Hi Audiotroll:
I did not say I heard the HV series at Stereo Exchange. In fact, it was probably not the HV series as it was before 2014. I did hear the HV Series of T&A at Audio Doctor's room at the NY stereo show last year with Personas and thought the combo was very good as I have said many times before. That is not good enough for you who wants everybody to agree that the Persona high end speakers and T&A amplification are better than all of the competition within earshot at multiples of their respective prices.
I stand by my opinion as to the character of the sound of T&A which is shared by Alan Taffel who owns CH Precision gear and puts T&A and Spectral in the same category of sound. Indeed, in his Absolute Sound review which you referenced earlier, he compared the sound of his CH Precision gear to T&A in all aspects and found no discernible difference except in the high end where he preferred CH. If you are as informed as you claim to be, you don't have to be told that CH Precision and Spectral are known as incredibly fast and transparent gear which some listeners love and others think are somewhat sterile. Warm is not part of that vocabulary. If you have heard D'Agostino gear or certain Pass gear, you will know that they have a deserved reputation of being liquid and somewhat tubelike, especially in the midrange.
I will not engage in a ridiculous contest with you over who has more experience in audio. Nor will I repeat my experiences with your boss as I have done on other threads with you where I go way back to when he was a young hard selling and annoying pup at Sound By Singer.
Short summary, I follow almost all brands and listen constantly to new products from all corners of the globe and have done so for over 35 years. I have been asked to write reviews of audio equipment for 2 audio publications, but I have chosen not to do so. I have built countless audio systems for friends and clients of my professional company (not audio related) for the sheer enjoyment of doing so. I source my purchases from virtually all dealers in NY and NJ. I have personally built speakers and an amplifiers. I built my first pair of speakers in 1975 and sold them long ago.
Frankly, if I were to advise the OP on amplification in the T&A mold, I would suggest that he consider Spectral as I think it is better than either T&A or CH Precision at what those brands purport to do at a fraction of the price. That being said, I believe those companies are all great companies with well made products. They are clearly not exactly the same. Therefore, I would understand and appreciate anyone whose tastes regarding these 3 brands were different than mine. I would not tell them why they are wrong and I am right as you always seem to do with anyone whose opinion differs from yours. Unlike you, however, I am not a dealer or dealer rep and my credibility does not hinge on convincing anyone of anything on this site.
I did not say I heard the HV series at Stereo Exchange. In fact, it was probably not the HV series as it was before 2014. I did hear the HV Series of T&A at Audio Doctor's room at the NY stereo show last year with Personas and thought the combo was very good as I have said many times before. That is not good enough for you who wants everybody to agree that the Persona high end speakers and T&A amplification are better than all of the competition within earshot at multiples of their respective prices.
I stand by my opinion as to the character of the sound of T&A which is shared by Alan Taffel who owns CH Precision gear and puts T&A and Spectral in the same category of sound. Indeed, in his Absolute Sound review which you referenced earlier, he compared the sound of his CH Precision gear to T&A in all aspects and found no discernible difference except in the high end where he preferred CH. If you are as informed as you claim to be, you don't have to be told that CH Precision and Spectral are known as incredibly fast and transparent gear which some listeners love and others think are somewhat sterile. Warm is not part of that vocabulary. If you have heard D'Agostino gear or certain Pass gear, you will know that they have a deserved reputation of being liquid and somewhat tubelike, especially in the midrange.
I will not engage in a ridiculous contest with you over who has more experience in audio. Nor will I repeat my experiences with your boss as I have done on other threads with you where I go way back to when he was a young hard selling and annoying pup at Sound By Singer.
Short summary, I follow almost all brands and listen constantly to new products from all corners of the globe and have done so for over 35 years. I have been asked to write reviews of audio equipment for 2 audio publications, but I have chosen not to do so. I have built countless audio systems for friends and clients of my professional company (not audio related) for the sheer enjoyment of doing so. I source my purchases from virtually all dealers in NY and NJ. I have personally built speakers and an amplifiers. I built my first pair of speakers in 1975 and sold them long ago.
Frankly, if I were to advise the OP on amplification in the T&A mold, I would suggest that he consider Spectral as I think it is better than either T&A or CH Precision at what those brands purport to do at a fraction of the price. That being said, I believe those companies are all great companies with well made products. They are clearly not exactly the same. Therefore, I would understand and appreciate anyone whose tastes regarding these 3 brands were different than mine. I would not tell them why they are wrong and I am right as you always seem to do with anyone whose opinion differs from yours. Unlike you, however, I am not a dealer or dealer rep and my credibility does not hinge on convincing anyone of anything on this site.