The Cary V12 is a bit on the forgiving side. A little warm, just a touch dark. These are just my observations.
This amp can rock. Very dynamic, huge soundstage. Makes everything sound good. I use this amp when i want more muscle than I get from my SET amps. IMO, this amp is a bargin. |
The concert hall and its sweet sounds. My Dynaco 70 " a la Joe Curcio" as never been outsweet with all the much more expensive amps (15) that came my way afterwards. Tesla EL 34 as probably much to do do about it. It finally took the Cary LX 20 SE monoblocks using the 300 BLXS from KR Enterprise to serve me on a single platter the whole package. An Audiogon member rescently told me that he kept the LX 20 over the 2a3 and regulard 300b from Cary based on the sweetness factor. There you have it!.....(excuse my french). |
The concert hall and its sweet sounds. My Dynaco 70 " a la Joe Curcio" as never been outsweet with all the much more expensive amps (15) that came my way afterwards. Tesla EL 34 as probably much to do do about it. It finally took the Cary LX 20 SE monoblocks using the 300 BLXS from KR Enterprise to serve me on a single platter the whole package. An Audiogon member rescently told me that he kept the LX 20 over the 2a3 and regulard 300b from Cary based on the sweetness factor. There you have it!.....(excuse my french). |
The above suggestions are good.
If you are happy with your amp and don't want to spend a lot of money, Hemihorn, try JJ KT88 output tubes. They are sweeter than EL34 tubes, and you will pick up some other positive side effects. Power will increase 20 - 40%, both frequency extensions will be much more extended, but the bass will be night and day different.
However, if you find the KT88 to still not be up to your liking, it is probably due to the design of Modjeski. His priorities may be different than yours. While a great designer, different people have different tastes.
If you are not driving a VERY efficient speaker, I would second the Quicksilver recommendation. Use the JJ KT88 tubes that you will have already purchased. While I like the Cary V12, I am not a fan of the Rocket 88. That's just me. |
WArmest sweetest sound is Audiomat Arpege with Electroharmonix EL 34 and Mullard 12 AX 7 IMHO. $1200 or so used. |
Take a listen to the Antique Sound Labs 1006 845 based SET, 22 watts. I'm using them in my office rig. |
There's a Korneff 45 amp on the classifieds right now that would kick butt on those Edgarhorns. And it's in your price range too. If that ain't sweet enough for you, then I can't think of anything that would do it. Maybe a Wavelength 45 or a FI 2A3. Or maybe even a 300B, if you want a little more oooomph in the bottom end. |
I should of gave you all more information the speakers i use are EDGARHORN SYSTEM 80 approximately 103DB SPL.In a room 16by13 and I dont use a preamp I go directly from my cd player to amp. I had a scott 299c intergrated amp best sounding amp I ever had but it went down I prefer newer stuff for reliability any advice on intergrated amp also that intergrated amp had magic |
I should of gave you all more information the speakers i use are EDGARHORN SYSTEM 80 approximately 103DB SPL.In a room 16by13 and I dont use a preamp I go directly from my cd player to amp. I had a scott 299c intergrated amp best sounding amp I ever had but it went down I prefer newer stuff for reliability any advice on intergrated amp also that intergrated amp had magic |
I should of gave you all more information the speakers i use are EDGARHORN SYSTEM 80 approximately 103DB SPL.In a room 16by13 and I dont use a preamp I go directly from my cd player to amp. I had a scott 299c intergrated amp best sounding amp I ever had but it went down I prefer newer stuff for reliability any advice on intergrated amp also that intergrated amp had magic |
The Jadis Orchestra Reference. She can make a speaker that growls like a junk yard dog , sing like a song bird. |
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Cary SLA 70 Mk II - that's the model... just remembered. |
I agree with Twl - SET is generally the way to go for maximum sweetness, as it were. 45's are sweet indeed but unrealistic for many audiophiles. 2A3's are likewise sweet but relatively skimpy on power. Both of these tubes can be simply magical on the right speakers, however.
300B's are sweet too - but have a different sound than either 2A3's or 45's, though many prefer the 300B to either.
Personally I use EL34's in a SET configuration (Papworth TVA8) and I think it's pretty darn sweet. I don't think the EL34 gets enough respect frankly. It's often thought of as a push pull tube, and admittedtly that's where it is most often used. But when run single ended it really does sound fantastic, and the word sweet definitely comes to mind!
There is some sweet sounding push pull out there, some that comes surprisingly close to SET sound.
Claud, FYI Cary used to make an EL34 push pull amp that was far sweeter than any of their current push pull and it was very close to Dennis' SET sound. Then he made a signature version that used KT88's and away went the sweetness (not surprisingly) Many audiophiles miss that amp - I am blanking on the model number, sorry!
Best,
--Evan |
CJ Premier 5's in triode are so sweet and lush with lots of power..selling around $3000. |
Cary Rocket 88 and V12i are as close as Dennis could get to his best SET sound with PP amps. Having had both, I can say thet the Rocket is slightly sweeter than the V12i, but fell behind on dynamics in my system. It was a case of too much/inefficient speaker(B&W N804) and not enough watts. |
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Alot depends on the speakers you need to drive. In my opinion, a SET amp using Type 45 triodes is the sweetest sounding setup of all, but it only has about 2 watts per channel. As a generality, a single-ended amp will be "sweeter" than a push-pull amp. But again, usually that means lower power. If you want "sweeter" than a push-pull EL-34 amp, you about have to go single-ended. This means very efficient speakers, if you want good SPL. |
Used Audio Note Level 3 Quest Monoblock for around $2500. (new is $4000) |
