advertisement


The end is nigh: my last upgrades/sidegrades would be ...

Well, I don't think I can do much better that I do with the Quad ESL 57s in my small study. Double them up - well, I have given it a thought as one of my threads can testify to, but the space in my study is limited. For that reason, a second pair would definitely go in the livingroom. I wouldn't mind that.

I have never warmed to Class D amps.

Re. the EAR 802/EAR 516: I think one lesson learned from the EAR 802/EAR 516 purchase is that when you buy s/h kit from the 1980s, you have to figure in a service at some point. It turned out fine as I got two serviced units back and sold on the EAR 802 with a small profit that made up for the service price paid. After I had the pair serviced, they showed their true colours. The EAR 802 I perceived as extremely neutral to the point of being uninvolved. This may not be entirely fair, but I like the Herron pre a lot more for how it makes music sound. It will be interesting to test the EAR 516 against the FirstWatt F4 in the late summer/early autumn.

It is a good idea to have your EAR 534 serviced.
 
I too am a long time waiting for VFETS, so purchased a Nord One SE MK11 NC500 dual mono, for the money its amazing, and wish now I had went straight to the 1200's

The big difference on these class D's appears is the introduction of some op amps, which are swappable so if you don't quite like the sound you can at least try another
driving some Audio Physic Virgo III's, and awaiting my Auralic Vega G2 to finish my setup

Do a quick scan on Colins' site and read some of the reviews

Like you I will be immediately selling on any product from JW just out of bitterness :)
 
Bitterness, maybe, anger, certainly. But let that rest.
I know that D-class amps are clean-sounding, but I have taken the view that I like the "flawed", or even euphonic, sound of some valve amps and class A (or class a/b) amps. The fact that op-amps are used to alter the clean sound of Class-D amps, is quite telling. Wait ... don't I have a Line Magnetic 502 CA that does exactly that - in that it has a valve section designed to spice up the sound at the push of a button: Guilty as charged!
 
I think the Nord is excellent, but just a touch grey and less detailed in comparison with the 534.

Looking forward to the visit on Friday, been a few years since I was last there.

Got to say that I don't find the 868 to be uninvolving. I have compared it in my system with Bel Canto Pre3, Hattor and Modwright, excellent pre-amps all, but the 868 edges it with the 534, and the phono stage is superb as well. You know what I am going to say Peter, the only pre-amp I would move it aside for is a 912, but in all honesty I am not at all bothered, so it would have to be at a good price.

I would ask you how you found the 912 in comparison to the 802, but that was in a different system.
 
I used only the MC stages in the EAR 868PL and the EAR 912 so it is not a fair comparison. I think I could easily live with the EAR 868PL but I don't have the funds to buy another one. Neither the 868 nor the 912 was dry or overly neutral. I liked them borh better than the EAR 802 whose MM stage I used.
 
Don't tempt me to go there again ... Now I am chasing that other dragon - the head amp, the SUT or an MC stage.
 
Hi Peter,

Just back from EAR. TdP over in Japan. Looked after very ably by Dena and the chaps. Malcolm was VERY thorough. The two tiddlers underneath the 534 amp needed replacing. Two of the output valves were also past their best, so I WAS going to have them replaced .....but it became a pain to identify which specific valve was not on point on the right channel, so I decided to just have all eight replaced, a tad cheaper than KT90s, another good reason for getting a 534. The two small switches on the rear also needed replacing. EAR have changed their EL34 valves.As Malcolm said, 534 is as good as new.

Home, reinstalled. 1.5 hours there, 3 hours back!
 
I am gllad that you had a nice experience at EAR. I would love to go there for a visit some day.

Ah, the famed 912 and 509s. A lovely combo. No listening at all?
Did you see the new entry level phonobox?

Congratulations on your "new" amp! Let me know what it sounds like after the service.
 
Yes, a line of the new phono boxes, the chaps were rather taken with it.

The amp is slightly more brightly lit at the top and the bass is easier to follow and a tad more resolving, so a good result.
 
I have ordered an upgrade slot with Glenn Croft to have my Croft Riaa R upgraded to RS in October. I was tempted to change direction to a Hovland HP100/HP200 or back to EAR 868PL but that would mean that I would have to sell off the Croft, the Herron and the Benz Micro Gullwing, and that would be too much of a hassle.
I still fancy a unipivot arm on my turntable, and I have discovered a few low-cost offerings in addition to the Morch Up-4: Hadcock 228 and a Thorens TP82, which could be harvested from a s/h Thorens 203. If I got one of those I would lose the semi-automatic feature of my Thorens 147 Jubilee.
 
There is also the question of a headamp or a SUT with higher gain than my Partridge 977 SUT. As for the SUTs that I am willing to afford, there are a broad range of transformers to choose from: Haufe T-890/T-7883, Silk Transformers (Thailand), Jørgen Schou, Lundahl, Hashimoto, Yamamoto, EAR MC3/MC4 or "The Head" by T de P, Tribute, Cinemaq, Slagle and a Danish wound Tribute clone transformer. Most of these should come in below 1000£.

In another related line of thought, I thought about leaving a SUT out of the equation and trade in my Gulwing for an MM-cart or a high output MC-cart like a Benz Micro Ebony H (2.5mV) or the SLH-version of the Gullwing (0.70mV). This is still an option that would leave out the costs of a second SUT.

So the fun continues.
 
There are people who like hunting the game, more than they like consuming the kill. I have a friend who has spent literally hundreds of thousands of pounds on his system and is still convinced that there is some magic dust, or somesuch which will give him yet another 'night and day', improvement..which will last until the next..

If you really think you need upgrades.. rather than just wanting upgrades.. then you need to identify what is currently lacking in the sound you are getting. You then need to consider whether rectifying any issues, is possible within budget, space etc., constraints, and is a viable option for you. Then try the possible solutions at home.. in your system. There is no other sensible way of proceeding.

If you just want 'upgrades' ..or just like playing about with kit.. then that's valid too.. but you're unlikely to find the ideal, because it doesn't exist. You will ultimately undertake a lengthy exercise in comparing and swapping compromises. All engineering is compromise and HiFi is no exception. I'd make a small wager that you will eventually realise that what you have is the best you are going to get for your tastes, and your ears, in your room, within your budget.. etc. You will realise that you can get a different sound.. but you'll question whether it is ultimately better.. Then you can breathe.. and listen to your music.

I'm 70. I don't know how 'nigh' the end is, but it's a fair bet that it's a lot more 'nigh' than the beginning. :)
I have a relatively modest system. ( Orbe SE/Audiomods S5/Dynavector 17D3/>EAR834P>LFDZeroMkV>RogersStudio3/AB3 plus a couple of CD/DAC options) I did the 'valve' thing for years, but have now settled on the LFD. It just works. I've had LP12s, Regas and others. I won't go into TT wars here. The thing is I've had the speakers for over 20 years. They work in my room.. they are the right physical size and have as near as damn it the right sonic characteristics. There are speakers out there which go deeper, or louder, or whatever.. but I've never found one which works better in my room. One compromise settled. The rest of my kit is well matched to my speakers. I'm pretty happy. I'm certainly never moved to think 'I must upgrade'. I get a bit curious occasionally, but that's mostly at about the same level as occasionally and briefly fancying a cigarette, more than a decade after quitting. It's a fleeting thing..soon defeated by logic.

I'd suggest a trip to a show. My experience these days is that I rarely, if ever, hear anything which would unseat my present system, or parts of it, in my room. It's all either thunderous bass.. or 'breathy' vocals, or tinkly acoustic stuff. Difficult to learn much from it, except that I'm usually relieved to hear my own system and remind myself once more that it is pretty damned good.

I have two remaining ambitions for my system. 1. Get a better looking rack than the agricultural old Sound Org I'm still using. 2. Sort out local streaming so I can get all those ugly CDs out of my sight.

Good luck!
 
Rosewind said:
I have ordered an upgrade slot with Glenn Croft to have my Croft Riaa R upgraded to RS in October. I was tempted to change direction to a Hovland HP100/HP200 or back to EAR 868PL but that would mean that I would have to sell off the Croft, the Herron and the Benz Micro Gullwing, and that would be too much of a hassle.
I still fancy a unipivot arm on my turntable, and I have discovered a few low-cost offerings in addition to the Morch Up-4: Hadcock 228 and a Thorens TP82, which could be harvested from a s/h Thorens 203. If I got one of those I would lose the semi-automatic feature of my Thorens 147 Jubilee.
Click to expand...
The Thorens arm can be removed intact and re-installed without any real difficulty, and the auto-lift mechanism left in place, so you can always experiment and go back to the stock set-up if it doesn't suit. I'm tempted to give it a go myself: the bearing and the speed stability of the 147 are really very good - I'm sure the arm lets it down, and I have a nice Mission 774 in a drawer.
 
Mullardman said:
There are people who like hunting the game, more than they like consuming the kill. I have a friend who has spent literally hundreds of thousands of pounds on his system and is still convinced that there is some magic dust, or somesuch which will give him yet another 'night and day', improvement..which will last until the next..

If you really think you need upgrades.. rather than just wanting upgrades.. then you need to identify what is currently lacking in the sound you are getting. You then need to consider whether rectifying any issues, is possible within budget, space etc., constraints, and is a viable option for you. Then try the possible solutions at home.. in your system. There is no other sensible way of proceeding.

If you just want 'upgrades' ..or just like playing about with kit.. then that's valid too.. but you're unlikely to find the ideal, because it doesn't exist. You will ultimately undertake a lengthy exercise in comparing and swapping compromises. All engineering is compromise and HiFi is no exception. I'd make a small wager that you will eventually realise that what you have is the best you are going to get for your tastes, and your ears, in your room, within your budget.. etc. You will realise that you can get a different sound.. but you'll question whether it is ultimately better.. Then you can breathe.. and listen to your music.

I'm 70. I don't know how 'nigh' the end is, but it's a fair bet that it's a lot more 'nigh' than the beginning. :)
I have a relatively modest system. ( Orbe SE/Audiomods S5/Dynavector 17D3/>EAR834P>LFDZeroMkV>RogersStudio3/AB3 plus a couple of CD/DAC options) I did the 'valve' thing for years, but have now settled on the LFD. It just works. I've had LP12s, Regas and others. I won't go into TT wars here. The thing is I've had the speakers for over 20 years. They work in my room.. they are the right physical size and have as near as damn it the right sonic characteristics. There are speakers out there which go deeper, or louder, or whatever.. but I've never found one which works better in my room. One compromise settled. The rest of my kit is well matched to my speakers. I'm pretty happy. I'm certainly never moved to think 'I must upgrade'. I get a bit curious occasionally, but that's mostly at about the same level as occasionally and briefly fancying a cigarette, more than a decade after quitting. It's a fleeting thing..soon defeated by logic.

I'd suggest a trip to a show. My experience these days is that I rarely, if ever, hear anything which would unseat my present system, or parts of it, in my room. It's all either thunderous bass.. or 'breathy' vocals, or tinkly acoustic stuff. Difficult to learn much from it, except that I'm usually relieved to hear my own system and remind myself once more that it is pretty damned good.

I have two remaining ambitions for my system. 1. Get a better looking rack than the agricultural old Sound Org I'm still using. 2. Sort out local streaming so I can get all those ugly CDs out of my sight.

Good luck!
Click to expand...



Great post!
 
A streaming solution for me, all the CDs on a hard drive. Then a whole system rethink based on getting it in a cupboard with only the speakers and a pretty turntable left behind. It won't happen, but it's a nice pipe dream.
 
A truly great post Mullardman!

I think I am where I have the best I can afford. Any upgrades will tend to be different rather than better in my study = sidegrades.

I remember the first time I had what I thought was a balanced set-up that was as good as I could afford it to get:

* Naim Nac 62 (323S) + Nap 140 + Mission 737R + Thorens TD 160 Super + Morch up4 + Ortofon MC 30 Super ii. Later Naim Prefix + Clone Hicap.

And the second time:
Naim Nac 252/SC2 + Naim Nap 200 x 2 + Linn Tunebox + Linn Ninkas + Logitech Sqeezebox Touch w. EDO mod + Metrum Octave Mk. i (24/192 capable unit).

Around that time I came to PFM from the Naim forum and that is when I really got the upgrade/sidegrade/cheapgrade/potential ruin-grade bug. I listened to a lot of kit along the way. If I had bought what I have now in one go, I would have saved myself a lot of money but I would have had a less interesting hifi journey.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top