Prologue:
This my third year of staying invested in the hobby. Early on, I used to think, Audiophilia is a journey in pursuit of happiness (great sound). It has slowly dawn upon me, it is actually the 'Happiness in Pursuit' and we must enjoy the processes, irrespective.
Our hobby has no end, happiness is elusive and however great your system is, you will get bored of the sameness/greatness of sound. With this thought, which I learnt early, I have invested to approach my journey such that I like to choose a speaker/amp combo and live with it, have fun and move on. While, I have would never want to downgrade, I am definitely not averse to lateral steps to experience uniqueness. For sources and conversion, I do not have the stomach.
Last two years was silhouetted by my Project Alnico + 300b DHT SE amp. I have chronicled that journey at https://www.hifivision.com/threads/omega-alnico-fr-300b-set-amp.97748/.
Journey was fun, lot of learning regarding my preferences, which further helped streamline my component choices and selections for next project.
The Omega Alnico Junior XRS is still a speaker I will find hard to ever let go and now its shifted to second system. It has great synergy with my 300b amp. It pairs beautifully with EL 84 SE as well. Last 1.5 years were lovely and it will continue to wow me for a long time to go.
Altecs:
Most of the people who want to own Altec vintage horn speakers, are ones who have not heard it or truly actually understand them. I was one of them albeit I had rough idea about some of their iconic horns and drivers, but the field is so vast with thousands of permutations and combinations, I have always stayed away from it. Also, they are huge and expensive, most of the times.
Be that as it may, I used to see these amazing Altec drivers in beautiful cabinet and horn and lust after it, for the entirety of the hobby. The desire to own a Altec for me had no real connection to sound quality. However, since I exclusively rely on DHT/SET for my amplification, a vintage high sensitive horn based speaker, was always enticing.
I ultimately heard a 604 8g (15 inch coaxial Altec driver with a small muti cellular horn mounted in the center. All Alnico motors) in a Model 17 Cabinet in FM Raghu's place in Hyd. They were driven by Je Labs 45/2a3. A really mesmerizing experience I must say.
As they say, heart wants what it wants, courtesy some great advice, guidance, connecting with the right and resourceful people, my sheer desire, lots and lots of money, I did get my first Altecs.
Description:
Cabinet: Western Electric 753C
LF: Altec 414A. 12 inch Alnico low frequency/midrange driver. A cult status driver.
HF: 804A, a well know compression driver with alnico magnet, it identical to the iconic 802D. Differs only in terms of magnet strength and intended for home application.
Horn: Altec 32b. A near replica of the WE 32 horn.
Joe Roberts (famous DIY guy) and Jospeh Esmillia of Je Labs conceptualized this speaker. The cross over has many permutation and combinations. Some run the 414A full range, mine is crossed at 1500 hz. Best part of the speaker is that its small, looks beautiful, tried and tested by several Altec fanatics over decades and most importantly, the 32b horn, even at a small distance does not get overbearing. A near perfect Altec for small to medium space, which can scale.
When I hooked them up with my 2 stage 300b amp (We 417a + Elrogs 300b), they put a smile on my face. Sometimes, and rarely sometimes, we audiophiles hit it right away. This one such rare occasions. Warm, inviting, lively and a sense of 'its fucking good'. I have heard good things about Altec 414A and they did not disappoint.
Je Labs Simple 45/2a3
After hearing Altecs with my friends Je Labs 45/2a3 monoblocks in Bombay, I decided that at 100db sensitivity, I can convert to Je Labs 45/2a3. It’s cheaper to make, live with and tube roll. And, with Altecs at 100db, unlike with Omega's, 300b did not give any significant power and control advantage over 2a3 or 45. I have gone back and forth with these 3 DHT a lot in the past, I wish I had money to keep all the three. But it is what is. Selling 300b amp/tubes was a huge boost to my pocket. Took some sting out.
Next few months was a journey to replicate Je Labs 2a3/45. I gave the entire job to Asnain of Kolarkar Audio. He has done a stellar job for my friend already. We just had to replicate it. No reinventing the wheel. We went all out, best that he can make in terms of the OPTs, chokes, best that I can afford. My brief was clear, cant compromise on sound or looks. After a long-long wait, they were finally delivered.
They look beautiful and sound surreal. There is an ease to the sound which I associate with well-made high end tube amps.
It is:
a) easily one of the best amps I have heard or owned. I have heard/owned a lot of high end tube gears and it’s not a reckless honeymoon phase remark; &
b) easily the best amp for midrange clarity, tone and texture I have heard or owned, especially with 45 Tube engaged.
c) Looks beautiful. On look alone, it is bettered only by the Leben that I owned briefly.
They mate perfectly with Altecs. Not a surprise since both the speaker and the amp are brain child of a single individual, who uses the very same setup as his current main setup. A lot of audiophiles use this very same amp, albeit in their own ways. There are thousands iteration of this same amp all over the world, with varying components, I havent heard anyone who aint thrilled. Testment to the simple circuit and old ways of doing things.
Conclusion
Last few years have been a fast and tumultuous journey in this hobby. Responsibilities and obligations will eventually slow it down. May be it has. Happy that I reached this far. Wont have been possible without the support and guidance of audiophiles in this forum and elsewhere. I do not want to make any statements whether I am fully satisfied at this point of time, but yes, I have found happiness in the pursuit, through and through.
Attaching few pics for the joy of things.
The Altecs/Je Labs is ably supplemented by front end consisting of CD Player (Cary 303T Pro), Vinyl (Garrard 401 + SME 3009 II) & Streaming (NAD M66).
PS:
Just wanted to put down some of my two cents, learnt the hard way, enroute my pursuit:
1) “What is good enough for me, may not be good enough for you”. Very important.
2) DIY amps, Vintage drivers etc are painful process. The other side of the road, however, ensures you get a system, which majority will find hard-pressed (from a sound/cost perspective) to own in the current era.
3) My journey is heavily influenced by my music choices and the limitation of my rooms. These two matter a lot. Take advice from people who have same similar rooms and music preferences. Do not plan a system without considering these two aspects. My room limits my gears to may be 20 percent of their potential.
4) I have gone through the ranks, and it really helps understand nuances better. Be it from pentode to Triodes to DHT or mass produced speaker to boutique single drivers to vintage. Whislt I will advise someone to buy whatever best they can afford, a bottom to top approach has its pros.
5) “Be curious and not judgmental”. Do your own research and most importantly listen. Avoid being an arm chair warrior, specially in this hobby, where subjectivity and chain matters a lot.
6) Avoid people who force their opinion or are into any thing related to “mine is better than yours” attitude.
7) Lastly, 60 ml of Alcohol before a listening session, is all it takes !!
Special mentions to Satyam my friend, Asnain, @srinisundar @rajagopal_j
Cheers
- Abinash
This my third year of staying invested in the hobby. Early on, I used to think, Audiophilia is a journey in pursuit of happiness (great sound). It has slowly dawn upon me, it is actually the 'Happiness in Pursuit' and we must enjoy the processes, irrespective.
Our hobby has no end, happiness is elusive and however great your system is, you will get bored of the sameness/greatness of sound. With this thought, which I learnt early, I have invested to approach my journey such that I like to choose a speaker/amp combo and live with it, have fun and move on. While, I have would never want to downgrade, I am definitely not averse to lateral steps to experience uniqueness. For sources and conversion, I do not have the stomach.
Last two years was silhouetted by my Project Alnico + 300b DHT SE amp. I have chronicled that journey at https://www.hifivision.com/threads/omega-alnico-fr-300b-set-amp.97748/.
Journey was fun, lot of learning regarding my preferences, which further helped streamline my component choices and selections for next project.
The Omega Alnico Junior XRS is still a speaker I will find hard to ever let go and now its shifted to second system. It has great synergy with my 300b amp. It pairs beautifully with EL 84 SE as well. Last 1.5 years were lovely and it will continue to wow me for a long time to go.
Altecs:
Most of the people who want to own Altec vintage horn speakers, are ones who have not heard it or truly actually understand them. I was one of them albeit I had rough idea about some of their iconic horns and drivers, but the field is so vast with thousands of permutations and combinations, I have always stayed away from it. Also, they are huge and expensive, most of the times.
Be that as it may, I used to see these amazing Altec drivers in beautiful cabinet and horn and lust after it, for the entirety of the hobby. The desire to own a Altec for me had no real connection to sound quality. However, since I exclusively rely on DHT/SET for my amplification, a vintage high sensitive horn based speaker, was always enticing.
I ultimately heard a 604 8g (15 inch coaxial Altec driver with a small muti cellular horn mounted in the center. All Alnico motors) in a Model 17 Cabinet in FM Raghu's place in Hyd. They were driven by Je Labs 45/2a3. A really mesmerizing experience I must say.
As they say, heart wants what it wants, courtesy some great advice, guidance, connecting with the right and resourceful people, my sheer desire, lots and lots of money, I did get my first Altecs.
Description:
Cabinet: Western Electric 753C
LF: Altec 414A. 12 inch Alnico low frequency/midrange driver. A cult status driver.
HF: 804A, a well know compression driver with alnico magnet, it identical to the iconic 802D. Differs only in terms of magnet strength and intended for home application.
Horn: Altec 32b. A near replica of the WE 32 horn.
Joe Roberts (famous DIY guy) and Jospeh Esmillia of Je Labs conceptualized this speaker. The cross over has many permutation and combinations. Some run the 414A full range, mine is crossed at 1500 hz. Best part of the speaker is that its small, looks beautiful, tried and tested by several Altec fanatics over decades and most importantly, the 32b horn, even at a small distance does not get overbearing. A near perfect Altec for small to medium space, which can scale.
When I hooked them up with my 2 stage 300b amp (We 417a + Elrogs 300b), they put a smile on my face. Sometimes, and rarely sometimes, we audiophiles hit it right away. This one such rare occasions. Warm, inviting, lively and a sense of 'its fucking good'. I have heard good things about Altec 414A and they did not disappoint.
Je Labs Simple 45/2a3
After hearing Altecs with my friends Je Labs 45/2a3 monoblocks in Bombay, I decided that at 100db sensitivity, I can convert to Je Labs 45/2a3. It’s cheaper to make, live with and tube roll. And, with Altecs at 100db, unlike with Omega's, 300b did not give any significant power and control advantage over 2a3 or 45. I have gone back and forth with these 3 DHT a lot in the past, I wish I had money to keep all the three. But it is what is. Selling 300b amp/tubes was a huge boost to my pocket. Took some sting out.
Next few months was a journey to replicate Je Labs 2a3/45. I gave the entire job to Asnain of Kolarkar Audio. He has done a stellar job for my friend already. We just had to replicate it. No reinventing the wheel. We went all out, best that he can make in terms of the OPTs, chokes, best that I can afford. My brief was clear, cant compromise on sound or looks. After a long-long wait, they were finally delivered.
They look beautiful and sound surreal. There is an ease to the sound which I associate with well-made high end tube amps.
It is:
a) easily one of the best amps I have heard or owned. I have heard/owned a lot of high end tube gears and it’s not a reckless honeymoon phase remark; &
b) easily the best amp for midrange clarity, tone and texture I have heard or owned, especially with 45 Tube engaged.
c) Looks beautiful. On look alone, it is bettered only by the Leben that I owned briefly.
They mate perfectly with Altecs. Not a surprise since both the speaker and the amp are brain child of a single individual, who uses the very same setup as his current main setup. A lot of audiophiles use this very same amp, albeit in their own ways. There are thousands iteration of this same amp all over the world, with varying components, I havent heard anyone who aint thrilled. Testment to the simple circuit and old ways of doing things.
Conclusion
Last few years have been a fast and tumultuous journey in this hobby. Responsibilities and obligations will eventually slow it down. May be it has. Happy that I reached this far. Wont have been possible without the support and guidance of audiophiles in this forum and elsewhere. I do not want to make any statements whether I am fully satisfied at this point of time, but yes, I have found happiness in the pursuit, through and through.
Attaching few pics for the joy of things.
The Altecs/Je Labs is ably supplemented by front end consisting of CD Player (Cary 303T Pro), Vinyl (Garrard 401 + SME 3009 II) & Streaming (NAD M66).
PS:
Just wanted to put down some of my two cents, learnt the hard way, enroute my pursuit:
1) “What is good enough for me, may not be good enough for you”. Very important.
2) DIY amps, Vintage drivers etc are painful process. The other side of the road, however, ensures you get a system, which majority will find hard-pressed (from a sound/cost perspective) to own in the current era.
3) My journey is heavily influenced by my music choices and the limitation of my rooms. These two matter a lot. Take advice from people who have same similar rooms and music preferences. Do not plan a system without considering these two aspects. My room limits my gears to may be 20 percent of their potential.
4) I have gone through the ranks, and it really helps understand nuances better. Be it from pentode to Triodes to DHT or mass produced speaker to boutique single drivers to vintage. Whislt I will advise someone to buy whatever best they can afford, a bottom to top approach has its pros.
5) “Be curious and not judgmental”. Do your own research and most importantly listen. Avoid being an arm chair warrior, specially in this hobby, where subjectivity and chain matters a lot.
6) Avoid people who force their opinion or are into any thing related to “mine is better than yours” attitude.
7) Lastly, 60 ml of Alcohol before a listening session, is all it takes !!
Special mentions to Satyam my friend, Asnain, @srinisundar @rajagopal_j
Cheers
- Abinash
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