edster00 Posted April 5, 2002 Share Posted April 5, 2002 JoshT, I had a pair of the Decware Zen Triode Mono Blocks model SV83M hooked up to my Khorns. I liked the sound of the Zen's very well, but they just didn't have enough power for me. Steve rates them at 3.6 watts but they ran out of steam very easily. My Welborne Labs Moondogs easily outperform the Zen's (both in sound quality and volume attained) and they are rated at 3.25 watts. Remember that was my system in my room, YMMV of course. Decware's new intgrated amp may be worth a listen, and Decware does offer a 30 day trial period with a ~15% restocking fee if you return the item. As stated previously, if I were you I would probably stick to the used market to get a bit more bang for your buck! ------------------ This message has been edited by edster00 on 04-05-2002 at 08:39 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted April 5, 2002 Share Posted April 5, 2002 JoshT, Three weeks ago I bought a Conrad-Johnson PV14L Preamp. I listened to the unit for a weekend & liked what I heard. Initially it's mid range sounded a bit compressed and the bass appeared to be mushy. I thought there was room for improvement so I bought a pair of NOS Corvair 6C4's(Westinghouse) from Tube World. The improvements were immediate after installing them, the mids and highs opened up and the bass notes are now quick, tight and with impact. The soundstage has widened with more depth too. I also like the remote control features, plus it has a HT pass through. I have no phono stage, so I'm using my Fisher 800B to pass output to the preamp for phono, tape and a 5 disc CD Changer, different I know, but it's working really well so far. My Ah! Tjoeb CD is direct to preamp. I'm very pleased with the CJ 14L preamp and the Laurel IIX Mono Blocks. Just thought I would share my experience thus far with the CJ 14L. Wes ------------------ "KLIPSCH IS MUSIC"f> This message has been edited by ShapeShifter on 04-05-2002 at 08:54 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted April 5, 2002 Share Posted April 5, 2002 Wes, How do you like your Ah! Tjoeb CD ? I am thinking about getting one. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted April 5, 2002 Share Posted April 5, 2002 JoshT, I looked up the Cary SLI-80 to see if I could get some idea why you might find the sound "glary and thin." The first two things I noticed were excess power and feedback. Excess power, even in a tube amp, opens the door for noise and distortion that may be a small part of the amp's total output, but since you're only using a few watts, if that much, is a larger part of the power you're using. Feedback contributes to the noise and distortion. I noticed that the AE-25 refered to above by deang is a no feedback design. It is also triode, push-pull (do I have that right deang? This kind of amp is smoother than one using ultra-linear, feedback, or both. Also, the power of the AE-25, base model seems to better match your Heresys. deang's offer looks good. Since you mentioned the sonic problems that smaller, no-feedback amps address, I suggested trying the amps I have, which are no feedback, class A, PP .. pretty close to the AE-25. It may tell you whether or not that is a direction in which you want to move. I hope that helps clear up my earlier posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted April 6, 2002 Share Posted April 6, 2002 dbflash, I have the Ah! Tjoeb 99 CD and like it very much. I follow jazman's suggestion, rolled in Amperex Bugle Boy tubes which improved the mid/high range and bass. Haven't heard the newer Tjoeb 4000 CD. I don't think one could go wrong with either unit. Wes ------------------ "KLIPSCH IS MUSIC"f> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cc1091 Posted April 7, 2002 Share Posted April 7, 2002 I connected my Heresy 1 speakers to a friend's Cary amp (not sure which model, Chrome chassis, 30 wpc stereo, volume knob). I didn't like the sound. Too much sound was coming from the Midrange squawker. Not enough balance overall. He bought his cary from Ebay though, so it may not have been up to spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted April 8, 2002 Share Posted April 8, 2002 Josh, Sorry for the delay - been kinda busy with the new baby an' all. I dont know a whole lot abou the zen amps. I have their Decware ZTPre and it has blown me away. Did a side by side with my existing SS pre and a Bottlehead foreplay and there was simply no comparison on my rig. Hopefully someone on here has the amps and can tell you more about them. I only posted their details as they caught my eye on line. Good luck choosing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firejim Posted April 8, 2002 Share Posted April 8, 2002 DEANG...It is good to read some of your posts and opinions on used equipment.My question to you is how does your RF7's sound hooked up to tube equipment,the 7's must have awsome front to back Imageing.I had a chance to listen to the RF7's connected to good solid state (Pionner's new top Elite reciever)and they sounded great,I can only imagine what they sound like with tubes.I am considering the RF7's and possibly used tube Integreated amps as well as a surround pre/processor in my system.I was also waiting for the Heritage line to come back into production,which I see they have updated this web site with the heritage line.I have to replace my water damaged Cornwall's,with either the RF7's or the Belle Klipsch. ------------------ -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted April 8, 2002 Share Posted April 8, 2002 well, it's no secret here on this board thatI much favor the sound of Reference over Heritage. My 15 watt AE-25 has no problem driving my RF7's to ridiculous levels -- of course, I only sit 8 feet away from the speakers ------------------ S Frontiers/Anthem CD-1f>s> Cary AE-25 SuperAmpf>s> Sonic Frontiers Line 1f>s> Marantz DV-7010f>s> Klipsch LF-10f>s> Klipsch RF7'sf>s> MIT/Monsterf>s> Toshiba 36"f>s> Inside every small problem is a large problem struggling to get outf>s>c>-- 2nd Law of Blissful Ignorancef>s>c> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshT Posted April 9, 2002 Author Share Posted April 9, 2002 Thanks guys for all the continuing advice. My latest audition was of the CJ PV14L tube preamp alternatively with the MV-60 power amp (tube 55 wpc) and MF 2250 power amp (ss 125 wpc), and I have to say that both combos sounded GREAT with B&W CDM1NTs at the dealer (no home audition yet). I get the sense they would sound great with the Heresys too. The MV60 sounded simply seductive. To my ears it was a vast improvement to the Cary SLI-80. The MF 2250 lost much, though not all, of the seductive midrange, but the bass was noticeably quicker, tighter and more defined. I will follow up with a longer audition this Friday I hope. This same dealer is the Cary dealer who lent me the SLI-80. I am awfully interested in the Cary Rocket 88 from what I have read. Any thoughts on that? Unfortunately, while they claim to have one in stock, they do not have a demo model to listen to!! I have decided that I do like my B&W CDM1SEs enough to want to keep them (though I will most certainly sell the Krell integrated), and I want a tube amp that will drive both so I can swithc back and forth from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted April 10, 2002 Share Posted April 10, 2002 JoshT, I would like to know your initial thoughts or comments regarding the CJ PV-14L Preamp. Regards, Wes ------------------ "KLIPSCH IS MUSIC"f> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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