I am currently doing a demo of the V40se w/ BB but thinking about the V80se. I notice there’s not much posted and wondered about the sonic difference between these two. How is the reliability of these? Why haven’t there been any upgrades since the release of this back in 2017? I was thinking about the Raven Osprey but had an opportunity to try this in house with my Spatial M3 Sapphires. Appreciate your input. thanks Rene
I have the V80se with a SBB and I like it very much. I am using it with Magico Q3s which are about 90db efficient and i think the combination sounds great. I have no direct experience with the V40 se, but I assume the difference is predominately in the output power. Pending on the efficiency of your speakers I think it might work quite well. Very impressed with the German build quality and the reliability has been absolutely flawless. I previously drove the system with Boulder 2000 stuff and I must admit it might have been a bit better but I am extremely pleased with the current combination. I do think that the octave stuff at least the stuff I have is extremely natural sounding and doesn’t feel excessively bloomy or “tubey”to my ear.
as I said I have no direct comparison but I would assume that the V80se would just be more of the same which in our world is always a good thing,
@jerry_gt3rs Thanks Jerry, This is my first experience with a tube amp and the dealer has been great about letting me do a demo of the Octave line. My speakers are 4ohm and 92 db and although many have said the Spatials don't need a lot of power I just get the feeling with the 15" drivers that more power would certainly be a better improvement overall. The 40 drives them fine and they sound amazing so far but Andreas did say that the added power would improve bass control and dynamics. I love the biasing and the soft start and the current tube complement of the Sovtek 6550's. Are you tube rolling at all or just using the stock KT150's?
The Q3s are also 4 ohm and sealed sealed box design... The octave seems to control the bass very very well. If they have the V80se you might want to take it home and give it a shot. I’m not one of those more is always better but it might be a better option if it’s within your budget. If not you might consider V S 80 now and add the super black box or at least a black box later...
@jerry_gt3rs I would love to hear the Magico’s they are seriously good speakers. All of them! With my OB’s I really had to acoustically treat the room to get the M3’s to sing. What are your sources? I’m doing vinyl on Acoustic Signature Triple X into a SPL Phonos, CD’s through a Pioneer Modwright LX500 and Digital through Audrivana into An RME ADI FS. All sounding so much better with the Octave. This dealer has been very good so I will give the V80 a shot. Thanks Again
Regarding tube rolling, while I am certain many here will disagree with me, I tend to believe that quality manufacturers are very are very conscientious when it comes to choosing parts for their products. Fact is I am quite pleased with the performance of the amplifier and its current state I see no reason to change it,
I am not sure where you are located, but I am just outside of Boston and you are more than welcome to come by for a listen. I do have the luxury of a purpose built room for my system. It is very well treated and has almost no parallel walls. It’s about 28’x18’ with at least 9” ceilings.
Most of my listening is done via a Basis 2800 with vacuum hold down and a MySonic labs Ultra Eminent Ultra EX cartridge. I use the MSL step up transformer and the battery powered Nagra phono preamp. Digital playback I have an EMM labs transport and Dac 6SE. I think having a good relationship with a dealer is paramount to success in this hobby. I too have an excellent dealer right near me and been dealing with them for decades. They excellent set up specialists and I have had them over a couple of times to help dial the room in using instrumentation and properly calibrated microphones. Originally they did it when I had the Boulder and the Magico combination. I had them back when I installed the Octave stuff for fine-tuning. Needless to say, I am very pleased with the performance of the system.
@jerry_gt3rs Very cool. You system is light years from mine! Coincidentally I’m in Westport, MA on the southcoast so that might be a real treat to hear your system.
I’m also a proud owner of Octave gear. I currently have a RE320 amp-SBB with the HP700SE pre and run them on Focal Scala Evos with a Chord Dave and Aurender N20. I absolutely love my system and find it to be very musical and detailed. I started off with v80SE with SBB. I’ve never heard the 40, but you can’t go wrong with the v80.
@rshad0000@jerry_gt3rs Thanks guys. So the V40se has the Sovtek 6550 and the V80 uses the KT150's. How often have you had to adjust the bias? I have had to do it a few times already but from what the dealer (safeandsound) told me the unit had no hours on it but once burned in it's set it and forget it. I have 30 days with it to decide but I'm leaning towards the V80se. Andreas from Octave said the 80 is sonically more controlled and detailed in the bass and lower mids. He also mentioned the V70 Class A as being very resolving. Don't see that too many people own these and there are not too many for sale used. That could be a good and bad thing
I rarely adjust the bias. Maybe every two months and I use mine a lot for music, television, and movies(HT bypass). I would get the super black box as well at some point if you can. That takes the v80se to a whole other level in regards to bass and imaging.
So I wound up with the Octave V70 Class A w/SBB after all. The demo of the V40se sold me. Changed the Fuse/PC and tubes. Came with JJ’s and Sovtek KT120’s. Changed to Siemens and Telefunken. This amp is an amazing pairing with the M3Sapphires and doesn’t even break a sweat. The Class A was recommended by Andreas and is just stunning!
Awesome! Congrats. I currently have the Octave RE320 and have found a dealer that is going to let me demo a pair of MRE220s in a few weeks. Out of curiosity what PC and Fuse did you go with?
@rshad0000 The 220s is serious gear. What dealer do you use and what is the rest of your setup? I wound up with the SR loom of IC’s, orange fuse and Atmosphere PC’s. The Class A is so very sweet and full in the midrange compared to the V40se which had no problem driving the M3 Sapphires. This is one serious amp and Andreas knows his stuff.
Yes I agree. Octave is very responsive and helpful when you reach out to them. My system is Focal Scala Evo speakers, Chord Dave DAC, Aurender N20, HP700 Pre, RE320 with SBB, wireworld eclipse 8 speaker cables, platinum eclipse 8 interconnects, and a mixture of AQ Dragon and Clarity Vortex PCs. I’ve been tweaking it for a while and I really like the sound. I’ve been working with a dealer in Dallas. Shoot me a message and I can send you their contact info. Thanks
Hi guys, my HP 300 SE -and I- are currently waiting for a RE 320 amp to drive my Marten Parker Trios. I was thinking about replacing the stock 12AU7 driver tubes with some better NOS types. I have good access to and the choice is between either Cifte or Siemens Halske NOS ECC82 Does anyone have some experiences with that? Any information appreciated. :)
Reliability is awful. They have a QA issue, not to mention they can't repair anything damaged from their poor quality assurance. I've sent an amplifier back twice and need to send it back a third time. Unbelievable.
If you want to be frustrated, go with Octave. Just make sure you have a back-up amp for the months the Octave will be in repair.
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