Everything must go!

[Deang]

Dammit.

[BigBusa]

hey dean what ya asking for the gear?

[mobile homeless]

I actually dont even believe this... Are you kidding? Seriously. I have not gone to AudiogoN yet but tell me this is a Dean-O gag?

Klipsch freaks, if he IS serious, I think the preamp is a GREAT buy with these tubes. IF he would throw in shipping for that price, more power to him! This preamp is surely a great deal for anyone in need and it has room for mods and part switching to experiment. It's tube rectified and has A LOT goinf for it. I would ****** it up in a minute as he is IN the USA! Again, great piece.

I still cant believe Dean is seriously doing this yet again, however. Lord. Times are hard ...

Dean, this preamp was so cheap, why not KEEP it? It will cost more to replace it. 500 is nothing in the grand scheme of things. It is the ONE THING I would keep.

kh

[sunnysal]

he's not kidding! the stuff IS on audiogon. jeez dean! you will take a bath on this stuff and pay double to get it back! I don't want to rub it in, but is there no way to sell other stuff or take a loan out. the value proposition makes no sense here, short term small gain against mid term large loss. tony

[mobile homeless]

I totally agree with Tony, especially regarding the preamp (the Moore gear is high dollar and understandable - besides, I think you could do better for less). As for the little pre, it is an unwise move and makes no sense. You have never thought too long on any of your audio decisions since I have known you. I recommend thinking an extra few seconds here...

kh

[Deang]

Kelly,

Wanna buy a nice gun?

"You have never thought too long on any of your audio decisions since I have known you."

You're loonier than I am, and evidently have a very bad case of CRS.

[mobile homeless]

Well, perhaps you have thought longer on some and far less on others. On the whole, I see rash decisions. Give it an extra few seconds here. This one is not a wise move. You could sell the Moore pieces, and buy a cheap more cost conscious, bargain amp. WE both know plenty abound. Put the money toward the car loan and down payment.

kh

[mobile homeless]

Perhaps. Yet, the debt will come the next time around when there will be 12 EMIT Infinity speakers, sets of OTL monoblocks, a pair of VW Van record players, and about $300 worth of film/foil caps. Some things make more sense than others, hobby or not. For a moment, I thought Dean had made a "last purchase for a long time" buy with his last foray. AT least, that is what he told me at first (I knew he was lying...). I think that would save more money than two Saturns put together! heh...

kh

EDIT: Ole Dean-O! You removed the post! heh... I love ole Dean-O.

[AnalOg]

CRS=Cash Reserve Shortage?

I know, you want to try a whole new audio setup, figure sell it all, see what you have to work with and start all over again. BRILLIANT idea.

Tom

[garymd]

Dean,

What are you selling? Maybe some here could put it on layaway for you. I may be willing depending on what you're selling.

[Deang]

CRS = Can't Remember Sh!t

Gee Tom, what an excellent idea.

Hey folks, I didn't pay retail for the gear, and I rarely if ever lose money with this stuff.

[AnalOg]

These comments are with the assumption Dean is dumping the Moore gear.

Reading Deans threads about the Pre/Amp combo he did'nt sound short of thrilled with this setup. I don't find it surprising that it on its way out. Priorities take presidence, especially if your not happy with the current outcome, otherwise you would find a way to work around it. JMTS!

Tom

[mobile homeless]

Sadly, the difference between the $100 cap and the $10 one is sometimes plainly evident, even though you dont want it to be. On the other hand, you can choose not to play in that area at all, instead siding with quality gear at a bargain that pleases up to the 85% level, thereby (perhaps), allowing one to listen to the MUSIC again and not the system.

On the other hand, once you go there, it is hard as hell to come back. I hear a modified quality PP EL-34 triode amp now and go, "ho-hum". Sometimes I wish it wasnt so. I am going to try that solution as a second system run ONE more time yet again, with another round of mods to an EL-34 amp I own. It's cheap, already paid for long ago, and sitting in a closet.

Unfortunately, I sort of know the outcome. Where is the iPOD when you need it!? heh...

kh

[Deang]

If I hit the lotto this week, there would still not be $100,000 speakers in my house. There is just something in me that will not allow for that type of extravegance.

I didn't wax poetic about the Moore gear for a couple of reasons:

1) I expected it to drop my jaw, and it didn't. I had less than $1000 in the Quicksilvers, and when you go from $1000 to $2500 in amplification -- there are huge expectations. Subjectively better sound? Yes. Substantially "better" sound? No. So, it was a bit of a let down because I expected perfection. Idiot me. I'll say this -- my respect and admiration for Mike Sanders went up ten-fold after I got the Dual 70. I'm no expert here with gear, but I'm not sure if there is anyone who gives a better price/performance ratio than Quicksilver.

The gear did take a good leap forward when I yanked all of the JAN Philips 6922's and replaced them with Amperex 7308's. I didn't realize how bad the JAN Philips were until Craig sent me some Amperex Orange Globes for the Companion -- it was a nice step up. I just got done filling up the Dual 70 the White Label 7308's I ordered, and finally felt I was nearing the performance I had originally expected. This gear seems to very sensitive and responsive to changes.

2) "Waxing poetic" is ...well...stupid. You change this, you change that -- you hear the changes for" better" for "worse". I just feel like you get to a certain level, and it's more like lateral shifts than anything else. More of this, less of that, etc. Most of the stuff used by the 2-Channel Crew is good stuff, and I bet it all sounds good. From now on, my reviews are going to be one of two words: Happy or unhappy. What the hell else matters (unless someone is really curious and wants more detail, but I think most could care less).

I really like this gear, and I suppose I will go home tonight and have a talk with Deb about options. However, I prefer to do the practical and right thing. Like Mark said, it's only freaking stereo equipment. What, are we slaves to this stuff?

[mobile homeless]

A good call on the JAN Philips 6922. I dont like hardly ANY of the JAN Philips tubes. I have a quad of JAN Philips 5814a in my EL-34 amp. People rave. I have had these tubes in many applications from vintage to modern takes on vintage. They are more than pedestrian to me. The 6922 were more of the same comparitively.

As for the reaction to the Bruce Moore, I am not surprised at all. When you say you are moving sideways, you really ARE. You keep getting PP EL-34/KT88 ultralinear and/or triode amps. Are they that different? Give and take some differences, not as much per say, ESPECIALLY if listening to metal at high volume. They have a characteristic sound to me, some better at it than others. Take an ok ultralinear EL-34 amps with half way good iron and it will sound a lot like another EL-34 amp with ok iron. There are only so many ways to skin a 30-50 watt push-pull cat! And you have found out the skin aint that different, Cheech.

kh

[AnalOg]

Dean,

Do yourself a favor, Get a pair of Dynaco MarkIII's of ebay, rebuild them yourself for the reward and gradification factor, (if I can do it anyone can), cost performance is amazing, you can run your favorite EL34's up too the KT88's, when the units are modded correctly, you will never look back. To my ears they offer the best of both worlds especially in triode mode. Just a suggestion.

Tom

[mobile homeless]

I think think a good pair of Quicksilver Monoblocks, model chosen carefully, will give the Dynaco a run for their money and more. Dean is right in that the Quicksilvers are VERY good for the money, and dont take a ton of mods (although a few help). One thing I do like about the Dynacos are the tube recitifiers.

But I will say that a pair of EICO HF-35/HF-50/HF-60 will sort of put it in perspective. I think a modified EICO HF-35 would best the Dynaco Mk III. OF course, we are running on conjecture here but those damn EICOs were EXCELLENT, if more UGLY. The HF-60 has the ACROSOUND TO-330 trans...

Something like below would give the Mk III something to think about on the rock plane... I recommended this pair to DeanO months before he even bought his 60s. Still, to be honest, I wouldnt want them on horns...

kh

[Deang]

Hell Tom, I may have to build my own amp.

Now Kelly, are you trying to tell me that a KT-88 PP amp with 50 parts sounds pretty much the same as one with 200? I guess it depends on how we define "pretty much the same". Do all 2A3 SET amps "sound pretty much the same"? This is an honest question, because if so -- then the Wright's are probably great little amps.

[Deang]

Why wouldn't you want the something like the Silver 90's on horns? Excessive power aside, it should still sound very good.

BTW -- I listened to The Guess Who last night. Love that 60's "metal".

[mobile homeless]

Nope. Not exactly the same, just as I said before. There will be differnces. I thought the Bruce Moore purchase made NO SENSE considering what you had already. I still do.

But comparing SET amps is a bit different, as you might have seen if you have been reading all the posts lately. As Jeff and I said, among others, SET amplifiers REALLY DO rely more on the quality of OUTPUT iron, as well as the parts involved. The Wrights are great for the money and I think have excellent quality. But the iron and parts DO really weigh in moer with the single-ended amps, especialyl those relying on air-gapped iron. The Parafeed solution is a whole other ballgame too, but the differences in the iron's material brings BIG differences in sonics (cobalt vs Permalloy).

I think the Wrights give you a large portion of the quality SET sound. I DONT think the rights like to be pushed or surive pushing as well some others. Still, within their limits, they are great amps. The Moondogs parts and build bring a quieter background and more extension in the bottom. Still, I like the Wrights.

Enter something like the Bottlehead Paramours. These are TOTALLY built to a price point. The iron in these beats is simply not on the same playing field per say. Still, GREAT for the ducats if you know where they stand.

Yes, I do think there aer differences in all amps, but some topologies reveal more than others. And moving from ok UL PP EL-34 amp to EL-34 amp still yeilds that sound. But some ARE MORE REFINED than others.

I think you haev found a bit of this out via your own experiments. Still, more differences would have been noticable if you added some different kinds of music (and listening conditions) in the mix, a weak point in ascertaining the diff in this gear, in my view.

kh

ps - I wouldnt call the Guess Who metal at all... Neither would I call Led Zeppelin metal either. I loved the 60-70s hard rock and have many, many records to show for it. I think this stuff sounds so disappointing via digital, at least compared to the good analog. That stuff was made for the amps above when in party mode. Why not on horns you ask? Well, ultiamtely they just arent as refined sounding to me and more grainy than I desire. That is, unless listening at party levels while drunk off my ***! LOVE ALL AROUND at that level!