My objective is to duplicate the sound of a good jazz venue as best I can. I'll never match it but getting close is fine. I've had various audio components through the years and tubes particularly DHT tubes/ASSET have gotten me the closest. So this is where I will settle down and appreciate.
Balanced AC power is fantastic !! 1800va balanced isolation transformer/conditioner. All aspects of music reproduction are improved for every single component.
Tripoint Tripoint Troy.
A wonderful grounding box component. When added to my system it increased the sense of natural sound quality and emotional engagement. The Troy has a humanistic and “soulful “ quality to it.
Coincident Speaker Tech Total eclipse 2
This wonderful speaker is transparent,open and involving. It`s large yet completely disappears as the source of sound within the room. Very easy to drive,94db and 14 0hm impedance (Minimum 10 ohm). I replaced the stock Solens capacitor with the Duelund CAST in the crossover.
Coincident Statement linestage
Superb performance. In my opinion , a masterpiece by Israel Blume. As would be expected, a wonderful match with its sibling the Frankenstein MK II.
Coincident Speaker Tech Frankenstein mark 2
A terrific 300b SET amplifier that is the foundation of my system. The EML XLS 300b tubes are a superb match with this amplifier.
Acquiring these 300b SET mono blocks changed the course of my music listening experience. They elevated the emotional engagement, tactility and “breath of life “ realism.
Yamamoto YDA-01
Wonderful music lover's DAC that has a very natural/organic sound quality. Duelund CAST addition(output coupling capacitors) makes it sound even better. It has a very minimalist circuit/design that was implemented well.
Ocellia Silver Reference IC
Very natural and pure sounding with excellent tone and timbre preservation.
Ocellia Silver Reference Speaker Cable
Same qualities/ comments as the IC.
Star Sound Technologies Sistrum Apprentice component platforms..
These Star Sound platforms are mandatory in my system. Effectively managing resonance and vibration leads to a very noticeable sound improvement with every component and especially the speakers. Excellent product.
High Fidelity CT1 Ultimate Digital cable
A highly impressive digital cable that mates beautifully into my system. Contributes to the natural sound presentation.
Pro-Ject Audio Systems CD Box RS2T
This is a superb Redbook CD playback transport. It’s both high resolution and impressively natural.
. I’m using the excellent Fidelizer Nikola II LPS. Splendid pairing.
Lavricables Grand and Master series Power Cables.
Pure silver wire and unshielded power cables. These are used with all of my audio components. They are very open, transparent, high resolution with beautiful natural tone and timbre presentation.
Abbas Esoteric Audio 3.2SE
Built by renown Ukrainian Abbas Zulfugarov. NOS DAC utilizing the classic Phillips TDA 1541 multi bit chip. Two 6080 tubes in the analog stage. 5 various rectifier tubes in the power supplies.
3 separate toroidal transformers (And 2 chokes ) for the power supplies.A very serious and successful upper tier DAC implementation. Using with the Abbas SPDIF and power cable.
The Tak 300B are "better" value now due to the strong $US dollar when compared to the Yen. With respect to the Elrog 845 vs 300B, don't forget that the the 845 needs around 1200v on the plate to operate, therefore, placing a lot more stress on the tube internals. I wish the best for Elrog, but time will tell. I have to admit, they are one cool looking tube!
Shuguang 845C metal plates have a lower dissipation rating than the standard RCA 845, therefore, they are not considered drop in replacement, however, the 845C will work, and work well, but the tube life will be significantly shortened.
The KR 845 IS NOT a drop in replacement due to their very low 1.0A filament current when compared to 3.25 filament current of the standard 845. That is why you see allot KR's failing in 845 amps.
The Shuguang brass based 845B is the best valued 845 tube. It doesn't do anything wrong.
Psvane is doing an excellent job at manufacturing and MARKETING their premium brand of tubes. Psvane, has target the North American market due to our thirst for high quality new production tubes and especially our willingness to pay a premium for said tubes.
So why didnt Psvane design and market a replica RCA or United 845? Because the Western Electric name has more of a premium marketability than either RCA or United. Western Electric never made a true 845 specd tube and the WE tube (WE284A) that the Psvane WE845 is supposed to be replicated from are not even close in construction. The WE284A was a metal plate whereas the Psvane WE845 has a graphite plate.
Also, if you take a close look at the Psvane WE845, there is evidence that the vacuum evacuation is performed from the top, whereas both the RCA845 and WE285A are evacuated from the bottom, so the manufacturing techniques are not even duplicated. How can these tubes be called Western Electric Replicas????
IMHO, the best sounding and best value Psvane 845 is the T-series Mk2. The WE845 is also good, but for the price I would start looking for vintage United, RCA and GE 845.
Elrog 845, until their QC and reliably improves, I wouldnt touch that tube no matter how good they sound.
Sorry Charles for taking up space on your system page
Charles, I am not sure if the term easier is the correct description, but the TE excel at lower level dynamics and detail. With the Triumphs, I found that I needed to play them louder to get that "jump" factor. I also found that the De Capo also excelled at low level dynamics.
For point of reference, both the Triumph and Reference 3a de capo i where used in a secondary system driven by a Cary Integrated 300 SEI with EML 300 XLS tubes with the only source being a Squeezebox Touch /Oppo combo for streaming audio.
In my main system, I still use Coincident Total Eclipse speakers with the "Charles1dad" recommended Duelund cap upgrade. I am not looking for a speaker change.
Rebbi, Ive owned both the Reference 3a de capo i (non be version) and the Coincident Triumph Extreme 1 (not the Mk2) and I can tell you (specifications notwithstanding) that the Reference 3a de capo i was easier to drive and more dynamic than the Coincident when driven by a 15w SET in my secondary system. Please note that I have not heard the Mk2 version of the Coincident.
Your take on the VV =>AVVT lineage is correct. I dont know if its is me or not, but I still think the Duelands are still improving as I put more hours on the caps. I know that the Dueland caps are expensive, but for the sound improvement, you will be hard pressed to say they are not worth their asking price.
Most Vaic Valve (VV) tubes use the same designation as the AVVT tubes
AV32B = EML 300B-XLS These are drop in replacements for 300B amps, however, the plate voltage can be increased over the standard 300B to achieve greater plate dissipation i.e. more power
AV302B = EML 320B = EML 842 These are also drop in replacements for 300B amplifiers providing that the heater voltage never drops below 5v. This is very important and if 5v cannot be guaranteed, tube life will suffer. As with the 300B-XLS higher dissipation can be achieved with greater plate voltage with no harm to the tube.
The reason I asked is because KR Audio distribution in the USA is a mess with former distributor(s) suing Czech KR etc. This has caused for both confusion over warrantee and in some instances products that are not current.
The nice weather has prevented me from spending a lot of time listening to my main rig, but with limited hours on the new caps they continue to improve. Very highly recommended.
Hi Charles, the Duelund CAST caps were installed last week and have been burning in all week. The Duelund caps were affixed to the floor of the speakers just behind the large coils. My tech used a padded neoprene type substance that has an adhesive backing on both sides to secure the caps to the speaker floor (he said that it will help isolate the cabinet vibration from the caps). The whole process took less than 45 minutes.
The sound improvement is not subtle. I am not the best in describing the sound difference, but if I had to characterize the improvement it would be like a window that has been freshly washed. Everything appears to sound more detailed and clear, like a light veil has been lifted from the music. So far, very impressed. Thanks for the recommendations.
Charles, they just came in last week!!!! I am having a local tech/friend come to my house to install them next weekend. I can't believe how long it took to get them in.
Hi Charles, I am glad you are enjoying the AVVT tubes, although I must admit, I am not surprised. Did you ever get the EML 300B XLS that were exchanged for the meshplates?
Hey Charles, do you happen to know why Coincident chose auto bias as oppose to manual bias for their amps? I like the ability to fine tune the bias of an output tube.
I am looking forward to reading your listening impressions on both the EML 300B XLS and AVVT 32B tubes. If the 32B sounds anything like my AVVT 300B SL-C37 tubes, you will be over the moon with delight. Nice collection of 300Bs.
Your tube vendor deserves a thumbs up on the tube exchange. Good service.
Ive owned the AVVT SL 300B C-37 amber glass tubes since 2005. They are extremely well built and very durable tubes. They have a very similar sound as the EML tubes but with a better top end with great sense of air and a firm low end extension. As previously stated, these are my favorite 300b tube.
I have no direct experience with the VVT 32 tube other than the fact that it is a 300B on steroids. If your amp has adjustable bias to take advantage of the 32s higher plate dissipation, this maybe a fun tube to own.
AVVT tubes have become very difficult to source. Ive been looking for a AVVT 300b-M (mesh plate) for the last 5 year to no avail.
Hi Charles, I own EML 300B-mesh, EML 300B-XLS and AVVT SL 300B amber glass. I am not surprised that you enjoy the EML 300B-mesh as they are very detailed organic tubes. The EML-mesh provides superior inner detail when compared to the EML-XLS, but the XLS is hard to beat for dynamics and increased jump/speed. My all time favorite is the AVVT 300b, but they are not longer in production and are becoming extremely difficult to source.
I have only heard the Takaksuki once in an unfamiliar system, but the guy who owns the Takaksuki has the means to own any tube ever produced. You can never have too many high quality tubes on hand. Its fun to change it up once in a while. Nice purchase, you will have a ton of fun with the EMLs.
From my conversation with Star Sound, the new Sistrum products will be considerably more expensive, but Robert mentioned , the increase in performance will more than justify the higher price.
Contacted Robert at Star Sound and it looks like my amp will fit the Sistrum 101 with a few modifications. The front of my amp will need to be cantilevered over the single front support spike to fit. Super nice guy and has some incredible deals on some refurbished trade in. I might just give Sistrum a second try. Thanks Charles for the feedback. PS. My Deulunds have been delayed to late Feb for delivery.
I would like to give the Sistrum 101 stands a try (30 day trial) but I am concerned that my amps may not fit as they are 12"W x 24"L, therefore, when I adjust the points, the amps weight may not be equally distributed.
Sorry Charles, I dont quite understand why your equilateral triangle cannot be achieved symmetrically? If the forward spike is centered with the front faceplate, wouldnt the two rear spikes be equal distant at the rear and the front?
Charles, why are the amps not symmetrically placed on the Sistrum stands?
I understand your concern about stands under the speakers, but as a compromise, would you consider replacing the Coincident brass spikes with Audio Points?
Agear, I really don't want to hijack Charles1dad's system thread so I'll keep my answer short. Cary 805 at 80lbs each. Symposium Ultra. Coincidents brass feet are sourced and machined in Toronto.
I've tried Sistrum SP-04s under my tube mono amps and did not notice a change/improvement in performance. I also own the Coincident TE2 and I would never consider using the Sistrum stands under these speakers for the fear of them toppling over. I thought about replacing the Coincident brass spikes with Audio Points, but I am skeptical as to an improvement in performance since the Coincident spikes are very well made and robust (similar in looks to the AP). I still may give them a try under Star Sounds 30 day trial period. Have you ordered the Sistrum platforms?
Thanks Charles1dad and Jwm for the detailed pictures. Your thread has given me the confidence to try out the cap modification/change. Look forward to reading your listening impressions as the cap begin to break in. Thanks again.
