laurenc319 Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Hi all, I just purchased a pair of Wright WPA 3.5 Mono amps from a forum member, Coytee and they arrived Saturday. Coytee, btw, is a great person to deal with. We had a nice telephone conversation. That's one of the benefits of this forum that goes unpublished and certainly a plus for being a member here. Ok, having pp tube amps and a ss amp, I wanted to experience the set sound with my 1979 Cornwalls. I have a AES AE-3 preamp with upgraded caps and nos Sylvania 6SN7WGT's. The Wrights have nos RCA 5Y3's, Jan Phillips 6SN7GT's and RCA dual plate 2A3's. The Cornwalls are in a 30 x 20 foot room with a rugged floor and a tile ceiling. I've been listening to jazz. Patricia Barber... the cool album, Khan Jamal ... Passion Warrior album, Stanely Turrentine ..the Sugar album as well as assorted Davis and Coltrane. These amps btw are dead quite .. no audible hum, ... none. I was worried about the sound levels I be able to reach with the 3.5 watts of flea power. No problem at all. It will not shake the room, but I can play it LOUD with no problem, loud enough to sit in the next room an listen, loud enough to listen to it upstairs. BTW it sounds great out of the room. I have not tried rock or complex symphonic pieces, but on jazz this amp does not run out of steam. I was worried about the bass. The Light My Fire cut by Patrica Barber is loaded with bass. Well with these amps it's there and very real sounding and convincingly there. Yes the pp 80 watts of the Cary or 230 watts of the ss amp has more punch, but these amps are very capable in the lower end. The bass lines accompanying her vocals is right on. Ok let's push the amps and see what happens. Playing now is Enigma MCMXC a.D. cd, the last cut Back to the Rivers of Belief. It starts with a closely miked kick drum and some high percussion. The chimes, bells and tympani are amazing. Each is a succinct PING, not PPing or a PINGG, just a PING. The male voice is well displayed,quite separated and nicely imaged against the driving kick drum and high percussion. the driving bass line lacks some punch ... no wall shaking here, need more watts for that, but the fundamental sound is there. I was not worried about the highs or mids and had no need to be. It's there in spades. Female voice, male voice, piano, sax, all of it is there precisely defined, no mush, no midrange bloom . Each instrument is separated from the other and imaged from left to right and front to back in an amazing manner. No hole between the speakers ( placed 10 feet apart) at all. It's just there just like it should be. If you get the idea I like the Wright's your right. I like them a lot. I also like my other amps a lot. I've used the Cary SLI-80 in the 50 watt Triode mode for about 3 weeks, the Soundcraftsman ss with the AES pre and a ss preamp for about a week and the EICO HF-81 for 3 days before I hooked these up to the Cornwalls. They all sound different. The ss amp with the tube pre is going to be placed with the B&W's, the Cornwalls don't need the power. The ss can play loud, very very loud with gut shaking bass. It does not image as well and the mids and highs are shrill on the Cornwalls. The EICO Hf-81 is a great old Williamson design 14 watt pp EL-84 amp which shows itself very well. I have no criticisms of it. Compared to the Wrights is has a little more bass. The mids and highs are not as well defined and a little softer. But all in all it has a first class sound, very sweet and inviting and easy to listen to. The Cary in the triode mode is great. It has the power to control the 15" woofers and give back slamming bass while at the same time having a glorious midrange and etched highs. Compared to the Wright's the the highs are a touch, just a touch less well defined and slightly rolled off. The major difference between the two is imaging. The Wright seems to have greater front to back depth. I know there are strong opinions about SETs on this forum. To the pros... I agree with you. To the cons.. while SET amps do have some shortcomings ( bass slam, high volume) the advantages of SETS ( mids, highs, imaging) are hard to deny, You can get an idea about them from reading this forum, but to any who is wondering what they are all about you need to listen to them and find out for yourself. Larry ps: does any one have experience with Sophia Electric Princess 300b 2.5 volt Mesh Plates for 2a3 amps ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Congrats on the Wright's. They are sweet little amps that have impressed me with their sound. Pretty amazing for 3.5 wpc. I haven't heard the Sophia tubes, but in my experience with the Wrights I tried out some very nice AVVT mesh plates and TJ Mesh plates. The AVVT tubes are quite awesome sounding and looking tubes. Overall, however for all kinds of music I never found a better combination than the RCA 2A3 and Sylvania Chrome dome 6sN7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Glad you like them. Used within its capabilities SET is a great way to go. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Larry, I hope you enjoy your SETup as much as I did. I sold the Wrights to Richard because I needed money to buy a pair of KHorns. I also had a modded AES and Cornwalls. Last night I was thinking about sending Richard an email asking him if he wanted to sell them back. Darn it. I want to hear a pair of SET's on KHorns. I know you are rocking, because I also like the Wrights. They never let me down. They could handle any type of music I put on the CD player. I am using a pair of VRD's now, but someday soon I am hoping to get another pair of Wrights. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 His Mono 10s (PP 2A3 maps) look pretty nice. Not too pricey either. I'm sure not as nice as the JFL PP2A3 that Tony has though. It's kind of a one-off. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Danny, I've got a pair (and a spare) of Wright's. Have listed them for sale on the forum a few months back. Havn't yet got a digital camera for pics to post on Audiogon, so haven't gotten that done yet. Shoot me an e-mail or PM if you'd be interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritageBob Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 You should try some Sovtek 2a3's in the Wrights if you havent already. They are the tubes that George Wright sells them with originally in the amps. I had a pair of Wrights over a year ago with NOS Sylvanias and Sovtek 2a3 tubes. I really liked the Sovteks more, and the reason being is that they are designed to run at a higher wattage if the amp is designed that way....and the Wrights ARE designed to take advantage of this. End effect is that you get about 2 more watts a side and it is definitely audible in the bass department with them. They are pretty cheap also I believe. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 [:$] Seems I've caused a racus. Larry... if I knew you'd like them so much, they'd been $4,000 more Danny, ... well... had I known that... I might have mandated a swap with one of your OTHER prized posessions... (insert sneaky slimey blackmail laugh here) BUT... seems I might have my hiney saved by Daddy Dee...It was HIS crappy SE-OTL's that I got stuck with [] I just kept finding myself going back to those as did the wife. I think we can blame this whole fiasco on him? (tis my story & I'm sticking with it) PS: I just ended up borrowing them from Danny as I gave them to Larry for the same $$ I had in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Hmm ... between Larry, Danny & myself, I'm not sure who has the cutest dog... I might be biased. Mine (Otis) was found after the wife had a dream "Richard... I dreamed we got a new dog and his name was Otis" We found him at the shelter and he ended up with Parvo (hence the picture). He survived Parvo and last winter, came down with Blasto Mycosis... He survivied blasto and since then, we've received another dog (puppy dumped off by some idiot on side of road) Chloe & Otis are now inseperable (Chloe is an American Eskimo and frisky as all get out) We're dog rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 You should try some Sovtek 2a3's in the Wrights if you havent already Bob, he has a pair of them included in the package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Richard, That is so good of you to sell them for what you had in them. Larry you did good. This is the reason I don't sell stuff on Audiogon. I try and keep it in the family. The speakers sound as good as they look. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Thanks Danny. Had I been able to get more, I would not have felt 'right'. Besides, I DID add one single scratch to them (oops). That all said, if you ever want to get rid of your crappy speakers, I have (or will MAKE) some crappy corners for them and might plug them into my crappy amp(s). [6] [6] [6] [6] [6] [6] [6] [6] [6] [6] [6] I might even pay some crappy dollars for them... after all, they ARE used right? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted October 10, 2005 Author Share Posted October 10, 2005 hi, Max thinks the other two dogs are good lookers. Max has a brother Gus. Both Bernese Mountain Dogs. A great breed, big and lovable. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Congratulations! Those little Wright amps have great big hearts in them, and they are superb 2A3 amps. I had a pair here for a few weeks (for a modification I instsalled) and enjoyed every minute! Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenc319 Posted October 10, 2005 Author Share Posted October 10, 2005 Hi, Just curious ,,,, what kind of mod ? Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 As recommended multiply above, do try the Sovteks! The 3.5 was designed for them. They are just about the cheapest 2A3 out there. I have tried more expensive 2A3 (but not old RCA) and the Sovteks rule! Cornwalls and Wright SETs should sound fantastic. Glad you got there! Listen to a cello concerto and be prepared for reality! Listen to old ZZ Top and be prepared for a miracle! Listen to close group jazz combos and be prepared to spend money on more jazz! Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Yeh, I'd throw in my $.02 on the Sovteks. They are very reasonably priced and they are the closest sounding current manufactured tube to the RCA. I doubt if very many people could tell the difference in sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 Yeh, I'd throw in my $.02 on the Sovteks. They are very reasonably priced and they are the closest sounding current manufactured tube to the RCA. I doubt if very many people could tell the difference in sound. Dee, No doubt the Sovtek is reasonably priced, and can take the doses of additional voltage to squeeze out an addition 2 watts per channel. However, there are differences which may not stand out to someone who does not listen to a 2A3 everyday, but the vintage RCA blackplate floats my boat best, and worth the additional dollars. This may not be the case for everyone. Oddly, but based on my experience, the Sovtek approaches the sound of the RCA "only" when driven with the additional voltage, which most 2A3 amps do not. The additional good news, vintage RCA blackplates are nowhere near the cost of vintage 300B's, and have a long life. Larry, I hope you enjoy your 2A3 SET monoblocks. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 Coytee: What I did would really be more accurately described as sort of an 'exchange.' We had contemplated a couple of possibilities that have worked well on other 2A3 amps, but I found I liked the sound of the original design so much that I thought it best to just leave things as they were. However, I did install a better quality high voltage filter cap (JJ Electronics), which also IMO improved the overall appearance of the amplifier. A drastic improvement in the sound was not expected for intended. Hope that helps, Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Well, I never tried those Sovteks in the Wrights, but I remember that when I tried AVVTs I was first very much taken with them. They seemed to throw an even bigger soundtstage and at frequency ends they were perhaps even more extended. Well, the unexpected surprise came after living with that combo for a few months. I noticed I was getting less and less pulled into the music and for the fun of it I replaced the AVVTs with a pair of used Sylvanias......and bingo!.... the old 'magic' was back. Somehow the old tubes seemed to be tonally more convincing. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> At the time I began to suspect that those modern tubes tend to be lacking in terms of midrange 'bloom'......and I am beginning to ask myself if the same isn't true for the 45s I using right now in the DRDs. Again going back from the solid plate EMLs to a pair of Sylvanias has created a similar (first) reaction. It will be interesting if longer periods of using those old 45 tubes again will support this initial impression.Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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