Lloyd
Have you got anything yet?? |
I am currently running a pair of cj prem8a's with the factory teflon caps etc upgrades.
very very nice and is controlling the Strads beautifully.
highly recommended - long live tubes :-) |
The nice thing about the Mac tube amps is that you can run them on 2ohm taps, 4 ohm taps or 8ohm taps. Parallel or bridge them and they can run at full power into loan from 1ohm to 16ohms. The ACT 2 will drive them fine as well.
I run my 2xMC2102's parallel into 2 ohms at the moment at they sound great.
Running a quality subwoofer allows one to have that little bit of SS slam and extension without any of the drawbacks.
personally I could not see dartzeel power amp controlling the Strads very well, from memory they don't like driving low impedance loads .
SS amps don't really gel with the Strads IMO. I will howver be trying the enigmatic Arye MX-R's in a couple of weeks.
That said I would luv to hear the CAT tube amp. |
LLoyd
Aren't the Bernings 30k?? |
Lloyd
sounds like a wondeful choice of tube amps to choose from. Hopefully you can hear them in your system so you can decide best for you.
BTW, my local dealer is getting a pair of cj LP275's in a couple of weeks. That will be an interesting comparison with my 2xMC2102's if I can arrange it. Almost scared to ask |
has anyone heard the Pass XA.5 upgraded class A amps??
I wonder how they would go with my Strads and how similar they sound to nice tubes in the upper frequencies. |
Hi Lloyd
I owned the cj prem350 for about 6 months. Did not like it at all at the end and was very happy to sell them. Just sounds like SS, expecially in the bass which is lean and tight and not lifelike.
Don't get me wrong, it sounded better than other SS amps I tried at the time including Pass X350.5,Parasound JC-1, Simaudio, Cary 500MB's, Krell 400cxi but ultimately if you prefer what tubes do you won't be able to live with any of them, and i am a big cj fan |
Not yet Lloyd. I hope to listen to the Lp275's in early to mid January |
When I read the hifi+ revfiew, the Bernings would not be to my taste. Too lean and mean vs the warmer more robust sounding cj LP275's. At least what Gregory said.
The Gryphons will be interesting - I have heard the cheaper Encore - good bass, treble too SS. I assume the Class A modles wil have more liquidity
cheers |
Hi Bvdiman
I would somewhat agree that using the same brand pre and power does and should have a synergy that makes them sound like tea and biscuits.
the reality is that we are all looking for "our" sense of what we believe is the illusion of music. Some amp manufacturers do not make as good pre amps and visa versa.
If the amp or pre amp is designed correctly it should be able to interface with a large majority of systems and sound great - some more so of course.
I think this is why Krell has a lot more respect for amplifiers than their pre amps and having both maybe too much of a good/bad thing.
I used to own FMA 122 phono stage and it was great, however overall it was somewhat unforgiving and dry sounding. Couple that with a pre and power from FMA I am not sure if it would go too far in that direction - maybe not.
I guess that is why a LOT of audioiphiles couple SS amps with tube pre's, so they can get the so called best of both worlds. I have yet to hear a SS amp that I can personally live with, but that is me.
anyway, it is all good fun |
Bvdiman
Seeto is long gone - about 10 years ago at least. Len Wallis is still going strong - more home theatre I would believe than high end.
Joe is probably the No1 hi end dealer/importer in Australia these days. Joe has got lots of $$$ from me, including the thread mentioned Strad's and my mac amps.
cheers |
Lloyd - what is the latest in the amp serach ??
I saw in the flesh the Gryphon Colosseum and it was gorgeous!!
perfect match for my Strad's, aesthetically at least - same slim Strad shape
trying to get to listen to it next week at home if the dealer wil come around. not sure if it will satisfy my liquid tubes needs in the mids and upper frequencies
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Lloyd. I like darker/warmer better than cleaner, more transparent so you are making me lean much more towards Antileon.
You can still buy the Antileon in the Gryphon range ? |
I have just spent a great week living with the Gryphon Colosseum. This is easily the best SS amplifier I have ever heard and light years ahead of the next expensive Levinson 33H's I heard a while back. I guess real class A is where the musical action is for SS.
The Colo will never sound strident or stressed and top to bottom coherence is spooky smooth with no real frequency bumps to enhance short term listening and longer term fatigue.
The music seems to almost float on a magic carpet of air. Bass, expecially bass guitar is exceptional with little or no unrealistic bass tightening when you wick up the volume - bass just grows with the music, but with better control, dymanics and depth vs tubes.
The midrange and treble is exceptionally clear and free of any of the usual ss artifacts, so pure is the transparency. Compared to my Mac tube amps the midrange is just a bit more forward, so lead instruments are a bit forward. My tube amps are quite relaxed and just behind the speakers in comparison.
Lloyd, the 31.5db gain in the Gryphon is just about the only issue that you may have, given the cj has a large amount of gain. It was Ok with my phono stage, however with cd, not much volume to play with.
My dealer and Gryphon says the Gryphon will sound a lot better balanced - he may be right there, but it may be more unforgiving compared to my cj ART - the old doubled edged sword.
The Colosseum certainly responds to higher bandwidth cables. They greatly preferred the extra extension at both ends of the transparent XL MM ref compared to the Kimber select 3033. They also luved teh expensive Gryphon power cable - go figure no short cuts at this level. The Colosseum does have fan, but is so well designed you don't really hear it - my room is very quiet so I do hear some air pushing when I am changing records.
Me, I cannot afford the Collseum and matching pre amp the Mirage so not sure how much I am missing. I will have a listen to the Antileon signature, which is supposed to be a little more tubey compared to the Colosseum. If I like that I might be able to stretch to listen to a Gryphon pre for full balanced sound.
Overall anyone wanting a reference amplifier look no further than the Gryphon Colosseum. |
Microstrip - I owned the cj prem 350 and I own the ART, even then it does not have the mids and upper frequency finese and roundness.
Lloyd, try not to have my comments at all sway you one way or the other - but very interested in your view's.
Anyway, back to Gryphon part 2. Please note that I have not used a fully balanced pre amp, let alone one of Gryphon's. The ART is SE and the Mac c2300 has balanced outputs but is not fully balanced, however IMO both these pre amps will be more forgiving that the Gryphon pre amps if not as potentially synergistic.
I have had the Antileon sig for 6 days now, and ran the unit in for 72 hours before listening.
The good and bad news. The Antileon does indeed sound more tubelike in comparison to the Colsseum, being not as transparent, a little darker sounding and not as quick. IMO it does not sound much like a great tube amp either. It sounds like a great SS amp.
The difference between my 2xMC2102's are that the tube amps present music as more of a whole, whereas the Antileon disects the stage more and has less back to front depth. The more you rurned up the volume, the more LOUD and fatiging cymbal crashes or lead guitar's were. It was not as if you could not hear them with the tube amps, you can, but the tube amps went loud in a more liquid, relaxed graceful manner
For me the Antileon is a great SS amp, but it is not a tube amp and does not really sound like one. It has tubelike qualities but is still SS. I have also heard tube amps where the designers have tried to make them sound SS and failed miserably IMO - eg ASL Hurricanes, ARC VM200's, cj 140's or VTL S400.
I still clasify the Gryphon Colosseum a fantastic amplifer and quite a lot better than the Antileon and EVERY other SS I have heard. It floats in air like no other SS amp, which is very musically kool.
I can see why some folks prefer SS over tubes - but for me the tonal weight, more relaxed liquid sound, bigger soundstage and overall easier to listen to qualities I guess makes me a tube man.
BTW, I run a REL StentorIII subwoofer connected at around 25hz and that certainly makes up for any lack of tube amp bass slam that I would normally be missing. In fact I find the sub an essential part of my musical enjoyment.
At this point I will just enjoy my McItosh 2xMC2102's, however I do have one other vintage amp trick up my sleeve that I might try.
cheers
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No Lloyd, I did not get to listen to the LP 275. Frankly due to the dealer not being able to offer any trade in, I am not able to afford the luxury. I am not even sure he has one.
I am sure monoblocking the MV60 will definately be better, only use can decide if 120watts is powerful enough for your room - I would think so thou - especially since the bottom end is argumented by the sub's.
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Lloyd
Don't try to lift the Antileon alone!! they are very heavy.
congrat's on your choice.
As a wise man once said -
"There is no best, only best for you "
enjoy and let us know your longer term thoughts, ie do you still need the subs after you have dialled teh system in etc.
cheers |
Hi Lloyd
IMO, just leave the Gryphon in full class A.
Sounds better that way and living in the UK, you always need a heater :-)
cheers |
