Anyone famaliar with the manufacturer,and in particular this pre amp.The credentials and testimonials seem impressive.The advertised 10 day audition is appealing.
Cedar, I was interested in the thread as well but since I do not own the DAC have not posted. I hope you get some responses. The one thing I can add is that Joseph and Victor recently tried my Siemens early sixties cca's in their DAC and very much liked them there, feeling it made a excellent improvement. Joe
A couple of days ago I attempted to start a thread for commenting on the Audio Horizons TD 3.0 DAC (digital forum- "Audio Horizons TD 3.0 DAC comments"). The thread received no comments. Since I asked for pros and cons and received neither, I wonder if I am alone in even thinking about this DAC (which I like quite a lot). If there are any TD 3.0 users over here, would you comment in that other thread, please?
Hey that's unfortunate,but your daughter is O.K. so that's a happy ending.After hearing the costs for medical I most definitely appreciate the free health care offered in Canada.
Sherod Thank you for the information but I have decided to wait on the amps. In the last few days I have gotten hit with a 6k bill for my daughters fender bender, a 3 K ER bill for a visit there by her to check out a medical problem (she is now fine) and a 2K bill to repair a car transmission - so not a good time to get new equipment. Fortunately I can be perfectly happy with what I am listening to now and that everyone in my family is healthy.
Joe, before you went to Vegas this is what you said,"I am in Vegas the next 5 days - wish me luck, Daddy needs a new pair of monoamps!" I just assumed that you were looking at tubes, but now I realize that they were solid state. I currently have a pair of VAC Musicblocs that I'm using. They are only 70W so probably not enough for your VS speakers which like some power.
I sent a quad of cca's to Victor which he and Joseph auditioned and reported on very favorably. I will compare these when I return home to the ones I am using now from an a'gon member that I like so much before deciding which quad to keep. Thanks for the monoblock tip. I have never owned a tube amp - are they as picky as I have heard in terms of tube maintance and heat generation? My guess is that they are still worth it in terms of sound.
Joe, glad to hear that you had a great time in Vegas. Also that your Siemens cca are sounding so good. By the way. Which Cca version did you settle on? Are these the ones that you sent to Victor for his blessing? Also, did you find some monoblocks that you liked? I just noticed some VAC Musicbloc 160's for sale here on Audiogon. If I had the money I'd snatch these up in a heart beat.
Forgot to update you about my Vegas trip. It was my 42nd trip there to teach a workshop on how to win at dice using meditation techniques and money management, more info at www.RainbowVentures.net. Short version - we won again! I am in Portugal this week teaching. Great country - less filled with tourists than much of Europe. At home been listening to the AH with the Seimens cca's and they just seem to get better each session.
No I'm only selling one.I purchased the second from a fellow audiophile who has since become a friend.My reasons are simply altruistic,as he doesn't reside in a border town and does not have a US mailing address.It's not that he disliked the Audio Horizons he acquired a Silverline passive pre which he had been seeking for some time. Hell no,the only way you're going to get my TP is to pry it from my cold dead hands.
Hey Markwatkiss! I see that you are selling your TP 2.0 preamp. I think that you are the first to re-sell. I'm curious what you are going to try out this time.
Our room hopefully won't be that color for long. We've had it like that for years and it's time for a change.
The weird thing is that we have a decorative paint business (faux painting, plastering, etc.) But, I guess when we have time off we don't really want to paint at home.
To be honest, I would need a chance to A/B the purpleheart feet with something else, perhaps my BDR MKIII cones. As soon as I do that, I'll be able to give a more emperical evaluation.
See, when I moved the new feet to the TP, I took the Walker Valid Points from the TP and moved them to under the Spectron amp. We also suddenly had high humidity conditions, which tends to have a noticeable effect on the Maggies. As you might expect, with three changes, it's hard to isolate what I now hear as...
...MUCH better sound. It sounds somehow sweeter - almost more "organic" - than before, as though there's a nice, soft, mellower feel to everything.
That said - and I will get back with more, later - I'm sure that I'll be keeping the purpleheart feet under the TP and the Valid Points under the amp, where they are now. Sounds good to me, and that's what counts.
Rob, I have to admit that those home-made feet are very elegant and classy looking. And I'll bet they really help the soundstage to open up very nicely. Excellent job on your woodworking skills.
Hey those audio points look cool,in fact the whole system is very impressive.Not only do we have similar tastes in equipment our media room is the same colour as yours.
Gammajo - Thanks for checking on that. I'm familiar with red heart. It's not overly common in this country.
I was witholding the reason for asking until I could get my system posted on Virtual Systems, which is now done.
If you take a look at my system, you'll see a picture of the TP 2.0n with purpleheart feet that I made up for the unit. (I'm a woodworker.) After having put a finish on the feet, they don't match quite as well as when the purpleheart was in unfinished form, but I do think the feet look very nice with the TP 2.0.
If any other TP owners are interested, it doessn't take too much effort to make these feet.
I have heard from Victor that Joseph says that the knobs are made from Taiwanese hardwood called, "red wood." That sounds exotic. Rob - may we ask you reason for wanting to know?
I heard from Victor (I am shameless about bothering him) that the knobs are an Asian hardwood. He is checking to see with Joseph to see what variety.
TVAD That is the same quote I got at $1,250 a matched quad from that vendor. I sent a quad of cca's from a different source to Victor for his evaluation against his wonderful ones. From this source they are about $650 a quad for early sixties. Will let everyone know the results. I am in Vegas the next 5 days - wish me luck, Daddy needs a new pair of monoamps!
Thanks, all. I highly doubt that mine are oak or stained oak. The grain just doesn't look quite right for oak.
Sherod... you may want to do what I did for the volume control. Just take some titanium white acrylic paint and the smallest bristle brush you can find, or a toothpick. Dot a small bit of the white paint into the recessed dot on the volume knob and carefully wipe away any extra. The dot is bright enough to see even in the dim light that I usually listen by.
Markwatkiss... just guessing, but do you have a silver faceplate for the TP 2.0? My guess is that the darker colored knobs are for the black faceplate, the honey oak or lighter knobs are for the silver faceplate.
Rob, I don't have a clue what type of wood the knobs are made from. I would ask Victor or Joseph on this. My knobs are medium dark, similar to your description. They are nice looking, but I wish they had a marking that you could see easier to know where your volume is set, but I don't complain as I go by the volume that sounds best to me anyway. Let us know what the wood is made of if there are no posts made about them.
Question for TP 2.0 owners: What color or species of wood are your wooden knobs? Mine appear to be a reddish color. The color and the grain remind me of purpleheart without too much slant toward purple.
Are all the knobs the same, or are some made of maple, oak, etc.?
Might sound like a weird question, but I have a reason for asking.
Ralph With $400 and patience you probably can find a pair of early 60's Siemens cca's in used but lots of life left condition for postion 1&3 with enough left over to get early sixties Siemens E88cc;s or E188cc's for postion 2&4. A want add here on audiogon turned out to be better for me than ebay or audiogon classifeds.
Hey Ralph. Locations 1 and 3 are as you are looking on top of the unit from the face counting the four tubes from left to right. E-mail Victor for a detailed explanation of why these locations are of more importance in the preamp sonics. Tubes are system dependent, but I have yet to hear any tube better than the vintage early 60's Siemens Cca in those locations that can sound any better.
Hey TP owners, I have about $400. burning my pockets, and I'm interested in upgrading my stock EH tubes. I have no first hand knowledge or experience with tube rolling. I have read to replace 1&3 being most critical even unsure what 1&3 are, assuming looking from left to right. Looking for any, and all recommendations for future upgrading, needless to say still very pleased with the purchase of my TP 2.0n output XLR upgrade only. Here is my gear list. AMP- McCormack DNA-500 DVD/CD- McCormack UDP-1 Turntable- VPI Scoutmaster / Ring/clamp/ISO Plat/SDS. Phono Stage- MusicalSurroundings Speakers- Dynaudio C1 Cabling- Cardas/Synergistic Research Myrtlewood under TP&CD player NO Acoustic treatment in room ???
Pat, what cables is Lou comparing? Sorry for the use of first names, but this username crap becomes so impersonal for me when communicating sometimes. Ain't that right Rx8man and La45 ?
FYI, I have noticed that Audio Horizons is now advertising thier long awaited phono preamp on Audiogon adds under tube-preamp. Victor wrote a lengthy "article" with pictures and detailed explanation of specs. Obviously they are very pleased with how the product turned out. Temps me to return my vinyl to my main system. Has anyone heard a prototype or ordered one on the free home trail?
The oilers are still in the preamp and am just trying to enjoy the music for a while. These caps really didn't smooth out until well past 400 hours. I am saving my pennies, though, to try out the V-cap teflons some day.
Mark, It's nice to see that you were able to find this info out before there was any damage to your preamp. I look forward to enjoying a fine drink with you some day.
Frankg, if you go on eBay and do a search of 6N23P, some of the ads will have close up photos and you can see examples of the same alphabetical differences previously mentioned. Yes it is somewhat confusing, but the tubes are well worth seeking out. They are cheap and very consistent in quality. Make sure you seek out NOS, which for these tubes means prior to the break up of the Soviet Union when military standards for testing the tubes was more rigid.
I agree Sherod that the price seems high but an admittedly superior product. With patience, I was able to land two quad sets each for about $600 each, perhaps not as nice NIB but good tubes NOS or ANOS. I think you got an even better deal under the RCA label.
Hi guys,just heard from Joseph,the Russian super tubes are not recommended for use in the TP 2.0 as it may cause over heating of the filament.Frank and Sherod,if we should ever meet the drinks are on me. As Forest Gump would say,life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're going to get.Anyone in the market for some rare 6H30's.
Clio09. That's interesting as well as confusing. In Markwatkiss's post above in referance to the 6H30P he says the mark after the 0 looks like an upside down u. My 6H30P-DR's have the same mark where the P should be. Looks similar to a lower case n to me. On the 6H23P-EB that I'm now holding in my hand, in place of the P is also this same mark. This is an origional equipment 6922 out of my Lamm 1.2 Ref. monos. So I'm just assuming that this mark is the letter P in Russian. I'm finding that the more I look into tubes the more that I need to learn. Frank
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
