I am still enjoying the Still amp immensely. It has a very transparent sound, and the noise floor is non-existent. I usually have a lot of noise in my system due to living in an older apartment complex - poor quality wiring and shared power with college kids who have wireless routers, computers, video games, etc. The fact that this amp is almost silent through my speakers with the volume pot all the way open is remarkable.
I really have nothing critical to say about the amp. It's just a fantastic unit in every way. My conundrum now is that the Contrast Audio speakers have settled in quite well, but the 10wpc of the Still Audio amp is not quite enough. I can play music with peaks of about 75 db, and everything sounds rich and beautiful. Beyond that, though, the sound starts to thin out quite a bit. The bass is also somewhat limited due to the speaker-amp pairing. I swapped in a 22wpc Audioengine desktop amp, and the bass depth and impact was significantly better. The Audioengine amp certainly doesn't have the refinement or the transparency of the Still EL84, but the qualities I like about the speakers are still there.
So, I'm torn between shopping for very efficient speakers or a more powerful tube amp. I believe that I underestimated how efficient speakers need to work well with a 10 watt amp. And since I can't have large floor standing speakers, I'm even more limited by the number of speakers available to me.
Will keep you posted on my journey, but I will say that the Still EL84 is a ridiculously good value, and a long-term solution for anyone with the appropriate speakers. And Mark Still mentioned that he's working on a tube phono stage - I have to imagine the combo would be an endgame system for most people.
All the best, Scott
I really have nothing critical to say about the amp. It's just a fantastic unit in every way. My conundrum now is that the Contrast Audio speakers have settled in quite well, but the 10wpc of the Still Audio amp is not quite enough. I can play music with peaks of about 75 db, and everything sounds rich and beautiful. Beyond that, though, the sound starts to thin out quite a bit. The bass is also somewhat limited due to the speaker-amp pairing. I swapped in a 22wpc Audioengine desktop amp, and the bass depth and impact was significantly better. The Audioengine amp certainly doesn't have the refinement or the transparency of the Still EL84, but the qualities I like about the speakers are still there.
So, I'm torn between shopping for very efficient speakers or a more powerful tube amp. I believe that I underestimated how efficient speakers need to work well with a 10 watt amp. And since I can't have large floor standing speakers, I'm even more limited by the number of speakers available to me.
Will keep you posted on my journey, but I will say that the Still EL84 is a ridiculously good value, and a long-term solution for anyone with the appropriate speakers. And Mark Still mentioned that he's working on a tube phono stage - I have to imagine the combo would be an endgame system for most people.
All the best, Scott