Hi again Al,
Do you recomend the stock Sony player, I also have a Sony WEGA XBR...(if you remember from our phone call)
is it a good red-book player with great video? thanks Chad

chadnliz May 26, 2005 06:09

Chad, you were a pleasure to speak with as well, sorry I did not respond to your thank you sooner, I had a lot of people show up for Tuesday night music and my hands were full.

albertporter May 25, 2005 17:47

Wow, you have a great set-up! I want to say thanks again for talking to me on phone...your a true gentleman,
best regards Chad

chadnliz May 24, 2005 21:10

Surfgod.

I just got involved in open reel tape again after many years of absence. The Technics 1520 was chosen for it's ability to play master dupes (15 IPS, half track), and prerecorded commercial releases as well.

The 1520 can run single ended and balanced and will support tube microphones. I am planning some original recordings and will disclose more on that subject later. All those features make it a great match up for my Aesthetix balanced tube preamp and the tube microphones I am interested in.

I have been slowly building a library of prerecorded, all are 7.5 IPS and either quarter or half track. As you no doubt already know, these tape vary enormously in sound quality.

If I compare the usual prerecorded Verve or London tape with the best LP's I have, the outcome would be a toss up. My turntable is stunning and of course there are tens of thousands of great LP's while choices in open reel remain limited at best.

If I play my original "safety" copy, acquired from the Faron Young estate, or the master dub of Aerosmith "Toys In the Attic," it sets new standards in my system for dynamics, impact and channel separation.

Oddly enough, only the Master dubs compete with the Walker for signal to noise, a real testament to the Walker-Aesthetix's quality.

I am working on acquiring and restoring an Ampex 351 with dual mono playback electronics. From feedback among my friends in the business, this is supposed to be the mother of all tape machines, providing dynamics and tonal balance that is not to be believed.

So, my answer is not complete. The Technics is better than many turntables I have owned with the right software, and perhaps the Ampex will set new standards as to what my system will do.

I just received a master dub of Simon and Garfunkel, "Bookends" yesterday. It's amazing what is left off the commercial releases compared to a copy this close to the source.

albertporter May 14, 2005 20:00

Absolutely beautiful, I could imagine how it sounds. One point though, I am into factory pre-recorded 2 & 4 track open reel tapes. How do they sound compaired to the turntable. In my modest system, VPI TNT MK-3 and a Pioneer 1020L open reel, the open reel is far superior to the vinyl.
This of course only pretains to the old store bought Ampex, Magtec, Columbia etc. Please comment on the difference in sound.

surfgod May 14, 2005 07:42

Thank you Mejames, I hope the guy building my crossover does not make me wait too long, I have opened a can of worms here.

albertporter May 13, 2005 21:56

hello Albert nice thorough informative review eagerly awaiting part 2.

mejames May 13, 2005 08:56

Jayctoy,

Your right, I can't get the sound of my old electrostatic speakers out of my head. The Sound-Lab Ultimates did some things better than any other speaker I have ever heard.

As with all things audio, different directions offer different benefits. The Dali is much more efficient, has better dynamics and surprisingly, has better resolution at some frequencies. It is not bothered by room boundaries (giant line source) and has very short "warm up time" when started up. I have no doubt it's 7 foot ribbon is competition for the best electrostatic panels, but without size, efficiency and reliability issues.

The one thing I miss most about the Sound-Lab is the pristine even textures and lack of brightness in the high frequencies. I sincerely believe the Dali crossover, with it's wall wart power supply and OP amp circuits are contributing to some of what I detect. This is the conclusion that I ended with in my review at PFO:

Megaline Review

I think this speaker has a real shot at being my permanent reference speaker once the custom tube crossover is complete. I plan to do part two, with complete disclosure of the continuing break in and what each crossover contributes.

albertporter May 12, 2005 18:57

Albert nice new speakers,and system of course.My experience
switching from Martin Logan to Andra was very difficult.
Although I know my Andra are better speakers.It took a
while before my ears got acclimated with my Andra.Also
I think tuning the system involve hard work, and money.
It took a year before I forgot my electrostatic.My question
is ,did you have the same feeling?
Before I forgot I heard the sound lab at Brian Walsh
place, they sound very good to me.Thanks and Congratulation
for getting hired at PF, I will try to read your column
there.

jayctoy May 11, 2005 23:55

The 90 DB is great but 3 ohms and below is tough for some tube amps.

Fortunately, the VTL 750 is rated 550 watts into 8 ohms and 750 watts into 4 ohms and the VTL 450 is rated 339 watts at 8 ohms and 500 watts into 8 ohms.

Looks like your Mahlers would be a great candidate for either.

albertporter May 07, 2005 00:29

thanks Albert / Mejames.

The mahlers are 90 db effecient, however impedance is just below 3ohms for a lot of the bass.

I want this amp to be a long term keeper that I can live with for many years and get off the upgrade merry go round. The will I guess be a perfect match to my 7.5 pre amp.

Something I have to work with my wife to agree unconditionally on. If she is not happy, I won't be happy :)

downunder May 06, 2005 07:38

Shane, Mejames has offered some good experience that should help answer your questions.

Unfortunately I have not had both VTL amps in the same system at the same time. A friend in California (an audio reviewer) has owned both at once and reports that the sound is very similar, at least on his Magneplanar 20's.

My experience is the 750 has more reserve and drive, as would be expected for it's larger size and price tag. Both amps are extremely good, but I choose the 750 so I would not have to wonder if I had made the right choice.

By the way, what is the efficiency of the Mahlers?

albertporter May 06, 2005 06:01

downunder the 750 is a overall better sounding amplifier than the 450 having owned both and still have the 750 ,one obvious advantage of the 750 is the added power allowing you the option of running it in triode mode which many people prefer especially with vocal type music for it's closer more intimate more present type of presentation. the 450 also is triode switchable but maybe not enough power configured this way as its 1/2 the power as in regular tetrode mode. I would definitely get the 750 if you could swing it financially

mejames May 06, 2005 02:15

my observations regarding the bass are as follows the upper bass on the 750 is absolutely amazing you hear it the first time your reaction is like "oh that's what the upper bass is supposed to sound like" I didn't realize it should have this much authority and weight. it's one of the major difference between the 450 and 750. The 450 is really good in upper bass authority but the 750 is much better.

mejames May 06, 2005 01:51

Do you think the 750's are overkill for the Mahlers?. my previous amps cj prem 8a's sounded wonderful from the mids up but bass, especially upper bass was a bit uncontrolled and sloppy.
The 450's would certainly help my budget a lot better but the allurement of using triode makes me wonder if the 450's will drive my room. approx 22 by 24 by 8.

cheers Shane

downunder May 06, 2005 00:24

The VTL's were used previously to drive my Sound-Lab Ultimates, providing the best sound I ever achieved with them. Indeed, the VTL "sound" is sweet, smooth and has the best bass weight of any amp I have ever owned.

Then there's dynamics, the VTL has that in spades due to the absolutely huge power supply, especially the Ref 750.

For Vienna Mahlers the Ref 450 would probably be all you could stand, it's a very powerful amp. If you want to pick flaws with the VTL, I would give the nod on bass "tightness" to it's transistor cousins.

Which is the more preferred sound is in the ears of the beholder.

albertporter May 05, 2005 17:13

thanks Albert. that explains it perfectly.

How did you find the ref 750's driving your old full range speakers?. I am thinking of buying either MB450's or ref 750's to drive my Vienna Mahlers. Are they nice and sweet and smooth in the mids/highs and have good bass weight?.
Cannot seem to get into any SS amps I have yet tried.

thanks Shane

downunder May 05, 2005 10:53

Downunder,

The Dali is a true bi-amp system, meaning the Dali electronic crossover inserts at the front end of the system, just after the preamp.

The preamp signal is divided by this crossover into low and high frequencies at about 1100 Hz, prior to reaching the power amps via long interconnects. That means there MUST be four amplifiers. I choose four mono blocks rather than two stereo, although either way would work.

The cool part is, there is only short connecting wire and drivers in the Megaline cabinet because the crossover is electronic. The amps look directly into the ribbon (Air-Tight ATM-3) and woofers (VTL Ref 750's).

This design eliminates capacitors, resistors, inductors, (and sometime) volume pots found in traditional speaker design. Dali is on to something with this, in my opinion.

albertporter May 05, 2005 03:24

Albert. Why did you add the Air Tight amp for the ribbons of the Magaline.
Was there something lacking or missing with the big VTL ref 750's?.

downunder May 04, 2005 14:48

Kalan,

Thanks for the compliment, I grow more satisfied with it each day, part of the lengthy break in ordeal.

I just received an email concerning my review of the Dali Megaline at PFO. It was from a friend of mine, describing the break in process with his Acapella speakers. They required 550 hours to integrate to his satisfaction and continued to improve even beyond 1000 hours. This guy has very high standards, so I'm not surprised that we shared similar break in experience with two different world class speakers.

As for wiring, the four runs of interconnect between the Aesthetix Callisto and amps are under my pier and beam foundation. They are suspended within 2.5 inch PVC water pipe. The electrical was designed around the system with outlets on the side walls directly beside the amps, keeping the AC cords short and tidy.

The active bi-amping required for the Dali means the amps are directly behind the speakers, maintaining the same advantage as the AC, short and direct.

albertporter May 03, 2005 00:38

Well...OK, I guess you can keep the Sony TV. KIDDING. Since some of us seem to be living through you vicariously (and your system is so high-end), I have to razz you about SOMETHING.

So, do the interconnects from the Aesthetix pre-amp to the power amps run in the wall (or under the floor)? I see very little cabling clutter in the photos. Sorry if this has been covered.

kalan May 02, 2005 18:35

It's pulled out from the wall for the photo. I keep it tucked up against the wall out of the reach of the left speakers "tow in" and line source imaging. I have listened with and without the Sony in the room and there is no problem.

albertporter May 01, 2005 23:46

What? A wide screen TV right there near the left channel Dali where it can muck up that side's carefully thought-out acoustic properties. Blasphemy! You're killing me, Albert.

kalan April 30, 2005 01:58

Eat your hearts out guys! Albert has been kind enough to entertain Steve Dobbins (Vetterone) and myself for a couple of days. This should happen sometime in June. Man, I can't wait. If I wore panties and had the right equipment, they would be wet.

Albert, I love the new images. Very comfortable environment indeed and especially considering the size of scope of your equipment it blends in very well with the decore. An incredible amount of thought went into everything. It makes me tired just thinking about it.

We're really looking forward to our visit and thank you in advance for such a treat.

lugnut April 27, 2005 13:23

System edited: Image added, open reel Technics 1520

albertporter April 20, 2005 16:32