Hi Hydra, Virens 2a3 modded amp with Slagle transformers is also a great match. So is First Watt and Berning. With Berning, you have to be a little careful. Everything has to be optimised. Else it can go wrong.
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Hi Hydra, Virens 2a3 modded amp with Slagle transformers is also a great match. So is First Watt and Berning. With Berning, you have to be a little careful. Everything has to be optimised. Else it can go wrong.
@Atharva - 18*24 is a pretty big room. You could have even considered a Saadhana.
@hydra, thanks for the kind words. Yes, I pull them in front for serious listening. Jacob is not sure when he will the amp ready. I hope I can borrow a tube just to listen to it
BTW, I was hoping to stop at your place during my visit but I didn't get in touch because of lack of time.
@Kushanava, the Saadhana were my first choice. But the Saadhana are suitable for rooms up to 800 sq ft while Maarga suit rooms up to 400 sq ft (mine is about that). I think the Saadhana needs more breathing space. Besides, the Maarga barely fit where I needed it
Hari, try a simple experiment. Attach a mic to the amp. Ask someone to sing into the mic. Try a variety of well engineered amps and speakers. There will not be much difference. Most of the problems happen because in most cases our source is not upto the mark. To add to the problem the source material too is compressed in most cases.
When it comes to amps and speaker their synergy is most important. For example a Gaanam amp will sound superb with the Rethms. Replace the Rethms with a Electrostatic speaker and it will sound terrible. There is no way a Gaanam will be able to handle impedance swings. Use a Parasound JC 1 with the Electrostatics and it will sound fabulous. When you change your speaker, many times it becomes important to relook at the amp.
A well set up B&W 800 series, Soundlab electrostatics, Rethms, ATC and a whole lot of other speakers all sound fabulous. I could live with any of them. Yes there will be some differences but the fundamentals of all these speakers will be correct. Needless to say, each of these speakers will need a different amp to sound good. No one amp is likely to work with all. But if the source is ordinary or the source material is not upto the mark, none of these speakers are going to shine[/
+1 well said:thumbsup:
Completely agree on this. in fact instead of looking at the system (excluding the source) as individual components we can also look it it as synergies and this is especially true for the Room-Speaker synergy and Speaker Amp Synergy which are the most important to get right.When it comes to amps and speaker their synergy is most important. For example a Gaanam amp will sound superb with the Rethms. Replace the Rethms with a Electrostatic speaker and it will sound terrible. There is no way a Gaanam will be able to handle impedance swings. Use a Parasound JC 1 with the Electrostatics and it will sound fabulous. When you change your speaker, many times it becomes important to relook at the amp.
A far as amp goes, apart from SET tube, also give a try to Pass F5 or F6 if possible. They suit really well with the Saadhanas.
My 2 cents.
Hi sachu888, if I am not mistaken the Hiraga has a damping factor of around 10. Rethms seem to prefer a damping factor of less than 3. On my amp I can change the damping factor from about 2.5 to 5. 5 does not sound good. Most First watt amps have a lower damping factor than Hiraga but having said that the Hiraga is definitely worth trying with the Rethms.
Chances are Jacob may have heard the combo but afaik he does not like any solid state amp with his speakers. Not even the first watt sit 1 which is probably the best first watt amp