In 1990 I had a Sota Star Sapphire that I bought brand new, and ET-2 tonearm I bought brand new, a Van den Hul MC-10 cartridge I bought brand new, a Counterpoint SA-5.1 that I bought brand new, and an ARC D-76 power amp I bought used. My speakers were two-way transmission lines that I designed and built.
The REAL WORLD priced high performing product thread.
- Thread starter Andre Marc
- Start date
Glad to see this speaker reviewed, Hi-end audio is behaving just like the car industry these days, a lot of bang for the buck at entry-level prices.
After a few days with it..a quick preview...a lovely, balanced sound, with very satisfying bass in a midsize room.
The workmanship is exceptional. I have it paired with an Electrocompaniet EC13 and a Marantz NA7004 network player.
Hello, Andre. I just so happen to have serial #3 and #4 of the Carver tube amplifier you speak of. We had fun building the first 100 or so pre-production units on top of a mountain at an audio event with Mr. Carver himself. I couldn't believe my ears when that amp bested a VTL amplifier in the same Dalquist DQ-8 based system. Very good choice for a real world price for high end sound. Of course, you have to pair it with a compatible system but I'm sure many folks can appreciate that fact with other gear as well. I have since heard just a single unit power a pair of Apogees and once again, it bested the VTL amplifiers. On many aspects but at reasonable/appropriate listening levels.
Two other contenders I would like to add to the thread would be the Jolida JD-100 tubed CDP and the now discontinued Anthem1 tube amp. With non-stock tubes, of course [same thing with the Carver amplifier already mentioned....Telefunkens sound great in them!]. Both are sonically good performers available at real world prices.
Great thread!
Tom
Two other contenders I would like to add to the thread would be the Jolida JD-100 tubed CDP and the now discontinued Anthem1 tube amp. With non-stock tubes, of course [same thing with the Carver amplifier already mentioned....Telefunkens sound great in them!]. Both are sonically good performers available at real world prices.
Great thread!
Tom
Very nice. That had to be a very interesting experience.
Agree about the right speaker, but let me tell you I am driving a pair of Thiel CS2.4's with absolutely no issues.
Carver knows what he is doing.
2500, has a two ohm tap and bettered a VTL..! Are these the ones using the KT120 output tubes ..?
.....when it comes to tube amplifiers.
No. I believe the amps you speak of are the Black Beauty 305, the Cherry 180 or the soon to be re-released classic Silver Seven [this time with more tubes/power] but that isn't what comes with them IIRC.
Tom
That would then put them into competition with McIntosh stereo MC275 Mk6 series, and tbh that has some of the finest measurements going (see Hifi news) along with a fair amount of dynamic power 110w for each channel and pretty good output impedance considering it is a tube (think it was roughly 0.23 across 20hz to 20khz).
May seem a bit mean of me, but the McIntosh seems to be better built, just mentioning when considering the Carvers as use in monos.
McIntosh IMO is probably the benchmark for real world high end to moderate high end comparison in terms of specification-build-sound-measurements when it comes to tube amps
Cheers
Orb
Andre,
as part of the real world reviews any thoughts to the Cambridge Azur 851 models separately and together?
They made notice in Stereophile last year but no reviews or notable presence in audio publications as a review apart from HiFi News in UK where it was very well received - should have more visibility when looking at that review.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/cambridge-audios-new-851-series
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/media/hi-finews_851ac_aug2012-1354626961.pdf
Cheers
Orb
as part of the real world reviews any thoughts to the Cambridge Azur 851 models separately and together?
They made notice in Stereophile last year but no reviews or notable presence in audio publications as a review apart from HiFi News in UK where it was very well received - should have more visibility when looking at that review.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/cambridge-audios-new-851-series
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/media/hi-finews_851ac_aug2012-1354626961.pdf
Cheers
Orb
It may be like the syndrome in the news business: 'Everything is OK' doesn't sell newspapers.
Value is always up to the beholder and I don't feel is necessarily "real world" as in cheap. RH often talks about the BADA at 5k which is value and super high end. Many consider the Devialet (although I've never heard it sound good) in the same camp. I think we have an issue where gear at the bottom and at the top is often reviewed/discussed, but many of us hanging in the middle are left out- i think manufacturers are catering to both of those ends as well.
