laurenc319

hi, The short answer, as least to my ears, is no. The tube amps I have sound better. I use the Wright single ended triodes with the Cornwalls almost all of the time. The 3.5 watts is enough to drive them loud enough to satisfy me. As to the sound, it's like a veil has been lifted from in front of the speakers. Beautiful detailed highs and midrange and enough bass to play jazz and other acoustic music. It justsounds more real and more like live music then with the Soundcraftsman. The difference is difficult to articulate but it is VERY real. My wife and friends who have heard both clearly prefer the set amplification to the ss amp and the push pull tube amps I have. The second (very close second) best sounding amp I have, when used with the Cornwalls, is the Cary SLI-80 when used in the triode push pull mode. good listening Larry Citro

At the moment, Patricia Barber singing Black Magic Woman on my Cornwalls and Wright mono 3.5s Larry

Hi, Yes I have used the Soundcraftsman with the Cornwalls. Only when I really feel like rocking though. And that's what they do, very very well. The ss watts really move that 15" woofer cone, bass that thumps your chest 15 feet away with overwhelming sound pressure levels. Generally, best reserved IMHO after imbibing 4 fingers of bourbon , hopefully 100 proof or better good listening Larry

H all, I bought a pair of Sophia Electric 300B 2.5V Mesh Plate Tubes for 2A3 Amplifiers and pluged them into my Wright 3.5 monos. Really sweet right out of the box. All the detail is still present with a bit warmer sound and a bit more bass as compared to my RCA dual plate 2A3's. The best description I have is they raise the temp of the system from 70 to 72 degrees. good listening Larry

Ahh, Ok, I'm drooling. Larry ps: the tubes in your moniker, are they EL-37s ?

hi, Cyotee will not lead you astray. I bought some Wright mono 3.5s from him and it was some of the best hi-fi bucks I ever spent. Three woofs from Max as this is a good deal. Larry

Hi Mallette, Thank you for your great post. It says many things I have experienced also. I grew up with analog ( mono and then stereo ) switched to digital and then came back to tubes and a digital source for most of the time and to LPs some of the time. The emotional experience of music is, I suspect, why most of us are on this forum. The play back system we use to achieve this is to some degree not relevant. Some in the study did prefer digital while most favored the analog. My concern is that too many audiophiles listen with the cerebrum to their systems whether analog or digital in a critical fashion, chasing the measured audio nirvana and thus they miss the real soul satisfying experience of the music itself and the emotions it can evoke. good listening Larry

hi, Some of the other forums I belong to ban members for being abusive. I think the moderator of this forum does a good job. Larry

Hi, So far looks like I'm the only Jamal fan. I listed just three, but others include Mycoy Tyner, Ceder Walton Chick Corea Keith Jarret Herbie Hancock Bobo Stenson I've been lucky enough to hear Corea and Walton live good listening Larry

hi, Over the years I've listened to a lot of jazz. Just wondering who are your favorite jazz painists ? For me, Thelonis Monk, Bill Evans and Amad Jamal good listening Larry

Hi, A great read and I read it all. I found these comments to be most interesting found on page six. " On the other hand, for musical enjoyment, all of this should be irrelevant. In terms of the evolution of man, the part of the brain responsible for the recognition of sounds is relatively new, being located in the cerebrum. The part responsible for emotions is comparatively ancient, being located in the brain stem. With this in mind, researchers have conducted the following experiment (footnote 6). It's possible to numb the specific part of the brain responsible for the recognition and critical evaluation of sounds. If a person so treated is exposed to music, he or she will hear nothing. Yet the listener's mood will still be influenced by the music! This means that, for the emotional response to music, the sound, or at least the conscious experience of the sound, is unimportant! The far-reaching conclusion: You cannot tell what your emotional response to a component's sound will be from a description by a critical listener, because that response is independent of the conscious perception of its sound. " The emotional centers of the brain are located in the brain stem and are very primitive, meaning they have has an evolutionary presence for a much longer period of time then the cerebrum, which contains our speech and sound recognition centers. In the human brain there is a very direct neural pathway between the sound recognition center and the emotional centers in the brain stem. That's why music is such a powerful means of communication and why it can evoke such powerful emotions even in the absence of voice. For years I have listened to instrumental and vocal music. The voice for me becomes another instrument and for many songs which I like and have listened to many times, I do not know the lyrics. The sound of the voice is bypassing the speech recognition center on it's way to the emotional center. So what's my point ? When we listen to a sound system in a audiophile mode, listening for the bass response, soundstaging, depth, PRAT and so on, we are largely taking the brain stem emotive centers out of our listening experience which I think results in a much less satisfying experience. Listen to your system critically as little as possible to decide it has the quality you like and then enjoy the music. FWIW I also read and post on Audiogon, my Cornwalls take a lot of bashing from them. I just keep saying they sound great to me. Now I can reference this article to get those folks to listen with their brain stems. good listening, Larry

Yes, Wild Turkey is great stuff, with or without set amps. Larry

hi, Yes I've go to both, jazz clubs and classical symphonies. The sound levels in a concert can reach amazing levels. In mostjazz clubs you can carry on a conversation. For rock concerts, I bring ear plugs. Larry

http://www.stereophile.com/artdudleylistening/1105listening/ a good read Larry

I suprised myself with the reading levels when I play music. First the noise floor in my home is low, less then 50 db ( the meter only reads down to 50 ) In my 24X14 foot LR with the Forte I's with the Cary SLI-80 in the afternoon, I find 70 to 75 db at 12 feet away from the speakers which is about average listening level for jazz. What I thought was loud was 82 to 85 db. I played some hard rocken stuff ( Eric Johnson, Alien Nation CD) as loud as I could tolerate and the levels were 95 to 98 db at the listening position and 104 to 106 db 3 feet from one speaker. In the rec-room with the Cornwalls and Wright mono 3.5s the levels were also 73 to 75 db for jazz 14 feet away from the speakers. With the Wrights I 'm using nos RCA 's dual plates. Anyone have experience with other brands of nos 2A3's ? I guess most of the time I'm using a lot less then 1 or 2 watts. So the amps are loafing most of the time. The Cary amp can run KT-90, KT-88s, 6550s, El-34 and 6L6s. Presently I have JJ KT-88s installed. I always wanted to try the 6L6 sound but was hesitant because the power of the amp is 30 watts in the ultralinear mode as compared to 80 with the KT-88s. Anyone have a recommendation for a good 6L6 new production or nos ? thanks Larry

hi, i got mine here http://www.tubedepot.com/jj-kt88.html for a 150.00 a matched quad. Great tubes for sure. An equal in many ways to the nos Tung Sols gray soild plate 6550s I have. Larry

Hi, I have Forte I's and I've listened to them hooked up to an EICO Hf-81 (14 watts pp EL84's ) and a Cary SLI-80 ( 50 watts triode mode KT-88s). Both sounded great. The EICO could play loud, the Cary pinned my ears back. These speakers are great on all music, but on large scale music, be it rock, big bands or symphonic they really come into their own. Sit back and enjoy !!! good listening Larry

Hi all, Been listeing to the Cornwalls with the Wright mono 3.5's. Some Johnny Cash, Miles Davis. Coltrane, Billl Evans and a lot of others. Mostly jazz , female vocals , or acoustic country/bluegrass. I've had several freinds over to listen to my set ups. We start upstairs in the LR with the Fortes and the Cary SLI-80 and move down to the rec-room to the Wtright mono 3.5 and the Cornwalls. They all say "lets stay down here". I'm with them. It's a totally different listening experience, very enjoyable and the one I prefer with the exception of rock/blues and large scale classical . Ok, I'm set on SET, so I am curious about the rest of it. Question to you all. 45's how will they compare to my 2A3's ? I know they won't be as loud, but will they have more detail and articulation ? Anyone have experience with both of these tubes in set amps ? thanks Larry

hi, WOW!!! I guess she's angry, but I respectifully disagree. Music enhcances all aspects of life, including the dinner table. Nature is full of background sounds and none of them take away from a walk in the woods. Likewise, music enriches the intercourse at a social event, including dinner. Larry

hi, somebody has to snap these up Larry

Hi, here's a 1000 dollar system Fisher 400 receiver 340.00 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?vintelec&1134826820 Sony CDP-707Es cd player 350.00 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1137131346 Forte I's 499.00 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1135626669 for sale now on Audiogon ... total is 1100 and a bit of barganing will probably get it to 1000. A prettry good system for the price good listening Larry

hi, FYI,, Forte II's for 500.00 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1136745065 they look in good shape to me Larry

hi, How much do they cost ? Larry

hi, For those who may be interested http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1135626669 they are not mine, but wish they were, they look in really good shape Larry

hi, A beauty for sure. Enjoy it to the fullest. Let us know what you think of it Larry