoming updgrade. |
Cedar,
Thanks for the preliminary information on Joseph's new SET amp. Could you give us some information on your Beta testing of the TP 2.0/2.1 with new upgrades? I have had these new Claritycap MR caps in my TP 2.0n preamp for about 100 hours. At this point, I don't want to take them out yet. Joseph is going to order a pair and experiment with them when he returns from Thailand in early April. I'm happy to hear from all the AH preamp family. It has been a while since I've heard from current or past users. Please keep this thread alive and post from time to time. |
Joseph brought the test unit over to my home twice to listen to it in my system. So, I've had the pleasure of listening to the new preamp upgrade in my system for about two hours. That was enough to persuade me to order the the upgrade.
Before I say more about the improved soundstage, lower noise, greater detail and more natural sound - which I heard in these listening sessions - I will wait to receive the upgrade into my own system. |
Just to be clear.When you say upgrade,are you referring to modifications for a 2.0/2.1 or an entirely new pre amp. |
As you know, Joseph tries to offer upgrade paths. So, with respect to my system, I will receive upgrades to my existing 2.0nB (which has been modified previously from the original configuration).
Several weeks have passed since I listened to the preamplifier modification. I recall that the modifications to which I listened were test bedded in a 2.1 chassis. I don't recall the list of all changes made, but there were substantial changes made. These changes that I saw may be enough to justify a new model designation (changes such as new transformer). That may be the path Joseph takes. Victor would be a reliable source of that information. |
I look forward to Victor's announcements. In the meantime, I have had enough time to evaluate these new Claritycap MR caps in my TP 2.0n and they are something special. They have taken the preamp to a whole new level. I know, I know. You're going to tell me, "But Sherod! You raved about the Vcaps you had in there and then you suddenly decided to go back to the Hovlands. Are you absolutely sure this time?" Yes, this time there is no mistake. These relatively new caps are a revelation. Their sound is quite neutral, and they have a cleanliness and transparency across the frequency spectrum that make the Hovlands actually sound like they are broken. Intertransient silence is phenomenal and dynamics are incredible. They just do everything right and are a perfect complement to the TP 2.0n. I wouldn't know how they would sound in the newer 2.1 version. If I had to pick one thing that really makes them stand out, it would have to be their dynamics. The micro-dynamics are so amazing that you'll hear things on recordings you never knew were there and the macro-dynamics will simply stun you. To suddenly be listening to a quiet passage of a recording at say, pianissimo, then a sudden fortissimo of music appears that will make you jump out of your seat is truly amazing. I have done a lot of internet googling about these caps and so far, most of the information is how good these caps sound in speaker crossovers, but in electronics, I'm going to assume they are equally amazing. They are fairly expensive, but in my opinion are well worth it. Hopefully Joseph will be able to evaluate a pair soon and I'm going to guess that he will be as impressed as I am. These caps are so revealing that they will help you to fine-tune other weak areas in your system. I have also found another power cord for my preamp which further reveals the musical pureness of the recording, thanks to these revealing and remarkable caps. Stay tuned for further reports. |
Sherod
Thanks for the interesting report
Joe |
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Sherod,
I'm just researching the Clarity caps you referred to.What is the exact model,it appears there are at least a dozen in the catalogue I was perusing. Thanx,Mark |
Mark,
I believe the only U.S. distributor currently is Madisound. The cap is the new MR line cap. The value I chose is 4.7uf, which Madisound sells for $118.00/ea. I have read that a German distributor, Capsandcoils, sells for roughly half that price. Here is a site to click on. The new MR caps are blue in color. Also, I highly recommend reading the white paper on their 2-year research and development.
http://www.madisound.com/manufacturers/claritycap/mr.php
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I'm curious about Sherod's Clarity Caps and a tube-regulated or larger power supply option.
Anyone know Victor's contact number ? |
Pat,
I have a gut-feeling that an improved and more powerful power supply( quieter, with more dynamics and headroom) will be introduced by Joseph in his new preamp. Whether it is tube or SS regulated is a matter of taste, cost and preference. The power supply is very important in the make-up of a great preamp. |
I contacted Joseph today, no need for Victor's number. |
Sherods comments on the Clarity Cap MR are interesting. I've always felt that the Hovland could be improved upon, but don't have the stomach to be the pioneer. Thanks, Sherod for continuously taking the plunge. Interstingly, the "mystery caps" in the 2.1 have a copper cover on them so they are difficult to identify; however, the exposed ends seem to resemble the Clarity Cap APW. Just a coincidence I suppose.
Sang |
Only Joseph, and perhaps Victor, knows what the new cap in the 2.1 is. He is keeping it proprietary. The copper foil around the new cap is not there to hide anything about the cap. It is there as a shield to block out EMI/RFI. I doubt if the cap is from Claritycap, especially the APW, as it is an inexpensive cap and Victor once mentioned that their new caps in the TP 2.1 cost them around $80.00. The Hovland is a musical cap, but it does have its limitations, hence, Joseph's change to the new cap in the 2.1. Joseph will be soon evaluating the new Claritycap MR series and I'm looking forward to his impressions. |
I concur with Sherod about the Caps........ past, present and future. |
One of the things I would like to remind all Audio Horizons product owners( and to all audiophiles in general) is to periodically clean all your cable connections. Depending on where you live regarding differing conditions of humidity, unless you use all gold-plated contacts or have your contacts covered with a specially formulated contact paste,i.e. Xtreme Quicksilver Gold, etc. I found a wonderful cleaner called Kontak. This product cleans off all oxidation with a couple of swabbings and dries instantly leaving no residue, and just as importantly, leaves no sonic signature like some cleaners I've tried. Once all your connections are properly cleaned and re-inserted, the overall sound opens up very nicely. This inexpensive tweak of contact cleaning is sometimes forgotten in the scheme of things as we look at other ways of improving our system. Have a great weekend, everyone, and hopefully this thread will continue with periodic posts of information from past, current, and future owners of the AH TP preamps. I have about 300 hours on my new Claritycap MR caps and will post a report soon. |
So many of your have asked about further upgrades to the 2.0/2.1 that I'm happy to announce that next month Joseph will be offering two upgrades: 1) an extensive power supply upgrade packaged with other improvements, and 2) after auditioning the Clarity caps as per Sherod's pioneering efforts, we have been sufficiently impressed with their performance and with their excellent value that we have decided to offer them as part of a second package of upgrades. For more details and prices, drop me a line.
Thanks again for your continuing investigations and for your support.
Victor |
Victor,
I am pleased that you and Joseph have heard the merits of this new Claritycap MR. I have over 300 hours on mine and their transparency and superiority over previous caps have shown me the greatness of Joseph's preamp circuitry. I can go crazy with audiophile superlatives but as I mentioned to Pat in a private e-mail, our Rx8man here on this thread, this cap comes as close as you can get to sounding like "no cap", which theoretically, that's the way it should be. This output cap is supposed to let AC through and block out DC, and that's all. From top to bottom, this cap just lets more of the music get through to your speakers and in a most wonderful way, I might add. I have read that this cap will further improve up through the 500 hour mark. I can hardly wait. |
Sherod thanks to your findings with clarity caps and Josephs announced upgrade Audio Horizon preamp users will be getting a better preamp, and to improve on what i hear now from my 2.1 NBR i cant wait. What i mean is i could not be more satifyed now with 2.1 hours on end with complete musical enjoyment.
Many thanks to you Sherod for your efforts and to you Victor and Joseph for the up coming improvements.
Mike |
Hey, Mike. Thanks for the commendation. This was all a "labor of love" for me. I know that Joseph gets a little nervous when someone gets inside his preamp and messes with it, but I had a gut feeling about this new cap and wanted to hear how it sounded. If after it had broken in and didn't show any merit, I probably wouldn't have said anything about it. But when I heard just how much better it made an already great preamp sound, I just had to let the word out. I am happy( and more so, relieved) that both Joseph and Victor, after evaluating the cap, did indeed hear its potential. There was a possibility that neither of them would have liked the way this cap sounded in their system and I certainly would have come out of this thing with egg on his face. I am not a technician and don't know a lot about circuit designs and would never make an attempt to change that which Joseph, the Master, has designed. I look at this as a parts replacement tweak that only further refines and brings out an already great design. Kind of like experimenting with what power cords, interconnects and speaker cables work best in your system. |
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. |
I want to add my thanks to Victor and Joseph and all the AH explorers that are willing to experiment and share the results. I'd much rather upgrade this great preamp than look for anything else becuase it already has the rightness and musicality that I had been searching for.
Joe |
Joe,
Joseph has designed an excellent preamp with a great topology at a specific price point. But even with the best-designed preamp circuit topology, it is only as good as its parts can give you, hence the desire to upgrade to premium parts. But these premium parts usually come with a price, so that is why Joseph gives certain upgrades to help those who are set with a certain budget. I believe that this new Claritycap MR line is an advancement of capacitor technology, and it is relatively new to the market and as a result, since Joseph's evalution, he will soon place it into one of his upgrade packages. Victor also mentioned that Joseph is currently experimenting with some premium resistors that will further improve the presence and aliveness of the sound of the preamp. "Good things come to those who wait." ( my mother used to tell us this, but I never did understand it. (O:) |
"Topology" that's the word I was looking for last night Sherod. |
I figured it so, Pat. That's why I threw it into the post.
(O: |
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. |
Here's a link to a photo of Joseph's power supply upgrade on the TP 2.0:
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t300/Sherod_01/AHnewtransformers.jpg
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That's one of assets I love about this pre amp,there's a lot of room to play around inside.I've decided to move forward with the power supply upgrade and clarity cap install.Just waiting for a final price. |
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) |
That's a nice pic sherod the lay out is different than 2,1 for
sure. Keep us updated on further developments. |
I'm anxious to hear Pat's(Rx8man) impressions on how the new transformers sound. That would be my next upgrade consideration. I'm also curious what Joseph decides regarding the new Vishay resistor upgrade. I would probably do both if the price is right. (o: |
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 ! |
Also awaiting Rxman's comments, final price, and some extra cash to come my way, then I"m in for the upgrade if three green lights on issues above.
Joe |
I think we are all waiting for Victor or Joseph to make the announcement of exactly what upgrades are available and what the price is for each. I have a feeling that they are probably trying to get the best OEM price for key parts to be able to give a realistically fair final price. I realize that Joseph is in the business to make money, but he also wants to be fair in giving us all the best value for our dollar spent. |
I contacted Victor last week and he responded to me, power supply upgrade was 500.00. They were at that time still looking for suppliers of Clarity and other manufacturers of caps to put a price on that upgrade. Turn around time one week.
I'm most interested but dont want to be with out my system. This will give me time to hear what others think about this upgrade as my next planed vacation is months down the line.
I'm enjoying music daily and have no problem with the sound of my system using the stock 2.1rnb. But like my last and most recent upgrade my speakers a huge audible move upwards, i'm thinking this upgrade to 2.1 will be another positive move and hopefully worth the price.
Mike |
I hear you, Mike. It's tough parting with a component that is so crucial in your system when everything sounds so musical. Plus the hassle of unplugging, carefully packaging(apparently Fedex and UPS run periodic tests of dropping packages containing fragile electronics off the Empire State Building for their tests)and then waiting the two weeks to get it back into your system. I'm also debating whether to go with one or more upgrades so that I can get it all done at once and not have to worry about returning it a few months later for another upgrade. I have to fight my "Audiophilia Nervosa" syndrome at times. (o: |
I parted with mine for almost 3 weeks (thanks to FedEx and UPS) you'll all get over it, I did. |
Pat,
You will have your preamp back early next week and it will be in pristine condition ready to put out some glorious music for you. It will be well worth your wait. I can't wait to hear your impressions. |
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. |
Can anyone who has heard any of the preamps below provide feedback on how it compares to the Audio Horizons TP?
These are the preamps that I am considering with my budget of a new TP 2.1nB.
1) Cary SLP-05 used
2) Ayre K1xe used
3) Pass Labs XP-10/XP-20 (or a used X-1 at half the price)
4) Dodd Audio Preamp (used at half the price)
5) Jeff Rowland Capri (used at half the price)
Thank you |
