SET12 Posted August 30, 2006 Share Posted August 30, 2006 Well said Max! Thats as good of truth as it gets! I to have about the same experiance. I to have experianced Good and bad in it all! SS,PP,SET, To everyone each their own! We all have our own agenda's and our own form of bliss. Mine took years to find and thousands of dollars the last few have been the best with a Transmitting Tube SET two gain stages, source direct and Klipsch Forte's. SET12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SET12 Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 Well said Max! Thats as good of truth as it gets! I to have about the same experiance. I to have experianced Good and bad in it all! SS,PP,SET, To everyone each their own! We all have our own agenda's and our own form of bliss. Mine took years to find and thousands of dollars the last few have been the best with a Transmitting Tube SET two gain stages, source direct and Klipsch Forte's. SET12 Well people since this thread is about SET vs. old SS here is my fellow NEWAS member Forch's take on a vintage Mac vs. his 3 watt 2A3 Tulip SET equiped with Sophia 300B's that are designed to run with a 2A3 filament voltage. forch NEWAS Exhalted GURU **** I love YaBB 1G - SP1! View Profile Email Instant Message Gender: male Posts: 354 Re: August "Round Robin" Meeting « Reply #68 on: Today at 06:49:32 » Quote Quote Modify Modify SS vs. SET: Replaced the Tulip with the Mac MC2105 for a comparison. Mac performed much better than I had expected, with excellent treble (I had a smile on my face), imaging, and of course more meaty impact from the mid-bass on down. I tried all output taps (4, 8, and 16 ohm) from the autoformer and noticed about the same degree of changes I usually hear from my Tulip - more or less emphasis in certain areas, a slight gain change, but nothing to suggest one setting is better than another, just different flavorings which you can select based on your taste and system synergies. I used my Mapleshade cables to connect the Druids due to the fact that the Mac has barrier strip outputs. I also swapped in and out the Zu and Acoustic Zen interconnects. The listening was done with my Cary SLP98 preamp, so tubes were always in the signal path. The main difference that set apart the Tulip from the Mac was in the midrange - the area of male voices, saxes, gutsy organ and guitar riffs and the like. (As a side bar, I have not heard Rebecca Pidgeon sound as good with any other amp, but her voice is higher is in a higher frequency range that I am describing here.) The Mac tended to homogenize mids into the rest of the sound stage and did not make it as dimensional. It tended to sound like the edges of the instruments and voices were airbrushed into the rest of the soundfield rather than standing out in bold relief and taking a defined acoustic "shape" that I am accustomed to. I needed time to pick this airbrushing effect out. I think anyone who has not previously heard tubes would be very happy with the Mac because it does nothing wrong, but once you zero in your ears to this airbrushed effect, you loose some enthusiasm (mind) and emotion (soul) in the course of listening because you know you are missing an important ingredient of what makes music believable and real. Power really never entered the equation here - making it louder did not change the intrinsic character - it just made what was all ready there more apparent. Visually, when you airbrush something, bringing the picture closer to your eyes you begin to notice that it is too good - lost are the small innate (and natural "imperfections") that make each instrument and voice alive and unique. For some Klipsch owners using these types of amps, it probably makes it easier on the eyes (and ears). Using an analogy, fashion models look great when all made up and appear on the front cover of magazines or in advertisements, but remove their make-up or photograph them au naturale in the bright sun and you wonder if they are the same person. Take Kate Moss for example and you have an idea what I am getting at. I want the real woman, including the warts and blemishes - give me the whole shebang! You notice that I am not knocking the Mac, only telling you what I hear and what I like. The Mac is a good '70's amp and I would believe on par or better that the Pioneer and Yamaha receivers of that era that many in the Klipsch forum use. I can see their point in using these - ease of use, "retro-cool" (I'm part of the club: I own Marantz 2235B and 1060 vintage components) and plenty of power reserve for the hammer effect. I'd really like to hear the latest SS amps that are being raved about in the latest issue of Absolute Sound: Halcro, MBL, Classe' etc. to really see where the state of the art is at today. That would be a much better comparison, versus the vintage components most folks own (and can typically afford). I'd put my Tulip against those in a heartbeat - that's where the real challenge lies. Forch having fun...... « Last Edit: Today at 06:58:49 by forch » IP Logged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted September 8, 2006 Author Share Posted September 8, 2006 Phase II - Living with old SS - Fair and Balanced I have put my Wright SETs and phono EQ/preamp away and will listen exclusively to the Pioneer SA 6500 for the rest of this month. I have moved the LaScalas into the big room, given the Pioneer a through going over inside (you know, straightening crooked caps...), and set up the turntable on a modified elevation designed to handle louder music. It may take a few days of speaker placement adjustments and room treatment positioning (furniture, really) to get it all settled in. I intend this to be a dedicated, long term (3 weeks), exclusive audition to really live with this amp and give it a good honest listen. I'm going to play all the kinds of music I have and withhold comments or evaluation until the end of the month... see you then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Bravo Paul. I'm sure we'll all be interested in what you think at the end of the month. There's lots of great stuff out there, it just has to work together to sound good. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 So right you are, Bruce. And I'm looking forward to Paul's Pioneer review at the end of the month...should be a great read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Back to the original topic. I bought a Yamaha C1020 off of Ebay for my JBL L100's. What a great receiver. Nice fat bass and it just sounds ballsy, even at low volumes. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 As Paul Harvey says, "Stand by... for News!" Will report this evening, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Paul Harvey also pushes Bose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Better than pushing up daisies in the ol' bone yard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I have to be honest, if you fools don't know what Pink Floyd was doing before DSOM, your a bunch of A holes, mind you nothing personal. Oh, SS sucks my left nut, but I am smarter than you and subjective, so suck it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I have to be honest, if you fools don't know what Pink Floyd was doing before DSOM, your a bunch of A holes, mind you nothing personal. Oh, SS sucks my left nut, but I am smarter than you and subjective, so suck it. Rather on the harsh side...................[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I have a mouse named Gerald....he's getting kind of old, but he's a good mouse...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I have a mouse named Gerald....he's getting kind of old, but he's a good mouse...... I had a pet mouse once too. But my cat ate the mouse. I got upset and chased the cat around the living room with a broom. My dog got in the act and chased the cat and caught it.... and ate it. So I was really upset with the dog too. Because by proxy he also ate the mouse... [:@] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 where's the beef ...???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Will report this evening, That was last evening that you said that. Are you just ****teasing Old Buckster again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser SET say Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 All I can say is MAXG (I like MAXGAIN myself[]) or even Max the Great would fit as he has more experience than most of us put together and his open and honest answer is the most refreshing after 38 pages of total negativity either for or against this subject matter[:|] I think Max would make an awsome writer for any Stereo publication and one I'd subscribe to in a second[] This hobby is so subjective and individualistic it's not even a joke but what is funny is how most can't step back from their own personal view to see the broad picture that Max presented in his answer too 38 pages Bravo Max[{][}] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I have to be honest, if you fools don't know what Pink Floyd was doing before DSOM, your a bunch of A holes, mind you nothing personal. Oh, SS sucks my left nut, but I am smarter than you and subjective, so suck it. Rather on the harsh side...................[] Sorry just a little cranky. OT - I had a mouse that ate my cat. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NetMagi Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 OT - I had a mouse that ate my cat. Go figure. a moose once bit mi sister. though it was probably unrelated. . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I once got directions from an elf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 ELF ...?? I once did sound for a band named ELF...... Ronnie Dio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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