JohnW
-
Posts
327 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by JohnW
-
-
10 minutes ago, kevinmi said:
If you are going to use a receiver preamp section to drive an ultralinear tube amp, you're not going to get the whole "tube " experience. I'm not saying it will sound bad, but it may not sound much different than your Parasound setup. To experience a tube setup at it's best, you need a tube preamp and amp (or an integrated tube amp). You can run a tube preamp with a solid state amp, or a solid state preamp with a tube amp, and they may all sound good. Then there's the whole single ended tube amp vs the push-pull, or ultralinear tube amp. I have all the above, and most serious tube amp fans will say that a single ended tube system sounds the best, or at least, has the sound most people associate with the tube sound.
That makes sense. So ideally, you'd have an all-analog signal path? Vinyl or tape to a tube preamp into the amp?
Running digital files through my Marantz, even in Pure Direct mode, really won't give me a true sense of "the tube sound?" -
Well shit.
-
1
-
-
5 hours ago, richieb said:
If you happen or plan to shuffle through a fair amount of gear I’d highly recommend brands that have name recognition or a rabid cult following and can easily be turned. Sometimes buying the latest and greatest model reviewed on the interweb doesn’t best serve you in the second hand market. And ironically enough the recognized brands are just that for being well built and good sounding. Of course be prepared in spending a few more dollars for the “name” brand goods —
I hope I’ve chosen a good balance of all those qualities in the Jolida. It was open box, cost a hair over $1k. So, not cheap, but not ridiculous...actually comparable to a lot of restored ST70s, but purchased from a dealer, so it’s returnable. A reputable company that’s been in business for a while. Enough wattage for any situation plus a bit of headroom. Not a ton of reviews available, but all of them positive.
but listening to my Parasound this morning...I’m wondering how good Cornwalls+tubes can sound, because this sounds REALLY good right now.
-
1
-
-
6 hours ago, henry4841 said:
For it's price it is one that I would buy. I am a diy'er and it has been many years since I have bought a retail amplifier. Right now I have over 20 functioning amplifiers. This is one review from a well known and respected audiophile.
Yes, that Steve Gutenberg video was a huge influence a few days ago.
-
9 hours ago, henry4841 said:
The Reisong is rated really good from a number of reviewers. There is a difference in sound between a SE vs PP in an amplifier. Personally I like the SE sound most all the time. I have multiple examples of both kinds both tube and SS to judge by. I have found 5 watts to be the sweet spot for music in a SE tube amplifier. Personal taste and music preference along with room size has a lot to do with whether a 5 watt SE tube amplifier will be a good choice for you. For me if I had only one amplifier it is what I would want to hold on to. Good luck with your choice.
So the Reisong is your amp of choice?
-
This is all your fault, Shakey.
-
On 10/23/2020 at 1:14 AM, Shakeydeal said:
The mistake you’ll make isn’t having enough power, but of sound quality.
I had a Parasound HCA 2200 II back in the mid 90s. It was an ok amp, plenty powerful enough for sure. But when I bought a McCormack DNA 1 to replace it, the improvement was astounding. So much so that when the potential buyer for the parasound came to pick it up, I almost lost the sale when he asked to hear the dna. All he could do was shake his head.
As a side bar, I know a lot of people use SS amps with cornwalls. But it’s with tubes that they really shine. That would be my advice.
Shakey
Damn you, Shakey!
The Parasound sounds really nice. I could stop here.
But all you guys telling me that Cornwalls really shine with tubes led me to just buy one of these, with 6550 tubes:
https://www.jolida.com/product/fusion-3502-p
Interested to see how much better it sounds than the Parasound.
Damnit, it appears I'm on a quest. -
3 minutes ago, Godataloss said:
My buddy just took delivery of that very same amp (in silver) this past week. It's his first tube amp and he loves it. He's driving a pair of KG 3.5 (apartment). You know you will need a preamp of some sort, don't you?
Was planning to use the preouts from my Marantz SR7013.
-
1
-
-
5 minutes ago, Godataloss said:
I had an SE84 for awhile. Nice tone, but it did not stay in the system long and I'm running khorns which I feel are a bit more efficient than the Cornwalls I had. That EL84 tube is nice on the Cornwall though. I have an ST 35 that puts out a stout 17 wpc with push pull EL 84s and it sounded fantastic and had tons of grunt. The one power transformer in the ST 35 are heavier than the whole Decware. I got my ST 35 with the Gillespie mods and fully serviced for $550 delivered. My experience with tube amps is you should be patient and wait for the right one to come along. Keep your powder dry so you're ready to jump. Keep an eye on here. Great stuff routinely gets posted for deals.
That looks like a sweet amp.
Hope I didn't go overboard. I bought one of these with the 6550 tubes: https://www.jolida.com/product/fusion-3502-p -
Yeah, I don't know where this sudden bout of audiophilia came from. Last time was 2005...heard a friend's home theater and it sounded AMAZING. I had a Reference 3 system with a Harman/Kardon AVR 510, but that episode led to a Reference 7 7.2 system plugged into an Aragon Stage One/2007 Amp. Had to sell the separates to pay for our wedding (yes, it was worth it), replaced them with a Pioneer VSX-1120. Still have that system, as a 5.1, in my home office (speakers were too big and black for the family room).
Then bam--a few months ago, I just started chasing this need for AMAZING sound in the family room. Got the Cornwalls, upgraded the caps, tried new tweeters, opted for new tweeter diaphragms, bought the SR7013 to replace the Onkyo TX-NR676 (now on garage duty--so I had to buy some RB-3s and an old Hsu STF-1 for out there), movies sounded great, but music wasn't AMAZING, and hell, I bought these Cornwalls so music would sound AMAZING, found a killer deal on the Parasound, and now it does sound amazing...but not quite AMAZING.
Probably what's driving this is a combo of covid, politics, and losing a long-time close colleague at work to retirement. I think I needed control over something.
Hopefully it ends when the Jolida starts playing...because the wife is a tolerant woman...but her tolerance does have limits.
-
1
-
-
3 minutes ago, billybob said:
Well, thanks for that recap. There is alot that can be said about memory of music. Jolida have read alot about while here, and think so. Please let the others here know your impressions over time versus your Parasound amp.
Looks nice and sleep good, if you can...
Thanks.
I spent a lot of time from age 6-11,with my ear pressed against those Magnavox console speakers, listening to anything from The Partridge Family to Kiss to Led Zeppelin. Not critical listening by any means...but very definitely formative listening.
-
40 minutes ago, billybob said:
Are you making any progress in your choices...
Wonder if your early leanings at your earliest post have any good feedback for you.
I am. I thought about playing it safe with the Reisong A10--I can always send it back if it doesn't do anything for me, but given it's only 6 watts per channel, I could listen to Nora Jones all day, but when it comes to an action movie, I might be SOL.
So I've been googling brands: Nobsound, BoyuRange, all Chinese, mostly great reviews, but quite a few reviews describing smoke, funny smells...hmmm...
Then there were the Fishers and Scotts, and some old Magnavoxes that have been pulled from consoles...and their reputation is good...the stereo I started listening to was my parents' Magnavox console...perhaps that might stir something deep in my musical psyche...but it looks like this gear takes a bit of maintenance, and while I'm certain I could teach myself how to do it, I'm not inclined to. Then there's the whole curb appeal issue (I'm happily married).
Went down the ST70 rabbit hole...that kept me up late in bed until the power died on my iPad last night. While I'm curious, it's a lot of money for used gear that always seems to have the original tubes. You know, from 1963. Now I've nothing against 1963, I'm from 1963 myself, but bits of me are wearing out and I know I don't sound as good as I used to, so...
Then I looked at Jolida. Couple of them were available on OfferUp and FB Marketplace...like I said, I missed the boat on a JD302B on Ebay, and there's a Jolida 801a for $1000, but the ad is two years old and the guy who posted it isn't responding.
Then I found an open box Fusion 3502P at Music Direct for a good price...it's the right color for my rack (black with blue leds), and of the few reviews I've been able to dig up on Jolida, it seems the gear is an incredible value.
So I bought it. Hopefully it's the last amp I'll need for a while. I'm confident that the quality won't be questionable, and that it has more than enough power to meet my needs, so it really comes down how much I like listening to it. Which is what I was after in the first place: a good starting point in the world of tubes.
60 day money-back guarantee (shipping's on me if I'm not satisfied).
So, all things considered (and there's a LOT) this seems like the best choice, and the only one worth making so far.
https://www.musicdirect.com/power-amp/Jolida-Fusion-3502P-Power-Amplifier-6550-Black-OPEN-BOX
-
1
-
-
7 hours ago, henry4841 said:
Most of the ones you find on Ebay are going to need restoration to work as intended which is going to raise the cost.
Yeah, ok.
-
1
-
-
4 hours ago, henry4841 said:
Most of the ones you find on Ebay are going to need restoration to work as intended which is going to raise the cost. Unless you can do the work yourself you will have about as much as buying a new clone of one from one of the sellers. If you do not mind a Chinese clone they can be purchased on Amazon, with return if not satisfied, for around the price of a used Dynaco ST-70. Like $700. Just last week I bought an Eico ST-70 for myself to do a restoration on but restoring old equipment is my hobby not to save money. If not I would have bought a Chinese clone.
nothing on Amazon. -
And now the Dynaco ST-70? Whole bunch of them on Ebay....hmmm...
-
I wish I had a frame of reference for how loud these things can get.
Lust object for the day: Jolida Fusion 3502p. A bit pricey though. -
8 minutes ago, joessportster said:
350 for that amp is a steal if it works. But those Jam moments will be questionable
15 to 35 WPC will get you both decent low level listening and plenty of grunt for the Jam moments
That's what I'm thinking. Missed the damned boat on that Jolida, I think.
-
1 hour ago, tube fanatic said:
Lots more information is needed. Room size and characteristics, listening level, type of music you enjoy, distance from speakers when listening, etc. would be helpful. Can you provide more details about the Decware amp you saw with pictures of the underside?
Maynard
Room size and characteristics: 14'x20'. Listening on the 14' axis. Vaulted ceiling--12' high at speakers, 8' high at listening position. Room has a large area rug and back wall is lined with plush furniture. Listening position is about 30" from back wall. Left side wall has sliding glass door with pleated curtains. RIght side opens to kitchen and rest of house.
Listening level: 50-75 db, but every once in a while, you have to jam.
I enjoy everything, from Dr. Dre to Diana Krall to Stan Getz to Rush to Leo Kottke to Allison Krauss to Johnny Cash to Mozart and Bach.
Here's the ad for the amp: https://offerup.com/item/detail/937056339/ -
Did you ever happen to sell this?
-
Had a (very) little windfall and looking to dip my toe into tubes. Currently running a Marantz SR7013 into a Parasound 2250 v.2 into a pair of '84 Cornwalls with re-capped B3 crossovers. And it sounds good. Really good. I'm really happy with it.
But...maybe it could sound...even better? (I think you know what I'm talking about)
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't influenced by the recent hype over the Reisong A10. Which led me to look at the Nobsound 6P1 and the Monoprice Tube Amp...but only because of the hype, they're as cheap as you can get, and if I'm not happy, there's a return policy. But if I DO like what I hear, enough to replace the Parasound with a tube amp, I'm sure I'll upgrade. So why not skip that step?
So I started poking around the used market. Almost pulled the trigger on a Jolida JD302B for $650 last night, but thought I'd sleep on it. Woke up this morning and it was sold.
Found a guy this morning thirty miles away with a Decware SE84C Zen Triode for $350. The model with no volume knob. Just inputs and outputs. Does not have any tubes. Good price? Good amp?
I'm sort of wandering in the dark here. Would appreciate any guidance.
But this thread will document my foray into tubes.-
1
-
-
On 10/23/2020 at 1:14 AM, Shakeydeal said:
The mistake you’ll make isn’t having enough power, but of sound quality.
I had a Parasound HCA 2200 II back in the mid 90s. It was an ok amp, plenty powerful enough for sure. But when I bought a McCormack DNA 1 to replace it, the improvement was astounding. So much so that when the potential buyer for the parasound came to pick it up, I almost lost the sale when he asked to hear the dna. All he could do was shake his head.
As a side bar, I know a lot of people use SS amps with cornwalls. But it’s with tubes that they really shine. That would be my advice.
Shakey
So a good tube amp, or should I track down a DNA 1? -
8 hours ago, Shakeydeal said:
The mistake you’ll make isn’t having enough power, but of sound quality.
I had a Parasound HCA 2200 II back in the mid 90s. It was an ok amp, plenty powerful enough for sure. But when I bought a McCormack DNA 1 to replace it, the improvement was astounding. So much so that when the potential buyer for the parasound came to pick it up, I almost lost the sale when he asked to hear the dna. All he could do was shake his head.
As a side bar, I know a lot of people use SS amps with cornwalls. But it’s with tubes that they really shine. That would be my advice.
Shakey
Well shit. -
On the verge of purchasing a Parasound 2250 v.2 for my '84 B3 Cornwalls. I'm not looking for loundness, but more detail and distinct soundstage. But is this a mistake? I'd hate to trash them.
-
Decware SE84C Zen Triode?
in Talkin' Tubes
Posted
Looks like I need to figure out the difference between SET, push-pull, and ultralinear. I thought ultralinear was a kind of push-pull, but hell, if SET is the way to true "tube sound," maybe I shoulda slowed down and tried that Reisong in the first place.