For some unfathomable reason beyond me, I am unable to edit or upload pics in my existing(circa 2007)system. Hence, I am adding pics/brief description of the recent changes to my vinyl chain including some new pics of my enlarged and refurbished,dedicated basement listening room.Apart from the vinyl set up, the rest of the system is unchanged from 2006.
In the past 8 yrs I have upgraded/changed my TT four times, gone through 5 cartridges.I am almost embarrased by the naivety of my early enthusiasm for vinyl. This prompted the purchase/cartage of a VPI 16.5 from Chicago to New Delhi. The decapitation of my Transfiguration Orpheus L was a wake up call. The system and sound have evolved in a manner that is consistently pleasing.
Jan 2013
After 7 years the upgraditis flu strikes hard. New speakers, Rockport Aviors, a new pre bought on Agon but yet to arrive, the CJ GAT and drooling over the prospects of large SET monos driving the Aviors.
Baby steps in computer audio with a Macair and Mytek DSD. Initial results...this could be good and I am beginning to understand what all the hype is about despite my initial cynicism.
June 2013
All things vinyl. On that plea decided to do all the vinyl fun things I always wanted to. A restored Garrard 401, a 12" arm, a Ortofon SPU and a Miyajima BE mono cart. This required coordination between Hong Kong(Mint LP),Singapore(source of the 309D,SPU,Miyajima cart and a Ortofon 80 SE SUT),Switzerland(MM card for the Nagra phono stage) and two locations in Delhi for the woodwork and Garrard 401.
Jan 2014
The Final Frontier or Sunnyboy goes bananas or My All Out Assault on Being Done For Now.
The Rockport Aviors arrived in Jan 2013, followed by the CJ GAT in April and after a 11 month wait and several hiccups the Wavac HE 833 V2 mono blocs arrived in Dec 2013.
I guess I am at the pinnacle of a 40 year audio journey. I have achieved all that I could dream of
and much more besides. The best part of the journey are the friends and fellow audiophiles across the globe that I have got to know.
As for Matrix...its a funny thing. I thought the movie was cool when I first saw it...but agree it did not inspire me that much. I never even saw it when it first came out...I got the rental years later.
But now that I own them (great stuff buying things for a buck on amazon)...I really enjoy Laurence Fishburn as Morpheus. Its actually more fun now than it was when I first saw it.
I hear you...what is 'optimal'? Like 'Morpheus' said in the Matrix..."you think that is air you're breathing? hunh."
In the "real world", we find at best a shortlist of great components...put them together and we keep going.
Would most of us be able to handle the infinite combinations of every single preamp, amp, cable, isolation...?
Could we afford the cost of infinite possibilities? Both in terms of money and time.
I am opportunistic about ALL my purchases (all second hand/demo)...so I narrow my field very quickly and wait and wait and wait til I get the one I want at the price I want. Since I am pretty ambitious with my system, I have just had to wait longer. 8 years to get most of the 'dream list' I have had all this time.
Knowing I've got a system I really enjoy at a price that's a fraction of retail gives me its own great satisfaction too.
Congrats Sunnyboy...its all about optimization now. You have world class equipment...these things help get the best out of them. And no doubt with your level of resolution, you will hear all these improvements...and hopefully enjoy it!
That is my point exactly...it takes a LOT to go beyond the CJ power cable. I too was fortunate to get a good demo price on GAT. I also got demo pricing on the 25th but still very expensive and it took this level to [very meaningfully] improve over the stock cable which is truly, truly excellent.
I found very much what you have found with the GAT preamp stock cord...it is excellent. It took getting all the way up to PAD's top Ann Contego or 25th Anniversary Ltd to beat it. Unless you are reaching the end of your electronics and looking for final, final, subtle tweaks, I would not bother. Do I prefer the 25th Ann? Yes. Would I go back to stock? I'd rather not. Was this one of the last updates I made in the evolution of my system? Absolutely.
For me, this set of electronics is now fully evolved, and thus these are just nice around the edges polishing.
Cool! The Japanese often get access to the local hand-made audio equipment at prices way below the rest of the world. Kondo, Esoteric, etc. Would be curious to know what he has in his system.
Its alright, just not my thing. Particularly not pics...but I do enjoy the forums. Its a nice break! Particularly when speaking with people who themselves have some pretty cool toys!
FWIW, when I say my tubes stayed in the drawer for a year...it was the Mullard CV2492 basic 6922s...a bit hard and non-musical even with the CJ Tube guards. As soon as the EAT's when on them, while they were a bit behind the Amperex's I had...they were SO much quieter, I have stuck with them ever since and even gotten a new pair, also dead silent. But without EAT tube damper unlistenable. I was able to enjoy the Amperex's without the EATs.
Good to know, Pradeep. Yes, I was going to recommend 'prying' the black ends of the silicon guards out towards the tubes. Glad there is at least some difference. I found quite a significant difference in mine...significant enough that with the CJ tube guards, they stayed in the drawer for nearly a year. On a lark, I decided to try them again with EAT tube dampers...and they have not left the CJ since 2012.
If you notice each of the internal walls of the EAT Tube damper slants towards the inside of the damper. On each internal walls, there are 3 grooves for the black rubber inserts.
Slide 1 black rubber insert into the groove of each wall that happens to be CLOSEST to the interior of the damper. This allows you to customize the internal spacing of the overall damper.
I use the EAT tube damper on my Amperex 7308 in my Zanden...you can narrow the tube damper to fit any 6922/7308 I think (not sure about pinch-waisted). I find them a lot better than the CJ tube rings which I no longer use. YMMV. I have tried Amperex's in my system and really found them to be the best...but I got very very close with Mullard CV2492s and the EAT tube dampers...but because I have insanely high gain, they have less tube hiss. If not for this, I would still be with the Amperex's. But with 26db preamp gain, 31db amp gain and 95db speakers...the 5% improvement from Amperexes is more than offset by the fact that these particular Mullards are so quiet, I can stand with my ear 3-6 inches away from tweeters and not hear them (at least for about a 1-1.5 years of use at 2000 hours/year.)
Great stuff, Pradeep. Glad to hear it!!! Enjoy! And do let us know if you get the pinch-waists. Meanwhile, do you have the ability to try EAT tube dampers on the Amperex 7308s?
Man...I gotta hear SE someday. I have heard Shindo preamps but not their amps. Again the Zanden 9600 monos are probably the closest and found them wonderful.
Wow...great stuff Sunnyboy. I have heard CJ Amps, so I can only imagine what the Wavac must be doing. I have heard Zanden 9600 monos and loved them, but did not have a chance to really get to know them in a system I already knew.
someday, will definitely try to hear your mighty Wavacs someplace.
Yes, Brent Jessee is great...I just ordered a series of Mullards from him and they are fantastic...so just received full back up set from him as well. Please give him my best.
Many thanks for the kind invitation...will keep that in mind. I think you mentioned elsewhere about GAT microphony...the EAT Tube dampers worked perfectly for me, and I have kept them ever since, even though the tubes I have been using lately are not microphonic. The tone and signal is much denser, stronger...really enjoy EAT Tube dampers. Not that expensive either. 19 bucks...so a very nice tweak for $38 bucks for something of the level of a GAT was easily worth it (to me).
1. a super microphonic JAN Phillips tube went utterly silent. I used to be able to clap my hands near the tube (with the unit cover ON) and I could hear the clap thru the speakers! So the dampers were obviously doing SOMETHING.
2. In terms of qualities, I found the signal became more SOLID...ie, MORE signal seemed to coming thru...similar to what happens when you take tubed equipment and you put it on SOTA isolation (HRS, Ultra 5s, etc)
3. In the case of the Mullards 6922s...I actually found them so 'hard' as to be unlistenable in my system...I just kept turning off the system..i put EAT dampers on them as a last resort. Surprisingly, the Mullard's 'hardness' was still linear, but somehow there was something vibrating creating some kind of irritant that disappeared, and I felt the signal was 'purer' and suddenly I came to prefer to my more lyrical Amperexes (because the Mullards had far less hiss).
My two cents. Hope that is helps. Look forward to reading about Pradeep's own experiences.
Hi Pradeep, you may wish to speak with Brent Jessee at audiotubes.com. or andy's at andysvintagetubes. Both great. I definitely am interested in the Teles...just focusing on a re-tubing another piece of equipment (ny DAC) at the moment. My current Mullard CV2493 are great in the CJ GAT so all set for now.
yes, after burn-in I took the EH tubes out a long time ago...too noisy. I went with Amperex US PQ 6922s...but 2 pairs also went noisy after 6 months. I ended up with Mullard CV2493s and have had 2 pairs now and both worked exceptionally...super super quiet...[as long as I have EAT tube dampers] they sound remarkably like the Amperexes. The Amperexes are a bit more fluid, mellifluous...but the Mullards fire back with a bit of a more robust sound. The problem is without the dampers, the mullards actually sound very very hard (to me, unlistenable)...and after nearly giving up, I tried them with EAT tube dampers and have never looked back. I am tempted to try EAT 6922s or Telefunkens which Myles strong recommends...in fact, Myles is try EAT 6922s next week and I am waiting to hear what he thinks.
Hi...you may wish to try EAT Tube Dampers. I have tried CJ dampers and compared and preferred EAT. Since I then had extra CJ dampers 'sitting around'...I tried them in my Zanden tubed powersupply...I preferred them without the rings. I am now going to try EAT tube dampers on the power supply tubes. IMHO.
ahhh...I get it too thin! Yes, my Mullards and the Amperexes are all about the same width. I use PAD Dominus Ferox Rev C...although I am experimenting with some other cables at the moment. Just finetuning for fun but not feeling compelled to do so. Also very happy where I am at the moment.
Good luck with the Wavacs...speaking with another audiophile at the moment who is contemplating 833MkIIs.
BTW, did you know Wavac has come out with a new SOTA preamp? $280K!!! They took the enormous power supplies from the 833 amps....and use 2 for the preamp. yeesh.
Really? I am surprised the EAT Tubes dampers do not fit. I presume you have adjusted the 3 graphite inserts so as to make more room. Can you remove one of them? I think so. That would make even more room.
When I knock, music or otherwise, there is no noise whatsoever. In your case, if you can barely hear it...it probably does not matter.
Enjoy!!! What power cable do you use? I have been using PAD Dominus Ferox rev C...I was recommended to try their latest 25th Purist Ltd...all silver but incredibly pure and "half the noise" of Purist Dominus/Ann Contego.
As for the knock, I do occasionally have that...but generally it is the tube. if I switch the tube out, I am all set. Believe it or not, I can actually tap gently on the tube itself and I still hear NOTHING out of my speakers...complete silence.
However...I use EAT tube dampers (19 bucks each) on my tubes instead of the red rings that come stock...much, much better imho, and that has helped tremendously.
Good luck and look forward to your thoughts as the GAT continues to settle in!
Congrats on the GAT Sunnyboy! When you've settled in, Turntable, Myles Astor and I all agree that adding isolation feet and dampers on top of the GAT make a very nice and relatively inexpensive improvement on an already great preamp. Let me know if you wish more details.
That is great news. Talk to Mihalis about 833s if you haven't already. He is very responsive, even prolific on his own thread...This is Not a System...and he owned the 833s for y-e-a-r-s...and then moved up to the 4-box MkII. after more years...he only just moved to the Vitus Masterpiece Ref level amps and electronics where they build a custom active crossover for you based on your speakers...cool but also pricey.
Thuchan has been helpful in the past to me, so hopefully he will respond.
Great news from Andy Payor! Look forward to reading more!
I can tell you why (for me) i did not go for them...hard to hear them. I was tossing a coin between Gryphon and Wavac...speakers have good sensitivity and fairly benign load...but could always use the power. So either would have likely been great. Went with Gryphon due to availability to hear. I heard an old DM100 and that helped me form a picture that was consistent with the people i'd spoken with and all the reviews i'd read. If i'd had such an opportunity with Wavac...i might have gone the other way.
I also was not sure about replacing those big tubes, but that is less of a point...i think if you're into big tubes, you just find a way and "price in" this extra long term obligation to re-tube from time to time and source these rarer tubes.
Fantastic!! Congrats and i am not surprised...my own limited experience with Rockport was sensational. And i also feel like cone/box technology has advanced so incredibly far in the last 5 years...that electrostatics no longer have the 'inherent' advantage anymore. Cones, drivers and cabinets have all worked to create extremely inert, super heavy box speakers which dont resonate, which deliver pitch perfect speed and transient snap that was impossible to imagine 10-15 years ago when 'stats were clearly considered ahead in this regard on a dollar for dollar basis. (ie, it took a lot of money to get cone to compete on those elements)
where stats have made some ground to catch up to the strengths of cones (but perhaps not as much as cones have in creeping into stat territory) is a cone's incredible solidity, slam and full-on prescence. In sum, add the new speed, snap and transparency of the latest box/cone speakers(like yours) to the existing slam, body...and i can see where you have your pride of ownership!!! Congrats again. Enjoy! and please continue to post as it breaks in.
