Granite Audio 770 Tube Pre-amp & its phono sec.

Mariusz, I share your enthusiasm for Granite Audio and Don Hoglund.

I previously owned the tube monoblocks, and was quite happy with them. To me, they sounded their best with the JJ KT88 tubes Don supplies them with, even if I normally prefer EL34 tubes. Only sold them to clear out some space to make my wife happy.

I still have my 657 CD player, and it's also a very nice component.

As I used my various CD players directly into the monoblocks (the volume control on them is a most wonderful feature), I can't comment on the preamplifier as I had no need for it, but I would expect it to be more than competent.

Mariusz, I'm sorry I was out today, and missed your post until now. But, thank you very much for the invite, it would have been really special to be there with you guys. 3 guys getting together is basically an audio club, isn't it?

I did a review here on Audiogon on the Granite 860.1 monoblocks that I owned. I was going to do one on the 657 as well, but didn't get around to it. I've always felt as you described, at a loss to define why Granite isn't more well known in the audiophile circles. A lot of people complain they cannot find a good made in the USA high-end audio brand offering good value, but that point seems difficult to justify to me with the likes of Cary, Manley, Quicksilver, Rogue, etc., and to that list I will add Granite.

The one word that would describe my overall impression about Don's designs is musical. He has the unique ability to skirt that hard to draw line between clinical sound and caramel colored euphony. A few years ago, when I first got the monoblocks, I'd been fighting a brightness problem in my smaller room, and had changed out every other component in the system. The monoblocks allowed me to finally overcome that, and sit down and enjoy the music. Later, the issue was straightened out by addressing the room, but I think that comment I just made speaks volumes about my experience with Granite products.

The 657 is a unique product in that it offers both solid state (fixed) and tube (variable) outputs, and each offers quite a different sonic presentation, while still maintaining that musicality I spoke of. The solid state is richer, more laid back, and offers much better low frequency performance. The tube output is more detailed and engaging, with a nice rosiness that tubes add in the best of circumstances. I'll probably sell the 657 soon, as I'm awash in CD players, and don't get much use out of it these days.

Reliability of both products was perfect. I had one issue with the monoblocks that was giving me a bit of a headache, but after speaking with Don, he instructed me on what it actually was (no problem with the amps), how to fix it, and within about 2 minutes of doing the procedure he laid to me, everything was perfect.

Don is a very upstanding person to work with. He cares about making his customers happy, and actively works at helping people get the most they can out of the products.

Mariusz, I have a pair of those M15 horns. You are more than welcome to give them a listen. They're probably best driven by something like your Cyber 800 monoblocks, so if you ever paid me a visit, please don't hesitate to bring them along.

I did CES with my buddy, Vytas, who is a loudspeaker manufacturer. He makes a really unique and good sounding (in my opinion) product that seemed to mate very well with the Cyber 800. I have some definite opinions on loudspeakers (series crossovers, powered woofers), and a lot of them are not represented in the marketplace with very little exception. The design of his speakers lines up very well with those opinions. We got really good feedback from some of the folks who gave us a listen, but what do I know?

Maybe you are talking about the Lamhorns that Robert Lamarre of Tenor Audio manufactures, Mariusz?

I didn't bring them to CES2008, but we'll be sharing a room with Robert (he'll also have a Tenor room, obviously) in Montreal next month with these backloaded horns, with the AER drivers. The speakers are also available with Lowthers. We'll pair them with the Cyber 211 and 845 amplifiers. Of course, you lose the bottom octave or two with such a design, but for what they do well, a lot of people are more than willing to make that tradeoff. Personally, as much as I believe in the inherent superiority of the series crossover that Bud Fried pioneered, even it cannot hold a candle to using no crossover.

Interestingly enough, the typical push-pull tube amplifier doesn't put power into these loudspeakers very well. The SET models we offer bring the excitement and sense of scale to the music. It was kind of a surprise to me, but you can't argue with reality.

Perhaps, one day, we can give you a listen to the combination - we usually do so in the Northern NJ area which would be closer to you...

You are a wise man, Mariusz. Please don't apologize, I'm humbled by the invite, so a "thank you for asking me to join you" on my part is the only thing due from either of us.

In the words of someone a lot smarter than me, "buying American is unAmerican." While, I am personally as nationalistic as anyone, I feel that blind loyalty leads to long term misery. If we do not hold our domestic companies up to the highest standards, they will not meet them, and our competitiveness as a society will plummet.

Despite what most people see and regurgitate, China is not beginning to pave the streets with gold. Their fundamentals and implementation are shakier than we realize, and expect the next couple of years to see tremendous price increases on their products. The prices of things like steel, copper, plastic, labor, etc. are going through the roof, and of course, that is going to get passed along to us. It is already happening, and I expect to see some serious inflation in terms of Chinese audio over the next year or two. Hopefully, the people on this side of the ocean are thinking long-term, as opposed to the sky is falling mentality too many here are taking on, as they will miss a golden opportunity going forward.

All of this is strictly my opinion, and I realize it is definitely the minority/contrarian view...

The Granite 657 the best? No, it is not. I have several players that eclipse it, including your Droplet 5.0. But, the 657 is a very nice player.

Take care,
Joe