Atmasphere s30 would be a very nice piece to build around that would also attract some buzz visually.
Let us know when this is all done and ready. A trip to Colorado might be in order. :^)
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Well, I thought it would be time for a quick update since we are a week out form RMAF and I'm narrowing down my decision. Here is what I'm thinking:
Speakers: Zu Soule Supremes or Druids
Amp: Audion 120 Super Sterling SET, Audion Silver Night 300B SE, or Line Magnetic 518IA
Table: Still researching a lot here, but I'm thinking Hanss T10 or Nottingham interspace Jr. to start with and then upgrade the front end in a year or so. We are probably going to end up over budget due to the amp/speaker selection so we will move the table to one of the bedrooms when we can upgrade.
Any feedback is always appreciated! |
Cottguy, if I may suggest, do not choose any speakers until you have seriously auditioned them. This is a critical component.
By the way, right now there is a VAC integrated wih MM phono. Great amp, excellent price. |
Hi Cottguy,
Haven't been on A'gon in a while but have read this whole thread with great interest. Been in this hobby for about 30 years now and have read countless reviews of high end gear over the years and owned lots of gear too. I sold audio gear at the retail level many moons ago and have been very lucky at putting together very musical systems for not a lot of money. Its very easy to spend a lot on this hobby. I always have taken pride in putting together very musical systems, giantkiller rare components that sound 90-95% as good as stuff costing many $1000's more.
Having said all that, there is a lot to digest here. I agree with Inna, Mapman, and others with a lot of their ideas and comments, and my advice might shoot in the face of logic and I wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't heard it with my own ears.
I'm going to offer an opinion based on an audition that flies counter of what most people believe here, and I wouldn't believe it myself, if I didn't hear it.
Room acoustics will play probably the most important role here because if you have a lousy room acoustically, the most expensive gear in the world will not sound so great if you start off on a bad foundation, so I would invest part of that budget getting the room acoustics right, or as right as you can.
The tube amp will be playing heavily, so you want something that runs tubes conservatively and has heavy duty trannies. Organ amps make great tube amps because the transformers are so heavy duty, they are designed to be on all the time. I owned one for many years, a modified Conn organ amp, it was 8 wpc in push pull triode using 6BG6 tubes and was one of the finest amps I ever heard. Outperformed a McIntosh 225 which was according to TAS, their best sounding stereo tube amp, althought the MC240 and MC275 were more popular. It's a stretch, I understand, but I would consider taking a chance on it. Will Vincent makes a very nice looking modded Baldwin organ amp that probably would be very reliable in your situation. The higher power would compliment the Vandersteens that you seem to really like.
The other idea that you seem to be leaning towards, as I read thru the thread, is that you might be considering higher efficiency speakers. I have heard a 2 wpc 2A3 amp fill a huge hotel meeting room being played on ultra efficient horn speakers. That's a whole different animal from a very lush push pull tube amp; however, I think that low power-high efficiency spkrs is the best sound of all - hence my username.
I once went to a high end show and over the course of the day, I heard all kind of different tubes and tube topologies. SE, SET and push pull amps, wired in triode, pentode, Class D amps and SS amps with tube preamps and after the day, I concluded that my favorite was a SET amp which used interchangeable triode tubes from 2A3, 45, 50, 10's, 300b's with single driver speakers. I also liked el84 tubes which are also reasonably low powered. My least favorite were the highest powered amps. The class D amps matched with a tube preamp was also a nice combination.
The most interesting thing was that the room with this high end SET amp with the $5000 single driver speakers that sounded amazing had the cheapest sources. They used a first generation cd player with one of those cheap 1980's close n play turntables, hardly even mid fi but it all sounded wonderful! The thought of coupling cheap source components with great gear defies logic, certainly the logic that Ivor T. from Linn always espoused. Having said that, I would consider a classic turntable, one with a repeat function so you can hear the record over and over without having to get up and change it every 20 minutes. I had a fully manual Rega table for over 20 years, now at 55, I never want to get a manual table again.
A few years ago, for $125, I bought an elegant Kenwood KD2055 or 3055, I forget the exact model, with corian base and put a good cartridge on it and was in heaven. You don't have to spend gobs of $$$ in this hobby, its all about system synergy. I've bought plenty of used gear and have always gotten lucky that they all seem to work really well together.
I was never a Magneplanar fan as many folks are, they look fantastic, but the small sweet spot always got in the way of enjoying them. An on interconnects, I try not to go to crazy about it, as long as I have something good, I don't obsess about it. A good silver interconnect makes me happy. I also heard the Goertz speaker wire and you can't go wrong with that either.
Sorry to be so long winded here, a nice single ended triode amp with the high efficiency Zu's or other single driver or horn speakers would be very pleasing. You might even prefer it to Vandersteens which are lush sounding but not as transparent. Keep us posted on the RMAF and enjoy the journey :-)
Lou |
One last thought, aesthetics plays an important role in our audio systems and I agree nothing looks better than the glowing tubes. A real conversation starter. Likewise, the Cain & Cain tall single driver speakers are pretty cool looking too. Forget the model #, but they definitely are conversation pieces.
I just read under the Misc category, that sometimes the RMAF might not be the best place to do serious listening because of everyone talking, hope that's not the case when you go there..... |
I’m just going to throw a potentially stupid room treatment idea out there to combat our extremely large listening area and see what you guys thing...
What if I were to install a heavy floor to ceiling track and curtain that could cut the room down to one third of the size for serious listening sessions?
I mean more of a nice heavy/backed velvet curtain, not a cheep accordion style room divider by the way.
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For the cost of the fabric and hardware, I would use it to upgrade the system.
I haven't been following the thread, but you mentioned the Vandy 2's originally. Why not get a pair of Quatto's used and go for Solid state amplification?
Sorry if I am missing later developments... |
gdnrbob
Be good to browse through the thread so you can understand better what cottguy is trying to accomplish and why solid state isn't an option , as well as, his last question regarding room treatment
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I would think that room tuning could wait until all the equipment is in place and every piece is fully burnt-in, including of course the speakers. Speakers can take hundreds of hours to reach top performance, cartridge 100/120 hours, cables 200/300 hours, tube amp - I don't know, probably a few hundred hours too. When it's done and the permanent speakers position is determined, then you can experiment with the room.
I am not sure about putting heavy curtain and creating kind of wall. It would definitely absorb a lot, whether it would be good bad or both is another question. The most important thing about listening room is that it must be alive not a closed-in dead space. Room and speakers work together, that's why I called it tuning not treatment. Sometimes moving one big chair a few feet makes a major difference. It may take some time to find the best arrangements or you might accidentally hit it right away. |
Agree with Inna, get your system in the room, then work on treatments. I remember at the stereo store I worked in we had thick curtains in our high end room and the back wall was a few feet away from it and it sounded pretty awful. I would look into the product Green Glue which might be the least expensive way to deaden a room and keep loud sounds from escaping into other rooms. I used it in several commercial and residential real estate applications with great results. Your basically installing 1/2 to 5/8" sheetrock over the existing wall with several tubes of Green Glue in between that is an elastomeric substance between the two and it greatly damps out sounds into the other rooms. There is also a very good book on the market all about room acoustics, forget the name of it, might be called "Good Sound" |
Facten, you just can't help yourself.
I said I was sorry if it wasn't prescient, but you have to be an a.. |
OK, we'll revisit the room treatments down the road...
I'm really starting to get to a point that I don't know which direction to go in. After lots of reading posts and reviews, it seems like the "true tube experience" lies in SET set ups. Then you get into the type of tube that has the characteristics that you are looking for. Then you try to find what is in your price range (which is somewhat limiting in this case). I wish I had 15-20K to drop on monoblocks, but we don't at this time.
From what I have read, It seems like an 845 or well designed 300b are what I'm looking for in a SET set up. I'm also considering Atma-Sphere's OTL s30 and the Audion kt120 SET. Based on what I'm seeing, 300b's are great at midrange, but suffer at low and high end. Audion apparently has fixed this issue with their new transformer. The price on the 300b SE is possibly a marriage breaker :-)
Line Magnetic obviously makes the 218 and 518 models for the SET845. The price seems right and so do the reviews on the gear. I'm not sure how easy it is to deal with repairs/warranty issues here though? I'm also not seeing many down sides to the 845 tube. Possibly some one could enlighten me here?
The negatives that people have expressed on the Atma-Sphere (which I don't know how well founded they are) are that there is either some noise that can be heard due to the amp or due to the amps ability to reveal it in the recording. Also, it sounds like the tubes that are used are somewhat scarce and there are very few options to roll tubes. In another thread, it seems like proper speaker matching is extremely important with this amp. On the flip side, I have yet to find a negative about the company or the owner. It sounds like they stand behind their product if there are issues that arise and also that their build quality is top notch. This is also my wife's favorite amp based on the retro looks. The fact that they are an American made company from my wife's home town is also a bonus.
The Audion Kt120 SET is very intriguing. There is a RAVE review of the product linked from the distributor's site. I believe this product was only made for the American market. My conundrum is that I'm not sure how the KT120 is going to sound as an SET? The price and power output seem to be perfect, so this would be a great option if it's a good fit for the speaker choice. The dealer I talked to tried to steer me towards the 300b set up, which is the more expensive option. It sounded like he had my best interest when doing so, but I'm a tad skeptical.
I'm not going to lie, researching everything is starting to wear on me. I just want to sit back with the lights off and watch my tubes glow as I listen to vinyl. Making the right choice is stressing me out more than it should, but this is probably the 3rd biggest investment behind house and car that we have made. On top of it, we want guests to love it!
Sorry to ramble on here, just don't really know where to turn at this point.
6 days till RMAF. Hopefully, I will have an eye opening experience that will make the decision easier. |
Addressing room acoustics ( before or after) is as important as what your choice in equipment will be to accent your room in sound and the bling you seek . The info in this thread is massive and the opinions are many. You are obviously hooked again . Go to the show and listen and listen ( gik will be there too) . Take a rough layout of your room . Let your ears and pocket shape your choices. Some may say bentley, you may perfer a Mercedes in the end. The one thing about this hobby is if you bought a 100k amp , some wont like it ..but do you ? Thats all that matters.
The real question here is how many albums have you bought yet : ).
I can attest to small changes effecting a room . I took out a coffee table in mine the otherday and it wont be going back . I got a little leather cube footstool/table 14"x14" lol |
About your curtain, John.
I don't think that will work for you - the curtain will simply absorb all sound, and may make the room sound dead. In my experience, two under appreciated techniques can work wonders: wall texture is very useful (think bas bas bas relief), as are non-parallel walls. YMMD |
I painted my room in textured cement block paint , (drywall on 6" thick timber frame), it created almost like a smooth 50 grit sandpaper( it has sand in it, or add it in ) . Then i repainted it with laytex . It looks cool and has a small pebble texture .. but gik changed the game in my med.room . I sent them pics and they helped alot .. bryan i think . I would be hesitant with curtains on one side . Like i said before many companies can print on there panels . Anything you want , thats all you..if i had unlimited money the first call i would make is to a designer, studio eng. to design a room with proper acoustics.then an electrician. So for me i would be seriously considering what and how your new setup and choices will look sound and interact with your b&b..
thats why i would go room, electrical, spkrs, power ,tt
just me
enjoy the show |
Cottguy, I suggest you start a thread specifically asking about tube amps, SETs and others. There are many here who have very different tube amps, they might be able to assist you if you state clearly what you would like to achieve and the kind of music you listen to most. It is easy to drown in all that. In any case, whatever you eventually choose will be a compromise, especially considering that your audiophile funds are not unlimited. If they were I could suggest getting Lamm ML2 monoblocks with Lamm preamp and Lamm phono and be set.
Not everyone at all, even with almost unlimited funds, prefers SETs overall but there are those who swear by their 1watt/ch, 8 watt/ch etc. SET amps. Atma-Sphere amps have high reputation, if you are concerned about noise they might make, try to talk to the owners of those amps and also to Ralph of Atma-Sphere himself.
There are also many Japanese companies making tube amps.
Whatever it is, good tube sound does cost quite a lot but not necessarily too much. Glorious midrange is great but that’s not all. That’s the reason why the Lamm that I mentioned is considered such an achievement. |
I'll just mention another brand that might be of interest to you - Allnic.
They have three integrated amps including one 12.5 watt/ch 300B SET. No phono, as I understand, but I may be wrong, maybe they have an optional one. The suggested retail is $6.9k which might be over what you are planning to spend, but you could probably get something off this figure. I am not familiar with it, just know that this Korean company has a high reputation among some in the know.
Tube sound has quite a range, you just have to clearly understand your preference. You might actually like both VAC and Allnic, in addition to others.
I said it once somewhere here on the forum but I think it would be relevant to repeat. In my opinion, the single biggest mistake in choosing the components is to spend less than needed. I myself made this mistake couple of times. And the second biggest mistake is to spend more than needed. I never made this kind of mistake, as far as I know. |
cottguy, similiar to teh comment made by Inna re Atmasphere, suggest contacting Jeff Halpern at Tone Imports (US distributor) and/or Taylor at Goldprint Audio about after sale Line Magnetic support |
Interesting discussion.
Two flags went off early on both based on your room dimensions. First in the sheer size of the room, and second, the dimensions that are multiples of another dimension, 20x40x11. One dimension being a multiple of another usually is a cause for compounding room modes.
GIK will be located in the lobby. I would bring a drawing of the room and layout and talk to them first.
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Enjoy the show and do try to zero in on a total budget here. Also, try to zero in on which tube sound that you like. For me, there were 2 significant events, shows that I attended which allowed me to listen to many different amps and figure all of that out.
Around the year 2000, I went to a Single Ended Symposium put on by Stereophile magazine here in Philadelphia. Prior to that I'd never heard SE amps and at this time they had returned in popularity. That day I heard SET amps from Dennis Had of Cary, David Berning, Audio Note, Don Garber of FI, and several other brands. I heard 845s, 211s, 300B's and 2A3's. We listened thru 104 db horn speakers, a CAT preamp, Goertz spkr wire and IC's and Sony's new Super CD player or whatever was the new top of the line in CD technology. At the end of the day, the least expensive, smallest powered amp, the 3 wpc, FI 2A3 monoblocks were clearly the best sounding amp in the room. The highest powered amps, the 845's sounded worst - although they were all excellent and I could be happy with all of them, but the 2A3 sounded best to my ears and many others in the room. There were several writers, equipment reviewers in the room from Stereophile, TAS, and Listener magazine. The room was quite large, 40x40 perhaps and 3 wpc filled the room.
Years later, I went to the Vacuum Tube Valley show in Central NJ and heard push pull amps using KT88's, EL34's, 6BQ5's, KT66's and 6BG4's. Again, the best, to me, was the lowest powered amps, the 6BQ5/EL84 revision of the Dyna MKII (18 wpc), and a modded Dyna Stereo 70 which used 6BG4's in PP triode for 12 wpc.
I also got to hear Single Ended Triode amps, one Italian int amp in particular that could operate using 2A3's, 45's, 10's, 300B's, and 50's with the turn of a dial. Each produced a slightly different sonic signature and I concluded again that the lowest powered combination sounded best to my ears.
I also heard digital amps, and digital amps with tube preamps and they were also very very good. A little bit sterile, but the tube preamp warmed them up.
If you are looking at very high efficiency speakers, above 100 db, then the ultra low SET amps would work fine.
I also heard high efficiency single driver speakers from Omega, Lowther and others. The Lowthers I was not a fan of....
As for the Atma-sphere brand you mentioned, I believe it is probably very expensive. A couple of years ago, I picked up an Antique Sound Labs MG-Si15DT for about $400 which runs KT88's in SE pentode and SE triode for 15/5 wpc respectively. I was always curious to hear a KT88 in SE, since I really wasn't a fan of it in PP. It was a great sounding int amp for not much money. ASL also makes a 2A3 amp the Tulip which supposed to be very good as well. Its not a current model, but you might be able to find one used.....That's if you like high efficiency speakers
So, see what you like most, see which tube type and topology you like best be it PP or SE. I never owned or heard an OTL amp, but to me, they are not very practical. They take lots of tubes, they must draw lots of heat and electricity and could be a real hassle. I want something that will run tubes conservatively and will get lots of life from the tube.
I think that a 6BQ5/EL84 based amp whether in PP or SE is a great place to start. It's a great sounding tube and is inexpensive to re-tube. It doesn't give you quite the coolness of a coke bottle styled 2A3 tube but it also way less expensive as well......A long time ago, I had an early Jeff Korneff 6BQ5 SE pentode int amp that was 5 wpc
If you like the low powered SET w/hi efficiency speakers combination, you couldn't do much better than a Korneff 45 if you can find one or a 2A3 amp, IMHO. You can pick up a Korneff in the $1500-2K range
For way less than the price of some of the amps listed above, I could put together an incredible sounding system that could hold its own with gear costing 1000's more......enjoy the show, looking forward to hearing your comments when you return.... |
well, day 1 at RMAF is in the books. Although I'm probably going back tonight to hang with the Zu crew and listen to some more vinyl. I have to admit, I was both impressed and disappointed in my first day. I listened to $200,000+ systems that were terrible (in my opinion) and some $6,000 systems that absolutely blew me away. The biggest lesson I learned was that price does NOT equal quality in the audio world. I also listened to some PHENOMINAL flagship systems.
So far my 3 favorite rooms were:
#3 VAC with Harbeth 40.2s The speakers completely disappeared in this room. I found myself staring at the wall above the amp because that's where the guitar and vocals were coming from. You could literally hear where every instrument in the band was. If I had the funds/listening room set up, I would be extremely drawn to this set up.
#2 Vincent Audio Sp-T700s paired with Ryan R620s. This was honestly every bit as good as the VAC room, except on a smaller scale. The speakers disappeared completely, were dynamic and warm. Again, with the right living situation, I would definitely be a potential customer here.
#1 Zu Audio. I went into the show expecting/hoping for good things from Zu and I was blown away. They were paired with Peachtree audio, so not my ideal tube set up, but they still sounded phenominal. The soul supremes were in a very large room and they still sounded dynamic, had zero listening fatigue, were extremely warm...basically all of the things I'm looking for in my price range. They definitely perform way above their price range and everyone that was in their room (which was a lot) couldn't believe how good they were for the price. I'd say that Zu is a company that people need to take note of.
Honorable Mention was Natural Sound Speakers and the Pass Labs rooms. They were so far out of my price range, I couldn't justify putting them in my top 3, but WOW! There was also an importer from Colorado that had the best set up I heard, but I can't remember the companies as i didn't take the literature. Hands down the best system at the show. But again, I'd have to win the lottery to even consider a system like that.
I'll try to do another write up tomorrow night. |
Harbeth and Zu, how did they do bass and highs ? |
@inna The Harbeths were unique. I don't know if it was their ported design, but it almost was like they were breathing bass on you. I felt like they had a bit more range down low. The highs were seamless thanks to the 3 way design, but to me lacked a little bit of realism. The Soul Supremes had a much tighter bass that went lower than expected, but you can see where adding a sub would complete the presentation. My wife and I go to see a lot of live music...blues, jazz, symphony and concerts. To me, the Zus delivered a much more life like and live sound. The tweeter definitely delivered a more realistic symbol strike and electric guitar sound.
Don't get me wrong, the Harbeths were amazing, but not at 3 times the price of the Zus. They also had more than $50,000 of gear driving them where the Soul Supremes had a $1,000 Peachtree 125(new unreleased model). This is an apples to oranges comparison and I'm obviously injecting my opinion here. Their rooms are about 20ft apart, so I'll try to give you a little bit better description tonight.
If I were going to sum up each speaker with one word:
Harbeth: Soundstage
Zu: Realism |
That's awesome that the 200K system sounded terrible to you, that's what I've been saying for years. I once went to a high end salon and was listening to over $100K of gear and thought for this kind of dough, it should sound so much better. Then I went home to my modest single ended $2K system and felt it was at least 95% as good as the ultra expensive system, and I have had that experience many times.
I have never actually heard the Zu's but am not surprised. I have never heard or read a bad thing about them. They also have a very high impedence which makes them mate very well with low powered tube amps.
The Harberth's are British and my favorite speakers are British. ProAc, Spendor, Rogers, Harbeth, Epos, Celestion, KEF, etc.are all British and they are all consistently excellent and disappear. If you like the warmth of British speakers, there are many other used British speakers that might be a viable choice for you; however, they excel in the monitor sized speakers, IMO. |
The Harbeths were driven by VAC electronics. Electronics and cables contribute greatly to the soundstage presentation.
Still, I am surprised that Zu speakers with inexpensive electronics gave you a more of a life-like sound. I wonder how they would sound with, say, VAC or Audion integrateds. |
Does not surprise me at all that the newer Peachtree amps are top performers and for very reasonable cost.
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Day two is in the books and it was a great day!
My wife was with me today and she had a blast. To be honest, I purchased the baby blue set of Zu Soul Supremes from the cover of Stereophile yesterday. I didn't want to say anything, because I had a small case of second guessing myself. I left today feeling like I 100% made the right choice and my wife agreed. She even said, that there wasn't anything close within $7-10k of their price. We hit every room that was in our range, all the flagship rooms, some solid state rooms, and every tube room we could find. She also left saying that she doesn't understand why everyone doesn't run tubes...I married wisely :-) We spent a fair amount of time in the Austin Audio room because she didn't want to leave. They were our, "cost is no option" room of the day.
Zu also brought a new prototype speaker to the show called the Experience. They have been running them on the Peachtree Nova 300 both days. Supposedly, it will be in the 30K price range and appears to feature 2 of their 10 inch drivers, their top of the line tweeter, and a massive 18 inch woofer. There hasn't been a person in the room who wasn't blown away by the range and presence of that set up. I can't wait to see the final product.
Another thing I should mention, is that we were both really impressed by the fact that the Peachtree/Zu room is at least 2000 square feet. The Soul Supremes had no problem filling the room with a significant amount of tight bass that extended lower today than I thought it did yesterday. Again, I don't think a single person could believe that that speaker only cost $4,500 and while running on an "entry level" amp. I really can't tell you how many people were blown away by that room.
We couldn't make it to the Zu party last night, but we will be there tonight...tomorrow I get to bring my new speakers home :-) |
@inna I forgot to mention, that every system that had VAC components was really solid. You are right in saying that the amazing soundstage that I heard on the Harbeths was as a result of their amps. That was a common characteristic in all set ups that featured their gear. I'm leaning towards the Audion 300b Silver Night Special Edition, but If I can find the right used deal, I may grab a VAC. I have had several people tell me that the Audion/Zu combo is a home run, so I'm torn. For the time being, we will be running a peachtree Nova 150. We need to save some funds because our budget has almost doubled. We will be completing the system by the start of summer at the latest. |
Glad you gound something. I have a peach tree integrated in my office system. They run a pair of Celestion SL6S's in the near field on my desk. For a cass d solid state with tube buffer they do a good job.
Now, what will the front end consist of? BTW, I sold the maxed out Thorens 150. But i do have a Acoustech ph1 sitting around with upgraded opamps.
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Blue Zu's sound like a nice pick. Congrats. |
Others may disagree but I think that having a great amp, often more expensive than speakers, brings great advantage even with modest but fundamentally very good speakers. Many good speakers are capable of more than they might seem, just give them great source amplification and cables. And wall current, of course. |
Well, day 3 is done. I went to pick up my speakers from the hotel and they wouldn't fit in my car. Without hesitating, Sean had Harvey drive them to my house and help me carry them in. Zu is a complete class act company.
Attending RMAF really helped shape my opinion of where I am and where I'm going in the hobby. When I started this, I had no clue what I was doing. Still, I don't know a lot. However, I do know that I am ecstatic with my decision and I don't see that ever changing. The number of rooms that I went into that had well over $100k worth of gear was impressive. In my opinion, most of those rooms sounded terrible. It makes zero sense to me why you would want to take a pure signal and pass it through countless devices and connections to, "improve it." To my ears, it was obvious that those rooms tried to do too much for no reason at all other than to sell gear.
The most simple rooms sounded the most musical and much closer to reality. I can't tell you how many rooms my wife and I went into and left after 30 seconds because our ears were hurting. It wasn't because the systems were too loud. It was because they were totally unnatural. If you ever hear live Jazz, a full upright bass doesn't shake the room and trumpets don't make you want to cover your ears. We rocked out for 4 hours in the Zu room last night at concert levels and our ears never hurt once. Companies need to stop trying to reinvent the wheel for the sake of being original. Sorry if this offends you, it's just a young punks $.02.
To get me by till we can afford our tubes, I'm going to be buying a Marantz 220. There is no reason for me to spend $1600 on the Peachtree. Simplicity is the goal moving forward. Speakers, Amp, Phono Stage, Table. That's it. Oh yeah, LOTS of vinyl!
I really appreciate every one's help and options along the way. I may not agree with you and you may not agree with me, but you helped me research and find what works for me and my wife. We are incredibly grateful for that! I will be continuing to update as we add the final gear for this system. We will be building at least 2 more systems in the next year or two and would love to share the experience with any one that wants to listen to good music and check out Denver!
Thank you all again! |
There was a really nice Cary 300SEI, 11 wpc, 300B SET int amp on Washington DC's CL for $2450. Stereophile recommended int amp. Might be worth looking into.... |
@inna I'd agree with you on that point. FYI, I just bought a Marantz 2235b to get me by. I love the looks of the amp and I'll definitely keep it around somewhere when I upgrade. |
Nice aesthetic with the vintage marantz and blue zus for sure. Should sound very nice together. Always good to have a spare no matter what. How about some pics when all set up?
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Yeah, good idea, pictures please. |
@mapman I've started on a virtual system. I just want to get everything up and running in their proper positions before I add pics. I need to wait for the amp to arrive because I bought it from Classic Audio in Canada. Hopefully it won't get hung up at customs. |
Well done, cottguy. Now that you have a working system, you can change or add a little at a time. Your strategy of research-audition-research has obviously served you well, so I suggest that you continue to use it: only buy that which makes a significant contribution.
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Great choice cottguy!
Enjoy.
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Are you set up? Whats the first lp spun ? |
@oleschool We are up and running. However, no table yet. We are just running Tidal through our computer which is less than ideal, but by far the best sounding system I have heard in a home. The Soul Supremes continue to blow me away! I can't wait to get the Audion amp and table in place. We are planning on starting the Audiophile listing around the first of the year and are hoping to have the bedrooms outfitted by the summer time :-) |
Hello, I am too late on this thread, but still I wish to share my recommendation.
I have owned a truckload of amps over the past 30 yesrs. For a few years, I used the wonderful Pathos Logos integrated. They get it "right" with their hybrid tubes designs. Tubed preamp and SS power section. I had 8 pairs of 6922 tubes in rotation, each giving me incredible flexibility in sound signatures. And of course it looks incredible day or night, very high WAF factor! What can I say it’s italian...Look-up the Pathos Logos web and reviews many out there, great unit. The original Mk1 produced for 15 years actually sounds better then the Mk2 introduced a few years ago. I love full-tube amplification, and owned many units along the years. But ultimately, I don't want to wait 30 minutes for warm-up every time I wish to get in a quick 30 listening session....
Or you could go with a single Pathos Classic One Mk3 stereo integrated to start with, then add another and bridge it mono. Mk3 is the one to get, not the previous generations.
Lot’s of other choices out there, but from the initial posts, you might want to look into this line.
Good luck!
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So I have had some time to play around with speaker positions in our room and also to get to know the Marantz 2235b. I have probably spent 4-6 hours a day with the stereo on since we got the Zu Soul Supremes, so I've gotten to know the set up as it sits now. Speaker cable will be getting an upgrade shortly and I'm extremely excited to see how that affects the sound! So my review on the set up as it sits, is that the 2235 does amazingly well with Jazz, 60s and 70s Rock, Jam Bands, Pink Floyd, and blues. It doesn't exactly shine when it comes to modern electronic music. We listen to pretty much anything except top 40 bs so we have had the chance to put the Marantz to the test. The bass extends fairly low, but lacks a bit of the upper bass punch. Kick drums sound fine, but electronic bass has something missing. It's not unexpected considering that the amp was produced for those types of music. The fact that this amp has only 35 watts is unbelievable to us. At less than 50% volume we can shake the house pretty damn well. It just shows how awesome high efficiency speakers can be. The Soul Supremes continue to make me smile every day. The review in Stereophile was spot on. You just can't stop listening to them! They play everything with ease, clarity, and realism. We have had 3 guests since we purchased them and every one of them has been in awe of their sound and appearance. We will be upgrading to the Audion 300b SE around the first of the year and also adding table in the near future. It is really awesome to progressively grow a system and see it evolve! |
Just make sure to audition the Audion and speaker cables with your speakers before finalising the purchases unless you already have. Cables can make big difference. You might also want to put a good power cord on the amp. |
