tubes and analog

Csmithbarc,

1. The AES's output impedance might be a mismatch for the Prima Luna.

2. The AES's output level might be too high for the Prima Luna, causing overload distortion.

Either of these is a more likely answer to your question than tubes vs. solid state.

Can you describe, in audiophile terms, HOW the Graham Slee sounds better than the AES? That might help those interested in offering helpful diagnoses or suggestions.

Best,
Doug

03-25-07: Psychicanimal +++
The three manifestations of the ego are as follows:

1) I'm right. (cause I say so)
2) I'm in control (and don't want to be controlled)
3)I'm looking good (saving face) +++

Psychic, I am not going to say I am not guilty of the above, but having read one or two of your post you really need to heed your own words. Besides, many on this threads raise some very cogent opinions. Something rarely found in yours.

Kind Regards
Paul

Audiofeil - a "shill" eh? Come on, gimme a break. Who has something to sell here and works in the industry, not me. Perhaps you should look up the definition before you use words you don't understand.

I think Doug's post above may be leading us in the right direction to explain the original posters questions. I looked up the specs on the Primaluna and found that it's input impedance is 100K Ohms which seems unlikely to be the issue, but it's input sensitivity is 270mV. Couldn't find any specs on the AES unit, but wouldn't the Primaluna be easily overdriven with a .27V input sens.?

The Graham slee unit had much more detail across the board...mostly in the lower end. Basically the Graham slee gave me "punchy" base where as the AES tube unit was very "muddy" in comparison. Further, the Graham slee SS unit did not sound dry or lean in any way.

Csmithbarc,

Mab33's discovery re: the Prima Luna's input sensitivity mirrors what I found (but didn't post, since I wanted someone else to verify it - thanks, Mab33!). There's a case to be made that it's so low that many phono preamps will overdrive it. This can lead to all sorts of audio nasties, and their character will undoubtedly depend on the source doing the overdriving. How to tell? If the sound is especially distorted or unpleasing on dynamic peaks or strong, sustained vocals, your Prima Luna's input sensitivity is probably overloaded.

On "punchy" vs. "muddy" bass...

Have you tried different tubes in the AES? You've got a 12au7 regulating the power supply (I think) and 6SJ7's as signal tubes. Rolling different tubes into either of these locations will provide substantially different sounds. "Muddy" bass is characteristic of some tubes more than others. I don't have any specific recommendations for the tube types your AES uses, but as a rough guideline, look for tubes whose internal structures appear especially robust and "stable", in an architectural sort of way. Tubes built like this tend to have tighter bass than tubes with less solid internal structures.

Best,
Doug