Installed the Clarity cap in my TP 2.0n. Been only about 20 hours so far, but the improvement in immediacy and lack of noise is impressive! |
The Claritycap MR sounds very decent right up front. It will go through a mini roller-coaster ride up to around 100 hours. At about 100 hours the cap starts to relax and slowly disappear, letting the music come through with that nice ebb and flow feeling of musical naturalness. The bass will further extend and tighten up while the highs will not only extend, but cymbals will have a natural sheen and brilliance that will give you an ear-to-ear grin. From 100-200 hours the roller-coaster ride smooths out dramatically with gradual improvements heard daily. After 200 hours, you'll be so enamored of the music, hearing nuanced details and natural tone and timbre that you'll forget about the cap. You'll be rearranging your music collection, anxious to hear your old favorites like never before. |
In response to Clefhanger I've owned the Capri and the Dodd and can say in no uncertain terms that the AH is superior to both.Now the Cary SLP-05,that would be an interesting shoot out. |
Let the challenge begin! (o: |
It's about time Sherod, we're all counting on you, the pioneer with the big machete, start choppin boy ! |
Hey! We're all in this together. There are many others out there who have compared far more preamps out there than myself. All I know is what I have now sounds pretty darn good. |
I listed the top dogs in order. :-) I would love to hear from somebody who has heard those worthy contenders.
Thanks for the feedback on Capri and Dodd, Markwatkiss.
Can you describe the sound from the other preamps? so we can validate our impressions. What characters did you think was better on the AH?
What speakers and amp do you own? Maybe we can have an idea on the synergy of your system in judging your findings.
Thank you |
Hi Clefhanger,will send you a pm,I don't want to clutter the thread with my ramblings. |
Anyone know the cap values on the TP 8.0n phono stage. I was looking to swap out the caps. Yes, I could ask Joseph, but have some reluctance knowing how he's not too craze about someone getting into his units. Thanks. |
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. |
Well, Pat. If you like the sound now, just wait until those caps start to relax within the next 100 hours. I doubt if we'll be hearing from you for a while as you'll be too busy being caught up in the music. Just remember to do something nice for the wife from time to time. You don't want her to think that you're married to your beloved stereo. (o: |
Hello all. Just thought I would chime in here and ask a few questions. I'm in the process of having my TD 3.0 upgraded with the Clarity MR caps as we speak. Just waiting on Joe and Victor to finalize the source and pricing.
Question 1: What impact will this upgrade have at the DAC level without an AH preamp? I'm assuming it will be much better then my current configuration which is still quite nice. There are four caps in the dac as opposed to two in the preamp.
Question 2. Currently using a Bel Canto PRE3.
Would there be added synergy with a AH preamp with the powersuppy and Clarity cap upgrades?
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Charlie |
Cdente,
I don't have Joseph's DAC, but I'm going to assume that the Claritycap will raise the level of quality of sound just as it does in the preamp. Joseph would be better qualified in telling you if one or all caps should be changed out to Claritycaps. If you want to see if the AH preamp would synergize better with your DAC than your Bel Canto, try out the AH preamp yourself in your own system with their return money-back guarantee. If you like the AH preamp the best, I would imagine that you could resell your Bel Canto on Audiogon for a reasonable price. Maybe someone that currently owns the AH preamp who might have previously owned the Bel Canto pre can chime in to give you some first hand experience advice. |
Hi Sherod
Thanks for your input. Still waiting on pricing for the Clarity-Vishay upgrade on the DAC. I guess the free trial would be the way to go. Just wondering if it would make any sense to evaluate the preamp without the Clarity cap upgrade given the fact that the dac would have these better components further upstream? Your thoughts.
Charlie |
Cdente,
It's your call,but I'd wait for the new Claritycap for the preamp since you're already getting it for your DAC. I would do one thing at a time to avoid confusion. Let the Clarity caps break into your DAC and listen to your favorite reference music to make sure that you like the new sound. If you hear the improvements like I think you will, then I would look at the preamp next, of course with the newest upgrades depending on your budget. In my opinion, the Claritycap MR option is a "no- brainer". (O: |
Hey Sherod:
Just got word from Victor:
"We have finalized the price of the Clarity-Vishay upgrade for the TD 3.0. This upgrade includes 4 Clarity MR caps, 8 Vishay resistors. With it we also do a Harmonic alignment, which requires a few more parts to align and adds an extra layer of smoothness and coherence to the sound. It is a very definite step up in performance quality."
Moving forward with this upgrade. It will will be a few weeks yet but parts are on the way. Keep you posted if you are interested.
Cheers
Charlie |
Charlie,
Welcome to the AH club. I look forward to hearing your impressions. I am also in line to send my preamp to Joseph for the transformer/Vishay upgrade. As you know, I already have the Claritycaps. (O: |
Thanks for the welcome. I would not be in a position to take advantage of this new technology if were not for you and the other folks on this thread. I'm relatively new to this high-end audio but look forward to participating and sharing impressions where I can. Thanks again to all. |
Charlie,
I look forward to hearing your impressions of the sound of these upgrades. |
200 hours on the Clarity caps. Nothing short of remarkable. Easily the best 150 bucks that I've spent on audio. My TP 2.1 is now second string and wondering how the heck the 2.0 took its job. |
The 200 hour mark on the Claritycaps is the first milestone where the caps begin to relax and slowly disappear. They will continue to gradually improve even more through the next 100 hours. Enjoy the music. |
I'm around the 150 mark, still waiting for more to happen, but I'll hang in there, cause it still sounds awesome. |
Rx8man I'm in a holding pattern waiting for
My claritys to arrive. Between Sherod and your
Comments It won't be a minute to soon. I'm like you
Daily enjoying the music keep us updated.
Mike |
Mike,
Is Joseph installing your ClarityCaps ? |
I was going to install them myself. It won't be till later in the
Summer before I can get the power supply upgrade. I refuse to be
Without music. What's your thoughts rx8man?
Mike |
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.
|
Clefhanger
I have compared the Rowland to the AH 2.1 fully loaded in my system some 18 months ago. I found the AH to be more musical, richer mids, more body and more to my taste.
One preamp that has bested both by a good margin is my current TRL Dude. You should also put the Dude on your list - $3500 new. Amazing unit to be sure. |
Hey Bill,
Wonder how the Dude would compare to the A.H. with all the current updates ?
(I had to ask !) |
I would also like to know. The Dude bested the 2.1 loaded by a good margin - pretty wide margin really. I understand Joseph is up to some interesting things and perhaps a shootout is in order soon.
Would be fun! |
Bill( Grannyring) and Pat(Rx8man) should plan a get together to compare preamps. That would be a fun read. How close do you guys live to one another? I live out in the left armpit of Texas(El Paso). With the drug war going on just a few miles from my house across the border in Juarez,Mx. you wouldn't feel safe here. (o: |
Wow Sherod thats a little close for comfort. I love the way the country is moving &*%#@!?<+-.... yea right, sorry i know this is not the place for this.
Rx8man my job involves soldering in tight spots and componets ive been doing it for a while it should not be a big deal. But i thank you for the reply.
Does anyone know if Victors Clarity upgrade is just caps or is some other components included?
No doubt the dude has been getting a lot of posts here and other sites.
Bill when you say by a large margin could you expand on that for us?
Mike |
Mike, check out my review of the Dude on this site for particulars. More open, resolving, musical, dynamic, effortless, much "larger" sounding, instruments simply sounded like they do live to a far greater degree.
I do respect Joseph and still stay in touch having just purchased more cables from him. Perhaps I will get a chance to hear his best unit soon. I live in southern Minnesota about 90 miles south of the Twin Cities. |
Wow, after more than 1,000 posts someone who is very familiar with the AH, has treasured its strengths, and whose opinion invites respect posits a superior contender (at least in their system) for best in pre-amp class. I, for one would be highly interested in a comparison of Joseph's latest with the Dude. |
Joe,
There are a few others who have owned a version of the AH preamp and have since moved on to other preamps. Grannyring has so far been the only one with the cajones to post about it in this thread. I'm sure we'll hear from others some day. I'm glad that Grannyring has found something that best suits his listening preferences. |
Actually I made a mistake. Ater browsing through some of the older posts here, I read where member Tvad tried out the TP 2.1nb and it didn't work for him in his system. Victor also mentioned somewhere, either in this thread or maybe in a private e-mail to me, that a small percentage of preamps bought are returned with the money-back guarantee, but the majority end up keeping them. |
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. |
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. yep. |
Besides stellar sound in a preamp, I also look for reliability, ease of use, tube rolling potential, great communication and helpfulness, attractiveness, an available upgrade path that is cost reasonable, and synergy with my other equipment. So far AH has fit this bill beautifully.
I know for me things really dialed in with the AH with an exceptional quad of Seimans NOS early sixties cca's. Other quads of cca's and other tubes just didn't do it as well for me. Victor confirmed my judgment of the cca's that I ended up with.
I am eager to hear equipment such as the Dude and the Sampsons that are reported as taking things even further but the incentive to chase the next best thing has been greatly diminished when it is so much fun to listen to what I already have and I am so pleased with the customer service. |
I say we take the power supply out of the Dude and put it in the AH preamp. Then we'll call it the Frankenstein. (o: |
Well as they say on Good Morning America,Audio Horizons is an AMERI CAN story. |
Gammajo you wrote it well in your post. I am so happy with my systems sound now that playing the equipment in and out game is not on my list any longer. Yes i can go along with upgrades to my gear thats a no brainer. And with AH, Nuforce, Tyler, Sora sound, and others in my fold its most definitely more than the gear. First class customer service and friendly business models are so refinishing and appreciated. And when it all comes together with a sound that is music to the ears quoting cousin Eddy "BINGO"
Markwatkiss nice jingle for the masses i'm sure.
Mike |
Madisound recently lowered their prices on the Claritycap. I paid quite a bit more for mine from them not long ago. Oh, well. I'm still happy with them in my preamp.
http://www.madisound.com/pdf/printcatalog/claritycapMR.pdf
|
Caps and coils is where I purchased mine very reasonable for another
Option.
Mike |
On a recent evening, I watched a skillful boxer beat a less skillful boxer. He was faster to punch, to change angles, to block, to slip punches. An athlete in peak form sees, acts, and reacts so quickly that we fans marvel at his speed and mastery. From the athlete's perspective, he sees, acts and reacts to events that unfold more slowly than he is able to respond to them. From his perspective, when in peak form, the game has slowed down.
I know now that an audiophile can share in the experience of an athlete in peak form. While testing the latest iteration of Joseph's new SET amp, I shared in it. The music came to me with such clarity, ease and fullness that I experienced it, and responded to it, more quickly and completely than I had known to be possible. The game has slowed down.
I heard what a live audience must hear from the reedy voiced Stacey Kent. Momentarily, she will delicately touch a warm, un-nasal, lower pitched vibrato. Alison Krauss' wispiest sibilants are no longer opaque; I can almost pause to inspect them, as they float past my ears. The game had slowed down.
Are there two pianists who interpret Mozart more differently than Mitsuko Uchida and Alicia de Larrocha do? I've enjoyed this difference many times. But, through this amplifier, I could hardly believe their interpretations of the allegro movement of Sonata K332 had been inspired by the same source. The recordings had not changed. My experience of them had changed.
This SET amplifier is special. I hope it reaches the market. The amp now moves on to another beta tester. I hope it returns soon. |
Cedar,
Thanks for the mini-preview of your beta-testing time with Joseph's new SET amp. May I suggest that you start a new thread on the amp and/or write up a separate review on it. I'm hoping that we can keep this thread going as it started on Joseph's preamp and its variations. Any technical information and pricing and availability on the SET amp would be helpful as well. The SET amp will probably benefit those with fairly high-efficient speakers( I recall that you have the high efficient Coincidence speakers) Those with lower efficient speakers might not be able to mate this new SET amp with their speakers. |
Nice post on the amp. Well written and really paints a vivid picture of what you are experiencing with this amp. |
Cedar - thanks for the preview on the Set amp. Would you post whether you used an LP or digital source, efficiency of your speakers and size of your room, so that I can get an idea if the Set is something that may be in my future? |
My room is 20' x 20' x 9'. Two adjacent walls have large openings, so the effective volume is larger than the measurements indicate.
I use a digital source.
The loudspeakers are specified at 92 dB with a minimum impedance of 10 ohms.
I listen to music at a volume that doesn't exceed 85dB, which is typical of what I hear when I attend the opera, seated within 15 rows of the orchestra pit. |
Thank you for the excellent detail Cedar. It is very helpful. |
Markwattkiss,
Did you ever talk with Joseph or Victor about lowering the gain on the preamp? I noticed that on their web site specs, the 2.1 comes standard with 20db gain, but 10db gain with "B" upgrade. |
