Yes! put your money into cables,you might as well give your money to me cables are the last thing to spend your money on.Spend as much as you can on your source it will be the best investment you can make for better sound then your amp. |
My comments above, dated 12/10/11, should have been listed under McAlister amplifiers, not Ayon Triton! |
The Vac 160 is not running in pure class A nor are the transformers and power supplys as big ,The Ayon Triton MK-2
I have bet the Triton is better just in build alone and the Lundahl transformers are excellent and running in pure class A at 100wpc in pentote and over 60 in class A troide you get 2 excellent amplifiers in one. |
Sorry for the english, i am a frenchman,i own an ayon triton II amp,operating with Duntech prince speakers,a Weiss dac2 directly connected to the amp input,thus bypassing the internal preamp.
The sound is very good,clearly better in pentode mode than in triode,notably for which concerns the width and depth of the scene.
This amp has a sufficient headroom (power reserve) with my 89db/w/m speakers, but i couldnt advise to listen loud with lower sensitivity ones,notably magnepan ones.
Since i am retired from the 1st jan 11,i switch on the amp in the morning and sometimes forget to light it off, then leaving it on for all the day.
The consequence of this new event has been that the power tubes have been out of service after only seven months use..Ayon proposed to replace the original ones by the new "black treasure tubes" which costed 720 euros (about 970 usd)...Therefore this amp is not deemed to be used by people who use the amp 15 hours a day....unless they are ready to afford the cost for maintenance..
In the meantime,awaiting for the new tubes, i had to put another amp thus i catched such opportunity to test a small classdaudio amp type sds470,sales price 590usd....
The results of my tests have been completely surprising,this amp gives a top end sound and i suggest all of you to test it ,remembering its cost is lower than replacing a set of output tubes.
Last but not least.....(for the man pretending all tubed amps sound similar but cables make the difference....),i am making my own cables,thus allowing me first to avoid to waste money,second to adjust the sound exactly as i wish.
The best ls cables for my triton are: bi wiring, common ground (-) wire in flat siltech,(+)going to the medium treble in litz wire dia0,1mm,(+)going to the woofers in wrapping(silver plated)wire,AWG24 (0,51mm dia)
Please do not waste money with expensive cables,but listen to the best number and diameter wires ,then tune to amp-speaker duo.
I think that the cable business is the biggest fake of the hifi world.
Sincerely yours, from France.. |
Am on my second pair. First pair distorted out of the box; second pair received about 3 months later, and power supplies hum so badly, I cannot stand to listen to them.
McALister promised replacement power supplies "immediately", but it's been 12 weeks now, and no supplies! In fact, Peter does not answer my emails, or return my phone calls. Perhaps he's ill? |
It would be interesting to know if anybody has heard Ayon against the new VAC sigma integrated (also about $10K) and how they compare. |
I recently had the opportunity to hear the much lower priced Ayon Spirit MK-3 and retail $5100 can get 15% at least .This new model is now Autobias, All Lundahl transformers and bigger as well as the power supplys This amp acutually measures over 60wpc in Pentode, and 40 into Triode
Allways running in pure class A and it does not run that hot which in itself was very surprising for the money Nothing and I mean nothing better than in musicality
that includes solid state even at $6k for a power amp
this Integrated was Excellent,also the very high parts quality and short signal path really allowed the active preamp to shine and the inner detail and soundstage was excellent as well as the open liquid highs . The Bass was very taught and fast I prefer the slightly rounder full bass to a solid state it seems more real. .I Have 1 month to decide after the holidays if I can swing the Ayon Triton Mk-2
that is my first choice and better across the board .
The Spirit MK-3 is 85% as good at 1/2 the cost and power .
I have Highly modified Martin Logan Vantage speakers and
for some reason similar wpc tube amps and SS amp even more than 2xrated power 200wpc just cannot compete with these Class A amps in control or fidelity and having 4 and 8 ohm taps brings a lot of flexability and also rca ins for a sub to complement my powered speakers . Maggis in 4 ohm that I heard worked great and well as the Wilson Sophias.
The workmanship and made in Austria exudes quality and the spirit weighs in over 75 lbs and the remote is a very nice RC type with a machined case.I have been into audio for well over 35 years and this is one of the best values out there !! |
I would like to also add that the Ayon Triton is now the MK-2 with even larger and better power supplies , transformers, and parts quality ,and now Fully microprocessor controlled slow start Auto biasing and it is also better sounding all the way around it is now $9750.
All the extra monies went into the parts upgrade
How TAS magazine missed this in their annual issue for integrated amps I have no idea, by far this is the best sounding integrated I have ever heard especially at the $10k price point. |
Ayon amplifiers are excellent in every respect in their given price catagory. The Triton-2
for instance sounds like like a good 300b tube and 211
combination running in pure class A certainly helps .Running in Pentode mode gives much better dynamics and taughtness in the bass
where Triode mode sweeter and a deeper soundstage and superb for voices and smaller ensembles.
This amp Has all Lundahl Transformers which are Very good as well as the parts quality.
OTL amps are good for a lot of speakers but if your speaker likes the lower ohm loads then maybe not on electrostats Not recommended. |
I am not making any disguises here, but thank you for the free advertising, however, I gave up retail months ago, nor do I have not a single piece of either of the aforementioned for sale or own personally, but have heard it and man it was good! Just a few simple comments regarding great audio alternatives. Neither have I dis-credited or even mentioned another competitors brand. Don't see what the problem is and neither does anyone else. I am interested in hi-fi just like everyone else, and consider these pages a great source for information. There are MANY great brands which are shared here, some by personal consumers, and I think it's also quite obvious, many by dealers or associates too. But don't take much of this with anything but a grain of salt as I suspect that anything the moderators are paid not to like will just disappear.
Would you like me to also identify all the sources who post here as well? Thats easy, but what would be the point.
Just give it a rest man, it's a free country |
Blackwillard - Mikesmith many aliases
You are really Image Audio in guelph canada - according to super reliable sources....
You really should take personal agendas elsewhere and let folks interested in audio do that, not push brands that you sell and downgrade brands you could never be a dealer of. |
There is a very important reason why you rarely see a David Berning amplifier, or many David Berning products ever out there for resale and if you do, they are gone instantly, you generally see more ads for WANTED. I personally do not own one...... yet, but let me tell you plainly that a pair of Quadrature Z is about as good as it can possibly get. David does not care about reviewers, lets face it folks, the more money you spend on advertising and schmoozing up a publication...... If I had $40k to spend tomorrow, I would not even consider a 1950's circuit design just prettied up with better parts like 99% of whats out there. Circuit design is the better part of the sonic values. |
Interesting point of view, thanks for sharing that. So what do you consider the " top spots " ? I have had some gear that is currently in review and it broke down as well, but I wont mention names of what didn't cut it, or was not reliable. thats just not cool. |
Mikesmith,
Sure everyone has opinion, thats the fun part, but this is not an opinion, but rather a fact, the mcalsiter simply broke down twice and ran like a space heater.
My friend bought a different model and there were loose wires that shorted and that mcalsiter had to be repaired. Products that are reviewed by TAS or Stereophile are companies that are players and produce standup gear. Typical that folks want to tear down audio companies that are on top and get all the press. They are on top for a reason, they make the best gear and they get the top spots, such as TAS & Stereophile. Maybe you like mcalsiter because it is made in canada and you are in canada, but that doesn't work either. |
Strange. The reports I have from every owner are nothing short of outstanding. I guess every person has an opinion however, thats what makes this hobby great. Incidentally the OTL-195's were compared in an audio clinic in the USA to some products costing 4x the MA price and the panel of many listeners were instantly unanimous that the MA product just sounded considerably better and took orders for 2 pairs on the spot! Funny, I have also had some extremely well reviewed and praised amplifiers here that TAS, Stereophile and a few others said were delicious and I did not think they were worth the boxes they came in after the listening was done :>} Cheers |
Mikesmith -
I owned a Mcalister and oh my god! This product was one of the worst I have ever owned. I bought it in a leap of faith and it soiunded flat and it broke 2 times, now I have it in a box in my garage - where it belongs.
Mike |
If you are looking for the very best value and performance, inquire about a McAlister Audio OTL or one of their "real" SET amplifiers |
Read "The Absollute Sound" issue Mar 2011. Ayon Audio is "The Bugatti of Audio. I personaly own the Ayon Triton and CD-2 player/DAC. Simply the best sound i have ever experienced period. The article echo's what i've been experiencing for the past 1yr. Simply in a class by itself. I dont miss my Krell, J Rowland, Mcntosch, Cary or Mark Levinson gear as nice and expensive as they are/were. |
Junglern,
On another thread last night I posted some comments about my listening experience with an Ayon Spirit-1 integrated amp if you are interested. |
Thank you, i am getting one since i had the chance of listening with the acoustic zen crescendos, what a synergy, also the CDP was ayon CD7!
I had never forget that night listening to that set up, wow wow. |
Ayon Triton doesn't seems to change hands often. It's not easy to find a good deal in the used market, and they seemed to be sold fast.
And there's good reason for that, they're great sounding amps. |
(
Why people cannot wait to beat people up without knowing we have members from all over the world, where English is not the first language?
If you do not have positive contribution in the forum, just don't say anything then. We don't need it, and we won't miss it.
)
Anyway...for member Junglern:
Ayon products in general are for people who want to listen to music thru the equipments, not for listening to equipments thru the music.
So the deciding factors are: what speakers are you using, what music you listen to, size of the room, etc. and most important of all, do you want to listen to equipment or music?
I am in the market for an used Ayon Triton too. I talked to a few ex-Ayon Triton owners and they all loved it in triode mode. Interesting, they do not use power hungry, hard to drive speakers like ML or Quad or Maggie.
One upgraded to LSA, the other upgraded to VAC separates, while one other decided to go Lamm hybrid separates.
Ayon Triton doesn't seems to change hands often. It's not easy to find a good deal in the used market, and they seemed to be sold fast.
Hope this helps. |
All the ayon amps I have heard have been excellent and excellent value. If do'nt need the power of the Triton, I suspect the Crossfire and Mercury, the pure SET amps, are the pick of the bunch. I do'nt really believe in switching between Triode and SET, it means a compromise with the output transformer windings. |
Thank you Foster_9 for advocating on my behalf!
It is true, english its not my native language but its my 4th, so when any of you making judgment about it cross the bridge to at least half of that, you are free to make any further comments...
I was trying to say, how the Triton compare to what i currently own the cayin kt88, by the way yest i already cleared any doubts, i listened the Triton with the Ayon CD7 and the Acoustic Zen Crescendos, for me 'till today the best sound ever, i am sure could be better but i realized last night that my set up, it look like a toy in front that sound.
wow,wow.
thank you again for all your guidance in this endless hobby! |
Nah. My amp is the best. So is my preamp. And I play the best music ever. |
Foster 9,just couldn't help myself.No offense it's the silly season. |
I used to own a Cayin (probably the same model as yours, 55 wpc integrated, 4xKT88 tubes) and it was a nice piece for the money. Not in the Triton's league though: the Triton costs 4x as much and weighs twice as much, plus it puts out way more power and has more current capability. Not really a fair fight.
I ended up with Rogue M150 monos, being currently upgraded to M180's. I considered the Triton, but already have a fine preamp, and like to try things out from time to time, and didn't want to spend extra just to have a preamp that wouldn't be used. At retail, a set of M180's and a nice preamp is almost the same as a new Triton, and sounds at least as good, with more flexibility. |
Did you stay at the Holiday Inn ;) |
Markwatkiss, I'm not a translator at the UN, but I play one on TV. :) |
Ayon does lots of advertising, at least in the USA. I haven't heard it. But there are other SET amps, e.g., Wavelength Cardinal, Wavelength Triton Blue, Larry D. Moore and Art Audio Jota, that are extremely good. |
I take it you're a translator at the UN. |
From reading the title, my guess is that English is a second language for the op. (I could be wrong, and I don't mean to offend if I am) My take is that he meant his question to read: Is the Ayon Triton one of the best tube amps on the market? Secondarily, I believe he was asking for opinions on the Triton versus the Cayin he owns. In this context his post would be reasonable. |
all amps and speakers sound the same.
put your BIG money into cabling :) |
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they're all the best...I like SET myself |
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You are the only one that can answer that. |
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