Terrific! Looking forward to your listening impressions and commentary.
Charles
ProAc Response 2: CJ CAV45, Cary SEI 300B, or Cary Rocket 88?
Looking at the amps listed in the title to pair with my newly acquired ProAc Response 2: CJ CAV45, Cary SEI 300B, or Cary Rocket 88
Looking for the best tone and most in-the-room presence possible. Also want tuneful/rhythmic bass vs depth/authority.
Any feedback from those who have heard any of these, especially with ProAc would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Showing 4 responses by charles1dad
@leahy , This is going to be an interesting direct comparison you plan to do. 1 Active tube preamplifier paired with a 300b SET circuit (Class A) DHT output tubes vs 2 Integrated amplifier with a passive preamplifier section, push-pull (Class A/B) circuit using pentode el34 output tubes. I have no doubt that you will hear distinct differences between these two. This will be fun and informative. Charles |
From JA Stereophile "The Response Two is one easy speaker for an amplifier to drive, as can be seen from its plot of impedance magnitude and phase (fig.1), which only drops below 8 ohms in the lower midrange. The double hump in the bass is typical of a reflex design, the saddle between the two peaks indicating the port tuning of 47Hz. That the lower peak has a smaller magnitude than the upper one ties in with the rather overdamped alignment. This is due in part to the array of drinking straws in the port, something that has been a feature of Tyler-designed loudspeakers for well over a decade" @leahy, This certainly seems to validate your listening experience with these speakers driven by the 15 watt Cary Audio 300b SET mono blocks. This provided an as you described, a very engaging listening experience and each track was magic. Who wouldn’t want to duplicate that? It the size of this room and the listening volume levels are similar to your listening space then this seems to be very doable. Two differences to consider, 1 Audible Illusions preamplifier rather than your Freya preamplifier. 2 Cary 300b mono blocks rather than the 300b integrated amplifier you’re considering. From what I gather they seem to use the same EI laminated core output and power transformers (Which is good). Power supply design is similar (If not identical). Different input and driver tubes. Mono blocks (6SL7) and integrated (6SN7). How much of a sonic difference this makes, I don’t know (Could be rather minor). How much did the Audible Illusions preamplifier contribute to the overall sound quality compared to what the Freya can do? All things considered I strongly believe that you can achieve that presentation you are seeking. A few details need to be further sorted out. Based on your comments the 15 watt 300b was certainly sufficient driving the Proac Response 2 in that particular room where you heard them. Based on my direct listening experiences a well implemented 300b SET is superb at providing the tactile-papable presence,tone and rhythmic musical flow/pace you are after. +1 For the Cary Audio SEI 300b given the desired objectives. 👍 Charles |