Hi Doug, Do you have any pictures of your system? I think it would help myself and others when we read your responses as to a reference to what you are listening to. Also what are you sound reproduction goals?
Bob
Bob
What Makes a Good RIAA or Line Stage?
... the Alaap has the best power supplies I've heard in any tube preamp. This is (in my admittedly unqualified opinion) a major reason why it outplayed Dan's Rhea/Calypso, which sounded starved at dynamic peaks by comparison.
Hi Raul, Indeed, holistic thinking is required - both in life and in hi-fi. As you well know from how long it took you to get the Essential to this high level of performance, thinking holistically can drive you crazy as the circuit gets more complicated. Not that the goal cannot be achieved, as you've demonstrated with the Essential, but the problem certainly becomes exponentially more challenging with each feature (or circuit block) you add. I'd love to hear other designers' comments ... To Doug ... a bit of embarrassment brings a rosy glow to your cheeks (grin). Cheers, Thom @ Galibier |
Bob, Thanks for your interest. I've been promising to post photos for years, so your nudge was well and truly due. Soon, soon... I described our musical and sonic goals on our system page in this post: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1051822874&openflup&65&4#65. They haven't changed. It's worth emphasizing that we are not big rock listeners. Many people find the resolution, transparency and neutrality of the sound we're seeking ill-suited to rock. We are constantly seeking ways to reduce artificially added "glue". Bloating or leading edge gentling from a component may help heavily mixed recordings sound more enjoyable, but they also make acoustic instruments and voices sound slow, congealed, larger than life and unnatural. Our favorite cartridge is a prime example. It positively refuses to add artificial overhang to any note. Natural decays are extended and reveal the sound space very clearly. Unnaturally bloated decays, which help blend the added feedback and multiple mixes of highly engineered recordings, are fairly non-existent. "AM radio" mixed recordings sound spectacularly awful in our system. Like most tube preamps, ours can be tuned to provide more or less "glue" by rolling tubes and even (a little) with different isolation devices. Our personal choice is for the fastest, most neutral, most extended and least microphonic tubes we can find. This actually makes our preamp sound alot like Raul's on some music. They're closer than any other two preamps we've heard. Others may prefer a different flavor of course. FWIW, we agree with Raul's longstanding contention that most tube components (and many vinyl systems generally) are tuned toward the warm and rounded. That is not our particular preference. We don't listen to sweet. We certainly don't post sweet. We don't even like sweet wine. It's pretty dry around here. If the sweetness isn't in the music we won't add any. Doug |