"Andy Evans" wrote


snip rather nice valve troll


Keep the faith - "If it ain't glowing, it ain't going"


OK, having hooked ukra back up again (as I said I would) it's interesting
that all I'm seeing is valves and cable threads.

I blew the cable thread (seen it all before - way too many times now) and
read the valves thread with some interest as it has coincided exactly with
my current experimentation:

Yesterday evening, my 'audiophile salesman' chum Nigel was up to hear the
Technics SE-A2000 (that I've just bought from his shop) in my system. It's
an interesting bit of kit with (I'm told) a fairly unusual 'twin monaural'
construction using mosfets and bipolars in all the right places....??

I got it mainly for protracted 'background' use and because it became
available and because I've got a soft spot for the 'higher end' Technics
gear generally. (I also love the 'power meters' but for Gawd's sake don't
tell anyone..... :-)

I had it paired up with an EAR 834L (1 x ECC83 JJ Tesla and 2 x 5814a JAN
Philips) line stage and played Nigel a selection of 'his sort of thing'.
Apart from a little 'dryness' and possibly a hint of 'dull' (if you listen
closely for the first few minutes), I find this combo completely
inoffensive, once I've got used to it. It's certainly got clout - deep and
very tight bass which can create quite a bit of 'sternum pressure' and can
send little puffs of air past your ears, even from small speakers. (That
remark will either mean something or it won't....)

Anyhoo, all was perfectly fine and Nigey Wigey loved it.

Then the Devil in me kicked in and halfway through the evening I quickly
swapped to my WAD Kit88. With Chris Rea 'On The Beach' actually playing
(like already started) I swapped leads and switched it on and it creaked and
squeaked its way up from stone cold. (All other aspects of the kit were
unchanged.)

In less than a minute the Kit88 valve amp had blown the Technics (MY
Technics, no less) into the weeds!

It was all there - sweetness, soundstage, tone, warmth, 'naturalness',
'friendly' even!. All those little 'red rag' terms I know you all love so
much! ;-)

Ain't got the grip or slam of the Technics but beats it in every other
respect. (After an hour the Technics stood no chance whatsoever.) For the
remainder of the evening I asked Nigel from time to time 'which one?'
(bearing in mind he's *totally* Technics 'high end' himself) and each time
he just shot a finger toward Johnny WAD....

Believe it or believe it not, I don't give a ****. (Checkable by phone if
anyone *had * to hear it from the horses mouth, I suppose, Google up A N
Audio, St Neots - they've got a website - and ask for 'Nigey Wigey'! :-)

I've got no real axe to grind with valves - you either 'get it' or you
don't. They can be a right pain in the arse and they definitely ain't for
everyone! (It doesn't hurt to be a damn sight 'techier' than I'll ever be,
for a start!) I've also no axe to grind with 'specs' and 'metrology'
(essential for designers and builders) but, FFS, just once in a while put
the slide-rules down and have a good *listen* will ya?

There - my £0.02......

Now, anybody else get a freebie HFN this morning with MF's heejus new TT ad
included with it? Oops! Wrong group.......!

;-)