What's the greatest bargain in SET these days?

JMCgrogan,

I've never had a device with variable feedback.

You indicated the changes affecting bass and detail.

Could the detail be associated with more relative brightness?

I notice with certain good quality headphones that tend towards less of a low end that things sound a lot different in the midrange. I hear things I might not have focused on otherwise, but I am hard pressed to say that they are not there otherwise. ITs more like a different perspective on the music where different things become more prominent, more of a difference in what is emphasized I think, but the result of more emphasis in the midrange might often be perceived as more detail since that is where most music happens.

Then there is the whole bad harmonics rap on NF. I understand this in theory but have difficulty pinpointing it in practice. IT just does not seem to be a big issue to me if the gear is designed well.

I'd like to have adjustable NF in order to experiment more but don't, so I guess I am just looking for the impressions of others in this regard.

Thanks.

Bill,
Your French horn litmus test is analogous to mine with the trumpet. I grew up playing this instrument and know its sound well. Some components/systems are better than others in approaching the authentic sound. Some components purported to be "accurate" can't reproduce the inherent warmth and full body of instruments(their interpretation is lean and thread bare, lacking the natural color IMO). Given your love of acoustic classical music, tone and timbre are mandatory for satisfactory enjoyment. I'm in the same boat with acoustic jazz music.
Charles,

Charles,
Yes, our musical tastes are very similar. In fact I started following your threads because you made statements about the quality/type of sound that you like and I stood up and took notice, thinking gee, this Charles person is someone to pay serious attention too; and then between Arthur Salvatore's comments and your own on the Coincident and Mr. Salvator's previous write-ups on the Golden Tube 300B, I knew you guys were on to something truthful about high-end audio that cut through the hype.

The above statement also applies to Brownsfan, whose musical tastes in both equipment and music are sublime. Of course there are some others, but you and Brownsfan epitomize the sound that I seek.

Mapman, definitely a winner. I hope you get to hear it for yourself, the Dynamo is shockingly good. I can't praise Israel Blume enough, he nailed this amp. It truly allows the young budding audiophile/music lover, older ones too, to enter a world of really fine musical reproduction at a nominal cost of entry, 2nd system or main system. Like Tim Smith stated or implied, keep the Dynamo and upgrade build around it, it will do expensive speakers justice provided they are reasonable in sensitivity, say 92db, and an easy 8 ohm load. Same for all other ancillary equipment, including tubes, cables and so forth. This amp will reflect and appreciate the upgrade; but you really don't need to do a thing, this amp will still sing.

Mikirob,
Thank you for your kind comments. My frequent partaking of live acoustic music keeps things in good perspective and established the priorities for my home listening enjoyment . Audio systems have to sound natural for me and convey presence and realism. If this isn't achieved then all other sonic or hifi parameter attributes are irrelevant. Having the opportunity to attend numerous CES shows and various special demonstrations it is instructive to hear some touted and expensive equipment that isn't natural but instead canned, sterile and unconvincing. I have no doubt that the Dynamo matched with an appropriate speaker will provide more realism and emotional involvement than a number of more expensive and praised components. Those pure and simple tube circuits are capable of making beautiful music.
Charles,

Brent Jesse doesn't have the Mullard CV 378, so it's off to ebay for a search.