Thanks for the insight, it is valuable. I have had a ton of tube gear, including a HK Citation C-II and C-V, fully restored, and lots of other tube amps and I parted with them for solid state amplication. I might revisit my affair with a tube amp with Carver's new offering. It looks to be a robust and reliable unit at a very fair price.
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Liz, I have pretty much abandoned tube amps for the obvious reasons, but am enthralled with with Don Sachs' 6SN7-based tube preamp... I think a lot of the magic of tube sound is captured in a preamp. I went through a lot of KT88's, etc. with earlier tube amps-- a pricey proposition, and the biasing was a PITA. Evidently the amp is not auto-biasing, but Carver's literature indicates that once you set the bias, it need not be re-biased for a long time. I am going to audition Don Sachs Kootenai KT88 amp soon so I will see if I can abide with a tube amp again. I am rather dubious, but frankly have never heard a tube amp with more than 60 wpc and my Spatial Audio speakers, while rated at 94 db efficient (or is it sensitive?), did not at all perform well with my wonderful Dennis Had ~16 wpc SET amp. It provided no "oomph" to the music. It is somewhat similar with my Pass Labs F5 amp with 25 wpc of Class A power... it just doesn't have the same sonic presence as does my McCormack amp, not even close. So, if the potent Crimson 275 amp will energize my speakers in the same way the McCormack does.... and add more liquidity to the music , then yeah, I am going to acquire one. I am 65 years old and have had two boatloads of audio gear in my life, but I have never owned a Carver product. Maybe now is the time... |
Like most tube amps, higher impedance speakers are better matched to Don's amp. If your speakers dip below, let's say, 4 ohms, then I think it would not be the best match. With my 12 ohm Spatial Audio speakers, the bass is reproduced extremely well, pretty much as well as with my 100 wpc McCormack amp. To my mind, that is a huge accomplishment because I have never experienced such low end response in a tube amp as I have with Don's amp. |
Frank,
Thank you for the information. I am not sure that I need to check my "neighbor's tubes", but that is an intriguing idea. It is evident that the amp runs in such a fashion to ensure long life to its tubes, which is are major factor in my decision to buy one.
I have never heard of a process to "repair" defective tubes. If you have such a process, I have about 60 rare NOS tubes that would be happy to see renovated to their former performance if you can do that. I am keen to hear some reports of folks that are using the 275 amp in their system.
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Jaynmo,
The M4 Turbo S speakers which I first had had an impedance of 4 ohms, which of course was a poor match for my flea-watt Dennis Had amp. However, with the M4 Triode Masters, Clayton has modified the speaker to present a 12 ohm load, much more favorable to a tube amp.
I have Don Sachs' tube preamp and i got a chance to audition his Kootenay 120 tube amp last week in my system, which has 65 wpc. I, and the audiophile who bought Don's amp for us to hear, both quickly and decisively concluded that we greatly preferred the SQ of the speakers with Don's tube amp compared to my very fine SS amp. (As an aside, he went home and ordered a pair of M3TM to replace his $8500 "box" speakers, feeling that the OB speakers had an openness and expansive soundstage to which his conventional speakers could not compare.)
With the tube amp, the music was presented with luscious liquidity and, most surprising to me, a potent grasp of the low response. The instruments were palpable in the expansive soundstage. I was pretty much blown away as I have never heard a tube amp with such authority and extension and such a natural presentation of the music. I conclude that this performance is a function of the 12 ohm impedance of the Triode Masters -- a much more compatible load for any amp, either SS or a tube. YMMV with different speakers.
Don's amp is sweetly compatible with my speakers, but I am intrigued with the Carver for its long tube life and its affordable cost. I frankly doubt it would sound as fine as the Kootenay amp, but I would sure like to hear one for comparison purposes.
I heard the Immorata auditioned by Jeff Wells in his listening room some years back, and couple of other times at audio shows, and came away with the impression that his amp provided a glimpse of the finest amplification that one could ever experience, pretty much regardless of price. I wonder how my Platinum-upgraded DNA-05 would compare to the Immorata?
Thanks for post.
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Ricky,
Excellent point. I have recently become aware of the implications of speakers' impedance, which can be a different aspect of performance than simply considering speakers' sensitivity/efficiency (I can never remember the difference between the two). To wit, my pal has a Don Sachs KT88 tube amp driving 90 db efficient speakers, but the speakers became distorted at maybe 80 db... just crapped out. Well, it turns out the speakers were nominally 4 ohm speakers that dipped to 2.8 ohms and the amp simply ran out of gas.
Well, we played the same tube amp with my 12-ohm Spatial Audio speakers and they were simply glorious, far far more musical in all respects, including LF extension, than my Platinum-upgraded 100 wpc McCormack DNA .05 ss amp, which I think it is brilliant amp. By the way, my pal who brought the Don Sachs amp to me to audition ended up purchasing the Spatial Audio M3 Triode Master speakers for his system. The tube amp and the Spatial Audio speakers are a wonderful match, he informs me.
Again, the point to understand is that that speaker impedance compatibility is a fact to be recognized, particularly if one is considering a tube amp for one's system. Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that most ss amps are more compatible with low impedance speaker loads while tube amps are more compatible with higher impedance speakers loads. |
Angel,
Steakster has good advice. I think you have it backward: e-stats are power hungry and normally benefit from powerful ss amps. The new ML's with internally powered subs are a different kettle of fish, but normally powerful amps like the Sanders amp are best employed with them. |
Angelgz,
Well, I stand corrected on this compatibility issue. These days, everything I seem to know is wrong. I have a pal who has pretty large Tyler Acoustic's speakers that are nominally 4 ohms, but have frequency dips to under 2 ohms and he could not drive the speakers past 80 db with a 65 wpc Don Sachs KT88-based tube amp without congestion. However, in my system with 12 ohm Spatial Audio M4 Triode Master speakers, his amp was fantastic, truly, just brilliant. He bought a pair of Spatial Audio M3 Triode Master's and the amp is of course astonishing. The variable between the speakers is the impedance difference, as far as I can tell. Perhaps there are other variables. Mark
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Ozzy,
My cashy pal during my college years got the Phase Linear amp and preamp and pretty much blew us plebes away in the SPL of the system with RTR speakers. Actually, he still has the amp and preamp 40 years later.
There are rave reviews from the owners of the 350 mono's, but not yet one from an owner of the Crimson 275. I dashed my order for the Crimson amp and ordered a Don Sachs KT88 amp, which I have heard in my system and it's simply glorious.
I hope an owner of the Crimson amp catches this thread and informs us his impressions of the amp.
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Kalali,
Evidently Clayton doesn't list the M4 Triode Master. I had my M4TS upgraded to TM version. I would be very surprised he isn't making the M4TM version. Best to give him a call.
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I started this thread over 4 months ago and no owners have chimed in with their experiences with the amp. There ought to be some owners by now that can share their impressions of the amp.
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At this point, I have gravitated to another tube amp, but am still curious as to the opinion of those that have the Crimson in their systems. Jim ought to be able to provide some detailed feedback by now.
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Nice feedback on the amp, a take I have been waiting to hear for nearly 8 months on this thread. I am sure your Crimson is far better than the very good NAD amp, and I am happy you are pleased with it. I think you made a wise choice. |
I'd be keen to hear that comparison myself. I'd sure like to hear the Carver amp myself. I got a Don Sachs Kootenai amp KT88 amp 6 months ago and I am overwhelmed with it. Far and away the best tube amp I have ever in my system.
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