psychotropic
Well-Known Member
These are just some random thoughts on the meet-up we had this morning at Bala's (thevortex) place, with Rajiv, iaudio and captrajesh.
For the very first time in my life I listened to a system well and truly in the audiophile 'left' (where analog, tubes and single drivers are 'left' and digital, solid state and multiple drivers are 'right'), and fully understood what people say when they talk about the 'tube sound' and so on. I mean I've heard tubes before in different setups, but never had a chance to do a comparison to a solid-state amplifier as well to clearly and precisely understand the essence of the two types of sound.
The Setup
Bala has a setup with a computer based transport feeding a gorgeous looking DAC built by Viren of Lyrita (more details of which I'll let Bala post) and a Lyrita SET amp powering Lyrita Harmony One (?) speakers with Fostex 167e drivers.
My Introduction to the Tube Sound
We listened to a lot of material from rock to jazz to tamil film music (and the sheffield drum test disc) and so on and it was a very interesting and new sound for me, the mid-rang was thicker and had more body and bloom, while the treble detail was slightly rolled off and the bass had less slam. Voices sounded more live and present, but kick drums and snares didn't 'bite' the way I like them to.
For a 'rightist' audiophile like me, this was an eye-opening experience and an educational one.
Comparisoin with the Tripath
Then for comparison we swapped out the SET amp with my Topping TP20 tripath amplifier, with everything else in the chain remaining the same. The difference was stark. The bass had much more slam. The treble detail was clearer, but the midrange was much leaner and didn't have the body of the tubes. I also felt that the SET did better on dynamic passages than the Topping. From my experience today I am quite convinced that tubes (at least SETs of the variety that Viren makes) are entirely a matter of taste. Both the amps had their strengths and weaknesses, and I think a dream sound for me would be something that had the slam and detail of the Topping, with a bit (but not all) of the mid-range body of the SET, and the dynamics of the SET.
In their pristine forms I guess for primarily a rock music listener like me solid-state still wins out, but for someone who listens to a lot of jazz and music with a lot of vocals, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't at least try out some tubes.
The Toppings
But I have to say (proud owner bias apart), the Topping really shone in the setup. It didn't do what the tube amp could do, but I think it did every bit as well as a really good solid-state amp costing 10 times its 4000 rupee sticker price, would have done, in a similar setup. Clean, detailed power. No lack of slam or muscle or any of those things that people accuse digital amplifiers of. And for all those with apprehensions about the switching supply...None of the people listening today could make out any noise or distortion from the PSU that comes with the Topping. It's a real giant killer for 4000 bucks. Guys, bear me out on this
The Speakers
The speakers need special mention. The sound was full and cohesive. It handled transients superbly and imaged and soundstaged really well, but within its very narrow sweet spot. While I may every so slightly prefer a multi-driver speaker all said and done, my dream scenario would be one where I had the choice of swapping between these two types depending on the music that I wanted to listen to.
For the very first time in my life I listened to a system well and truly in the audiophile 'left' (where analog, tubes and single drivers are 'left' and digital, solid state and multiple drivers are 'right'), and fully understood what people say when they talk about the 'tube sound' and so on. I mean I've heard tubes before in different setups, but never had a chance to do a comparison to a solid-state amplifier as well to clearly and precisely understand the essence of the two types of sound.
The Setup
Bala has a setup with a computer based transport feeding a gorgeous looking DAC built by Viren of Lyrita (more details of which I'll let Bala post) and a Lyrita SET amp powering Lyrita Harmony One (?) speakers with Fostex 167e drivers.
My Introduction to the Tube Sound
We listened to a lot of material from rock to jazz to tamil film music (and the sheffield drum test disc) and so on and it was a very interesting and new sound for me, the mid-rang was thicker and had more body and bloom, while the treble detail was slightly rolled off and the bass had less slam. Voices sounded more live and present, but kick drums and snares didn't 'bite' the way I like them to.
For a 'rightist' audiophile like me, this was an eye-opening experience and an educational one.
Comparisoin with the Tripath
Then for comparison we swapped out the SET amp with my Topping TP20 tripath amplifier, with everything else in the chain remaining the same. The difference was stark. The bass had much more slam. The treble detail was clearer, but the midrange was much leaner and didn't have the body of the tubes. I also felt that the SET did better on dynamic passages than the Topping. From my experience today I am quite convinced that tubes (at least SETs of the variety that Viren makes) are entirely a matter of taste. Both the amps had their strengths and weaknesses, and I think a dream sound for me would be something that had the slam and detail of the Topping, with a bit (but not all) of the mid-range body of the SET, and the dynamics of the SET.
In their pristine forms I guess for primarily a rock music listener like me solid-state still wins out, but for someone who listens to a lot of jazz and music with a lot of vocals, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't at least try out some tubes.
The Toppings
But I have to say (proud owner bias apart), the Topping really shone in the setup. It didn't do what the tube amp could do, but I think it did every bit as well as a really good solid-state amp costing 10 times its 4000 rupee sticker price, would have done, in a similar setup. Clean, detailed power. No lack of slam or muscle or any of those things that people accuse digital amplifiers of. And for all those with apprehensions about the switching supply...None of the people listening today could make out any noise or distortion from the PSU that comes with the Topping. It's a real giant killer for 4000 bucks. Guys, bear me out on this
The Speakers
The speakers need special mention. The sound was full and cohesive. It handled transients superbly and imaged and soundstaged really well, but within its very narrow sweet spot. While I may every so slightly prefer a multi-driver speaker all said and done, my dream scenario would be one where I had the choice of swapping between these two types depending on the music that I wanted to listen to.
