Hybrid tube/ss amps?

[sanj]

Originally posted by Tenson

SanJ, the general opinion here seems to be that you should go all valve or all transistor... but I really feel this is misguiding you so do have a listen for yourself.

The hybrid amp is a sort of compromise, but probably not worth doing I suspect (though if I get a chance to demo some like the unico, will give it a go)

Else, I could go for ss like a primare or exposure, once I save up some more pennies

Though, from my limited knowledge/experience, I actually want to try a valve preamp and ss power amp (bypassing the pre stage on my current int. amp). Damn, that'll be another box to add, even though some tube preamps look seriously :MILD:

Having said that, I've always wondered which element determines the sonic characteristics of an amp set up. The pre or power/output stage? or both equally? That is, in relation to a valve preamp + ss power combination. Or would it just be specific to the particular combination of components? For example, if adding a valve preamp to a ss integ amp takes away the edginess, we would conclude that the edginess comes from the original preamp stage of the int. amp?

 

[wadia-miester]

Tenson,
A very common misconception, analogue input<>digital conversion<>anaolgue output.
Ian the Harbeths liking proper power then?, what you got the Soneteer int?.
So now you have some bass, how are you liking them?

 

[Tenson]

Could you name a few class T amps? I'm quite interested to hear what they sound like, as well as the pure digital ones.

I presume the class T works the same way, i.e. they use the digital signal as a direct control for the power-switching transistor?

Thats if I understand how the digital amps work!

I suppose they are all very very expensive still?

 

[sideshowbob]

Ian the Harbeths liking proper power then?, what you got the Soneteer int?.
So now you have some bass, how are you liking them?

Knew somebody would spill the beans eventually. I wonder who it could have been.

Nothing whatsoever to do with bass, to be honest, "proper" or otherwise. Sounding good, though.

Tenson: class T is really just a marketing term, since the amps in question generally use Tripath boards: http://www.tripath.com/ The one I'm going for is the Sonneteer Bronte: http://www.sonneteer.co.uk/ Others are made by Bel Canto, Veritas, LC Audio, Sony, Sharp, etc.

-- Ian

 

[wadia-miester]

No body did Ian just a lucky guess, so do you have the Soneteer then?

 

[Robbo]

Ian,

What happened to the ATCs then? Got fed up with the lack of bass? Harbeths eh, sounds interesting. Joel must have been round spreading the gospel


Data,

...or that nice audio research, arggh...they look like 6550s, yank version of kt88s, must sound like a bad tranny amp
mind you , isn't that how ARCs are reputed to sound?

Not in this system it doesnt. Have you heard any ARC amps or is that just another one of your sweeping generalisations that you are so fond of making

It doesnt sound all warm and chocolatey if thats what you like valve amps to sound like, Instead its fast, detailed, dynamic and powerful with that valve midrange magic. A rather good combination actually.

 

[LiloLee]

Originally posted by LiloLee
Also I think that KT88 are better than you do. It's all in the implementation, whether SS or valve.

Good grief, are we still going on with the generalisations
I know a designer for a UK company and he can make a SS amp sound like just about any other amp by changing the design. He actually says that the worst sounding amp is the one with the least distortion. Go figure!

 

[technobear]

Originally posted by LiloLee

Originally posted by LiloLee
Also I think that KT88 are better than you do. It's all in the implementation, whether SS or valve.

Good grief, are we still going on with the generalisations
I know a designer for a UK company and he can make a SS amp sound like just about any other amp by changing the design. He actually says that the worst sounding amp is the one with the least distortion. Go figure!

Careful Lee! Commenting on your own posts is the first sign of madness

 

[sideshowbob]

What happened to the ATCs then? Got fed up with the lack of bass?

No, I had plenty of bass. As I said above to WM, nothing to do with alleged bass deficiencies. Some of us make decisions based on more sophisticated criteria than that, old boy.

-- Ian

 

[merlin]

Originally posted by sideshowbob
Some of us make decisions based on more sophisticated criteria than that, old boy.

-- Ian

Congrats on your new purchase Ian. Maybe it had to do with naturalness , something not too high on WM's list of must haves.

I'm with you a Joel on this, Harbeths just sound right to my ears. Which ones have you gone for BTW? C7ES or M30's?

 

[sideshowbob]

K6's. The C7 RADIAL driver in an M30 sized box. Been out of production for a few years, picked up a secondhand pair out of curiosity (three people who have similar tastes to mine kept raving about Harbeths, so I don't deny that gave me the idea to find a pair to try myself), and I found like them enough to keep them.

Naturalnesss is about right, I'd say. The -3dB point is 45Hz, don't know if that's deep enough for me to start boasting about the size of my low-end. Can anybody advise?

-- Ian

 

[wadia-miester]

Originally posted by merlin


Congrats on your new purchase Ian. Maybe it had to do with naturalness , something not too high on WM's list of must haves.

Tut, Tut Merlin another sweeping generalisation lots of those around at the moment
Oh yee of little faith

 

[merlin]

Originally posted by sideshowbob
K6's. The -3dB point is 45Hz, don't know if that's deep enough for me to start boasting about the size of my low-end. Can anybody advise?

-- Ian

Sorry Ian, I think you need big K9's for a really deep growl

 

[sideshowbob]

I thought as much. Clearly I'm still a bass weenie. Thank god for that...

-- Ian

 

[merlin]

Originally posted by fox
One thing I can't get used to after years of SS preamp upgradeitis hell... it still weirds me out switching off and on HiFi equipment...

I've heard Audio Note phono stages are excellent. Have you compared with some of the seperate units just out of interest?

Do you notice much of a change as the pre warms up?

Tut, Tut Merlin another sweeping generalisation lots of those around at the moment

far from it WM. I am using the word to describe a certain characteristic that I find exists in products such as Harbeth, Spendor, Proac, Shunyata, VDH, Meridian, Audio Aero and many more.

I think you would agree that none of the above push your buttons so to speak - so therefore the statement is I feel valid (unless of course you are having a rethink!)

 

[bottleneck]

Twas Wadia Meister who advised me on my Meridian 500 transport, which I believe he rates quite highly.

Twas also WM who reccomended Adio Research amps to Robbo (amongst others?)..

Twas (shall I stop saying Twas now?!) also WM who told me Shunyata are one of the best of his competitors.


hmm

 

[wadia-miester]

Juicy textures eh?, full bodied & rich, with oddles of sophistication, I obviously missed the sonic boat on its trip to the isle of enlightment, please forgive my persumptiousness, my constipated bass and lack of natural physical presence ask for your foregiveness, please sir can I be pardoned :kneel:

 

[Lt Cdr Data]

phwew, I am getting a ribbing on this, maybe I better shut up and stop making generalisations

Robbo, is that YOUR lovely amp, corr, how I am green.

Lee, very interesting, be interested to know who that person is, and how he does it.

Ian, nice speakers BTW, I have c7s, and superb they are too, very natural indeed. Good low level sound. 8" woofer, 50 hz, not the most bassy with it, but clarity and insight without fatigue.

 

[merlin]

Originally posted by bottleneck
Twas Wadia Meister who advised me on my Meridian 500 transport, which I believe he rates quite highly.

Twas also WM who reccomended Adio Research amps to Robbo (amongst others?)..

Twas (shall I stop saying Twas now?!) also WM who told me Shunyata are one of the best of his competitors.


hmm

Hmm indeed

WM owned a 500, tweaked the sh-t out of it, and roundly critisized mine as being the cause of (no groove).

I took the Audio Research round to Robbo (I was unaware that WM had mentioned it to Robbo, although I had tipped off WM on the subject)

I bought a lot of Shunyata kit. I believe I took my cables over to WM to let him hear them. He remains convinced the OA product is better (or should I say more to his taste)

Give WM the choice of Meridian or Teac and guess what he'll choose

Give WM the choice of Audio Research or Bel Canto and guess what he'll choose

Give WM the choice of Shunyata or Omiga Audio and guess what he will choose.

Nothing at all wrong with that,, there are many ways to find happiness. But the term naturalness is generally used to describe the products WM would discard in the interests of speed and Thwack.

 

[technobear]

Originally posted by merlin
far from it WM. I am using the word to describe a certain characteristic that I find exists in products such as Harbeth, Spendor, Proac, Shunyata, VDH, Meridian, Audio Aero and many more.

I think you would agree that none of the above push your buttons so to speak

WM's buttons were considerably pushed last Monday by a system featuring a Van den Hul D102mkIII interconnect

Indeed, it was found impossible to identify any difference in the sound between the Van den Hul and the uber-expensive foo-foo-dust interconnect

This was after we had sorted the mains

WM's perceptions on the capabilities of QED SA were altered somewhat also