Antique Sound Lab 805 DT SETs--WOW
This isn't a review but more an attempt to reduce my initial impressions to writing. I'm anything but a golden-eared audiofile; I'm more a tin-eared audiofool as I've said many times. One reason for that is my aural memory seems to be about 3 seconds long. Others change a component and listen to a system they haven't heard for a day and say 'gee, listen to that', or 'doesn't THAT sound lots better!'. I stand there and think something like 'yea it sounds OK, but how does he REMEMBER how it USED to sound?'. However, I seem to be good at longer-term evaluations done over days, weeks, etc.
Thursday a pair of new ASL Explorer 805 DT poweramps arrived. (They're 50-Watt Single-Ended Triodes that use the big 805 transmitting tube for output, a 12AX7 frontend, and a 6L6/KT66/EL34 driver. [Mine were supplied with EH 12AX7s and Chinese 6L6s. I'm using a pair of National Union/Amperex 805s I bought USED.] The amps retail for $2995/pr. I bought mine from the very helpful Chris Kipp of The Audio Gallery in Sacramento.) I've been using a pair of very-nice-sounding New Generation 100-Watt (in UL) mono amps in triode, producing about 40 Watts each. (See my System for more info.) The 805DTs went in Thursday, I listened for a couple hours, rebalanced* the multichannel system Friday nite and listened a bit that evening too. Today I played a DVD-A, Korngold's music from 'Robin Hood', on Naxos. I love this music and this recording and have heard it many times.
WOW is the best word I can come up with to describe the wonderful sound I hear today. The sound is simply more natural and PLEASANT sounding...it sounds more like real music sounds to me, and I hear a LOT of it in concert halls all over the West. Euphonic colorations? Maybe; I don't care...the MUSIC sounds GREAT and makes my investment worth every penny. NOTHING else changed in the system; only the poweramps. Just think...they'll get better as everything breaks in--I can hardly wait.
Back later--there's MUSIC to listen to. ........ :-)
* This required only a 1dB increase in the front-L/R channels. NOTHING else was changed.
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