edster00 Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 I bought my Moondogs at AudiogonN, they were factory wired and have the "ultimate" parts upgrade. I can say the Moondogs have ended my search for amps unless I get a 300B amp sometime in the future just to see what all the fuss is about. I also hope to retire within a few years and I will need two 2 channel set ups for 2 different abodes. I agree with Mobile about the KR tubes...they just don't compare to NOS RCA's and the $60 Sovtek's beat them out to IMHO IMS (in my system). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 These pictures are the most compelling arguement yet for the Moondogs. Those are beautiful amps. Maybe I'll get a chance to hear an SET or two in Merrillville. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 Chris, Are you coming to the S.E. within the next 2 weeks? If so shoot me an email and come by to give the Moondog/K-horn/ALK combo an audition. The system is coming apart the weekend after the 4th for a couple of months... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 Chris, Moondogs eh? I'm extremely happy with the combination of the Moondogs and Belles. My saga is pretty much open for review in the archives as I'm sure you will remember. I can't address the MQ vs EP transformers question because I have no experience with the MQ. My "Dogs" were built with the Ultimate upgrade option and silver wiring. The previous owner had them wired for the KRs, but based on Kelly and others review of them in the Asylum, have felt no desire to venture there. I am an addicted Jazz vinyl listener and feel no need to search for a better core system than the Moondogs. Maybe Khorns will one day replace the Belles. As much as I like my Cornwalls, for me it's horn loaded base and SET, but that's a very subjective choice. My output tube of choice is the RCA 2A3 Black plate. I have not had the opportunity, nor spare $$$, to venture into the acknowledged "best" NOS 2A3, the RCA/Cunningham single plates. I also have Sovtek 2A3s and a pair of NOS Rogers 2A3 Black plates. I liked the Rogers tubes right away. It presented a sound that seems a combination of the Sovtek qualities and the RCA. I plan to revisit this tube next week for a more extended listening period. I only ran them for a about week after they first arrived, so an extended audition is in order. I have come to learn that each component in the chain of a 2A3 system is important to the sound. The better the component, the bigger and better the audio reward to the ears. Interconnects and speaker cable quality matters. Tube rolling of the Moondogs driver tubes have also yielded noticeable changes in sonic presentation. The Cary SLP90L preamp leaves further room to tweak the sonic presentation with it's use of 4 12AU7s and 2 EZ81 rectifiers. Currently I have NOS Mullard EZ81s and Telefunken NOS 12AU7s installed. NOS Mullard and NOS RCA 12AU7s have served well in the Cary also. I have not tried a passive preamp with this setup, maybe I will in the future, but I have gone direct from the Moondogs to my PP-1 tube phono preamp for vinyl listening prior to the Cary arrival. Very nice. The bottom line for me is I'm still excited "every" day with the thought of listening to music on this system. And believe me, I play music the first thing in the morning, during the day when home, and the last thing at night. What would I change? Two things in the near future. I'm upgrading my vinyl playback with the addition of a more definitive turntable, the VPI Aires Scout, and a high output moving coil cartridge. The other is, upgrade the power cords to my Moondogs. Long term changes, a more versatile phono preamp to handle MC's of many variable low voltages.(I feel there is much to explore with different cartridges.) The musical quality of the Moondogs and the Belles is reminiscent of so many nights/evenings/days listening to the worlds best Jazz musicians in concert, that I think I'll be satisfied with the Moondogs for a very, very, long time. Just my humble two cent opinion. I wish you the best in your quest, with whatever you decide. Klipsch out. PS. Music other than Jazz is also played with great reward with this system. Sometimes I forget to mention that. 2A3 SET is a wonderful, musical, open, "sound". 2 Channel System 1974 Belle Klipsch Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondogs Cary SLP90L Preamplifier Asusa PP-1 Phono preamplifier,modified Rega 3 turntable, RB300 tonearm; Grado Rega Planet CD player AudioQuest Bedrock speaker cables Silver Audio Hyacinth interconnects This message has been edited by jazman on 06-26-2002 at 08:23 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted June 27, 2002 Share Posted June 27, 2002 Jazman, great post ... thanks for the info. Good stuff. The only pre-amp I have at this time is the Cary AE-3. It's got solid state rectification but oil caps, so it's probably a place that needs review as well. I can also see that there will be a time that I'll add a TT and start recollecting vinyl ... so a pre-amp with a phono stage is probably a good idea ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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