The Two Channel Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Nov 10, 2016.

  1. uncola

    uncola Friend

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    Anyone looking for a preamp in the freya price range but have OCD so they need a volume display and super fancy case.. the hattor small preamp with opamp active output I just got is amazing. super fancy case as I said, external LPS that does 5v for display/relays and 15V for the opamps.. 0/6/12db gain adjustable with jumpers inside.. metal remote with IR so strong I can point it away from preamp and it still works.. I'm so pleased with it.. $600 unbalanced $700 balanced.. he can add rca/in out for balanced if you want.. you can choose silver/black with faceplate inserts that change appearance.. also you can choose remote control color.. I know I sound like a shill but it's awesome.. interacting with the remote is a joy.. the 64 1db steps adjust so responsively with 0ms latency it seems like
     
  2. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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  3. uncola

    uncola Friend

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    those prices are for the bigger case dual mono two attenuator version.. the small active opamp one is at the bottom.. I think I might have the very first one he built.. it's new and the output board is much bigger than the one in the picture

    he needs to add more info, like he doesn't mention the display has 5 brightness levels and off, and that it has an external LPS box
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2016
  4. batriq

    batriq Probably has made you smarter

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  5. struggles

    struggles Friend

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    This is great, thank you
     
  6. nedifer

    nedifer Facebook Friend

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    For what it is worth, as far as solid state amps go, I have an Adcom GFA-555 solid state amp (I've read that it is a Nelson Pass design). For the price they go for now on Ebay, is an excellent entry into great sound for not much money. Those guys reviewed it thusly, back in the day:

    http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/678/
    http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/adcom-gfa-555-177.html

    It is a heavy beast, with a huge 700VA toroidal transformer. It is rated for 200 Watts into 8 ohms or 325 Watts into 4 ohms but a simple toggle switch in the back can turn it into a bridged-mono amp putting out 600W into 8 ohms. Input impedance is 22k ohms. When I turn it off, music continues to play at the same amplitude for a good 15-20 seconds through my Infinity RS6 speakers. Mine is the original model and I can't speak to the later models, though I believe they were well regarded too.

    It has a much more expansive sound stage than the Musical Fidelity XT-100 that it replaced and renders detail very well for its price range. One thing of note, at least in my system (LMS->Squeezelite streamer->Singxer SU-1->Berkeley Audio 1st Gen DAC->Adcom GFA-555->Infinity RS6 speakers) is that when I turn up the volume, it doesn't seem to increase linearly. Instead it seems to increase at a lower than linear rate but with a great bit of added detail....until I notice that suddenly, yes, it is quite loud but that the sound has been so effortlessly produced that I didn't 'notice' how loud it was getting. (Sorry, convoluted and subjective--I just don't know how to describe it better...) But it also has wonderful detail when playing quietly. Because it has such a massive reserve of energy stored up during normal operation, surges in power due to dynamic shifts in the music are taken in stride and rendered realistically, whether at low or high volume. And I haven't been able to make it break a sweat yet, even at quite loud volumes.

    The power switch recently broke on mine and a channel got flakey so I took it in to a reputable local repair shop in Daly City south of San Francisco and the fellow there was impressed with it, too and agreed that I likely couldn't find something comparable, new or used, for the $280 cost of repairing it. Popping it back into the system was immediately noticable versus the lesser Adcom GFA 5200 I pressed into service while it was gone.

    Sorry to go on and on and to be a bit clumsy at describing its characteristics but, as you can see, I am quite happy with it and think it is a real bargain at what they sell for on Ebay these days. And versatile--it can drive a wide range of speakers with authority.

    I won't delve into them here, but I can also say that I have enjoyed older Creek audio gear in the past (a p43+a43 combo) but the older designs can be harder to find now.
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2016
  7. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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  8. Rex Aeterna

    Rex Aeterna Friend

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    i use nothing but, pro gear still even though i have one consumer carver tfm-24 power amp which i like for it's slightly warmer sometimes(yea this amp was purposely tune to sound like a particular tube amp....). but, main daily driver lately been a refurbished crown micro-tech 1000 i got for 100 bucks over couple months ago. as for amp advice i have no idea since i been through a lot and don't remember much as of now. just from the 4 amps i own now which are crown micro-tech 1000, crown xls 4002, carver pm600 and carver tfm-24. out of them i use the crown micro-tech and carver pm600 most since i just like a clean sound. for warmer/sweeter tone i use the carver tfm-24 sometimes but, always going back to the crown micro-tech.

    i had some experience with emotiva and thought they're alright performing amps and some adcoms i heard i did not like due to an unknown grainy tone they had. i find some of the yamaha mxx series while nice over rated for the price they go for when i find something like my old beat up crown ce2000 or crown micro-tech 1000 better performers. parasound i heard good things bout but can't say since never personally tried any.
     
  9. bxh

    bxh Friend

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    Those are quite the enclosures for sure! You should post a photo of the remote as I don't see it on the site.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Customs extrusions with hollows? Holy schmoley, the engineer in me is gasping a bit wondering how they can do that affordably...
     
  11. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    And completely unnecessary since they are on a passive preamp, right?
     
  12. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    Not affordably, but ..water jet.
     
  13. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    That'd make a bit more sense, but yeah... still not cheap.

    Well uh... maybe they're biasing that poor opamp really really hard? o_O
     
  14. mkozlows

    mkozlows Friend

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    I'm not sure they're actually hollows. It looks like they might just be black paint or stickers. (Particularly in this picture, where the lighting is different.)
     
  15. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    the Vista audio spark is for some the best under 500$ amp available and class ab.
    next step up would be dayens menuetto is class ab and they are, from guys I trust, say that for the under 1k, the dayens beat any rega, cambridge, naim, ect.
     
  16. uncola

    uncola Friend

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    I can confirm they are hollows. I'll take some pics when I get home of the whole system
     
  17. uncola

    uncola Friend

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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  18. smithj

    smithj Acquaintance

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    How does one determine whether or not a DIY kit is worth the money or not? Right now, I'm looking at this kit but they're apparently using their own branded drivers. The original kit originally used a Vifa tweeter and Peerless woofer from memory.

    I can't imagine it not being too bad but I'd rather a speaker that sounds competitive to similarly priced competition like your entry level B&W bookshelves.
     
  19. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    When it comes to DIY speaker kits, it's all about the design and not really about the quality of the components used. Even cheap drivers can sound great when put into a proper sized box with a great crossover design and the reverse of this is true too.

    I'm somewhat into BBC style monitors and the LS3/5a mini monitor kits from Falcon Acoustics are a great deal right now because of the low value of the British pound.
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    FYI, I'll be getting some Parasound gear in to compare against the Schiit 2 channel stuff. I skipped over Emotiva for now. Nothing in their lineup inspires me and it was hard to find gear that would be more of an apples to apples comparison.

    Freya ordered BTW. Let the two channel games begin. This will be a new fun world to explore, considering how stupidity expensive some headphones are now.
     

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