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.
I've tried to order through the Jac Music site very unsuccessfully on several attempts to order the AVVT 32b tubes you speak of. I follow their directions but I have never gotten a response from them??? Very frustrating!!! :-(
Re: I'd like to recommend to anyone who uses a 300b amplifier to seriously consider the AVVT 32B SL tube if you happen to come across a pair(out of production)..... For their cost they are a true significant value given the performance provided. The AVVT 32b used (hard to find these days) is a spectacular buy.
I was on the Jac Music site (Germany) they still have some stock, though there will be foreign exchange, shipping and import fees to take in consideration. Based on the high praise it might be worth it. Has anyone gone this route before and had a positive experience? In the end how much extra did this cost I wonder?
I didn't want to be left out so I stopped by the local record shop here in Park Slope called Music Matters hoping they might have Sarah Yaughan- Clifford Brown and sure enough they did. Picked it up and spinning it now. Hi Sarah and Clifford! thank you for stopping by and giving me a personal concert. Great sounding stuff on re issued vinyl.
Hi Pradeep, I Concur with your comments regarding Sarah Vaughn. I also simply adore the beautiful tone and emotion of the great Clifford Brown's trumpet mastery. In truth I love the contributions of every performer on this classic jazz gem. Convincing realism, oh yes! Charles,
Tjkurita I suspect you may not have heard a mono cart play a mono LP ! Charles This is great music and an excellent recording. Every turn of phrase, sigh and intonation in Sarah's voice is faithfully reproduced by the SET amps. The realism is eerie Cheers Pradeep
Hi Pradeep, That is definitely a mono recording done in 1954-55 and yes it's beautiful music by two legends. I play that CD often and always feel as though I'm in the venue with them. Charles,
Charles I just got the Sarah Vaughan -Clifford Brown LP. Thanks for the recommendation . Superb. It appears to be a mono LP but there is no inscription on the jacket. I am not going to risk playing it with my mono cart. Afraid not much luck with the LP versions of the other recommendations :( Cheers Pradeep
Hi Tjkurita, I meant every word I said about the Duelund CAST but recognize there are other superb products available. Your AN Silver capacitors are considered to be among the absolute best. There's no guarantee that the CAST would necessarily be better in your amplifier (different, probably). I'd believe that either of these capacitors would result in a superior upgrade for most applications. Charles,
I am really glad you like the caps! If my Audio Note caps ever die (I hope not for many years), I think Dueland will be high on my list of replacements. I must say, I love the Audio Note silver sound. I can't imagine my amp sounding better. But your comments about the Dueland and your insightful ears make me start to think...
I continue to be fascinated by the effects of the Duelund CAST capacitors. I've had them for quite some time in my DAC and speakers and they are indisputably a superb audio product. In retrospect I can say that they'll continue to improve probably up to 400-500 hours. Subtly after about 300 but they do continue the progression. They are good straight out of the shipping box and noticeably better at the 100-150 hour mark.
Their ability to present a profoundly natural sound has earned my deep admiration. They actually improve all aspects of sound but for those music lovers who appreciate genuine tone, harmonics and timbre as I do will love this capacitor. They simply increase the nuances,emotion and organic bliss that's present in acoustic instruments and voice. What ever they're doing at Duelund they surely got it right.
Mr. Coltrane should have my moniker "spirit of music", Just love the power and soul of those Atlantic sessions, a true spirit indeed. What tone!!! All conveyed to the heart by SET's. Grounding really clears the hash to let the message come thru unhindered.
Coltrane begn to play the soprano saxophone more frequently as he moved on. He mastered the soprano and played it beautifully but I just prefer the sound of the tenor saxophone, full, rich and big body tone. Coltrane and Dexter Gordon could really make that luscious big tone tenor sax communicate. Charles,
Hi Spirit, Mr Coltrane, yep! I like his sound and style of playing during his Prestige and Atlantic Records period more than the later Impulse years. Certainly you could say he continued to "evolve" but I listen more often to his earlier music as I find it more soulful. Charles,
Absolutely, Charles. The goosebump feeling on familiar tracks, and new appreciation of songs I used to pass over in the past, are major benefits of the SET presentation. My experiments on installing 50's Telefunken tubes in my Hovland pre, and changing the stock 6H23N and E182CC tubes on the Audions, has been totally positive, so I'm confident substituting the 845's will be similarly beneficial. Loving the fact that the foundation of the system stays true, but supercharged by these mods. Recently listened to the early 60's Coltrane Atlantic label lps, and I've never felt more connected to the big man's miraculous brilliance.
For those who love jazz piano I recommend "Twogether" (correct title spelling). Features the very gifted but under rated John Hicks with alto saxophonist Frank Morgan on 4 of the selections. Sheer beauty. Charles,
"Holistic listening experience", Spirit that sums up the SET effect and again you're right with stating, "an irreversible move". Right now I'm listening to pianist John Hicks playing along side saxophonist Frank Morgan and the venue atmosphere and musicians are utterly palpable. Pure enjoyment. Spirit just continue to fully appreciate what you have. Charles,
Just when one thinks there's an exit from all this high end madness, the journey just keeps stretching on... I have to say the move to SET's has been totally instructive, with the holistic listening experience putting all the distortion figures to bed. Having sorted out balanced power, grounding and vibration isolation in the last year, with the irreversible move to SET's and full range driver Zu's, my listening enjoyment has gone thru the roof. My last big areas of expenditure look like these tubes, and investigating the Sablon cables further. It'll be strange approaching this 90% of final destination stage (I'll reserve 10% for another left field upgrade, whatever that will be).
Interestingly, I can currently get a pair of these Psvane WE RCA 845's for the same price as a pair of KR 845's. The latter is recommended by my dealer, but he can't access them for a while. Maybe I'll get both (sorry for the strain, dear credit card!), and do a little a-b. Always handy to have a spare pair in case of failure anyhow. Each time I think I might move away from my Hovland HP200 (and I'm sorely tempted by the Wyetech Labs Ruby Std and Nagra Jazz), it melts my heart. Since 2006, i STILL haven't heard anything that knocks it out of the park. A good chance that SOTA 845's will boost it's performance further. And I'm just auditioning an amazing line of cables and power cords, Sablon Audio. Their Gran Corona power cord into my Hovland has taken it to an interesting new level, displaying extra layers of bass texture, but punchy and controlled, giving the system the missing body that it occasionally demonstrates esp via cd. A snip at $1300/5ft, in the realms of extreme cable pricing
Hi Spirit, Thanks for the vote of confidence. Spirit as you've probably realize by now I won't go into a lot of audiophile speak, instead I try to give the essence of what I hear. The W.E.Replica I've heard in numerous listening sessions with my long time friend Jwm(Jeff) using his Absolare Passon PSET mono blocks. This tube in comparison to the Shuguang-T and RCA 845 is more organic or natural in presentation. Instruments and voice are more convincing and realistic in that the tone, timbre, harmonic overtones are more completely intact and undiluted. Body and weight are appreciated but aren't overdone or emphasized just present in a balanced way. What I hear is the true color, energy and warmth of real instruments hut again avoiding embellishment. The RCAs were pretty good in this area but the Psvane W.E. do this while also sounding more open, clear and definitely more tranparency. I find that combining tonal warmth and body will superior transparent sound is achieved with only the best products. So for me this tube is emotionally involving and effectively pulls me deep into the enjoyment of music. Jeff's Shuguang's weren't bad but they aren't as refined and natural. In his amplifier it's Psvane W.E., RCA then the Shuguang. I'd expect the Psvane to fit well with your Audion given its noted resolution and lack of editorializing. Charles,
