Just heard from First Sound. Emmanuel will be on vacation until April 20th. He will call me back upon his return. |
No kidding TVAD about the number of variants. Even with the spreadsheet I tend to get confused.
And you are right, it would be interesting to learn about the rest of Mphnkns's system. |
Calloway, what preamp is your upcoming FS replacing? |
RWWEAR, yes. the First Sound devices have separate volume controls for the left/right channels. The preamps have completely separate mono circuits for each channel. This design extends to separate volume controls. The idea is that complete separate circuits will maximize sound quality, channel separation etc. . . They are not the only preampliphiers to be designed this way. Most Blue Circle pres share this feature. In fact, the Blue Circle AG 3000 is a fully balanced design with 4 volume controls. |
Good point RWWEAR. I suspect Emmanuel may feel that he is achieving greater channel isolation using two completely separate controls. One obvious convenience is his design achieves user-control channel balance without extra circuitry. But TVAD is right: Call up Emmanuel and he will give you the real story. |
TWWEAR, I understand your preference. All My preference is different: my remote controls are at the bottom of a long forgotten drawer: I never use them. As for twin volume controls, a mitigating usability factor is that the attenuators click at discrete points, so it should be quite easy to match them exactly. Furthermore, as I already mentioned, twin volume controls act also as a very high quality channel balance as well, without introducing the artifacts that a balancing circuit would. By coincidence twin volume control and a single volume control plus a balance control amount to the same number of knobs on the unit. Strange but true! |
RWWEAR, unfortunately I do not own a First Sound. . . yet. To be honest with you, I have not decided yet if I will purchase a FS or a Supratek, or perhaps a Harrons.
I am not sure why Emmanuel Go decided to forego a stacked attenuator design. I can think the reason may be to ensure that the two devices achieved optimum electromagnetic isolation.
A stacked design would place the two attenuators in close proximity and he may be concerned that the induced EM fields may influence the other device. In a derived design the two attenuators would be mounted at opposite ends of a non conductive rod running from the front of the unit to the back.
The problem with this option is that either the wireing would be of unequal length, or he would have to use relatively long wires for both, thus violating the principle of minimum signal path, which is his philosophy.
As I mentioned somewhere else some other brands also adopt the twin attenuator design. Namely the Foundation Research V6 linestage owned by a good friend of mine. The difference is that in the FR the volume controls do not move in discrete steps for facilitating even volume settings. But my friend, who like me is completely blind, does not find that to be a hindrance at all.
He also owns thousands of vinyls and CDS -- all carefully labelled in Braille for instant identification -- and adjusts the manual volume with ease whenever needed without apparent difficulty or stress.
I suspect that I would equally be unphased by the quirck of the twin controls. On the other hand, it is perfectly understandable that what may be a minor annoyance for one may become a major issue for another. |
Excellent idea TVAD. Please let us know Emmanuel's response. Optionally I can call him up on Monday.
Rackon, only the Presence Mk2 and Presence Deluxe Mk2 have an integrated/permanent ombelical for the power supply. Starting with the Presence Deluxe Mk2 4.0 FS features detachable ombelicals for the PS. |
TVAD, RWWEAR and all. I now have a call into Emmanuel to get more info about his twin volume control design philosophy. I will report back as soon as I hear from him. |
ARTG, my admittedly aging system is as follows:
EAD T1000 transport..
EAD D7000 Mk.3 DSP.
Audio Research LS2B linestage.
Jeff Rowland 7M amps.
MagnePan 3A speakers.
C-Core AT&T glass wire between transport and DAC.
Audioquest Quartz RCA interconnects to linestage.
Gutwire Synchrony XLR interconnects to amps.
Cardas Golden Ref spkr wire to speakers.
Cardas Golden Ref PC on 7M amps.
Stock PC on other components. |
I can tell the LS2B is choacking the system from the slight sickly bluish tinge that the golden faceplate of the amps assume when I crank the system up.
I think the 7Ms are going anoxic on me. |
What they need is a brand new heart! What about a tri-chambered one? FS seems to have several examples of such a one. |
MPHNKNS, there are approx 16 model variants available for First Sound preAmps. Only Presence variants use Holco resistors. On the other hand Paramount variants use Vishay S102K resistors for the volume attenuators. On which model/variant have you experienced the lean sound? Which was the tube that gave you best results? (type brand date subtype) |
OK TVAD, I check my Excel chart and I was wrong. There are sadly only 13 (thirteen) First Sound variants.
I constructed the spreadsheet from the 2004 price list with some additional info from the First Sound web page and several reviews. Emmanuel has verified my count. |
Oops, forgot again. The new variants are 'Plus' variants on the Paramount theme. Thus:
Presence Deluxe Mk.2 4.0 with Paramount Plus Upgrade.
Paramount Plus.
Presence DeLuxe Statement with Paramount Plus Upgrade
For example, here are some of the key features of the Paramount Plus:
Controls: 2 volume, 2 source selector, 2 tape switch, 2 mute switch, 1 cap discharge switch
Chassis: 3 total (2 power supply, 1 amplification/control)
Custom machined anodized Aluminum (2)
Wiring: Paramount wiring
2 mono power supplies
PS Capacitance per channel: 278,000 mF
Total PS capacitance556,000 mF
Capacitor type: Cardas Golden Ratio Capacitors
Volume control types: Ladder step attenuators
Attenuator capacitors: Vishay S102K
Number of attenuator capacitors: 46 x 2
Power supplies: 2
PS Ombelicals: Detachable
Paramount grounding |
Calloway, you suggested earlier you were planning to upgrade from your Presence model to a real Paramount. Have you ordered/received your unit? You may be able to comment on perceivable sonic difference between Holco and Vishay-based models. |
Drubin, the terms commonly used are:
Finer Granularity -- to indicate a trend towards smaller increments or more detail.
Coarser granularity -- to indicate a trend towards the opposite. |
Can't argue a purist design! |
Mphkns, Here is another hypothesis: is it possible that what you are hearing with FS on loud brass creschendo is what is sometimes called 'cuivre', or 'brassy', which can be heard live, when the metal body of the horn actually vibrates somewhat loosely under extreme FFF. If that were the case it may mean simply that FS is more revealing than other pres. But, if you do not like 'cuivre', you are not the only one. Cuivre sound is the bane of orchestras and conductors, unless it is specified explicitly in the score. |
That was going to be my next suggestion, but TVAD beat me to it. Emmanuel will be on vacation until April 20th, after which we can ask him about the possible nepherious effect of Holco resistors on the brittle brightness of brashingly brassy brass, the moral philosophy of dual unstacked stepped attenuators, and other such esoteric matters.
In the meantime, replacing Gabrieli on modern brass with Gabrieli on sackbuts, ebony and rosewood cornettes, serpents and pendulous serpentones may alleviate your suffering and prevent all cavity fillings from shattering prematurely 'in situ'! |
MPHKNS, I still hold that the brittleness you hear in brass fortissimo is not an artifact of the First Sound, but was there in the performance. I have heard it many times in non amplified live venues. Depending on the situation, cuivre is an artifact of sub-standard instruments or caused by performers with limited control, but is at times even artfully introduced as an intentional effect by extremely skilled performers.
If cuivre is not perceivable on other linestages, that may be more of a limitation of other designs than a flaw in First Sound. |
Art, what happened to you system thread? It seems to have dematerialized. Did you compare the CAT with the Callisto last weekend? |
Art, concerning pres, I was recently very impressed by the sheer beauty, power and newtrality of the VAC Ren II. As mentioned already you may want to have a listen to the VAC PHI, on which the REN II was apparently based on. Like the Callisto, the VACs are fully balanced designs complete with phono stage. Another benefit is that they have ridiculously low output impedance. As for digital sources, I seem to have redeveloped a crush on the mighty Teac X-01. |
Drubin, thank you for the comps, but. . . please do not write so loud. . . I have a bad reputation I am trying to foster around here !!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Guido |
