Arj and i were at Rajivs place on Saturday. Gosh Rajiv is a walking talking encyclopedia on all great sounding vintage stuff. There are lots of guys who can tell you a lot about vintage stuff but I have hardly come across anyone who has knowledge of whats great, whats good and whats not. And to top it this knowledge comes with what is easily serviceable and what is not.
The day i am going all vintage, Rajiv is going to be my best buddy.
Coming to the listening session, i was fairly impressed with the Lyrita 2A3 amp. I personally did not have a great experience listening to it at my place as well as at Jaibir. It was lacking in dynamics. At Rajivs place it was a lot more dynamic. I checked with Rajiv to check if his amp was a little different from the others. Rajiv said he uses a 16 ohm tap. Maybe that makes the difference. He even replaced the 2A3 with the 45s. Sound became a lot more linear. There was also more transparency. Immediacy and micro dynamics improved. But there was a loss in the magical mids as compared to the 2A3. Rajiv's endeavour is to get the best qualities of the 2 tubes in his system.
It was the first time i was hearing Altec speakers. Because of the room size, Rajiv was using directional horns to avoid room interference. This was a new learning for me. That is what horn diaphragms to use for what kind of room size. Needles to say the sound was immediate, coherent and life like. Someday i would like to listen to the Altecs in a larger room to see what dynamics it is capable of.
All in all Rajivs knowledge and warmth and not to forget his wifes hospitality made it an unforgettable afternoon.
Thanks Rajiv.
The day i am going all vintage, Rajiv is going to be my best buddy.
Coming to the listening session, i was fairly impressed with the Lyrita 2A3 amp. I personally did not have a great experience listening to it at my place as well as at Jaibir. It was lacking in dynamics. At Rajivs place it was a lot more dynamic. I checked with Rajiv to check if his amp was a little different from the others. Rajiv said he uses a 16 ohm tap. Maybe that makes the difference. He even replaced the 2A3 with the 45s. Sound became a lot more linear. There was also more transparency. Immediacy and micro dynamics improved. But there was a loss in the magical mids as compared to the 2A3. Rajiv's endeavour is to get the best qualities of the 2 tubes in his system.
It was the first time i was hearing Altec speakers. Because of the room size, Rajiv was using directional horns to avoid room interference. This was a new learning for me. That is what horn diaphragms to use for what kind of room size. Needles to say the sound was immediate, coherent and life like. Someday i would like to listen to the Altecs in a larger room to see what dynamics it is capable of.
All in all Rajivs knowledge and warmth and not to forget his wifes hospitality made it an unforgettable afternoon.
Thanks Rajiv.
