Zaikes, you don't know how accurate you are, and, even worse than that...The ability to structure a paragraph has little to do with it...
On Scull, didn't know the guy - he blew out of TAS (an action familiar to many people) - and heard the history there rewritten, assumably, about him, but I always liked his reviews (except for the Griffin episode)because he seemed to still love the Music.
You have to understand, at Scull's "level", or JV's, the incentive to reduce it all to a Machiavellian game is very high. At the several magazines I worked for, I have had ideas, er, "lifted" from me (and its still happening...), had BIG reviewers from other magazines slander me with accusations of criminal behavior in an attempt to prevent me from reviewing gear they wanted to review and that I had (and whose attorneys told them to issue me a written apology - I don't put up with that crap from there either), seen gear not get reviewed because someone didn't kiss the ring enough, seen gear maligned tangentially (oh, its always tangentially, to let the "offending" manufacturer the opportunity to redress his political error later)if not enough accomodation was forthcoming, etc etc. and on and on. In this queen cat fight, therefore, I always am willing to overlook someone who has to mention he lives in a New York loft and is married to a french woman because, assumably, he can't get over that he didn't get picked for the dodge ball team in sixth grade, if, if, he still lets, on occasion, the love of Music shine through the accumulated skein.
I thought Scull did a fair job on the AudioPrism Mana amps (now the Rosebud ref amps.... for, somehow, $10K more...)and I thought he got Cary down pretty good. And I also appreciated him continuing to stick his neck out on M'Pingo disc type stuff when the "convergence" at Stereophile started, and then quickened.
Morpheus in The Matrix: "Welcome to the Real World..."
So, do you take the blue pill or the red pill? |
Boy.....someone has taken this thread on a merry ride! Some of this is quite good but may belong in a new thread like rating the reviewers? I happen to think it might be quite good. On the original subject I think we squeezed about all we can from this unit someone other then Judesonic can respond as to how "real" the HP review was. Looks like Judesonics thinks HP is "right on". I have been notified that my unit should be in in one week.....after set up and all....I'll get back to you all.
Anyway, Asa and Zaikesman......how about that new subjest......."your favorite reviewer...and why"..
.....???? |
Favorite reviewer? Rwd, you don't seriously think that if such a thread wasn't to immediately descend into an utter bitchfest, that there would be any anything posted in response to it at all, do you? :-)
(This is part of why I admire Kal Rubinson for participating around here in any way.)
Asa, I grant you J-10's more endearing points, and have actually defended him to a degree in the forum before. (Although I am quite certain that Mr. Valin also is a lover of music, and however misguided I may be, I still do place a rather high value on writing style, if I am going to be reading something someone has written while paying for the privilege. Not to imply that Mr. Scull is exactly Steve Rochlin or anything...If someone had just taken his italics crutch away from him, I think he would have been quite enjoyable in limited doses.) |
Kal Rubinson is on Agon? What's his ID? |
The ASL Hurricane is a Chinese Jadis; and Franco-Chinois has fared well as a genre before. Except the service. |
Hmm...HP always did like Jadis...but if the service is like you fear, I hope the reliability is better :-) |
Zaikes, come on!!! It could be fun???? :>)) |
Any additional comments about mating the Hurricanes with the Pipedreams? How about all the above with the ARC Ref2Mk2 preamp?
I am still waiting for my pair of Hurricanes to be delivered. Although the amps are unfortunately unseen and unheard by me, I feel encouraged by the positive remarks and forum's reviews despite the often off topic digressions. Thanks. |
It continues to amaze me how so many audiophiles are apparently more than willing to make a major new-gear purchase like this sound-unheard, based on nothing more than one reviewer's somewhat-initial take. I guess HP truly is more than just another reviewer, at least to some. I wish you all the very best of luck, because if anything goes differently than planned - either with audiophile reaction, or especially, it would seem, with HP's famous fickleness down the road - the depreciation will be wicked, quite possibly totally independent of the amps' actual merits or demerits. As for me, with my means, I'd have to either hear something first, or buy it used if I wanted to experiment. But I imagine this *is* a lovely dream of anticipation while people are still awaiting their new babies' delivery, no matter what happens next... |
Zaikesman....I normally do not jump out there and buy something without a listen (especially from a company that I know very little of). However, with that said, I do know that I have been advises a number of times that my speakers would do much better with a more powerful amp to drive it. The cost for a higher wattage amp was a bit stiff.....but when this guy came along (Hurricane) with such a glowing review and reasonable cost (I should say MORE then reasonable) I decided to go for it.
As to HP's review....I am pretty much in agreement with his recommendations and reviews of equipment......but not always. For instance, my speakers. He had the bigger brother of my speaker as a reference but did not care too much form the model I purchased. I, however, fell in love with them! So, HP and I do not always see ear to ear....
Yes, there is a an excitement and anticipation for this new "baby"....I do feel like the expectant father. The only difference with this is that I am not committed to this baby I it cries or acts up to much.....!!! |
Everytime you swap out a piece of equipment there is some element of risk. Whether you've devoted 60 hours of comparative in-home listening or simply took the plunge within 10 minutes of just looking at the product there's a roughly equal chance that within 2 or 3 years you'll want to upgrade again. Barring some technical mismatch (impedance, i/o sensitivity, etc.) I would hope that any product with audiophile aspirations would reach 80-85% of its performance level when matched with virtually any other audiophile product. With these thoughts in mind I argue that buying based upon a magazine review is as valid as any other method of equipment selection. Harry Pearson has a long track record of stating his equipment preferences. If someone has preferences that coincide with Pearson's, then they'd probably be quite happy with any product he raves about. The worst that can happen is within a few months from now when Pearson proclaims another amp as the best, the owner of the ASL will have to survive with the "second best" amplifier on the planet. |
Onhwy61, although I'd probably have to agree with you about the eventual upgrade situation regardless of how a component is chosen initially, I have to take exception with the idea that buying from a review is just as good as any other way. The two may not be linked - audiophiles could simply like to upgrade, no matter how carefully made or fulfilling of expectations their previous purchase was. I have had an experience where buying a piece that was very widely well-reviewed left me in complete disagreement with the critical consensus, but since I got it used there was no problem when I sold it. Since reviewers get to listen to much more gear than I ever will (or want to), what they say can be useful, especially if you have a familiarity with their history and some gear they've covered, but I still tend to regard reviews as being best used only for guidance in choosing what to audition, if at all possible.
Rwd: You are certainly right in one respect - that your new amps may be better than what you currently have. Let's hope so! |
I took some of these in on a partial trade. The amps I have were upgraded with Coincident wire and Svetlana 6550s. I have since sold them because I don't have tube friendly speakers at the moment, and I don't like having an inventory of audio stuff lying around. I can tell you that these amps were extremely impressive. I was very skeptical when I first heard them. I'm no fan of HP, but I think his review of the Hurricanes is pretty accurate. |
Any comments or experience with the reliability of these amps? How about biasing problems?
There are some interesting comments and thoughts from the controversial author, Anthony Salvatore, editor of the web ezine: www.high-endaudio.com. There is a lot to peruse and muse upon therein. |
Good grief, Arcangelo, I haven't ever been to that site before, but I just got back after attempting to slog through most of (speed-reading here and there) Mr. Salvatore's tete-a-tete with Michael Fremer. Never even got to the Hurricane. And never going back to that site again - even though I agree with some of Salvatore's issues with the reviewing industry, the guy is just impossible to take seriously, and even worse to try and read. Pass. |
I haven't had the Hurricanes for very long, but have never had a biasing problem. Neither did the previous owner. Biasing is easy and straight forward. I didn't see any mention of biasing or reliability problems on Salvatore's site. I've read that the Chinese KT-88 is not a very reliable tube. No surprise there. The Svetlana 6550s have been trouble free. By the way, I also have a Wyetech Topaz 572(which I've also sold), so my comparisons of this amp are from an amplifier Salvatore considers to be a reference. If you have tube friendly speakers, these are probably two of the best amps you can buy. Can somebody recommend a solid state amp of equal ability? I've been a tube guy my whole life. |
If the Chinese KT 88s are sometimes prone to failure, can one substitute 6550s (any origin?) or EL 34s, etc. without additional problems or sonic degradation? Could there be any improvements substituting other makes? Has anyone ever tried?
I understand that the newer Hurricanes have better caps than the previous MITs plus addition of optional triode operation mode! Improvements on an already good design? Let's hope so! |
I have 6550s in mine. They are much better than the KT88s that come with it. Not sure about EL34s, but I doubt it. I don't think there is a triode switch on the new ones. |
There is a triode switch on ALL the new ASL Hurricanes we have in stock. Biasing is easy and new Valve Art KT 88 seem to be very reliable. |
Thank you for the informative as well as constructive comments about new ASL Hurricanes. Yes, I also did hear that they now have the more reliable Valve Art KT 88s. Where are they from--Chinese also? Additionally, I have been told that they are more reliable and also extend/improve the "highs" with more "air" as well as more transparency. Have you found that true?
How did switching to 6550s improve the sound?
In the triode mode, do you have any estimate of watts output available? What would the advantage(s) be over non-triode configuration? Thanks again. |
Thanks Arcangelo for that question...it was not mentioned in the HP review. I started a new thread on this for my education on triode mode ( I know nothing about it)! |
How many watts in triode are the Hurricane rated for? |
Hurricanes are rated at 100 WPC in Triode and 200 WPC in Ultra Linear. They appear to be more powerful than the conservative ratings. |
Curious,
After much of the furor has subsided RE: Hurricanes--has anyone any additional comments or concerns about them? I understand there may be reliability problems as well as variability of contruction from pair to pair?
Has anyone experience with mating them with the Pipedreams? |
