Sensation Dodd Tube Buffer

OzarkTom · « **on:** 13 Jun 2010, 05:08 am »

"Holy Hi Fi Batman, there is a tube buffer in my Sensation."

All I can say at this time is, I have listened to about 15 of my CD's, only about 285 to go. This is sounding so good, I have to drag every CD out.

I received the Sensation back from Gary Dodd, hooked the unit up, and from the first note played knew something was very different. I was walking into the other room and the sound startled me. I was just going to let it break in, but the sound quickly drew me back.

First the thank you's. Thanks Gary, thanks Seth. You have combined two technologies into a fantastic product. Too bad Dr. Tripath could not hear the result. That Seth is something else, I have never seen this kind of passion, soul, and love that he has for this hobby in 40 years. He is not just happy to be #1 in his class, he would like to be #1 period.

I am not a great typist or writer, so you will have to bear with me on this choppy review. There is more to come, after I listen to the rest of my 285 CD's.

I will let you in on this tidbit, I can switch the tube buffer in and out of the circuit. Tu-be or not tu-be.

Does this make the Sensation the most versatile amp in the world? Roll your power supplies, roll your caps, roll your tubes, and switch it in and out from SS to tube. Perfect for the DIY'ers or just plain tinkerers or just plain music lovers.

virtue · « **Reply #1 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 05:32 am »

I'm half laughing, half crying, half smiling. You weren't supposed to scoop the hybrid Sensation, Tom! It's a top-secret project!!!

Anyway, it does live and we're really excited about it. Haven't made it available widely yet but a number of "preview" units are going out this week and extra parts are on order so that the wait for these bad boys doesn't grow too long.

For those of you who already own Sensations, the DIY upgrade is not horrific, although much easier if we can send you the modded volume control board. Otherwise, you'll be able to send it back to Gary who will be able to upgrade you for the standard price plus shipping.

I haven't heard it myself but Gary says the thing is f-king spectacular.

virtue · « **Reply #2 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 06:05 am »

At this point I know that this thing is going to be green-lighted so I'd welcome any questions here in this thread. If you were thinking of buying a Sensation and want the tube buffer, send me a PM.

Here are some pics:

Feast your eyes! And ears!

OzarkTom · « **Reply #3 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 07:34 am »

Oops, sorry Seth, but Gary is right about the sound, I just could not refrain myself. I should have asked you first. I am sorry if I jeopardized the secret mission.

I keep digging out my worst sounding CD's and am getting blown away everytime. On the Doors CD "The Future Starts Here", I only had one song that sounded great before, "Hello, I Love You", now every song sounds great. It now has some of the most expansive soundstage of any of the 60's rock era. I have a wall of sound that stretches the full 26 feet in my listening room and beyond. "Riders on the Storm" sounds the best I have ever heard in over 40 years of listening to that somg.

I hate Country Western Music, but there is one I own, Shania Twain. It has consistantly sounded bad on every system I have ever tried it on. Her vocals sounds very strained, her band sounds very eletronically harsh. Now even Shania sounds great, her vocals and and her band.

Jazz, rock, classical, bluegrass, all the music is sounding much better now thanks to Gary's tube buffer and Seth's brilliant idea. If I am back at the LSAF next year, those boys had better have a much better sounding system than they had this year if they want to beat me.

mamba315 · « **Reply #4 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 08:54 am »

OzarkTom, was the tube buffer the only change Gary made on your amp?

Seth, any ballpark figure on the price for existing Sensation owners?

Nuuk · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 09:48 am »

Ozark Tom, what does your system consist of? ie - Do you feed your source straight into your amp? If so it is no surprise to me what you have written above.

Impedance matching is probably the single most understood subject in hi-fi! My advice is ALWAYS to try some sort of buffer between the source and amp. That old 'less-is-more' story doesn't apply unless we are very lucky with our choice of source and amp, so a buffer will almost always give the results that you report above.

One of the mysteries that I would like explained though is why it will make a bigger improvement to some recordings than others. It's usually those that have a lower output level that sound most improved.

jtwrace · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 11:05 am »

That's cool!

OzarkTom · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 12:37 pm »

Gary also replaced the caps with AuriCaps, Seth? I cannot see the very small writing on these. That made a large improvement, but Gary's addition of the tube buffer was the icing on the cake.

Nuuk. I always try to run the source as direct as possible. I learned that about 30 years ago as a high-end audio dealer. The more stuff in the signal path, the more problems you have. I am running the Virtue Piano CD playerinto the Sensation with the Gallo Stradas and a very small sub. I switched it to the 80 Hz filter which is a large improvement in itself. I wonder if Gary ran it that way since the filter was still switched over to the 80 hz setting.

Another incredible improvement in the Sensation with this tube buffer is the soundstage height. It was respectable before, but now extends all the way to the ceiling. I had just figured that the Stradas was incapable of that. I was wrong.

I have some various tubes on the way, we will see if anything changes when I roll the tubes. But the one Gary included is so neutral that it maybe a tough decision.

gld · « **Reply #8 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 02:26 pm »

Tom, I did use the Sensation in the 80 hz position as I am using a pair of Danny's V-1's.
And I replaced only the caps in that position. I used a Sonicap gen2 .1uf@200v. The other caps in the full range position are Virtu caps. I am shipping the units with a JJ ECC803 which after trying many different tubes was found to be very neutral and very musical! You can try several types of tubes in the Sensation. Any tube from the 12Axx family can be used. All of them will have different results.
gary

brother love · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 05:20 pm »

Quote from: virtue on 13 Jun 2010, 05:32 am

I haven't heard it myself but Gary says the thing is f-king spectacular.

Is that a direct quote?

OzarkTom, thanks for the scoop. This sounds like a marriage made in heaven.

OzarkTom · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 05:33 pm »

Quote from: brother love on 13 Jun 2010, 05:20 pm

Is that a direct quote?

OzarkTom, thanks for the scoop. This sounds like a marriage made in heaven.

Maybe I just died and gone to audio heaven.

OzarkTom · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 06:09 pm »

Musicality:

This is one of the most important in my listening book. Gary mentioned the tube as being musical, and he is 100% correct. I can now listen for unlimited hours with no fatigue or no electronic harshness. If you are in need of a musical amp with plenty of detail, definitely look at this one.

I don"t like to give anything a 10 rating, but I have to on this. Incredible! A 10.

Female Vocals: I have a CD by Patty Griffen "Living With Ghosts". Overall, it has plenty of guitar plucking detail. She sounds like Cheryl Crow and is a folk singer.

The first song "Moses" just screams at you when she sings. I tried tube and SS amps to no avail. The singing is so irritating that I quickly switch to the next song. The rest of the CD sounds great. I finally listened to it all the way yesterday with the tube buffered Sensation. If you enjoy female vocals, you will be very happy with this amp. Instead of being slightly thin and dry, smooth musical airiness is what you will get. Diana Krall amd Norah Jones have never sounded better, much more natural sounding than before.

This rating is a 9.0-9.5. If none of the other amps play "Moses" musically, then it is a 10.

Mariusz · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 06:43 pm »

What's the switch for?

So only 12V tubes and not 6V like in the buffer kit?
Last Q - what is the estimated play time of Sensation integrated together with tube buffer?

P.S
Looks good and since the cat is out of the bag........

I will admit - I am getting one for myself

Not sure when it is coming in???? But that doesn't concern me.
I had RWA Sig. 30.2 amps running with Dodd full preamp ones (that combo was around 5K list] so,
if sensation can get me there at fraction of that price......it would be quite an accomplishment.

Mariusz

virtue · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 06:54 pm »

The switch allows you to disable the tube buffer for A:B comparison. Ask gary about the 6v tubes...

Mariusz · « **Reply #14 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 07:03 pm »

Quote from: virtue on 13 Jun 2010, 06:54 pm

The switch allows you to disable the tube buffer for A:B comparison. Ask gary about the 6v tubes...

That is neat.

brother love · « **Reply #15 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 07:11 pm »

I know the Sensation utilizes (2) 12v= 24v x 5 or 7 amp battery supply. Seems like the current Dodd Audio DIY passive tube buffer employs (1) 12v battery 7 amp battery.

So what is the battery supply configuration for this hybrid ?

vvvv This is getting better by the minute.

vvvv

virtue · « **Reply #16 on:** 13 Jun 2010, 07:18 pm »

There's a voltage regulator as part of the solution. So you don't need to worry about it. Current draw is negligible. Still, a single power source, 18-30v will do, no worries.

OzarkTom · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 Jun 2010, 03:44 am »

I have a/b'ed the Sensation with and without the tube buffer quite a few times, and after tonight, I will probably just leave it on the tube. I have not found one CD that sounds better without. The bad CD's I have bought now sounds listenable, I am amazed. Some of the bad ones even sounds incredible.

If anyone here is keen on hearing the problems with electronic hardness or listening fatique, you must listen to this amp with batteries. The Xylophone, chimes, cymbals, and any of the other percussion instruments sounds much more natural without the hardness. All wind instrument sounds more natural. Add the strings also.

And male vocals? That is also a 9+. I even put a Michael Jackson CD on tonight. Quincy Jones did a wonderful job with the soundstage and imaging, but Michael is staged as a very small voice in comparison. That is not true any more with the tube buffer.

virtue · « **Reply #18 on:** 14 Jun 2010, 03:57 am »

Tom,

I'm reading this thread and am now a confused. You clearly loved Sensation before... why the apparent change of heart? Are you saying that Sensation without the buffer is "harsh" and "fatiguing" with or without batteries?

Sincerely,

Joe Customer

wsturner · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 Jun 2010, 04:10 am »

If you want an absolute "wall of sound" listen to a QSound CD on a Virtue amp.

Following are some CD's done with QSound:

Amused to Death by Roger Waters
Pulse by Pink Floyd
The Soul Cages by Sting
Fever Ray

Can't wait to hear what these sound like with the Dodd Tube Buffer.

The Virtue amps sound amazing when run with a battery, and upgraded caps. And now, it appears, that the Dodd Tube Buffer puts the M451 completely over the top! Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, it gets better.

Thanks for giving all of us such an amazing amp!