Marvel Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 I am soooo envious... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Wolfbane, we have a set of TJ Fullmusic 211s in them. The original Chinese tubes were, to be frank, quite horrible. If I hadn't heard these amps with a pair of 1937 Amperex, I never would have purchased them. We only have the amp; I did not care for the pre at all. The TJ are a good blend of performance and economy; cheap enough to afford and yet good enough to be happy with the level of performance. The Amperex are superior - almost holographic- but their price is currently stratospheric as well. Bruce, one of these days you will be back and happen to be around St. Louis. We would love to host you for some good listening and food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToolShedAmps Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Good Morning All, I just wanted to give a "Shout Out" to Sheltie Dave who was the most gracious of hosts, and the guys at the St. Louis event. These guys could not have been more welcoming and open-minded. I had a fantastic time and I hope to be invited back to the next event. Additionally, I also wanted to give a special thank you to "Mark" and his VERY SPECIAL 6B4G Push-Pull Amplifier. For those of you who think that ONLY DHT SET's can sound great, Mark, Myself, and Marks AMP beg to differ. Bravo! I'll look forward to hearing it again. Again, Thank You Gents so much! Cheers! Matt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Dave, As i get closer to retirement, that sounds like an awesome invitation! Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Yep, I wish St. Louis was a bit closer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) It's not that far, Mike! In the main gallery downstairs, AKA the mancave, we used the modded Klipsch RF7s with the Sun Audio SV2A3, the the HandMade Electronics WE91A replicas, and finally the Opera Consonance 211s with the Juicy Music Merlin linestage. We had a few folks who had never really heard tube amps before, so they were wearing their drool bibs. Here is the view from the comfy chair... Edited November 8, 2015 by sheltie dave 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 We had a few folks who had never really heard tube amps before So how did the "ToolShed" measure up ??? - Matt is building me a custom G6 now, paid for sight unseen... After a nice long session with my SS yesterday, those tubes have some serious competition!!! This inquiring mind is chomping at the bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) Wow, I haven't seen my version of Lessard's Horus (which as he designed it was/is already probably the very best single-ended 2a3 amp I have built or heard - and I have heard many. It's parallel-feed output topology is not new; in fact it's antique. But it is an extremely clever way to implement an output stage. I made a number of changes that suited what I particulalrly liked or wanted, but the essential platform is most certainly the Horus. A number of people had commented on the small size of the output transformers this type of amp uses -- thus judging them to be woefully inadequate in comparison to the more conventional single-ended OPT. An ill-informed interpretation at best, and a clear misunderstanding. My wife loved the amps. I still remember the first notes they played through the Klipschorns and she came upstairs and asked what amps I was using -- that the Klipschorns OR the Lowther horns with which they were sometimes used -- had never sounded so good. They are NOT inexpensive amplifiers to make, however. All this leads up to comparisons to the venerable single-ended EL-84 (a couple of which I have also made). Despite its high cost (including expensive passive components), the parafeed 2a3, as good as I think it is and in fact would love to build again, will be in tough competition with the incredible EL-84. In either single-ended or push-pull, it is among my favorite output valves. I completely rebuilt an old 1959 push-pull Leak that uses them, and it is a killer amplifier. I love it almost as much as my tiny EL-84 integrated. Edited November 8, 2015 by erik2A3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Very cool. Looking forward to reading more impressions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 At the end of the day it really comes down to one's priorities, preferences, and so forth. I have never found myself aligned with instances on this and other audio forums where a member is told by others that he or she is wrong about what said he or she prefers as far as their chosen music reproducing machinery - that practice is nothing more than ludicrous. Amplifiers, just as many of the components used in their fabrication, can and do sound different. What makes one design "better" than another, at least as far as sonic attributes, is in my opinion most definitely related to the listener's/owner's/user's wishes and tastes as far as how they want the music they like in their listening space to sound. Of course there can be a consensus in groups about a preferred product (many of us really like Klipsch Heritage speakers), whether vacuum tubes, capacitors, resistors, inductors, amplifiers, crossovers, or guacamole. But what that consensus decides is limited to that group and certainly can't be applied universally as in something like "The five of us all thought Brand X (a great band IMO!) was by far the best of the bunch so it has to be the best for you too. I'm personally fine with a group consensus on something; it's the other part that doesn't work as well for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfbane Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Wolfbane, we have a set of TJ Fullmusic 211s in them. The original Chinese tubes were, to be frank, quite horrible. If I hadn't heard these amps with a pair of 1937 Amperex, I never would have purchased them. We only have the amp; I did not care for the pre at all. The TJ are a good blend of performance and economy; cheap enough to afford and yet good enough to be happy with the level of performance. The Amperex are superior - almost holographic- but their price is currently stratospheric as well. Bruce, one of these days you will be back and happen to be around St. Louis. We would love to host you for some good listening and food. My best sounding tube with the Opera Amps has been NOS RCA VT4-B's. Even the GE VT4-C's will improve the sound a lot from the TJ Full Music. Did the Yamamoto A08-S amp get into the mix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToolShedAmps Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 We had a few folks who had never really heard tube amps before So how did the "ToolShed" measure up ??? - Matt is building me a custom G6 now, paid for sight unseen... After a nice long session with my SS yesterday, those tubes have some serious competition!!! This inquiring mind is chomping at the bit My guess would be that you won't be disappointed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 We had a few folks who had never really heard tube amps before So how did the "ToolShed" measure up ??? - Matt is building me a custom G6 now, paid for sight unseen... After a nice long session with my SS yesterday, those tubes have some serious competition!!! This inquiring mind is chomping at the bit My guess would be that you won't be disappointed. where are you located at? you can't be too far if you went to an amp meet in st. louis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToolShedAmps Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 We had a few folks who had never really heard tube amps before So how did the "ToolShed" measure up ??? - Matt is building me a custom G6 now, paid for sight unseen... After a nice long session with my SS yesterday, those tubes have some serious competition!!! This inquiring mind is chomping at the bit My guess would be that you won't be disappointed. where are you located at? you can't be too far if you went to an amp meet in st. louis. A 'Burb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It WAS a nice drive, there and back in the same day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Matt, Matt is right. This is a journey, and every person has a favorite amp, favored topologies, and a favored speaker, or speakers, or a type of speakers. Same thing with varied brands of tubes. You never know what might lead you or catch your ear, but once you start down the rabbit hole, you soon realize you have entered a different world. The Genesis 6 has some stunning graphics, a great case, and was stocked with some real nice Teles, which is always a great base for any tube amp. The rest is up to you, getting your ears dialed in to what sounds best for you for your La Scalas. I know it sounded pretty tasty pretty tasty on the Model 19s, although I only caught two songs in the room while the Genesis was rolling. Matt and the kitchen gang were flexing the amp's muscles a little, so we mainly heard the bass bleeding through the closed door into the main rec room. Kudos to Matt for driving down for the afternoon from Milwaukee. I think he was a little stunned at the diversity, quality, and historical spread of what we had on display and in rotation for the gathering. It was a lot of fun watching it all unfold. The kitchen gang really enjoyed Mark and Matt's amps, so I think you will soon have a winner in your house. The other Mark brought a tube neophyte friend, so his Yamamoto stayed home. His friend fell in love with the Sun Audio integrated. Another fell in love with Mark's 6BG4 push pull amp. Willie fell in love with the IMF speakers. Adrian, our first chair violinist from the Bach Society, fell in love with a pair of Acoustic Zen 1m cables and took them home, and really loved the way the Ming Da preamp and the WE421 SET amp drove the IMFs. Dave loved the power the Opera Consonance 211s SET had to flog the RF7s. I really liked the jambalaya that Liam made. Everyone mowed through the cheeses that Ken brought, and the Schlafly beer growlers were emptied in a business like manner - with dispatch. Erik and Mike's amps stayed on the bench, as I didn't want them to be pawed at or dropped once the proceedings started getting frisky, and volumes levels crept up, and then went to well up for SET amps. Edited November 9, 2015 by sheltie dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Erik, one of the nicest sounding and most powerful sound for its meager 1-2 watt rating was an EL84 integrated by a fellow named Eddie Vaughn. I actually had it in my system years ago but being amp rich and dollar poor I returned to my friend who owned it. If I do see another pop up I will definitely add yet another to my collection. It was a stunningly good piece and I believe Eddie had to give up commercial amp building and return to the workforce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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