Anyone famaliar with the manufacturer,and in particular this pre amp.The credentials and testimonials seem impressive.The advertised 10 day audition is appealing.
When you pop the top for tube rolling, or for plain visual curiosity, listen with the metal lid off for a while (hours) and tell me if there's a difference to your ears ?
I'll tell you my impressions after I hear yours, just to confirm if I'm not crazy !
I would be curious to hear Victor's or Joseph's view on popping the top as well. Obviously, removing the top would be to eliminate vibrations, so why wasn't this issue looked at by Joseph in his initial design? Wouldn't taping some anti-vibration( dampening) material on key locations of the inside of the top be accomplishing the same result as removing the top? I haven't yet taken the time to try mine with the top off.
I have been listening to the AH pre with Amperex Bugle Boy tubes instead of the tubes sent with the unit - Siemens Gold Pin. After a couple of hours I like the Amperex's very much indeed. The highs are a tad sweeter and the mids a little more full. The bass is not as deep and powerful.
Stage size and fullness of sound seems much improved with the Amperex's. May have lost the last bit of clean/transparency however.
I will need to listen more. The Amperex Bugle Boy tubes can be had on Ebay for about 1/3 the cost of the Siemens and to my ears sound very musical.
I will listen more.
I also placed an order for the Herbie Audio Halo tube dampers and Myrtle wood blocks.
Ok another 3 hours of listening tonight with the Amperex's. I like them better in my system then the Siemens. No doubt. Goodness the music was so special tonight. My Proceed PMDT died and my sense is it would sound better with the Siemens as it had a full, deep sound.
My new transport is a tad more transparent and forward and it seems to like the Amperex's. I know it is based on ones total system matching a likes. I am in sonic heavewn today with these Amperex's however. They are staying in!
La45 Congradulations - let us know initial impressions and the how you like it after breakin. Bill thanks forthe Amperex Bugle Boy report. I am also interested in trying the The Amperex PQ white label tubes versus the cca's
We should probably note that there may be safety concerns in having the top removed, for the unit and for the cat! I am not sure that it would lessen vibration effects. But there is plenty of room to try vibration dampening material pasted to the underside of the top metal piece. RxMan I admire your experimental curiosity. I am tempted to cut a piece of plexiglass and compare it to a piece of real glass - both should be easily made to seat with the nice rim around the top. But how about heat disipation from the tubes?
Audio Horizons Lovers. Tried asking this question at cable section but dont get much response. Maybe U can help. Have anybody try changing Exactpower Conditioner or APS Purepower stock PC to Transparency PC and observe any improvement in their system? I m from Malaysia, so borrowing it for a 30days trial I dont think is applicable to me. Yr input is much appreciated. Happy listening
As Gammajo notes, safety is one very good reason to leave a cover on the preamp (or any electronic device with 120V running into it). Joseph has told me about another benefit of keeping the cover on the unit: it helps the signal to noise by minimizing radiation distribution within the unit. If all other factors are held constant, the signal to noise will be better with the cover on the preamp. The Audio Horizons chassis is quite rigid. I like, especially, the welds at the chassis corners which greatly enhance the rigidity. I have not sensed any audible vibration from the cover of my preamp. However, if that is a concern to you then do use some adhesive backed damping strips. Doing so can only enhance the benefits of the preamp.
I would like to know what brand of damping strips or material you folks suggest and where to get it. I would like to apply this damping material to the cover plate.
Gammajo, I felt my idea was getting rained on, so I was going to drop outta here.
As far as this safety issue : There are many tube amps that run "wide open" no chassis top, bottom or sides to speak of, with big hot driver tubes staring at your face, my VAC monos are an example, what's safe ?
Sherod, that's a great place, I've talked to Jeff G. many times, he knows speakers and crosssover designs like nobodys business.
Another material I have four sheets of, is called No Rez from GR Research, the other speaker genius Danny R.
I'm gonna put my lid on and shut off, good luck guys >>>>
Rx8man I very much apologize if I was part of your feeling your idea was rained on. I truly meant no offense, just asking new comer questions. Your custom top sounds very elegant and given it is bit of work to do it right was wondering what you noticed in terms of sound. Best wishes
Rx8man, I like your idea very much and was most interested in your post. I left the top off my preamp after tube rolling and feel it does sound a little better. I can't explain it and perhaps I am crazy, but I do like the sound better.
Any news regarding the Preamp break in time? I am still waiting for it to arrive. I am reaching out to a few leads for the Siemens and also considering using Oyaide AC connector hoping to max out the preamp.
Also thought I should mention Joseph's Harmony Premium cord is outstanding!
LA45, Are you waiting for the preamp to arrive or the break-in to arrive? The preamp as received from Joseph takes about 48 hours to smooth out. It will gradually improve over the next few days. I recommend that before you start looking into tweaks for the preamp, just listen to and ejoy it for a while as is. The better you understand how it sounds in your system, the more you'll appreciate the minor tweaks available for it. I would also recommend that you tweak your room acoustics, and make sure that you have the best interconnects and power cords which will make bigger improvements for your system vs. tweaking Joseph's preamp. The tweaks which you can do to the preamp such as tube rolling and iec subs,IMHO, will be subtle compared to other things in your sound room. Have fun, though with your tweaking, but don't go crazy with it and miss out on just enjoying the music from your system.
Great advice. I will delay making any changes (keeping all current gear in place in the room) until the preamp fully breaks in. It does sound clean and focused after 6 hours so its good to hear that it will smooth itself out after 48 hours.
I am currently using a McCormack UDP-1 universal player and mostly listening to my Joseph Chow modified Citation Eighteen tuner. I'm presently experimenting with power cords on my monoblocks. I will be doing an interesting tweak on the preamp soon, so I'll let everyone in when it is finished. Joseph has approved of this experimental tweak, so it will be an interesting experiment. Stay tuned for updates.
La45 I noticed improvements as mentioned in the first few days. But I also recommend leaving it on 24/7 playing a continuous CD source with amp off. After one week of this (168 hours) I noticed another leap in performance - thats when the big grin: "I know with certitude that I am keeping this preamp and it was worth every penny" happened for me.
My Siemens CCa's for #1&3 and gray plate early 60s 88cc's for 2&4, plus Herbies tubes dampers were installed today. I am ready to do some fun tube comparing. As I am new to tube rolling and I expect the diffences to be subtle, do any of you have suggestions on what to listen for, what music to use, how to AB compare etc? My plan so far is to let them warm up for a hour but given they are all used tubes, start the project without a major breakin period. Also to use pieces like solo flute to check the body and harmonics of notes, and to use my other standard musical selections that I employ for comparing equipment. Any other hints, specific to tubes? Thanks. Joe
I'll let you all in on the tweak I'm going to do. It's not really a secret. I am going to try the V-Cap OIMP, oil-impregnated cap in place of the upgrade Hovlands that Joseph puts in as output caps in his upgrades. Out of curiosity, I asked Joseph if he had tried it and due to long break-in periods and cost, Joseph didn't have a chance to evaluate it, so I asked him if I could give it a try. He gave me the go ahead. If the cap seems that it has potential or proves overall superiority to the Hovland( by the way, a very nice sounding cap in Joseph's circuitry) Joseph could consider it as another upgrade option. Being a tweaker and curious about the V-cap's sonics, I couldn't resist hearing it in the preamp. I just ordered the V-Caps, so it will be a few days before I receive them and the caps will need an additional 200 hours of break-in to realize their potential. I'll give time to time impressions on this thread. http://www.v-cap.com/oilcapacitors.html
Joe, if your NOS Siemens tubes are indeed new, you'll need to allow another 24 hrs. or so for the new tubes to settle in. Please let us know what your impressions are.
Joe, what I heard, especially when putting in the Siemens CCa tubes in location 1 & 3 was a purer tonality of instruments. Pianos took on a more natural timber, with improved dynamics. Soundstage opened up and instrument placement seemed more exact. All instruments and human vocals just took on a more natural "aliveness" sound. The preamp is so precise that changing interconnects and power cords are easily discernable for fine-tuning the sound to please your ears. You are right, though, to listen to recordings that you are most intimate with to better gauge the differences.
I'm not sure if any TP-2.0 owner or potential owner is interested, but Joseph has just completed a prototype of a phono preamplifier. He and Victor are in the process of evaluating. That's all I know at this point. Contact Victor or Joseph for more details.
Thanks Rx8man. I was getting a little nervous there. I have a feeling that unless technology dramatically advances in key areas, Joseph won't be building preamps that go through continous upgrades.
Best I know Joseph is planning a new preamp sometime after April 1, chiefly in response to people wanting a little slimmer design (less height). He has made some changes in the circuit that serve to lower the noise floor a bit more and has been incorporating some of these changes in the more recent preamps he has sent out, to the extent that he could within the old design. The new unit is projected to cost a bit more. This is third hand information from what I have understood when buying my preamp about a month ago from Vincent. Please dont take my word on this as gospel but talk to Vincent for further clarification. BTW Great joke Rx8man! You had us going.
Sorry, Victor is correct - not Vincent. Yes, when I heard this news I estimated the chances of any of you parting with your TP 2.0's when the new one came out, so as to get a bargin used unit but I just couldn't wait to hear what you were all so excited about. I am glad that I didn't wait - life is short and I have had a month of delightful music. I figure whatever revisions are made, that our original 2.0's will be collector's items.
Well,Joe, to my knowledge, you are the first to mention this new version of Joseph's preamp. I have been in frequent contact with Victor and the only mention of a preamp is a phono unit that is still in the evaluation stage. Perhaps this is the new preamp that you mention. As you know, the current TP 2.0 versions are all line stages only, so naturally one with a phono would be higher priced. If the phono is offered as a separate phono-only, then this would be a new product for all with line stages who want to expand to phono as well. I also would imagine that if there are any upgrades available that would enhance the sound of the current preamps, Victor would make an announcement and include it in their web site. I would also assume that perhaps current owners would possibly have an opportunity for upgrades before any new versions were announced to the general public. Joseph and Victor are both very fair in dealing with their current customer base.
I just got an e-mail from Victor explaining the new preamp. It will be a combo linestage/phono preamp, available sometime in May. It will also be available as an add-on module for the current TP 2.0 users or as a separate phono only. Just as I had imagined. I don't think there is pricing yet. So, not to worry, current preamp owners. Joseph is simply expanding his "Horizons"; pun intended.
The new preamp will also have upgraded or "improved" cosmetics. I feel the current one looks just fine. The remote option will add a phase inverting button. His preamp does invert phase for any new folks on this thread.
I asked Mr. Chow if the preamp inverted phase when I was a/b'ing his preamp vs. my then CJ LS16 which does invert phase. He told me it did invert phase. I played with my speaker connections and changed polarity to confirm his comments.
His English is hard to follow and I may have heard him wrong. I will wait on Sherod's response also. Did not mean to confuse as I thought this point was common knowledge.
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