Thaluza,
The EH 300b is a solid quality tube. As you suspect, there are definitely better sounding 300b versions to choose. I understand your reservations regarding higher cost if there's uncertainty about keeping the amplifier. Of course it may just be that you like what the Joule presents sonically over the Canary amp. The Joule and Frankenstein comparison would be interesting and much fun, two different approaches for sure. It seems either amplifier with the CSL will leave you very happy.You'll have no heat issues with the single output tubed Frankenstein, each chassis has only 3 tubes total.
Charles,

charles1dad October 13, 2014 16:38

Charles1dad, I have a rule in CD purchase, if it says Leipzig or Gewandhaus I buy it.
If it says both I get another one for my niece.

schubert October 13, 2014 16:15

Charles,

Funny thing you asked about the Joule OTL. I had been in discussions with a gentleman about selling the Joule amp to him. Out of the blue, he offered to send his Coincident Statement phono stage to me because he wanted to hear my opinion on how the Statement would sound through the CSL and the Joule OTL. Alas, I told him two days ago that I decided to keep the Joule because I could not bear to let it go, so the Statement will not be coming into my music room.

The CSL pairs really well with the Joule OTL. There is a kind of magic to the combination that leads to hours of addictive listening sessions, which I do despite the heat. You use the words natural and organic a lot to describe your system, and that is what I think I am getting, too. Sometime soon, I am going to get a pair of Franks and will be able to compare them with the Joule OTL. That should be an interesting comparison.

As for the Canary amp, it pairs really well with my Joule LA-150, but when the Canary is used with the CSL, I am finding that I do not stay in my music room as long as I do with the Joule OTL. I currently have EH Gold tubes, and I suspect if I changed 300b tubes, I could change the character of the sound to something more to my liking. However, I am not inclined to fork out the big bucks for four 300b tubes at this time. Why, you might ask? Well, $2k to $4k for premium tubes could go a long way towards the purchase of a new pair of Frankensteins ;-)

thaluza October 13, 2014 04:21

Thaluza,
How has the CSL mated with both your Canary 300b and the Joule OTL and which pairing is working out better for you? I'd bet they both sound really fine.
Charles,

charles1dad October 13, 2014 00:48

Thaluza,
I'm not sure that Israel recommends the GZ34, only the GZ37/CV 378. I hope the CSL has met your expectations, better tubes are readily apparent when used in it. As I'm sure you've gathered from previous posts, the W.E. Replica is the choice tube to obtain the very best sound in this line stage.
Charles,

charles1dad October 13, 2014 00:31

Regarding the Mullard GZ34's, Salvatore has the black based ones for sale. It seems he would have tried them with the Franks, and that he would have kept them if he liked them.

BTW, my Line Stage is really starting to shine after I swapped the Shuguang 101D's for the Psvane Hi-Fi series.

thaluza October 12, 2014 22:56

Charles, I don't have the Leipziger's recording, but I do have a large number of the Leipzig Quartets recordings on MSG. They could be the core group for the recording you mention, with additional members of the Gewandhaus added. They now record for the M&DG label, which is another small german label with generally superb sonics.

brownsfan October 12, 2014 16:35

Bill,
This morning I listened to the Beethoven Opus #20 in E flat Major for septet.
It was performed by members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig. This was a Phillips vinyl recording played on you tube. I enjoyed it and this would be music I could listen to often. I don't know if this is the version that you have, none the less it was good.
Charles,

charles1dad October 12, 2014 12:45

Charles, sonata 32 is Op. 111. I have two recordings of the septet. The Scharoun ensemble recording on the Tudor label is a fine sounding recording and a good performance. The Op 71 sextet is also on that recording.

As for the Op. 111 Sonata, I probably have a dozen recordings. I'd probably recommend Andreas Schiff on ECM. He is one of my favorite active pianists, and as usual, the ECM recording is superb. Beethoven's development of the 2nd movement is sublime. You will notice the music that begins to emerge as ragtime like, to my ears, at about 4:40 or so in the second movement, and really takes off at about 6:20.
Various performers will interpret this music in wildly divergent ways.

Various performers

brownsfan October 12, 2014 12:24

Hi Bill,
The mixture of those instruments for the Beethoven opus 20 has tempted me, that music has to sound good, what a mix of tones/harmonics it must be.
I'll search amazon music later today, the opus 32 piano has me curious based on your description.
Charles,

charles1dad October 12, 2014 05:32

Hello Joe,
I did post my impression of the Jupiter copper foil capacitor earlier. To summarize, it is a clear improvement over the Solens capacitor but not a profound improvement.The Franks sound very well with the Solens but better yet with the Jupiters. There's no give and take tradeoff, everything improves in this case. Joe I am glad you brought this Frankenstein capacitor upgrade to my attention. They are unquestionably worthwhile and high value given the reasonable cost and performance improvement. With the recent addition of the Mullard CV 378 and Jupiter capacitor the amplifier is just sounding sublime.
Thanks,
Charles,

charles1dad October 12, 2014 04:15

Charles, the Op 20 septet was scored for clarinet, french horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. It was one of the few pieces he wrote that was wildly popular in his lifetime. It is a well crafted piece of music, and the interplay of colors and textures is just wonderful. It is a treasure from his youth. Between the telefunken 6922s sweetening the violin, and the Cv378s rendering the horns so well, this was just a joy to hear tonight.

BTW, check out Beethoven's last (no 32) piano sonata. It was a "radical" piece for its time, written in two movements, shortly before his death. As the work develops, one can sense that a launching pad for ragtime piano has been built, in my estimation.

The character of this work is quite different from those written in his youth, like the septet. It has been observed that Jazz arose from Baroque music, although I think that is an oversimplification. Beethoven's music derived as much or more from Bach than from Haydn and Mozart. It would not be a surprise, had he lived a few more years, if his music has moved even more strongly in that direction.

brownsfan October 12, 2014 04:06

Hi Charles,
How did the caps work out for you? Hopefully, they improved the sound a little farther.

Best,
Joe

snopro October 12, 2014 03:47

Brett,
I believe you're going to enjoy "Jazz In The Key Of Blue" a lot. Roy Hargrove and Russell Malone sound beautiful on this recording. I play this one often.
Charles,

charles1dad October 12, 2014 03:06

I just ordered - Jimmy Cobb "Jazz In The Key Of Blue "
Chesky Hybrid SACD

isochronism October 12, 2014 02:16

Beethoven septet? that sounds interesting Bill, what instruments make of the 7 piece group?
Charles,

charles1dad October 12, 2014 01:57

Shawbros, interesting comments. I've not tried the Millard gz34s in the Frank's, but I have not been overly impressed with the black bases in other applications. For the most part,I actually prefer cryoed new production gold lions. I'd love to try the metal base, but they are pretty hard to come by.
I think the greater sag on the cv387s is good with the Frank's. Just listened to the Beethoven Op. 20 Septet. Every thing was right. I am eager for your thoughts on the fat bottles.

brownsfan October 12, 2014 00:38

Thanks Charles, I'll definitely have to check out your other jazz recommendations.

In my preamp, the Mullard GZ34 sounded thinner, had a narrower stage and imparted a more solid state character than the Mullard GZ37. And I agree with Jet, the GZ34 sounds faster and more dynamic with great punch, but the sound could get a bit strident. The Mullard GZ34 metal base version improved upon the shortcomings of the black base. It still retained the cool minty sound, but did it with a tube flavor that was very involving and never harsh. In the right equipment I put the metal base version right up there with the the best rectifiers I have tried. I'm not sure how the Franks would respond though. We shall see...

shawbros3 October 11, 2014 06:52

Jet,
I don't know what the technical explanation would be but this tube passes the listening approval test with flying colors. It's an excellent rectifier choice for my amplifier and I'm glad they are still available given their 50 year old vintage.
Charles,

charles1dad October 11, 2014 02:10

Charles, Sounds like your amp likes the voltage drop of the GZ37's like mine does. I am not sure if it is purely the voltage drop that makes our amps sound more relaxed or it is the sound of the tube.
It depends on what music I am listening to. For Jazz I much prefer the relaxed groovy GZ37's. For Rock I can go either way and for classical I prefer the GZ34.

jetrexpro October 10, 2014 19:57

Jet, which rectifier's characteristics do you prefer between these two? Your description of the G37 is what I'm hearing with my amplifier and I like it.
Charles,

charles1dad October 10, 2014 19:20

this is another phenomenal source of quality recordings including jazz: http://www.soundliaison.com/products-from-our-studio-masters/135-andre-heuvelman-flac

Hi rez dowloads....

agear October 10, 2014 15:44

I've got both CV378/GZ37 and 5AR4/GZ34. The GZ37 drops more voltage and my amp sounds more relaxed and groovy more the way real musicians feel when they play with better give and take and breath. The GZ34 makes my amp sound quicker and more dynamic.
Jet

jetrexpro October 10, 2014 13:34

Luan,
If you happened to like jazz trumpet and flugelhorn played in a mellow fashion here are two examples.
Dmitri Matheny, "Starlight Cafe" live recording done a few years ago.

Roy Hargrove, "Approaching Standards". 1990s vintage.
Charles,

charles1dad October 10, 2014 13:07

Hi Luan, Since you enjoyed "Bluesy Burrell" I'll also suggest "The Hawk Relaxes". This is Coleman Hawkins (tenor saxophone) as leader with a prominently featured Kenny Burrell. It's beautiful music.
Charles,

charles1dad October 10, 2014 12:56