My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!

@deludedaudiophile

You might have heard the phrase - "the proof is in the pudding", and WC here has repeatedly provided his subjective proof.   He can make these claims, because he's actually heard it. 

Some folks scream "confirmation or expectation bias", but honestly, the folks who do these comparisons  (like WC and myself included) are typically very critical and don't want to have to spend money on more expensive cabling, etc, unless there's enough proof to convince us.  

So, you're saying it's a ridiculous claim, but until you experience it and hear what WC hears, your claim is actually the ridiculous one.

Dave

Oh Jay, I am not the one with the Youtube channel, with the minimal and poorly laid out acoustics, claiming to be an expert in audio, meanwhile claiming that changing the charging power cord impacts the sound when running on battery alone. That is you. That is all you.  I am not the one that has created a major deficit in credibility with their statements, again that is you talking about wiping the static electricity off grounded metal parts. All you.

Instead of being a bully, perhaps consider that you are both wrong and mistaken.

The dude who comments on my room..I’d love to see yours buddy. Don’t hide and show us your concert hall.

We must rip a page off your book and learn a few things...oh and thank you for beating around the bush with regards to cables...you didn’t have much to say about that huh? Or about tubes? Hmm...you pick your battles, but the unfortunate truth is you cant dodge my bullets.

Go away and keep writing. We are all anxiously waiting to read your theories about high end audio. When is your YouTube channel going live? I’d subscribe...

Nobody wants to read lengthy stupid papers about audio...don’t let the truth hurt your feelings... People want to see, touch and hear components they are interested in...

You’re pure talk...SHOW ME your YouTube channel and world class room with electronics and I’ll LITERALLY HUSH and shut down this thread... DO IT... Or close the computer and go feed your cat 😸....

You come in here making fun of me?.what do you own? SHOW US your system. Let me see the insanity you got in your room...

The world is sitting down waiting to see this episode... 

Next time you got something to say, come at me in a civil manner and not with the attitude you came. If you feel the need to give me that attitude then do it in person... Just let me call 911 first. 

😂

Go knock on someone else’s door. Explain to them why tubes are terrible since they have distortion. Also let the masses know why cables don’t make a difference while you hold a voltmeter on the opposite hand. I think audioholics could use your skill set.

Don’t forget to tell Michael Fremer why his Wilson XVX are not that great since the measurements taken by John Atkinson were not that PHD perfect. I’m sure Fremer will gladly respond to you.

Lastly, leave that degree in the drawer. Means nothing unless you live with this stuff. Theory is great but practice and experience is what counts. No wonder why so many college graduates are failing after they get a job. College doesn’t teach you how to have drive, hustle, strong will and have common sense.

Someone in my military days said something very powerful that I’ll never forget: " i respect the rank, but not the person wearing it"

Truth...

Ps: i am still wondering why characters like you pop up on this thread randomly and piss on my lawn only to be blasted away after a few days. ..maybe other threads are not that entertaining... Or they come to me for an attitude adjustment which I'm tired of doing. 

Oh Boy. 

Measurements mean nothing? Good thing it is not you designing the battery for your next car or cell phone. You would need strong shoulders. YOU literally claimed that charging the battery with different power cords made a change in the sound operating without a cord. Think long and hard about that one and how patently foolish that claim is.

If you can convince yourself of that claim, that changing the cord for charging changes the sound when running on batteries, then you can convince yourself of almost anything that is not true. Get into it with me or not. It is not me who made a ludicrous statement that makes everything your have said or will say suspect.

Then you talk about wiping static off a grounded metal case. I have no words, and I suspect almost all here will understand that that is not possible. A basic understanding of electricity goes a long way.

If confrontational is to point out so things that are written that are so obviously not only wrong, but impossible, then I am good with being confrontational it seems more of that is needed.

Measurements mean nothing...take your PhD with you and go write a paper or something. It's been brought to my attention via private messages that most of your posts throughout audiogon are confrontational. I won't get into it with you. 

Would you believe me if I told you that if you were to wipe down all of your cables and electronics with a damp cloth that the system would sound better? You would be removing static by doing so... Yep, I’ve done this and it is true but then again, if i say this, i become the "crazy guy"...

Audio industry is something we don’t fully understand and this is why WE ALL will continue to keep feeding it millions of dollars. 

It would be more accurate to say that there are aspects of audio equipment that you do not understand. For instance. All my electronics are in metal cases, and those metal cases are connected to earth-ground. All my cables are connected to my equipment, XLRs having a dedicated earth ground (and shield)  There is no static to wipe of an earth grounded metal case. The grounding on the XLR would continuously bleed charge even on an insulator since none are perfect, however, even if it didn't, the shield would provide a 0 equipotential for the interior conductors.

Nobody has answer on here with regards to the stromtank because I'm almost 100% sure that most regulars of this thread don't own one. If they give an opinion, it's an unqualified one based on pure speculation. 

You don't seem to have an answer either.

Oh it’s possible...it’s possible... But then again...how would you know unless you live with this stuff...I’ve tried different powercords on battery operated preamps and they also changed the presentation on these preamps...i then confirmed my findings with some folks who owned the same preamps and we all arrived at the same conclusion...

Nobody has answer on here with regards to the stromtank because I'm almost 100% sure that most regulars of this thread don't own one. If they give an opinion, it's an unqualified one based on pure speculation. 

I am curious. Has anyone measured the power factor and THD of these inverter solutions under a variety of loading schemes. I have to expect the low cost ones I see linked on Amazon are not very good. Is the Stromtank better? "Trust me" is not a suitable answer.

Oh it’s possible...it’s possible... But then again...how would you know unless you live with this stuff...I’ve tried different powercords on battery operated preamps and they also changed the presentation on these preamps...i then confirmed my findings with some folks who owned the same preamps and we all arrived at the same conclusion...

What would i gain from making such statement? Do I sell powercords for a specific brand? Nope...there is no incentive for me. I’m only reporting what i hear.

That said, are you also one of those cable doubters? I mean we can’t measure cable performance on a test bench so we must be nuts by saying cables make a difference?

Would you believe me if I told you that if you were to wipe down all of your cables and electronics with a damp cloth that the system would sound better? You would be removing static by doing so... Yep, I’ve done this and it is true but then again, if i say this, i become the "crazy guy"...

Audio industry is something we don’t fully understand and this is why WE ALL will continue to keep feeding it millions of dollars. 

Everything i do with these units can be heard. I even tried an aftermarket powercord to charge the battery and proceeded to listen to the Stromtank in battery mode and it sounded different.

I thought I was going nuts but nope. The battery itself can be charged with a different flavor if you use different powercords.

Checks watch, nope it is not 4:20.

No point in making a condescending, snarky comment about this. This on its own is just lunacy. Think about what was written. Think real hard. Then ask yourself, is this possible, or just another audiophile day dream.

@straycat

Thank you. What you see on that video also happens to be the pieces that i have talked about on this thread. There were more pictures that were left behind that didn’t make it but i wanted to make sure that the majority of my pictures were on the video.

The reason why the pictures shuffled rapidly is because I wanted to display as many as possible within the 5 min song.

I figured people can pause the video to check out each pic if they want to.

It's really great that you showed the history of your journey Jay. Thanks so much for creating and uploading it!

I'm of the source first mindset because that's been my journey but since the very first video of the S7s in your lab, even before you revealed them, I heard the jump to a totally different and higher level of musicality, probably because you already had the foundation in place and the S7s are letting it all through. I agree your system is the best it's ever been!

I'm now revisiting and analyzing my "source first" thinking, for the 1st time in a few decades. Well, maybe the synergy has a lot to do with it.. I've only ever played your channel through my main rig btw and can instantly switch to the same tracks from my main source 

Jay,

Don't worry it your microphone clips occasionally.  In my experience with recording, most of the time it isn't audible if the peak overshoots by 1-2 dB or so, which is only for a microsecond.  99+ % of the time, you can maximize the low level resolution by setting the recording level high enough.

jays_audio_lab

Update the Cabling and Cords list as well.

Happy Listening!

Boulder 3060? 

Dave

Thanks @psnyder149 

OMG, this sounds incredible!  

That is done on purpose. No need advertise for everyone out there. I advertise way too much as it is. Boulder, Gryphon, you Wilson, Magico. Etc. 

Only thing not listed in the description on the video is cabling.......

No worries.   Anyone want to guess "when" WC will reveal this component?

Dave

Maybe.  I put about 3.5 seconds of thought into the guess : )

I don't want to doubt you kren0006.  However, I thought WC mentioned that he's been looking 2 years for this component?

Dave

It's probably the Gryphon Apex amp

You plugged the new component into the wall, so perhaps it's an amp - a stereo amp?   Maybe not though, because monos would be the ultimate seemingly.  kren0006 we need you!

Dave

Playing a recording without a reference point is meaningless.  If the new component X is the greatest, let it break in for whatever time is required.  Then record a song without X, and with X so we can hear the difference.  Even if youtube sound is mediocre,  the benefits of the Stromtanks or new X should still be obvious.

Whatever. 

Bye. 

If the video above doesn't represent transparency, Clarity, resolution then i don't know what else would... End of the road gentlemen. I am walking on thin ice. 

With my analog only system, I would only plug-in my preamp and my turntable.

With my PS Audio P12, I plug in everything including my mono blocks.

The resulting clean sine wave now applies to everything.

And by keeping my Shunyata Triton/Typhon in line plugging in the P12 with an Audioquest Hurricane then the T/T into the wall dedicated circuit, I also get the benefits of the Shunyatas. I tried the amps directly into the wall. No way!

My method costs about the same as the Stromtank but, surely, including the amps is central and vital.

Theory is just talk. The only way to know something is to try it. I already stated that every inverter will sound different.....but that MOST any inverter will beat the wall or other conditioner.......If you read the review by Tom Lyle...you will realize he also had the $10K PS Audio power plant and that was beaten by the Stromtank and by the (equally as good as Stromtank) $450 Goal Zero. All in one units you can buy, like the Goal Zero, are not plug and play.....they have fans that come on. I use the Yeti 400 with all the covers off and the heat sensor underneath the battery disconnected.....fan never comes on.....the fact that the all in ones are totally enclosed is the main problem. It does not allow good heat dissapation. The all in ones are designed for outdoor use. My friend with the big Ecoflow has it in a separate room. Separate inverters are built out of aluminum and look like heat sink bricks....that is why they can run higher power without a fan coming on. You can put an all in one in the closet, in another room or mod it so the fan does not come on. The Yeti 400 will not power on an amp.....no matter how low of draw of power from the amp.....it does not have enough surge current capability.....so, it is only for front end components. This is why I am going to buy a separate more powerful inverter to run my whole system. I would say a 2000 watt inverter (4000 watt surge) is minimum to run a whole system.

So, who is going to buy an inverter, battery (or batteries) and charger and get way better sound? Anyone?......Is there a hot rodder out there in the world? It is certainly not a money problem for most reading this thread. (some of you have $3000 unused power cords sitting around collecting dust).......Is it a lack of desire for best sound attainable problem? Is it a looks problem?.....a space problem? A WAF problem?

Where there is a WILL....there is a way. Are you willing to be more happy today than yesterday? if so, how can you do it?.....and will you do it? Will I do it?

Thanks for all your suggestions, ricevs. I am mostly a plug and play guy, so which audiophile unit do you recommend, or is the Stromtank the only one? The Goal Zero is plug and play.

In Jay’s post of 6/25, 7:58 PM, I found an informative statement by the S-tank distributor--"The quantum (2500) also has a different and better converter than the 1000. The converter is like a power conditioner. It has its own transformer and small capacitors like you would find in an amp."

So we are back to the familiar reality that converters (inverters?) have electronics in them. There is no such thing as a perfectly transparent piece of electronics. We want to remove dirty power artifacts, but we have to live with adding distortions from the electronics--S-tank as well as PS Audio and the units that ricevs mentions. Are added electronic distortions less than the benefits of battery power and the distortions on the power from the wall? Perhaps YES. PS Audio says that wall power can have 5% or higher distortion, and their units reduce it to a small fraction of 1%. A related observation is the benefit of EQ, which vastly outweighs the additive distortions of the EQ’s electronics, in my experience.

The bottom line is that every prospective customer for a battery/inverter should listen to that unit himself in his own system, just like he would listen to any other electronics he buys.  If he doesn't like D’Agostino Momentum types of colorations, he will choose a unit with different colorations that he prefers.  This may have nothing to do with the price of the unit.

Most audiophiles are not hot rodders....tweakers, etc....they want expensive plug and play. There is only one audiophile plug and play inverter.....all the rest are for hot rodders. Jay will never play hot rodding. He wants to have fun....have it easy and make some money.....nothing wrong with that.

Let it go......us hot rodders can have the fun of finding stuff really cheap and great. You are not a hot rodder.....that is why you want Jay to do it for you. I am going to email PS Audio about inverters....maybe they could get rid of their power regenerators and make cheaper inverter units that would beat the Stromtank for way less. This game has just begun......but for the hot rodders......the time is now....Here is a nice 5000 watt inverter that the fan will not come on till its drawing 1666 watts continuous..........so for most of you with even moster amps.....will never come on.....and also a 200 amp hour Lifepo battery to get you 2500 watts of power......2 batteries gets you 5000 watts of power......so much more than Strom. 5000 watt inverter and 5000 watts of super battery for $2400.......add a charger for $200 and you are good to go. Now how much is the 1000 watt Strom?.....something like $16K?

:

Everyone should read the thoughtful piece in the current Stereophile July 2022 piece by Rogier van Bakel in the "My Back Pages" on p 130 (not online yet). Title--"Quackery, gullibility, and open-mindedness." Rogier is a new contributor who tells of a NY Times journalist who had an epiphany about the medical benefit of his newfound open-mindedness. Parallels are made between open-mindedness in medical and audio experiences.

My detractors are largely close minded about my ideas that conflict with their preconceived notions, or just that they enjoy hate speech. They have NOT tried zip cord or EQ, but protest that my info is akin to deadly blasphemy. I would not object if anyone said, AFTER they have tried my ideas, that they didn’t like such sound. They are entitled to their sonic preferences, and if they made statements such as "zip cord is too zippy, my speaker cable gives me more fullness and bass that I like," I would accept the truth of their observations and understand that my suggestions are not for them. I think that IF Jay tried my suggestions, he may or may not like them in his system, because he likes somewhat different sound than I do.

My friend Steve who represents the excellent GTA speakers and subs, heard my zip cord and Rane EQ in his system, together with me. We agreed on the objective characteristics of both items--greater clarity and more immediate/upfront sound compared to his speaker cable and Pass preamp used in place of my Rane. It was an obvious big difference especially with judicious EQ, which got him wondering about perhaps the best EQ of all, the Levinson Cello Audio Palette. In the end, he went back to his speaker cable and Pass preamp, which suits the tastes of himself and most of his customers. Whatever he likes is fine by me, but he has an open mind.

Jay initiated an important project, battery/inverter as the best route to pure power. As a NYC resident who is bothered at times by poor sound from polluted power, this is an important subject that goes way beyond A/B’ing power amps and such. Ricevs has reconmmended cheap items and claims that they challenge and possibly surpass Stromtanks. I don’t know, since I have no experience obviously, but I don’t dismiss his claims and tell him to get off this thread as so many people here do. I got interested in the Yeti Goal Zero products last year after he mentioned them. I contacted several Goal Zero employees, but they had almost zero experience in high end audio applications. I don’t see ricevs or myself purchasing $100K worth of Stromtanks and several much cheaper battery/inverters to do A/B’s with various electronics. Since Jay already has two of the S-tanks, he is in a position to seriously study this important area. I might purchase a Goal Zero or other products that ricevs recommended. If there is no money back guarantee, I would be out only a few grand for this experiment. Jay has just scratched the surface of this important project, and there is no audio reviewer who has done a proper comparative review. We should put our heads together to try to really understand what and why certain products seem to have a sound. Frankly, I am disillusioned that there is not a single product that does the sought after goal of purity, WITHOUT any drawbacks of introducing sonic flavor. Perhaps the S 1000 is the closest for neutrality and purity, but nobody knows at present.

We need more respectful, intelligent sharing of information, not childish close mindedness. It is OK for someone with other interests to decide to ignore my ideas, provided he avoids verbal venom and adopts silence.

Jay, please avoid the aggressive sales pitch, at least until you have done the comparative study I have suggested and have demonstrated you have an open mind to anything. You have an opportunity to become THE expert on these battery/inverter products, and after much more R & D, be able to recommend products at all price levels, just as you have done for electronics, speakers, stands, cables, etc. There may not exist a product with absolutely the purest transparency and lack of sonic flavor, but you will know the sound character of each product, just as you know about the other ancillary components.

Thank you.

Crickets.......

👍 x2

👍

Still waiting on you to show up here Viber...but come READY!...

This not a field trip to the zoo. Show up with money in hand because the disappointment will forever curse you after you hear lamp cords through a magico and boulder. I want to give you an audio lesson that nobody else will so you can update your mind with current audio. 

Unless you take me up on it, you're better off hiding behind the bushes and simply reading.