Upgraded VRDS Sale SOLD

[A1UC]

I have only had a few minutes to listen and I have to go back to work. Up to this point they sound Extremely >>>> all of the wonderful adjectives you care to inject! ME LIKEY!!!!

Thanks everyone for you sage advise!

Awesome enjoy them aren't they beautiful

[paul79]

Ya, Rodney really screwed up selling them things....................... Consider yourself a very lucky man to have those amps.

[Schu]

List them here when you get tired of them...

[Woofers and Tweeters]

Congrats to you both. 

[eth2]

Now you need the tubes.

[2Bmusic]

Writing up my impression...

Should be done by 8pm central time

Site was down .... So i have time to add a few more thoughts

[2Bmusic]

eth2, on 05 May 2016 - 08:07 AM, said:

Now you need the tubes.

                ***** SO HOW GOOD ARE THE NOS VALVE TRIO******  (?) OR HOW WELL DOES MY SET-UP HONOR PWK? 

 

 

I have great tubes in a three amps.  I listened for a while after work last night. It was Damn hard to stop,and go to bed knowing I had to get up for work in am. I would say the NOS VALVES pre and amps bring the search for truly amazing sound to an end. What comes out is as good as it is going to get when considering what is going in. A lot people do not know,  but a great deal of the music we listen to, was laid down in tracks.  This does not sound as good as recording the music as a whole... well..... this is what I was told anyway.  Be that as it is, I can certainly hear a difference between a master recorded LP and regular.  ALSO, it is amazing how some music on the same iTunes album will differ.  It could be due to any number of things.  

 

SO WHAT... it does not matter!   The sound coming from the Khorns, is beyond ANY SYSTEM I HAVE HEARD regardless of price.

( I listened to 3 different sets of Khorns, 2 Jubilees, Martin Logan, Magnepans, B&W's, SONOS   etc etc. up to $150,000 ) THE $150,000 one sounded the worst!  That was so disappointing! I figured that if I spend 150,000 I still won't have the sound my Snells made...      

 

THIS IS HOW GOOD MY SYSTEM IS:

 1.) IF Chuck Norris was into music like YANI...  this would be his world title win!   LOL

 

 2.)Seriously…. in the early 80’s,  and since I wrote my final paper on Khorns and Music reproduction to graduate from  Electronics University...I WANTED  to own a top shelf 2 channel system.  I looked for about a year.  In those days, HIFI was a big deal. ( today not so much). I finally found a system that sounded amazing. It was a pair of Peter SNells' finest powered by Yamaha M series amp and pre.  The entire system with B&O 4004 was around $9,000.  I had a hard time convincing the wife because our  first home did not cost much more than that. ( not a fancy home, but a good one).  You could buy a nice car for $2,000 in those days.  I could not bring myself to go to the bank and ask to borrow 9 large and then tell him it was for a stereo system. ( BTW a top shelf system from Radio shack, Macy's etc... the stuff was from pioneer... could set you back $1,000) .

 

 

One day while in the listening room  ( of my favorite audio store) I turn around and this diminutive size man sitting in the sweet spot chair.  The Sales clerk fires up the system I had come to listen to all those many times.  I thought this is cool. I am not the only crazy guy that likes great music.  I left the room so he could enjoy.  To be honest I am kind of choking up as I type this.  He was in there for at least 30 minutes and I had to go listen to my system just one more time. I asked the owner of the store and he said sure. Just don't say anything or make any noise.  He then told me,"don't you know who that is"? NO is said.  He said ok.   I did not press the issue plus I was running out of time.  Upon entering the room I noticed him wiping his face. He was slightly weeping.  I said to my self, damn I know "MY" stereo sounds good but that is amazing. 

I left the man to his bliss and told the owner I will come back later.  THEN the store owner said I can not believe you did not ask me who he is.  I told him it seems as though I had seen his face before, but could not place him.  He said that is the Conductor of the NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC!   WOW  WOW   WOW!  Then he said he flew down here to listen and buy the system if he liked it.  I thought, hell, he is in there crying I guess he likes it.   I asked how long to get another one like that. He said 2 months to never as he was not sure if he could gather together that exact setup.  I wrote the check then and there and enjoyed wonderful music for about the next 15 years. Life, kids, housing got in the way and  my beloved system got listened to less and less.  Finances caused me to sell it all at fire-sale prices. A DECISION I still regret......THAT IS UP UNTIL NOW!!!!    WHY, because my 30 yr old khorns, and NOS VALVES kick those snell's into the bin of good memories and this is the NEW STANDARD!   Seriously, the music comes out like a tidal wave, and if it were the sounds of crashing waves, I feel certain I would be able to feel, smell and taste the Salt!  

 

Thank you once again to all who made this possible!

[A1UC]

 

eth2, on 05 May 2016 - 08:07 AM, said:

Now you need the tubes.

                ***** SO HOW GOOD ARE THE NOS VALVE TRIO******  (?) OR HOW WELL DOES MY SET-UP HONOR PWK? 

 

 

I have great tubes in a three amps.  I listened for a while after work last night. It was Damn hard to stop,and go to bed knowing I had to get up for work in am. I would say the NOS VALVES pre and amps bring the search for truly amazing sound to an end. What comes out is as good as it is going to get when considering what is going in. A lot people do not know,  but a great deal of the music we listen to, was laid down in tracks.  This does not sound as good as recording the music as a whole... well..... this is what I was told anyway.  Be that as it is, I can certainly hear a difference between a master recorded LP and regular.  ALSO, it is amazing how some music on the same iTunes album will differ.  It could be due to any number of things.  

 

SO WHAT... it does not matter!   The sound coming from the Khorns, is beyond ANY SYSTEM I HAVE HEARD regardless of price.

( I listened to 3 different sets of Khorns, 2 Jubilees, Martin Logan, Magnepans, B&W's, SONOS   etc etc. up to $150,000 ) THE $150,000 one sounded the worst!  That was so disappointing! I figured that if I spend 150,000 I still won't have the sound my Snells made...      

 

THIS IS HOW GOOD MY SYSTEM IS:

 1.) IF Chuck Norris was into music like YANI...  this would be his world title win!   LOL

 

 2.)Seriously…. in the early 80’s,  and since I wrote my final paper on Khorns and Music reproduction to graduate from  Electronics University...I WANTED  to own a top shelf 2 channel system.  I looked for about a year.  In those days, HIFI was a big deal. ( today not so much). I finally found a system that sounded amazing. It was a pair of Peter SNells' finest powered by Yamaha M series amp and pre.  The entire system with B&O 4004 was around $9,000.  I had a hard time convincing the wife because our  first home did not cost much more than that. ( not a fancy home, but a good one).  You could buy a nice car for $2,000 in those days.  I could not bring myself to go to the bank and ask to borrow 9 large and then tell him it was for a stereo system. ( BTW a top shelf system from Radio shack, Macy's etc... the stuff was from pioneer... could set you back $1,000) .

 

 

One day while in the listening room  ( of my favorite audio store) I turn around and this diminutive size man sitting in the sweet spot chair.  The Sales clerk fires up the system I had come to listen to all those many times.  I thought this is cool. I am not the only crazy guy that likes great music.  I left the room so he could enjoy.  To be honest I am kind of choking up as I type this.  He was in there for at least 30 minutes and I had to go listen to my system just one more time. I asked the owner of the store and he said sure. Just don't say anything or make any noise.  He then told me,"don't you know who that is"? NO is said.  He said ok.   I did not press the issue plus I was running out of time.  Upon entering the room I noticed him wiping his face. He was slightly weeping.  I said to my self, damn I know "MY" stereo sounds good but that is amazing. 

I left the man to his bliss and told the owner I will come back later.  THEN the store owner said I can not believe you did not ask me who he is.  I told him it seems as though I had seen his face before, but could not place him.  He said that is the Conductor of the NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC!   WOW  WOW   WOW!  Then he said he flew down here to listen and buy the system if he liked it.  I thought, hell, he is in there crying I guess he likes it.   I asked how long to get another one like that. He said 2 months to never as he was not sure if he could gather together that exact setup.  I wrote the check then and there and enjoyed wonderful music for about the next 15 years. Life, kids, housing got in the way and  my beloved system got listened to less and less.  Finances caused me to sell it all at fire-sale prices. A DECISION I still regret......THAT IS UP UNTIL NOW!!!!    WHY, because my 30 yr old khorns, and NOS VALVES kick those snell's into the bin of good memories and this is the NEW STANDARD!   Seriously, the music comes out like a tidal wave, and if it were the sounds of crashing waves, I feel certain I would be able to feel, smell and taste the Salt!  

 

Thank you once again to all who made this possible!

 

I'm happy for you , wish you lived closer Id love to hear your setup .     14 h 58 min   away

Edited May 6, 2016 by A1UC

[Breakdown7]

Impressive review. Wow! Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us. I enjoyed reading this. Enjoy your new system :-) I would love to hear it.

[paul79]

The NOS Valves gear is no joke. I have heard many amps and preamps, and these leave nothing to want really. They are that damn good. A few people really hate on Craig and his products, but to experience them personally is really something. I had a friend hear my system recently, someone that sets up turntables all over the world in world class systems, and he told me that my system is the most emotional sounding system he has ever experienced. I completely agree.

 

If you want some primo tubes to put in this gear, let me know, and I can hook you up. Nice write up. Enjoy!!

[Discgolfer123]

"I love it when a plan comes together" def take you up on the listen one of these days!

[muel]

Congrats 2B!  

[2Bmusic]

Of course all are welcome in my home. If time allows I can cook like few people can. It will be an auditory and gastronomic extravaganza !

 

I believe Music and Math define the universe as we know it.    Truly Great & Complete sound defines it best!

[2Bmusic]

The NOS Valves gear is no joke. I have heard many amps and preamps, and these leave nothing to want really. They are that damn good. A few people really hate on Craig and his products, but to experience them personally is really something. I had a friend hear my system recently, someone that sets up turntables all over the world in world class systems, and he told me that my system is the most emotional sounding system he has ever experienced. I completely agree.

 

If you want some primo tubes to put in this gear, let me know, and I can hook you up. Nice write up. Enjoy!!

YES I WILL IN TIME!

[2Bmusic]

"I love it when a plan comes together" def take you up on the listen one of these days!

bring that oppo !

[2Bmusic]

FYI, and YMMV ( for sure)  .... but i was trying some different interconnects. I tried the Audio Quest "BIG SUR" compared to these http://www.amazon.com/3-28-feet-meter-Better-Cables/dp/B003UT5GP2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01

 

The BIG SUR sounded like mud through a straw!   AMAZING!   So if your sound is questionable and not full at low volume the better cables are very very good!

Edited May 6, 2016 by 2Bmusic

[Fjd]

These amps have more staying power in my system than anything else. The Magnequest upgrade takes these to a place where only the best amplifiers dwell. No joke.

 

 

I've used MagneQuest transformers on a few projects (DS-025, FS-030, TFA-2004 Jr with Cobalt/M4 pinstripe laminations and one of the EX models with nickel laminations) and a few of the Electra-print transformers (including a pair of 5K 8ohm air gapped silver winding transformers that I picked up on the secondary market cheap and have now re-purposed for my build of Maynard's Little Sweetie mono blocks); and have come to believe that with tube amplifiers, there seems to be huge dividends in buying the best transformers that I can afford.

 

I need to see where I can raise some cash for the MagneQuest upgrade on my VRDs.  I'm curious if Craig is using the S-271-A or a model not listed on the MagneQuest site?

 

 

 

 

Sold getting shipped today to 2Bmusic  Enjoy

 

Thank you so very much!  I will enjoy.  Do you think I need to check/adjust the bias?

 

 

 

 

Congratulations on purchasing the VRD mono block amplifiers.  I haven't been online for several weeks due to some fairly extreme work commitments (that has another week or two to run its course) and the last time was around when you were having issues with matching the preamplifier that output less than 2V to the horn monos that required the 6V input.

 

 

 

 

 

eth2, on 05 May 2016 - 08:07 AM, said:

Now you need the tubes.

                ***** SO HOW GOOD ARE THE NOS VALVE TRIO******  (?) OR HOW WELL DOES MY SET-UP HONOR PWK? 

 

 

I have great tubes in a three amps.  I listened for a while after work last night. It was Damn hard to stop,and go to bed knowing I had to get up for work in am. I would say the NOS VALVES pre and amps bring the search for truly amazing sound to an end.

Thank you once again to all who made this possible!

 

 

I'm happy for you , wish you lived closer Id love to hear your setup .     14 h 58 min   away

 

 

 

Wow, I thought your NOS Valves preamplifier was already gone, but it looks like 2Bmusic found a NOS Valves preamplifier to go along with the VRDs?  

 

Now that he has the amplifiers, all that is left is to add some bling. Of course, gold plating similar to this pair may just need to be the next upgrade he makes.

 

 

[2Bmusic]

 

These amps have more staying power in my system than anything else. The Magnequest upgrade takes these to a place where only the best amplifiers dwell. No joke.

 

 

I've used MagneQuest transformers on a few projects (DS-025, FS-030, TFA-2004 Jr with Cobalt/M4 pinstripe laminations and one of the EX models with nickel laminations) and a few of the Electra-print transformers (including a pair of 5K 8ohm air gapped silver winding transformers that I picked up on the secondary market cheap and have now re-purposed for my build of Maynard's Little Sweetie mono blocks); and have come to believe that with tube amplifiers, there seems to be huge dividends in buying the best transformers that I can afford.

 

I need to see where I can raise some cash for the MagneQuest upgrade on my VRDs.  I'm curious if Craig is using the S-271-A or a model not listed on the MagneQuest site?

 

 

 

 

Sold getting shipped today to 2Bmusic  Enjoy

 

Thank you so very much!  I will enjoy.  Do you think I need to check/adjust the bias?

 

 

 

 

Congratulations on purchasing the VRD mono block amplifiers.  I haven't been online for several weeks due to some fairly extreme work commitments (that has another week or two to run its course) and the last time was around when you were having issues with matching the preamplifier that output less than 2V to the horn monos that required the 6V input.

 

 

 

 

 

eth2, on 05 May 2016 - 08:07 AM, said:

Now you need the tubes.

                ***** SO HOW GOOD ARE THE NOS VALVE TRIO******  (?) OR HOW WELL DOES MY SET-UP HONOR PWK? 

 

 

I have great tubes in a three amps.  I listened for a while after work last night. It was Damn hard to stop,and go to bed knowing I had to get up for work in am. I would say the NOS VALVES pre and amps bring the search for truly amazing sound to an end.

Thank you once again to all who made this possible!

 

 

I'm happy for you , wish you lived closer Id love to hear your setup .     14 h 58 min   away

 

 

 

Wow, I thought your NOS Valves preamplifier was already gone, but it looks like 2Bmusic found a NOS Valves preamplifier to go along with the VRDs?  

 

Now that he has the amplifiers, all that is left is to add some bling. Of course, gold plating similar to this pair may just need to be the next upgrade he makes.

 

 

 

They look something from a James Bond flick!   Very nice!   As you know my amps were built with COST NO ISSUE attitude!  I often listen with lights down low and just see the glow from the tubes.  They bling in the sound department!   BUT YES YOURS do look amazing!

 

I got the pre from 

Discgolfer123.  did the late night 8 hr drive to get them!   TIM WAS AWESOME in his help with this!

Edited May 6, 2016 by 2Bmusic

[paul79]

As I understand it, the new output trafos were a collaborative effort between him and Mr Magnequest. I'll say that whatever recipe they dreamed up WORKS!

[Fjd]

 

They like something from a James Bond flick!   Very nice!   As you know my amps were built with COST NO ISSUE attitude!  I often listen with lights down low and just see the glow from the tubes.  They bling in the sound department!   BUT YES YOURS do look amazing!

 

 

 

I got the pre from 

Discgolfer123.  did the late night 8 hr drive to get them!   TIM WAS AWESOME in his help with this!

 

 

 

 

One clarification is in order.  The actual gold plated pair belong to another forum member and is something that I think really looks cool with the gold plating and cocobolo wood used on the base.  I didn't have gold in the budget and decided I liked USNRET's "black liquid gold" plating when he put his VRDs up for sale.