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Preamp/Amp synergy with Cain Abby's?

Well here it is: I finally got my Cain Abby's three months ago and they are completely broken in (800+ hours). Now it's finally time to try out some different preamp/amps. After talking to Terry (Cain) and since no amp seems perfect for my musical tastes (everything from World, Jazz, Rock), I am currently looking at getting two different amps for different moods with a matching preamp: Fi Y preamp SET amps: (intended for low volume, relaxed listening sessions) Bottlehead S.E.X. amp (already got it, but it is still not quite finished) Fi X amp (planned for sometime in the future, fits 2A3 and 45 tubes, just love the looks) Solid State: (for more bottom end control, and a fast, tight sound) First Watt F1 Any comments, experiences, recommendations? The rest of my system...(just replaced the Super 3 with Abby's) Well, thanks already in advance for all your help. Best wishes, Rene Restock  (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread) 10-06-05

Responses (1-27 of 27)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it. 10-06-05   The best amp for these speakers is the wright sound 2a3 mono ...   Grannyring 10-06-05   Bill, thanks very much for your response. i was wondering ab ...   Restock 10-07-05   The wright 3.5 mono's are magic with your speakers. plenty o ...   Grannyring 10-07-05   I am still kicking myself for not getting the wright's earli ...   Restock 10-07-05   You ever thought of using a low wattage op chip amp amplifie ...   Gmood1 10-08-05   I suggest you ask terry cain about the moebius line stage th ...   Salectric 10-10-05   Gmood, nice to hear from you. well, so far i only tried the ...   Restock 10-10-05   Salectric, thanks very much for suggesting the moebius. i ta ...   Restock 10-11-05   Hi rene, yes i've communicated with paul many times. he does ...   Gmood1 10-13-05   Gmood1, i can always trust you to come with some new suggest ...   Restock 10-13-05   Gmood, one more quick question about the f1 in combination w ...   Restock 10-13-05   Hi restock, from what paul told me the lacking sensitivity w ...   Gmood1 10-13-05   Also here's a little shootout with the class t amplifiers . ...   Gmood1 10-16-05   I am going to be purchasing the abby speakers and am also in ...   Oakiris 10-16-05   Restock, sorry to be so late in responding. somehow i miss ...   Salectric 10-19-05: Restock Oakiris, following Terry's advice and my preference for a very live-like system, I ended up with the above short-list of amps. I instantly fell in love with the speakers as well, but they do require a a careful amp match and I am not sure whether a Rotel would work well. I just finished the Bottlehead S.E.X. amp and after a couple of days of listening I am very impressed: I could not have imagined what 2W can do for the Abby's. And it does play reasonable loud with maybe a little headroom missing. I hardly notice the power limit though. The bass is tighter and well balanced; there is lots of detail detail; instruments and singers are well defined and sound quite real. Even more important, I can' believe how much life you managed to pack into this little amp. It has excellent timing and, within its power limits, has very good dynamics. A much better match the Abby's than the Jolida I had before. I am assuming the Fi Y and X will go in a similar direction: Just more of everything and more headroom at twice the power. The First Watt will be a (more?) interesting option: I have given up on solid state a while ago, but heard some very good comments on this combination. The only major problem with the First Watt is that it is limited in the selection of speakers that will work with it. Also, they won't be available much longer. Gmood1 brought up many good options on the solid state as well. and they are cheaper than most of the other choices. Oakiris, good luck with the Abby's and feel free to drop me an email if you like. Happy listening! Rene Restock  (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread) 10-19-05   Salectric, thanks very much for your comments on the moebius ...   Restock 10-19-05   Restock, you're certainly welcome. send me an email when y ...   Salectric 10-19-05   Here' an explanation of why amplifiers sound very different ...   Gmood1 10-19-05   Rene - did you ever consider the sophia electric baby amp? ...   Oakiris 10-19-05   Oakiris, i listened to the sophia el34 at sounds real audio ...   Restock 10-19-05   Hi rene - thanks for the comparison. i will be buying my ab ...   Oakiris 10-20-05   Oakiris, by the way there are some changes in the sophia lin ...   Restock 10-21-05   The sophia baby is a fine amp that will drive the abbys w/o ...   Arkprof 10-21-05   I listened to the abbys on the sophia and the grommes monos. ...   Gmood1 10-21-05   Do any of these amps have an ht pass through? i am looking ...   Oakiris 11-10-05   Just to let folks know, when i picked up my abbys last weeke ...   Oakiris

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