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Accidental Dynavector HX1.2 mk2

Can't really help since I can't remember what I did. Since I ditched 'big' amps I just turn on and off when needed. All my big systems were in my previous workshop. I think I just turned everything on when I arrived but did a bit of work instead of critical listening for the first hour or so. There was a small workbench in the corner of my listening arena.
 
Well, after staying powered up for two whole days, the HX1.2 seems far more natural and entirely glare-free, but sounding gloriously articulate and engaging. But the bloody transformer buzzes ...
 
James said:
Well, after staying powered up for two whole days, the HX1.2 seems far more natural and entirely glare-free, but sounding gloriously articulate and engaging. But the bloody transformer buzzes ...
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2 steps forward and one back!
Glad it is starting to sound good James. The valve preamp thing would be very interesting with the HX1.2. I remember Alex's Rose sounded wonderfully lush but did lack a bit of punch.

Jason
 
This HX1.2 does not lack punch, Jason. Thankfully, I can't hear the transformer buzz with the wick turned up. :D

I think the buzz is sporadic and dependent on what crap is flowing in our mains.
 
James said:
Well, after staying powered up for two whole days, the HX1.2 seems far more natural and entirely glare-free, but sounding gloriously articulate and engaging. But the bloody transformer buzzes ...
Click to expand...

I have had mine for several years and its on 24/7 - totally silent :eek:
 
James said:
This HX1.2 does not lack punch, Jason. Thankfully, I can't hear the transformer buzz with the wick turned up. :D

I think the buzz is sporadic and dependent on what crap is flowing in our mains.
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Having had three Dynavector power amps, all but the HX75 have been buzzy and echoing your experience, this is sporadic. Its mostly worse when I guess the demand for power is low, late at night. It doesn't come through the speakers and fortunately when using the amp its not apparent.

I have wondered about getting a mains transformer/inverter/thingy for the power amp to smooth things out a bit. One day perhaps.
 
I've been listen for the best part of four hours now, and not at an entirely civil level either despite being almost midnight down under. That's the privilege of fully detached housing I guess. Whether it's my conditioning to their sonic signature or they really benefit from warming up, I'm starting to like it a lot.

The only thing that seems a bit different from the Pioneer is a narrower soundstage; not that sonic imagery matters to someone with as many FEPs as I do. When I do the comparison over the weekend, I shall have to remember the Pioneer has only 30W to the DV's 180W ...
 
The Rose Jason refers to - Hello Jason - was a £300 preamp, very simple and all midrange. The Velleman kit was a small step up (£200 but someone had to assemble it). Trying it with a roughly equivalent quality valve pre could be very interesting. Oh, and I had the full RKR done by Roy himself - no transformer hum, in fact, almost no transformer...
 
James said:
I've been listen for the best part of four hours now, and not at an entirely civil level either despite being almost midnight down under. That's the privilege of fully detached housing I guess. Whether it's my conditioning to their sonic signature or they really benefit from warming up, I'm starting to like it a lot.

The only thing that seems a bit different from the Pioneer is a narrower soundstage; not that sonic imagery matters to someone with as many FEPs as I do. When I do the comparison over the weekend, I shall have to remember the Pioneer has only 30W to the DV's 180W ...
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James - i would look at getting the DV checked out , i can confirm that mine is totally silent and the soundstage is massive and wide
 
My DV power amps have been silent and very open as it's one of the DV strengths so your situation is puzzling!
 
Alex S said:
The Rose Jason refers to - Hello Jason - was a £300 preamp, very simple and all midrange. The Velleman kit was a small step up (£200 but someone had to assemble it). Trying it with a roughly equivalent quality valve pre could be very interesting. Oh, and I had the full RKR done by Roy himself - no transformer hum, in fact, almost no transformer...
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Hello Alex.

I had forgotten just how low cost the Rose was, especially considering how much it got right.
Putting the HX1.2 with something serious from Conrad Johnson or maybe Rogue would be very interesting. I think the 1.2 has a pretty high impedance so shouldn't upset anything.


Jason
 
Jason if you ever get the chance try some Rega SC42 speaker cable, imo it is better than the Mogami which I have tried in my system too.
 
jimi said:
Jason if you ever get the chance try some Rega SC42 speaker cable, imo it is better than the Mogami which I have tried in my system too.
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Thanks for the heads up, will have to borrow some.

I am running very short speaker cables (~1.5m) and long (~3m) balanced L300 to HX100 connection with the power sitting on a board between the speakers under a coffee table (currently covered in Lego ...).
This connection regime seemed to add another level of control and removed a bit of hash from the sound - definitely worth it if the system parts are in place and the power amp can be located.

Jason
 
I had been meaning to report back on the back-to-back comparison with my preferred Pioneer M-22, but I have been enjoying the HX1.2 so much during the weekend I never got around to hooking up the M-22.

Last night listening to Mary Gauthier's Mercy Now was quite a revelation. I'm not particularly good at describing music, but I found it emotional, raw and real. I will still do the comparison soon enough, but my instincts are that this HX1.2 is a keeper.
 
James said:
I had been meaning to report back on the back-to-back comparison with my preferred Pioneer M-22, but I have been enjoying the HX1.2 so much during the weekend I never got around to hooking up the M-22.

Last night listening to Mary Gauthier's Mercy Now was quite a revelation. I'm not particularly good at describing music, but I found it emotional, raw and real. I will still do the comparison soon enough, but my instincts are that this HX1.2 is a keeper.
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It certainly is, had one back in 2000 had to sell it in 2005 missed it so much spent a few years looking for one and absolutely adore mine. Lived with a pair of modified Quad 405 mk 1 mono blocks for ages great jumped all over the nap135s never came close to the HX1.2
 
It is nice to see this thread resurrected. Partly because I miss my HX 1.2 but that pales compared to how much I miss my close friend Jason Hector (aka Re-Joyce). Jason was a lovely man who died suddenly from a heart attack a few years ago aged just 45. Very, very sad.
 
Julian Slinn said:
It certainly is, had one back in 2000 had to sell it in 2005 missed it so much spent a few years looking for one and absolutely adore mine. Lived with a pair of modified Quad 405 mk 1 mono blocks for ages great jumped all over the nap135s never came close to the HX1.2
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I recently sold the HX-1.2mk2, and made quite a tidy profit too. Regrettably I decided I did not need three different power amplifiers, and the Dynavector drew the short straw. Its transformer's tendency to buzz with poor mains probably counted against it. I kept the Pioneer M-22 and Densen B-350s instead.
 
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