art--
i love to keep you in suspense:->.... pictures will be posted shortly.... all's well here and i'm really enjoying the vac + focal combo... more on that...
btw, how do you like your new montanas with the vac 300.1s?
take care my friend, and we'll chat soon. |
Ozy, I can't believe any of this without new pics of your room and system..... :-)
Hope all is well with you and congrats on what must be another astounding setup! |
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knghifi--
A recently acquired focal stella em in "hot" red. |
Ozy, VAC replaced Gryphon so what replaced your Tidal Sunray? :-) |
i use 2 Hrs m3x custom under my vac statemts 450s ,and hrs m3x plaltforms ,as part of the mxr stand ,under the vac sig.2 and its power supply.extremly effective ! |
Darin, I prefer triode as you found out. I'm sorry but to get the sound you want you are going to have to get another phi 300.1 and turn them into monoblocks. Place new old stock RCA black base late 50's tubes in the two middle positions and place Sylvania new old stock 6SN7 in the outer positions. Place tube rings on all eight tubes and you will be in heaven. Jeff |
Resurrecting the thread on ultralinear versus triode. I listened my first two months (received the VAC gear this summer) in ultralinear mode. Just borrowed a Decware Torii Mk III 25 wpc amp to see how it sounded in my system. More body/heft, silkier, more delicate mids and highs, and better spaciousness esp front to back. VAC beat it easily in transient speed, articulation, low end control/grip and sheer presence. But...it did make me realize the VAC was lean by comparison. So I decided to try the 300.1a in triode mode. It took the edge off the highs, warmed up the mids, and brought more space and body into the presentation. Much less aggressive sound compared to ultralinear in my system. Very slight absence of total grip on lower registers. My Esoteric MG20 speakers are 89db efficient with nominal load of 6 ohms, dipping to about 4ohms. Eager to hear if anyone has done more comparing on ultralinear versus triode mode and what was gained/lost. And, if I wanted to add more heft (without loss of grip/control) any tube swapping recommednations? Darrin |
I think it also has to do with your source. If ones cd dac or phono source is thinner or fuller they may like one mode versus the other. I do like ultralinear too but I get more involved with the music in triode. Its nice to have the choice. |
Barrelchief, thanks for sharing your experiences. Unfortunately, the gentleman I was referring to lives a long way from me, and hearing his system is not realistic. Kevin also seems to prefer Ultralinear, but that was coming from an older phone conversation with him. I will have a different speaker to audition very soon, and it is very efficient. I will definitely give Triode another go at that point. I will chime back with my results. Vacattack, congrats on your Vitus CDP. I heard it at my dealers, and left extremely impressed. Jwm, it's funny that there really are never any unanimous opinions in audio most of the time. I wouldn't think Triode sounds thinner or bleached on your ESP's, or it's likely you would not be preferring it as you now do. |
I am using a pair of Phi 300.1 in balanced mode. I like the triode mode better. My speakers are the ESP Harps. These are 96db efficient. A friend brought over his Bella Extremes which are a fully modded Antique Sound Labs Amps that use V Caps which are Teflon. They are half the power, but seem to be more transparent and more dynamic. He was using Winged C Cryogenic treated 6550 tubes. I don't know if it was do to the tubes or the caps. I know Kevin does not like Teflon. Has anyone else tried these winged c 6550 in there amps. |
I now have Finite Elemente Cerapucs under both my VAC Phi 2.0 preamp and CD source(3 each). Sound got noticeably better - details coming through more clearly and bass got a little cleaner and tighter. I did this a number of months ago and just realized that others might benefit from my findings. They are also pretty cool to look at..... |
Actually, my speakers are very efficient. I have the Daedalus DA-1, which are 96db.
From my VAC Ren Mk-II pre, I am running single-ended cables, as recommended by Kevin.
I think so much of this comes down to system synergy and personal preference.
Fjn04, since you prefer ultralinear with your 300.1, it would be interesting to see if you prefer triode on your buddy's system, as he does. |
I prefer Ultralinear with my Vac Phi 300.1 as well. This seems to be the concensus. That said, I got a different opinion from another party last week. His speaker was quite efficient. I believe in the 94DB range. I don't want to give any details, to respect his privacy. Anyway, he preferred Triode operation, and Balanced as well. This may have had much to do with the preamp he was using, as it may have been optimized for balance operation. My speakers are 87db, and Ultralinear is clearly better. However, if my speaker was more efficient, I would check out Triode again. Barrelchief, I would be curious as to the efficiency of your speaker. |
I recommend the Marigo Audio Mystery feet. They are better and less expensive than the Shun-Mook feet. I use them under all of my electronics and speakers. |
Thanks for the follow up Bchief! I have come to the same conclusion myself. I have been in Ultralinear for awhile now and have found just as you said Triode, while it still sounds great, seems just a bit thinner and less involving by comparison...happy listening!
BTW, on the topic of the thread, I have a few different types of footers coming in over the next couple weeks for under my Phi 300.1's...I'll report back on what I hear... |
A late follow-up here, and not on the original topic...
Arthur, when I recieved my 300.1, the switches were in the Ultralinear position. It sounded great and I never tinkered with it...until last night that is.
I switched to triode before powering up and after listening for a while, trying a few different cd's, I found that I was not "getting into it" as I do in ultralinear. There definitely was a fatigue factor going on.
In triode, to my ears, the music sounded much "thinner" and lost some of its "sparkle."
I certainly would not say that triode sounded bad. But, it just did not sound as good as ultralinear, as my ears are very accustommed to.
I switched them back to ultra, and suspect that it may be a while before I feel the need to try triode again. |
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A realtively low cost isolation solution that works very well is a solid stand with rubber/cork squares on the shelf supporting a 2"maple block and Herbies Iso Cups (for tubes)of Herbies Footers (for SS/digital) on top of the block with the equipment resting the Iso Cup. |
I already used a Golden Lion KT-88, from Genalex, Russian, and the sound it´s very deep, spacious, the bass very real, try these ones, i just paid a 100 bucks for each matched pair. |
I'm really torn between the two and tend to go back and forth...what about Ultralinear do you prefer? |
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As long as we have a few Phi 300.1 owners here, do you guys run in Triode or Ultralinear? |
I use Mschina Dynamica Promethean springs sandwiched between HRS but I already owned them. Maple boards will do nicely in this set up. Herbies isocup/balls directly under the components |
HRS is all custom made, so no demo there, I've talked with them about it before. Critical Mass is something I'll check out as well, although the Shum Mook are intriguing because I can use my existing rack shelves with them... |
Considering VAC Phi sound quality I would go the extra mile on this. If you have a dealer for HRS and our Critical Mass Systems. I would try HRS first them CMS. You'll be so please about the results. I heard these on fully tweaked systems and the contrasting results with these items in or out is mind boggling. |
I have tried some different KT88's (Winged C, Genelex reissues) and they were nice, but I keep coming back to the VAC tubes as my favorites. Plus the cost of tube rolling just doubled as I'm running 300.1 monoblocks....
I haven't tried any 6550's how do they differ sonically from the KT88? |
Hello Arthur;
GDR,' come in pack of three and one goes on the back, two at front.
Kevin from VAC modified bottom plate of my 300.1 so with little difficulties (cut outs for ventilation), I am still available to use Shun Mook.
Nothing in my personal experience comes close to these devises.
Harmonix is also good but not as natural sounding as GDR.
Shoot me an email, so I can provide you with photos and links to Shun Mook application.
P.S. Did you experience with different KT88's or perhaps some NOS 6550's?
Regards |
How many do you use and where do you place them under your 300.1? |
Shun Mook GDR's are the best under my VAC PHI 300.1 |
Sistrum stand, stillpoints |
