Outlaw Partial Open Baffle

happyrabbit · « **Reply #120 on:** 28 Nov 2014, 05:09 pm »

Paul,

CONGRATS

Report back @ 500hrs if you have the chance.. I know louis stated 50hrs for the break in period.

thanks for the report and enjoy !

Dwight

Audiophile58 · « **Reply #121 on:** 30 Nov 2014, 11:17 am »

Hello Dwight I have changed digital cables ,and that too was easy to hear the changes and better cable.
With this speaker I do recommend a subwoofer for easy music ,light jaz and voices excellent.if you want to play movies,and high dynamics then a Sub woofer,is needed.Louis deep hemp sub are very robust and custom matched cabinet finishes. I set the sub at about 70 hz ,it allows the 1.5 open baffle to coast very open and airy on top with good attack and Mids are seamless even with my brothers outlaw audio ultra12 sub very easy to blend with these speakers.and that sub is Huge.

kirch · « **Reply #122 on:** 3 Dec 2014, 05:43 pm »

Hey Outlaw-heads, here's a quick update if anyone’s interested. Spent a week or two with the Von Schweikert VR-2s in the system. Today I put the Outlaws back in with the accompanying Omega sub. And because I was lazy and just to see how they'd sound, I kept the same speaker cables on. Yes, the dreaded solid core Anti Cables. And guess what? They sound just fine. In fact, they sound very good. As expected, a different character than other cables but still very good. Remember that awful canned mid-range I referred to early on, long before the Outlaws were broken in? Totally gone - even with the Anti Cables.

Once these speakers are broken in, anything goes. I’m guessing I have 400 hour or more on them now. Play around with different connections etc. It all sounds good, but of course, you’ll find one that you prefer. Pat Metheny’s Imaginary Day sounds really, really good. I

It’s cool to come back to the Outlaws after some time off. I appreciate them even more now.

Canada Rob · « **Reply #123 on:** 3 Dec 2014, 07:43 pm »

Quote from: kirch on 3 Dec 2014, 05:43 pm

Hey Outlaw-heads, here's a quick update if anyone’s interested. Spent a week or two with the Von Schweikert VR-2s in the system. Today I put the Outlaws back in with the accompanying Omega sub. And because I was lazy and just to see how they'd sound, I kept the same speaker cables on. Yes, the dreaded solid core Anti Cables. And guess what? They sound just fine. In fact, they sound very good. As expected, a different character than other cables but still very good. Remember that awful canned mid-range I referred to early on, long before the Outlaws were broken in? Totally gone - even with the Anti Cables.

Once these speakers are broken in, anything goes. I’m guessing I have 400 hour or more on them now. Play around with different connections etc. It all sounds good, but of course, you’ll find one that you prefer. Pat Metheny’s Imaginary Day sounds really, really good. I

It’s cool to come back to the Outlaws after some time off. I appreciate them even more now.

This post really shows the importance of break in. We can't stress it enough.

happyrabbit · « **Reply #124 on:** 22 Dec 2014, 09:45 pm »

45 meets 1.5

Canada Rob · « **Reply #125 on:** 23 Dec 2014, 05:54 pm »

happyrabbit,

You must be a happy rabbit owning that gorgeous amp (I assume you own it). Is it the Silver 45SE? I'm very curious as to how it sounds compared to your other amplifiers. Being your speakers are 4 ohm and the amp has no extra taps, how is it responding to your speakers with regards to impedance?

happyrabbit · « **Reply #126 on:** 24 Dec 2014, 05:39 am »

Hey CR !

This is the CU model. No Silver for me

A couple thoughts :

The EML 45 solid plate feel like a big improvement over the nos ge 45's supplied with the unit. the EML's need more break-in hours before i quantify them.

I am not sure how I feel about the 8ohm / 4ohm mismatch. The sound is a bit boxy @ very low spl.

Compared to my SS Amp / Tube Pre , the EF 45 CU is a tone , texture , and decay machine. this became apparent almost immediately. Not a massive difference and would be happy with both systems but now i have heard the difference .

1.7 watts is more than enough.

I like the vt-231 rca grey better than the 6sn7 sylvania chrome tops. The sylvania's are too analytical with the eml solid plates.

Absolutely luv the old school look / feel

Dwight

DaveC113 · « **Reply #127 on:** 24 Dec 2014, 06:16 am »

Nice amp!

I have found the 5692 version of 6SN7 to be the quietest, I have 4 each RCA and Sylvania and they are all the same. I like all 6SN7s, I haven't found any NOS versions to be bad and I have a pretty large collection.

I prefer the 5692s, then the Russian 1578 type, then most any Sylvania. I do not have the RCA vt-231s you have though, one of these days...

happyrabbit · « **Reply #128 on:** 30 Dec 2014, 01:25 am »

Dave - 5692 look tasty. Never owned a pair. I liked my Melz's but one tube became unstable related to the base. I found the TJ Full Music 6sn7 to be the best for new production.

O'Canada - 6 ohm partial silver trans ordered. i talked to Tony @ EF. A very pleasant gentleman

My 2a3 doesn't sound so great compared to the 45. This not an unexpected discovery given everything i have read and my 2a3's build quality (aka nothing special). I was concerned about the 1.7 watts but it was unfounded. 45 SET and 1.5 OB are sublime together.

Dwight

Canada Rob · « **Reply #129 on:** 30 Dec 2014, 02:06 am »

Quote from: happyrabbit on 30 Dec 2014, 01:25 am

Dave - 5692 look tasty. Never owned a pair. I liked my Melz's but one tube became unstable related to the base. I found the TJ Full Music 6sn7 to be the best for new production.

O'Canada - 6 ohm partial silver trans ordered. i talked to Tony @ EF. A very pleasant gentleman

My 2a3 doesn't sound so great compared to the 45. This not an unexpected discovery given everything i have read and my 2a3's build quality (aka nothing special). I was concerned about the 1.7 watts but it was unfounded. 45 SET and 1.5 OB are sublime together.

Dwight

This is really interesting. I have a Bottlehead Stereomour 2A3 kit waiting to be built and it can also be wired for 45. 1.7 watts doesn't deter me after using various Decware Zens over the years which are about the same power. Does anyone on here have experience with the Stereomour on 45 tubes?

DaveC113 · « **Reply #130 on:** 30 Dec 2014, 04:31 pm »

Quote from: happyrabbit on 30 Dec 2014, 01:25 am

Dave - 5692 look tasty. Never owned a pair. I liked my Melz's but one tube became unstable related to the base. I found the TJ Full Music 6sn7 to be the best for new production.

O'Canada - 6 ohm partial silver trans ordered. i talked to Tony @ EF. A very pleasant gentleman

My 2a3 doesn't sound so great compared to the 45. This not an unexpected discovery given everything i have read and my 2a3's build quality (aka nothing special). I was concerned about the 1.7 watts but it was unfounded. 45 SET and 1.5 OB are sublime together.

Dwight

A friend had Fi 2a3 monoblocks ($$$) with 6SN7 drivers and IMO they were a little tweaky... tube rolling made almost too big of a difference, really changing the balance of the system. I brought over my EL34 amp and it was better in a lot of ways... Since then he's had a custom 300B amp built, I have not heard it yet but if it can provide the midrange detail of the 2a3 with the body and weight of my EL34 amp it'll be a huge winner.

You should be able to find Sylvania 5692 for around $100/pair, the red base RCAs go for more but I think they are exactly the same tube.

Sorry I forgot to answer re the trannys but you did exactly what I would have recommended... ask the manufacturer!

OPTs are hugely important, I hope the new ones sound great!

kirch · « **Reply #131 on:** 3 Jan 2015, 03:28 pm »

Any Outlaw partial open baffle people tried an amp with a good deal of power, like 100 wpc or more? I have an old Carver CM-1090 integrated with 100 wpc laying around so I popped it into the system for kicks. Can't really tell if I prefer or don't prefer it. Thought more power might somehow beef up the bass response or overall fullness of reproduction, but it doesn't really seem to do much in that respect. I'm guessing it's because this amp, while decent back in its day, really "ain't all that" in 2015. Still sounds good, but I had certain expectations relating to the increase from 10 to 100 watts.

Anyone try a "good" higher power SS amp like Musical Fidelity, Classe, Bryston etc.? Just curious. I like to have a couple options to swap around. Thinking of adding something along those lines just to have on hand. Best in the NY everyone!

DaveC113 · « **Reply #132 on:** 3 Jan 2015, 03:35 pm »

kirch, Crown XLS 1500

kirch · « **Reply #133 on:** 3 Jan 2015, 03:40 pm »

Class D, and it's dirt cheap too . . . interesting.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #134 on:** 3 Jan 2015, 03:46 pm »

A few months ago I posted about it replacing a friend's Atmosphere amp on his Pipedream line arrays, which led to this:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=130191.0

Seems like it's worth trying, I think they work well with the RS5 driver.

kirch · « **Reply #135 on:** 3 Jan 2015, 06:44 pm »

Might pull the trigger on one of these. Can always return it within 30 days if I don't like it.

Any idea about noise? This much power and at 98db sensitive, I wonder if the open backs will pick up too much noise from this amp. I've had a Wyred4Sound class D amp before, but with a much less sensitive speaker, so it was really quiet with that set up.

kirch · « **Reply #136 on:** 14 Jan 2015, 02:56 pm »

Interesting comparison between the Benchmark DAC and my AN 3.1 DAC. No real surprises - these Benchmarks are very nice little components. Crystal clear, analytical (and I mean that in a good way), excellent stereo separation with great detail. The Benchmark also brings about a more focused, tighter bass from both the speakers and the Omega sub. Earlier on in the life of the Open Backs, the benchmark would have been a horrible mistake, but since they've settled in after a zillion hours, I'd say for any solid state person that the Benchmark is a great fit. It pairs well with my Audio Note OTO sig tube integrated.

Thought anyone considering an affordable solid state DAC might want to check into the Benchmark. They're very affordable, have a tiny footprint and go for $500 or so on Agon. I'm on my second one and decided I need to keep one around at all times just for swapping and playing around with different combos. They're that good, IMHO.

Side note - I've been getting the bug to change components again, and this little swap out of the DAC has stopped that in its tracks. (Whew!)

happyrabbit · « **Reply #137 on:** 23 Feb 2015, 06:59 am »

I had Electra Fidelity change out the transformers from 8 ohm to 4 ohm 7K Partial Silver last month. I did a brief comparison between the 45 SET and my solid state amp / tube preamp today. I have owned an 300B and 2A3 amp and the tap settings did little to change the sound. The Outlaw 1.5 responded favorably to the 4 ohm taps. The difference with the 4ohm allows the EF 45 to blow past my SS AMP / Tube Preamp Combination. More transparent, deeper stage and with more passion. The SS Amp / Tube Preamp combo sounded bland. The 4ohm taps also leveled the playing field with NOS 45 and the EML 45. Both Sound great now. The speakers are @ 5' from the back wall with center line seating position @ 7' away. I feel 5' from the back wall is the absolute minimum for the OB 1.5. YMMV.

I have included a couple pics of my visit to Electra Fidelity during my trip to Vegas. Jack, the owner of Electra Fidelity, gave me an ear full @ transformer design. To be honest, I consider transformer design black magic. Jack has a wonderful sense of humor, intelligent, and a bit opinionated too

. Considering I brought my amp 2nd hand, Electra Fidelity was very accommodating. I also demoed his 211 SET amp during my visit. My 1st encounter with the 211 Tube. Super Jelly

Jack is the older gentleman on the right.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #138 on:** 23 Feb 2015, 03:52 pm »

Congrats, nice amps!

The 211, 845 or 805 is my holy grail of tube amps but they cost a fortune just for the parts to build them! One of these days...

Looks like Jack runs Sonist? They are pretty good... for mulit-way speakers.

Canada Rob · « **Reply #139 on:** 23 Feb 2015, 06:47 pm »

HappyWabbit,

Nice post, beautiful mono blocks, and glad your 45 is working out well. It would be nice to see Jack try some Omegas on his amps.