@islandmandan 

mulveling November 30, 2023 18:09

Well let's look on the bright side - your Koetsu is probably fine as is! Good idea to get it checked anyways. Have Joseph verify the alignment looks OK, etc. 

mulveling September 16, 2023 19:14

Dan, 

mulveling September 13, 2023 23:29

Dan,

mulveling September 13, 2023 14:17

Dan @islandmandan , 

mulveling September 12, 2023 20:49

Hi Dan, @islandmandan 

mulveling September 12, 2023 16:41

Dan - also, I really doubt you killed a channel during your setup attempts. It's hard to do without opening it up. Koetsus are quite well protected. I would suspect the prior owner or retipper for causing such damage, honestly.

mulveling September 11, 2023 21:44

@islandmandan 

mulveling September 11, 2023 21:40

@islandmandan 

mulveling September 11, 2023 18:32

Hi @islandmandan ,

mulveling September 05, 2023 14:05

I know I've said this before but this system really feels "done" now -- 6 months into having the VAC Master amps. I don't know what else to do or what I would even want to do. I can swap various tubes, SUT's, cartridges, or even speaker cables whenever I want a slight change in flavor -- I have plenty of these on hand, and that's plenty of range. None of the major components need to change. It feels like 100% synergy now between VAC Master amps and VAC preamp & phono stage -- quite honestly the VAC Master preamp didn't 100% mesh with my system before these Master amps. Something about the 200iQ and Master preamp pairing just seemed "off" to me. Also didn't like the Renaissance V at all. Weird. 

mulveling May 22, 2023 15:22

@islandmandan 

mulveling May 22, 2023 15:06

The VAC 300iQ monoblocks absolutely destroy every other amp I've played with, including the VAC 200iQ monos. It's not close. They're the single biggest component upgrade I've ever experienced. They're also the most expensive - but worth it. Had them since December - this system finally feels "done", for a while (again). 

mulveling March 28, 2023 14:33

Current Status (Part 2):

mulveling October 25, 2022 16:55

Current status: I let this get a bit out of control, and have way too much gear haha. My favorite system configurations right now are:

mulveling October 25, 2022 15:05

Many thanks @jond !!

mulveling October 25, 2022 15:04

Thanks @islandmandan and @whart - you're both very familiar "faces" on the forums and I really appreciate you!

mulveling October 21, 2022 03:05

Thanks Spencer! Hope you're doing well and enjoying the music.

mulveling October 18, 2022 16:55

I'm definitely feeling the tube preamp + SS power amp vibe lately with my Canterburys. For a while I thought I'd live out my days content with all tubed components lol. 

mulveling July 21, 2022 15:21

In general - I've enjoyed my VAC 200iQ tube monos for the past several months (and driving myself semi-crazy tube rolling it), but now they're going on sabbatical as I've once again been craving the fast paced, hard hitting, incisive, lightning quick attacking, more aggressive sound of the solid state Phison A2.120SE amp. The 200iQ's slightly soft & rounded bass was getting to me. Especially with the ARC Reference phono & preamp stack now - I just can't get over this Phison amp for pop, hard rock, and metal. And I've been in a rock mood lately :)

mulveling July 20, 2022 20:14

@lalitk 

mulveling November 15, 2021 17:02

Thanks Terry! Good to hear from ya again! And happy to hear you still have those beautiful Kensington GR. I still want a pair even though I wouldn't know where to put them yet. How are your longer-term impressions of Kensington GR vs. Canterbury GR now (despite the different room)? 

mulveling June 25, 2021 19:14

Well, yes and no. Supertweeters have been disconnected for the last few months. A friend lent me a Phison A2 120 amplifier (Danish solid state) around that time, and I have to sheepishly admit I've been blown away. The match between A120 and my Tannoys is clearly superior to that of the push-pull high power tube amps I've been using for years. In fact a single one of these amps (it has bridge and stereo modes) handily bests my pair of VAC 200iQ. I now have a pair of "new improved" A120 on order, and these will come with a new switch to bias heavily into class A (of course at the expense of extra heat). Perhaps I should have revisited solid-state amps a long time ago. I'm not the kind who listens to an endless rotation of Diana Krall, etc - I need a system that's able to rock my head off. 

Anyways, since I've had the A120 in place (long-term loan till the monos arrive), the balance between it, the Tannoys, the new VAC Master preamp, and everything - has been so amazingly perfect I've forgotten all about the tweets. I should give them a try but I can't imagine further improvement there - if not then they go up for sale. The old Canterbury SE model needed supertweets to help fill in the upper range of the main tweeter and increase its tiny sweet spot size, but this deficiency is largely mitigated (if not eliminated) in the GR model. 

mulveling June 23, 2021 17:21

Yeah, lots of Tannoy fans seem to love the Gaia's. I see them (reasonably) often now on the Tannoy Facebook groups. Some impressions seem to indicate this can make a big improvement. I'm really tempted. Just wondering whether I can affect the same degree of tilt as in my current setup, or use them on top of the same HRS spacers without having them sliding around during loud listening - I had that problem with the SuperTweeters and had to resort to mild adhesive strips LOL. 

mulveling March 22, 2021 23:19

Thank you sir! The feet are a combination of the stock Tannoy cones & brass cups, plus black solid aluminum HRS "spacers" from their nimbus feet. I have a thinner spacer on the 3rd back spike to cause the speakers to slightly tilt upwards so that the dual-concentric horn tweeter is aimed perfectly at my listening position. I'll look into the ISO Acoustics Gaias that people seem to love.

mulveling March 22, 2021 03:03

NEW PREAMP INBOUND: VAC Master. I have a loaner unit here now (see 2nd pic). I've actually borrowed this same unit last year, and it didn't blow me away. I just had to give it a 2nd try with how much I've loved the Renaissance SE phono and 200iQ amps, and how much everyone raves about this Master. 

mulveling March 09, 2021 18:17

NEW AMPS inbound. VAC Signature 200iQ monoblocks. I've been auditioning a loaner pair for 2 weeks. I wouldn't say they're quite "night & day" better than the Apollo Darks - but there are several key areas they improve on and/or clean up compared to the Rogues, which adds up to a very significant cumulative effect. 

Mids are more organic and beautiful (less dry). Imaging is much more 3D, soundstage is bigger, with stage depth quite notably increased. The top end is super clean and has removed a tinge of glare and harshness that had been a bit too forward on average recordings - without reducing perceived detail (actually increasing perceived detail since it's a more pleasant listen). The dynamics and bottom end are subjectively more powerful and exhilarating, despite actually having less Wattage power (200 vs 275+). The net result is a better connection to the music, with delineation of layers and details increased in a way that serves musical enjoyment, rather than leading down the path of analysis or boredom (not that I felt this about the system before).

And I haven't even rolled the 200iQ's 6SN7 tubes yet. I rolled the hell out of the Apollo's small tubes, and felt I had improved its performance significantly over stock. 

The Apollos were great amps for me, almost 10 years now (my first pair being the original version, followed by the "Dark" version 2 years ago), but I think it was finally time to move on and match the rest of the system which has changed quite a lot in that same time period. Like the VAC Reference SE phono, these 200iQ's are a piece that instantly felt "right" when plopped into my Canterbury GR system.

mulveling November 26, 2019 19:01

Wow thanks for your comments pdreher, it means a lot to me!

As for the Tannoys - I was relatively new to high end audio in early 2000s when I heard Tannoy for the first time, and they blew my mind (even though just the modest Eyris DC3 model). Coming from high-end headphones, I missed the coherence of a single driver that the Tannoy dual-concentric point source driver uniquely and fully delivered - this was at a time when I feel many other speaker options failed badly at this. Now of course, things have moved on and many of the modern high end speakers I hear today have excellent coherence and integration, even with separate drivers. However, it's hard to separate from first love so I'm still sticking with Tannoy for the long haul. And yes, the efficiency is a huge advantage. An honest 96 dB per Watt here! Tannoy hasn't remained static either, as I enjoy the GR series Canterbury a lot more than the prior SE series.

Tannoy looks to be doing OK under the new ownership, though there was worry for a while that they'd either eliminate the Prestige series or move its production to China. Seems to have stabilized, and Kevin Deal (from Upscale Audio) just recently picked up distributorship for Tannoy, so I think (and hope) he sells a boatload of them!

mulveling September 27, 2019 21:47

Thanks for the tube recs, guys. It's been some years, and I've optimized and changed everywhere else, so the tube blend could use a revisit. Sylvania TM BP 5751 are certainly one of those variants I should've tried by now. The 1960s Slyvania 5751 gray plates are just awful, but given my experience with Sylvania 12BH7 I know that the 1950s BPs can sound a world away from the terrible 60s GPs.

mulveling January 27, 2019 23:49

Thanks @lalitk !

mulveling January 01, 2019 23:08

Ok, turns out I'm still a bit of a JUNKIE. Got a brand new Herron VTPH-2A phono stage I'm about to go pick up. I'm certainly not expecting it to displace the VAC Renaissance SE in the main system (so awesome sounding but hurt the wallet bad at 14.4K), but I am expecting it to beat my Rogue Ares Magnum in the Stax setup. I've got a nice new Shelter Accord breaking in on that Stax setup, already sounding about good enough to displace the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze I've had there. This should be fun. I'll give the Herron a whack in the main setup, too.

mulveling October 26, 2018 23:09

Hi @shadorne 

mulveling August 30, 2018 19:47

This is it, brohs. I've now upgraded almost EVERYTHING I had since summer 2017, excepting 3 power cords and 1 pair of AQ Kilimanjaro speaker cables. This is no longer a true "ever evolving" system, but reasonably a "done for now". The sonic gains have been HUGE. My last big piece is the VAC Renaissance "Special Edition" phono stage. Absolutely stunning when paired with the Audio Research Ref 6 linestage!

mulveling February 10, 2018 02:38

Thanks @mjcmt ! I've been enjoying the upgraded sound immensely. Almost every weekend night now consists of me and the girlfriend having a long (and loud!) listening session to 3 or 4 AM. The effect of the new CMS rack, providing a perfect platform for the TT, has been awesome. 

mulveling November 19, 2017 00:35

Holy cow, I just dusted off my half-broken, dust caked, taped-up Nikon D40 (circa 2004) and retook some pics -- makes the iPhone 6 pics look like trash. I guess I should've expected that, even with just the cheapo kit lens (broken autofocus) on the Nikon. At the end of the day, the high tech phones are handicapped by teeny-tiny sensors and lenses. I've updated recent photos to the D40 takes.

mulveling October 23, 2016 18:58

Haha, I know the "stupid enough to still want X" theme very well. But as a member of working middle class, I also knew I eventually had to pick a stopping point.
Here it is, for me! Salamander gear looks great and is well-constructed. In fact the stands under my monoblocks are Salamander (Synergy media rack top shelf plus polished
aluminum claw feet); I keep forgetting about that, but I love 'em.

My dealer has been fantastic to me, and for the last couple years he's been pushing the Critical Mass Systems racks. But with their pricing, I'm just never gonna go for that!
Rack resale value is horrific, and that's very relevant to me. And also, if I could hear more from my TT with better isolation, I'm confident the Stax SR-009 w/ KGSShv would
reveal it, but it doesn't!

mulveling October 17, 2014 22:12

Thanks Schubert. A Lovan Sovereign (3 modules, 7") that's basically hollow steel sheet tubes and MDF shelves (rosewood look) - had it nearly 10 years
now.

Definitely nothing special, but it's nicely rigid, looks OK, and I've filled its legs with lead shot. The TT also now has a nice maple platform under it, built
by a local friend of mine. In combination with moving it all right up against the wall (floor is more rigid there too), I've gotten pretty effective isolation
for cheap. A check on the Stax headphones doesn't reveal any major shortcomings of it (with regards to acoustic feedback), at least. That combined with
the financial fatigue from 10+ years of audiophiling...means I won't be spending a ton of cash on a new audiophile rack. Seems that lots of the nice
ones run 12K and up (way up) for a few shelves, geez!

mulveling October 17, 2014 14:55

DONE.
Been listening more lately, with the Sonic Frontiers Phono 1 SE+ still in place for phono stage. I'm gonna call this system DONE. There will be no more
component evolution here, save for maintenance and perhaps the occasional cable swap.

Not sure I believe in cap break-in, but for whatever reason -- maybe responding to improved isolation for my TT, or maybe the introduction of Amperex
6DJ8 in combination with Siemens -- this Phono 1 (V-Caps from the SE+ upgrades) has developed unbelievable midrange, treble, stereo image and depth. In
these crucial areas it's now a full level ahead of the other 2 stages I was swapping -- which were a Hagerman Trumpet and Rogue Ares, both used with Bob's
Devices 1131 SUT. The SF is as quiet as the Trumpet, quieter than the Ares. The SF bass (extension and impact) lags behind that of the other 2, but it's very
clean bass, more than acceptable in light of its other strengths.

The SF midrange is so clean and palpable; it imparts the sensation of warmth without actually being warm. The treble is silky smooth without dulling detail or
sparkle -- the Ares was actually a bit strident by comparison.

I'm also still loving the Stax headphones w/ KGSShv amp and NAD M51 (iMac/USB transport). This final speaker rig has pulled ahead of the headphone setup
again, but I sill immensely enjoy each session with either Stax, never feeling like I'm being cheated or settling for a lesser experience. They've also been
extremely instructive towards what clean treble, mids, and bass SHOULD sound like. Sometimes I flirt with the idea of a Headamp Blue Hawaii SE (which I've
heard a number of times now; awesome amp), but honestly the KGSShv is right about there for a lot less money. Still, maybe...

mulveling October 17, 2014 06:11

Thanks Gerulaz -- I was just admiring your Mission Pilastro setup the other day. Absolutely gorgeous, and I would never have known they existed!

I suppose it's far too harsh to say I'm unhappy with the table. My analog setup has taken a significant step forward in sound quality since I upgraded from the SOTA Star; I'm very happy with the sound quality and looks of the Clearaudio. The vacuum on my old SOTA lost its seal with age, so the clamping solution with my Innovation is wonderful (but again -- $2300 for 5 lbs of steel?). It's just that there's a couple of minor details/issues that I'm miffed about existing at this price point. Coupled with perhaps a tinge of buyer's remorse from spending beyond what should have been my "budget".

The motor whine seems to be inherent to the design of the Innovation motor; I've observed it on the dealer's other units, and have conversed online with another owner who hears it too. I think it's specific to that very small, high-torque motor. The whine is at a high frequency and low level, so some folks may not hear it at all. And probably not in a showroom with any ambient noise. I can hear it an night in silence, though admittedly it's a non-issue in my seating position with the needle dropped. It's just that we can buy $300 tables without audible whine, so why was this detail overlooked at $11K?

mulveling August 14, 2014 17:50

System edited: Updated gear and cleared out all the uninteresting cruft (e.g. cables and acoustic panels) so that the structure of the system isn't quite so buried in meaningless details. And since I've lived with every component here for between 1-5 years (3 years
average), I felt bold enough to add some more candid thoughts under the description of each piece. The system is sounding GREAT. It's been a long and slow process of tweaking and dialing-in, with many ups and downs (remind me to NEVER sell the Sonic
Frontiers again), but it's worth it. I haven't listed my headphone gear yet, but I've become enamored with high-end Stax gear (SR-009, SR-007, KGSShv), which is really serving as a nice complement/alternative to my Tannoy love-fest on the speaker side. I'm very
much a huge fan of the transducers from Tannoy, Stax, and Koetsu. And also VERY much a huge fan of the Kevin Gilmore designed headphone amps (of which there are many) -- and which he donates to the community FOR FREE.

And there's still no nighttime neighbors to piss off :)

mulveling August 13, 2014 04:53

Jmohd,
I have not heard the Wilson Sasha -- you may be confusing me with Tom :)

mulveling April 01, 2013 23:00

I listened to them only a couple times in a friend's setup, but they were super once dialed in; natural warmth and natural sound, with excellent articulation. No harshness or hardness to be found. Excellent speakers at moderate listening levels; a really nice experience. Worked great with the high-end BAT gear.

If I had a 2nd audio room it might be fun to tinker with a Harbeth setup, that is if the inner Tannoy & high-efficiency fanboy in me would allow such a thing.

In my current setup, the 86dB efficiency vs. 96dB thing is a big deal since I have a large-ish room like to go quite loud at times. I also like running without a subwoofer, and I've been a fan of the dual-concentric for so long now that it's just darn hard to adapt to anything else.

I'm loving the Canterbury SE; they've opened up beautifully since accumulating some hours (slowly, on my schedule). Bass quality is superb (once ports and electronics are dialed in), which runs counter to the typical prejudice upon seeing those 15" woofers and fat cabinets! They were thick and wooly out of the box and (especially) until you get those tweeters firing up at ear level. Now the balance is dialed in about perfect; the smaller Kensington SE had a surplus of energy up top (in a larger room like mine) so I'd been fighting in the different direction for so long.

mulveling January 31, 2013 18:25

Musicophile,
I've always been curious about both SET amps and Manley amps. EveAnna, the head of Manley, runs Tannoy Churchills (as per their website).

BTW I've listened to the Churchill Wideband in a friend's setup, and the dynamics are just nuts! Though, I do prefer the midrange sweetness/wetness of the Prestige line. Hooking the Churchills up with el84, el34, or SET (i.e. fat wet midrange) might make for a really nice combo, but then I certainly don't mind pairing a fat midrange amp up with sweet-midrange speakers, either. A dry/analytical sound is NOT in the cards for me!

mulveling January 09, 2013 00:08

BTW -- happy New Year to all us audio & music aficionados!

mulveling January 01, 2013 02:23

I've driven the Kensington SE with 25 Watt/ch vintage amps, and from that I recognize that low-power tubes (even push-pull) have a certain magic to the sound. It can be enthralling. However, it will start to distort and then clip on the peaks of recordings with a higher crest factor -- unless you're in a small room and/or listen strictly at moderate levels. I've got a fairly large room, and like to listen loud. Though, at 93dB/Watt, many pop/rock recordings with little dynamic range still don't need much power at all to knock your ears off (25 Watts was more than ample for me there; 9 Watts would probably do). Folks with parameters in the other direction can get away with a lot less power, especially when those meager few Watts are sounding so glorious.

If you can religiously keep the volume levels moderate with an engaging speaker like the Tannoy alnico/pepperpot, then I salute you sir/madame :)

Otherwise, it's a balancing act: do you care more about pursuing the holy grail of tone/midrange, or soul-crushing dynamics? Either -- and many spots in-between -- can yield superb results. The gear-chase results from an attempt to attain both. Ideally we should be satisfied with the Tannoys plus a solid amp that plays toward our particular preference within this spectrum. Unfortunately, for some of us this preference is a moving target :/

I've got to admit, sometimes I'd like to try a lower power tube amp again in my setup now that I'm running the 96 dB/Watt Canterbury SE.

mulveling January 01, 2013 02:20

System edited: Added pics taken today.

mulveling October 21, 2012 21:50

Big upgrade: just dropped in a pair of Tannoy Canterbury SE!

They're what I was looking for: same Tannoy pepperpot/alnico midrange, a coherent & integrated sound top to bottom, with substantially more bass/dynamics/scale than the Kensington can deliver in a room this size. In fact, it would take some serious doing for *anything* to touch the dynamics and impact here.

This is what an honest 96dB/Watt w/ 28Hz extension looks like -- it's HUGE -- it has to be! As expected, the 3dB efficiency increase is huge. Small number changes on paper (they're also spec'd to only extend 1Hz lower); big result in real life. Sounds "live" at a much lower volume setting.

With the Kensington I was working to keep brightness in check and coax as much bass response as possible. Warm tubes were used liberally. With these, I'll be going in a different direction: keep the bass in check; coax out a bit more treble (or rather, start undoing all the warm tubes I'd stuffed everywhere). The variable ports are awesome; so far it's sounding like all closed is the way to go!

mulveling October 20, 2012 08:35

Aronsss,
I've actually moved from the Ares to the built-in phono of the VAC Renaissance III, but -- as good as that VAC is -- I'm kinda wishing I'd kept the Ares around. I think a lot of the difference (besides tubes) may come down to the step-ups used (I think the VAC uses Lundahl); I wish I'd ordered my Ares with the blue 1131. I may try the 1131 at some point. I'm lucky in that I can always borrow an Ares to give it a 2nd crack :) Before the VAC, the Ares clobbered my previous stages (Sonic Frontiers Phono 1, Benz PP-1, PS Audio GCPH).

For my tastes, the Rogue gear is sometimes voiced a touch too analytical/SS sounding with the stock tubes, but responds like crazy (in a good way) to NOS signal tubes -- and the Ares is a perfect example of this. In contrast, rolling with the VAC tends to be somewhat frustrating -- it retains its character pretty strongly.

Was not a fan of the late-production JAN-Phillips 5814A my Ares shipped with. I ended up running the first-version RCA black plate 12BH7, which is a gorgeous sounding tube if you require some warmth. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to find quiet-enough examples of that tube specimen, but I did. If you only need a little warmth, the later RCA black plate foil/square getter 12BH7A are the ticket; if warmth is not required, the black plate Tung-Sol 12BH7A is quite good. Any of these 12BH7 beat the heck out of the 12AU7 RCA cleartops or GE & Phillips 5814 I'd tried, but do be prepared to weed out plenty of microphonic 12BH7 tubes. The stock Ares can supply the extra 0.6A heater current that the 12BH7 will require.

For 12AX7, I really liked a pair of mid/late 1950's RCA black tall plate 12AX7A. These tubes impart a touch of warmth (not too much) without sacrificing any detail, and are beautifully musical. Preferred these to the usual Tele & Mullard suspects. If I felt the need to brighten things up a touch (which I almost never do), then the Teles would have been a good choice. Didn't ever try 5751 in those 12AX7 slots (note: the Apollos LOVE the 5751).

mulveling May 30, 2012 01:01

Dammit - I've got to stop underestimating the Rogue Hera preamp. Just when I thought that the VAC Renaissance III w/ phono was clobbering it - and it was indeed beating the Hera + Ares phono combo - lately I've been using the Hera II fed from the VAC's MC phono stage, and that beats all. It doesn't make a lot of sense that the VAC's built-in phono beats Rogue's best standalone phono, while the Hera II line stage beats the VAC line stage - but that's what's happened in my system.

Perhaps the Hera needed burn-in after its upgrade to II status; but then, the VAC was burning in too. And let me say, the system sounded off by SEVERAL notches while the Hera was off for upgrades and I dropped a discrete class A solid state preamp in its place. That experience renewed my appreciation for a fine tubed preamp (for which the VAC certainly qualifies).

At this point, I kind of feel like the Hera II is the finest electronic (non-transducer) component in my system.

mulveling February 19, 2012 06:55

Actually, as far as the ear-test goes, there's more bass energy at any other location in those pictures -- which implies too close to a wall boundary and/or speaker. It's a good suggestion to move the table WAY out of frame & elsewhere (say 15-25 feet; my friend Tom did so with his system), but I do like having the gear where it's at; it's well protected from foot traffic...not that there's too much traffic, but for the occasional possibly-clueless guest.

mulveling January 14, 2012 01:15

Robertwolfee,
I've never used SET; certainly that represents a huge hole in my audio experience. Their theory holds much appeal, but I have in fact (rarely) run a robust 55 Watts/ch PP tube amp into clipping, and found that a vintage 35 Watts/ch PP was notably easier to clip (more than you'd think from a ~2dB difference).

The 250+ Watt/ch Apollos have easily handled any dynamic range of material -- at any sane volume -- that I've thrown at them.

I've heard the Yorkminster SE right next to my Kensington SE, and was surprised at what a difference that +2dB of efficiency made; with >= 95dB/Watt I'd feel a WHOLE lot more confident in looking at SET amps. In my listening sessions with present gear, I still preferred the rich mids of the Kensington over the Yorkminster (though the Yorkminster's bass was clearly far superior)...so perhaps Yorkminsters + SET would be quite close to (if not a dead lock on) my ideal. Too bad the Yorkminster's looks just rub me the wrong way.

I think the long-term plan for now would be to eventually get the Canterbury SE, which are 96dB and FAR prettier than the Yorkminster :) Then, at some point after that, I'll likely need to scratch that SET itch.

Oh, also -- I've switched to a VAC Renaissance III preamp + phono. The buit-in phono is amazing, and the unit's midrange is incredibly smooth and clean. Met Kevin Hayes of VAC too -- just a top flight company, there.

mulveling January 11, 2012 03:48

Thanks guys!

Hoa,
Those are GIK Acoustics Tri-Traps in the corners and GIK 242 panels on the front wall. Excellent acoustic effectiveness, extremely reasonably priced, and though not premium in build quality they don't look terrible. Since I bought mine they now offer premium cloths/colors. I might check and see if they have a good match to the Tannoy's tweed grills...though the plain off-white does blend in to the walls.

Yeah, the Kensington SE are magic once you get the right gear behind them - but therein lies a challenge, as despite their musicality they are deceivingly revealing/resolving and every tube/component change will be heard LOUD AND CLEAR. They've actually made my gear habit worse this past 2.5 years.

Nice that you have Tannoys AND Harbeths. Lots of British audio WIN in your home!

mulveling August 07, 2011 20:33

System edited: Much experimenting with tube rolling. Haven't yet run into an RCA black plate - of 12AX7, 5751, and 12BH7 - that I don't like...and certain variants in particular are just lovely. Also liking the Mullard long-plate 12AX7 and Tung-Sol 12BH7. Not a fan of any 12AU7 yet. Ditched the EH KT90 for the new-ish KT120. NICE improvement there. The KT90 were just too forward up top. KT120 is nice and balanced; silky smooth from mids through treble, and with even more powerful bass. Still haven't convinced myself that the 6H30-DR are worth trying (@ $200 a pop times 8).

mulveling July 08, 2011 04:31

Thegoodarcher,
Man, I haven't checked this thread in a while - sorry for the way delayed reply. I used an Atlas (not even magnum) before the Apollos, and I know the Cronus you've got sounds really sweet.

I've had the Ares for more than a few months, and it actually took me a while to warm up to it. The problem is that I'd been using a Sonic Frontiers Phono 1 - clearly better than even the GCPH - but it was adding a touch of warmth to my system. That was kind of compensating for the crappy stock EH 12AX7 small signal-tubes I'd been using in my Apollos.

I finally put some nice NOS tubes in 12AX7 and 12AU7 positions on the Apollos (ended up with 12BH7A in place of the 12AU7). Then, I put some RCA 12AU7 cleartops in the Ares. The Ares still ONLY has EH 12AX7 (soon to be rectified), but already it's clearly the most resolving stage I've had yet. Killer bass and dynamics. Very clean & neutral; I'm sure I can tune it further by finally swapping those 12AX7s. The SF is running a quad super nice JAN Amperex 7308, and it's still getting beat. Loving that Ares - and I must remember to never cheap out on small-signal tube rolling in the future!

mulveling May 06, 2011 07:33

System edited: Updated system. Hera preamp is off to Rogue for upgrading to version II+ status. In the meantime I'm left with a little SS headphone amp (with preamp outputs) - despite being a real nice headamp it SUCKS compared to the Hera. Really was starting to take that thing for granted, and it should be even better when it gets back. Next...is it even worth it to gamble some $1.6K for an octet of 6H30-DR supertubes in this preamp?

mulveling May 06, 2011 07:21

System edited: Added my reel-to-reel tape deck to system. I LOVE the sound of the damned thing but it's a bit of a PITA. Sometimes the left channel cuts in/out intermittently - it think it may be happening after the unit is fully warmed up. Or perhaps it's somewhat tape-dependent...or maybe both! The RCA jacks are also WAY TOO CLOSE together. I don't have any RCA cables with barrels skinny enough to fit well. Finally hooked it up again, a couple nights ago - first time with the Apollos. It's definitely worth putting up with (for now), for the sound and the needledrop music I've got on Maxell tapes. I've been looking forward to every night I'm at home, so I can go through more LPs and tapes!

mulveling April 18, 2010 16:35

Thanks Jerico!

I've been very impressed with the GCPH. It's dead neutral, resolving, about as smooth as I've heard from Solid-State gear. It's better than my Benz PP-1 (at least on Ortofon carts - I used to have a Glider L2, hence the Benz), for less money. The XLR outputs are a nice plus with a preamp like the Athena/Hera. At $700 new - how can you argue with that?

The only reason I haven't bought this GCPH from my dealer, is that I'm impatiently anticipating the soon-to-be-released Rogue Ares phono stage ($2K MSRP). It's going to be an AD797 step-up plus a tube MM stage of four 12AT7 tubes. It would be nice to have an all-Rogue system (I'll be asking for fancy metal feet to match to Hera/Apollo, heh). I've previously tried the Rogue Stealth and loved the voicing, but it wasn't as resolving nor as quiet as the PP-1. If the Ares fixes that, then it'll be perfect for me. Though I do wish it would have XLR outputs, which it won't.

Still, if the Ares doesn't beat the GCPH noticeably, then the GCPH will stay! I certainly can't complain about the sound I'm getting now. Of course that won't stop me from trying to improve it further, as this affliction dictates. Next, I'd like to look at an Ortofon Winfeld cart upgrade - which may dictate a lower mass arm, too.

mulveling April 13, 2010 05:29

System edited: Big update - Apollo monoblocks have arrived, and the Atlas will be gone soon. Also using a loaner PS Audio GCPH (XLR outputs into the Hera) in place of the Benz PP-1, with 50-ohm loading. The Apollo/Hera/Kensington combination is freaking blowing my mind.

mulveling April 12, 2010 23:26

Thanks for the comments, guys!

Well here's where the "ever evolving" comes in...

I've had the Rogue Hera for a month now. It's been a modest revelation for me. Significantly better resolution and micro-dynamics, along with a BIG increase in soundstage depth, a slight increase in width, and a more neutral/natural tone (as opposed to hitting all AROUND the bulls-eye with different variants of 6sn7 in the 99). Absolutely worth the cost of entry, and in fact I feel I got a GREAT deal on mine.

Unfortunately, now I've had a taste of higher-end and it's like blood in the water. After auditioning a different amp and phono stage in my system, it's clear those two components now represent weaknesses.

Amp:
The system's "macro-dynamics" didn't receive a commensurate bump-up with the introduction of the Hera. An audition of my friend's Stereo 90 Magnum easily showed why - I actually lack enough power for high dynamic range recordings (classical). This was a somewhat surprising to me - I now admit I underestimated my power requirements. That and the 90 Magnum displayed a bit more finesse and articulation too. I decided it's time to move on from The Atlas (GREAT amp for the money), so I now have a pair of Apollo monoblocks on order from my dealer :)

Phono Stage:
I auditioned my dealer's PS Audio GCPH in place of my Benz PP-1 (current T9 version), both using 100 ohm loading on my Ortofon Kontrapunkt "c". The PP-1 was more resolving that other stages I'd previously tried (Aragon 47K, Rogue Stealth, Dynavector P75), but at the expense of a slightly nasty spike/peak/resonance somewhere in the treble. I always assumed that was a side effect of its resolving power - that it was just revealing something in my cartridge or TT setup. Once again, it turns out my assumption was probably wrong. The GCPH is wonderfully smooth over the WHOLE range, no treble peak, and every bit as resolving. In fact, the bass is ever-so-slightly more punchy and taut. The GCPH midrange doesn't have the touch of added warmth of the PP-1, and it's just a tiny bit less 3D, but overall the GCPH is wonderfully liquid and musical, tonally dead neutral, and more enjoyable if only for the lack of that treble aberration. I should also note that I was running AQ Cheetah XLR cables from the GCPH, while the PP-1 uses AQ Jaguar RCA. So, this is not completely fair ground, but the treble problem is too much to be explained by the cables alone IMO. I also might get a Rogue Ares phono stage (soon to be released tube/SS hybrid) for audition, so the winner between that and the GCPH will likely be my next phono stage.

Cables:
Well now this has begun too. I really really like the solid silver I've heard - so smooth AND resolving, with NONE of the brightness that some complain about with silver. I got a pair of AQ Cheetah XLRs that will connect the Hera to the Apollos, when they arrive. I've got an incoming pair of Sky RCAs in anticipation of the Ares phono stage. I've ordered a LeoPard phono cable. My pair of Mont Blanc speaker cables will have to do for now (they don't suck), after some minor re-termination surgery. The Mont Blancs are smoother and more 3D than the LAT silverfuse cables I've repeatedly tried to "downgrade" to (to recoup some money from the Mont Blancs). A little down the line I may look into bi-wiring with VERY short (3-4ft) pairs of KE-4 and Gibraltar.

Speakers:
The Kensngton SEs are here to stay. They've SIGNIFICANTLY enhanced my enjoyment of music in the year since I purchased them. The magic there hasn't yet begun to wear off (for gear, a year is a LONG time with me), though I'm continually shocked at how resolving they are of ANY component (and cable) changes in the system. It's time to get the "right" system behind them.

Mike

mulveling March 21, 2010 04:04