Full Range Amplification - A Revelation

[cogitech]

If anyone is questioning the build quality, here's what it looks like:



I have peered through the bottom grill of mine and it looks identical to this product photo.

[cogitech]

Looks like it will be relatively easy to work on if I ever want to upgrade caps or whatnot.

[chrisb]

welcome to the dark side

or is it the light?



try some Harry Manx, Andy McKee, Bela Fleck or Terry Evans on those puppies now

[cogitech]

Originally Posted by chrisb

welcome to the dark side

or is it the light?



try some Harry Manx, Andy McKee, Bela Fleck or Terry Evans on those puppies now

Thanks for the music recommendations. I have been getting a bit bored with my collection lately and want to start expanding my horizons!

Meanwhile, I might just listen to my entire collection (perhaps not the Christmas stuff) again on the new amp!

[vinylkid58]

Originally Posted by cogitech

I have been getting a bit bored with my collection lately and want to start expanding my horizons!

Try some Jazz, and no, not Diana Krall.

jeff

[cogitech]

Originally Posted by vinylkid58

Try some Jazz, and no, not Diana Krall.

jeff

I do have some. Ernie Watts, a bunch of Metheny, some Jaco, Patricia Barber, Chie Ayado ...

I'd like to get some more trumpet music. I am a Nini Rosso addict, but one can only listen to the same songs so many times. I do not ever want to get sick of Nini!

[jrenkin]

I am definitely a fan of tube amps, although I have both. I tend to enjoy the warmer tube sound most of the time, but a high quality SS amp can sound robust and full as well, just a bit different. It ought to be able to manage the bass well, too. That is why SS amps are usually used for the sub-woofer in a multi-amped system.

I suspect that the pronounced improvement you are hearing has more to do with the not so great quality of the Yamaha amp you had, and perhaps it is poorly matched to those speakers. That may be a very good tube amp, and certainly is a great tube amp for the money, but I would not imagine that the difference would be so breathtaking compared with a better SS amp in the same system.

I am no high end expert, but I have a Macintosh 2105 (SS) and a Forte 55 (SS) and a tubelab SE 300b, an PP KT-88 that I repaired that retailed at around $4K, and an older Sophia electric PP EL34. I like the tubes the best, but they all sound quite good (caveat: depending on the speaker match!) and the differences, while notable, are not jaw dropping.

[cogitech]

I'd like to buy this Amazon.com: Melissa In Concert: Melissa Venema - Trumpet: MP3 Downloads but they don't allow mp3 purchases outside the US.

[jrenkin]

Originally Posted by cogitech

I'd like to buy this Amazon.com: Melissa In Concert: Melissa Venema - Trumpet: MP3 Downloads but they don't allow mp3 purchases outside the US.

Now that your system sounds so nice, don't waste it on MP3s! I would bet most here would notice breathtaking improvements in sound between MP3 and lossless.

[cogitech]

Originally Posted by jrenkin

I am definitely a fan of tube amps, although I have both. I tend to enjoy the warmer tube sound most of the time, but a high quality SS amp can sound robust and full as well, just a bit different. It ought to be able to manage the bass well, too. That is why SS amps are usually used for the sub-woofer in a multi-amped system.

I suspect that the pronounced improvement you are hearing has more to do with the not so great quality of the Yamaha amp you had, and perhaps it is poorly matched to those speakers. That may be a very good tube amp, and certainly is a great tube amp for the money, but I would not imagine that the difference would be so breathtaking compared with a better SS amp in the same system.

I am no high end expert, but I have a Macintosh 2105 (SS) and a Forte 55 (SS) and a tubelab SE 300b, an PP KT-88 that I repaired that retailed at around $4K, and an older Sophia electric PP EL34. I like the tubes the best, but they all sound quite good (caveat: depending on the speaker match!) and the differences, while notable, are not jaw dropping.

Indeed. I believe you are right, and I said as much in my very first sentence of the original post.

I went from mid-fi SS which might not have been a great match with my speakers to a very good tube amp (perhaps not "excellent", at this price) that seems to love driving my speakers. The difference is jaw-dropping, and I only paid about 30 bucks more for the tube amp than I did for the Yamaha. My enthusiasm can't be contained!