[adydula]

srb..

and this is why i will never be a rich man someone is always stealing my ideas!!!

Alex!!

 

I was thinking of a speaker wire ramp...to make sure that the speaker cables would be higher at the amp vs at the speaker connection so gravity would help make the electrons flow out of the amp more efficiently to the speaker thus reducing the load on the amp and increasing the amps efficency...should be a downhill solution all the way!

[JerryM]

I was thinking of a speaker wire ramp...to make sure that the speaker cables would be higher at the amp vs at the speaker connection so gravity would help make the electrons flow out of the amp more efficiently to the speaker thus reducing the load on the amp and increasing the amps efficency...should be a downhill solution all the way!

I don't know about that one, Alex. The electrons would all be laughing it up, holding their hands in the air and screaming all the way down. There's a good chance the younger electrons would barf when they got to the end of the ramp.

Just thinking out loud here...   

Have fun,
Jerry

[adydula]

Screaming Electrons!!!

Dang, do you think they would need therapy?
(After the ride that is?)..

 

Note: A mind is a terrible thing to waste....

[JerryM]

Screaming Electrons!!!

Dang, do you think they would need therapy?
(After the ride that is?)..

 

Note: A mind is a terrible thing to waste....

Screaming Electrons...  That's a great name for a band. 

As for therapy, I'm not sure. They've got a big ol' crossover of some sort to face. 

Have fun,
Jerry

[JohnR]

Vincent Audio has already beat you to it by soldering vacuum tubes directly into the circuit boards of their hybrid preamps, power amps and integrateds.  Yeah, I know they're just small signal tubes, but I guess no one who has every owned a tube component has ever replaced a small signal tube.
 
Steve
 

I don't think you have much choice with those ones. You'd have to look it up but I understand that the life expectancy is quite high.

[Construct]

Vincent Audio has already beat you to it by soldering vacuum tubes directly into the circuit boards of their hybrid preamps, power amps and integrateds.  Yeah, I know they're just small signal tubes, but I guess no one who has every owned a tube component has ever replaced a small signal tube.
 
Steve
 

AMC used to do that crap with their tube cd players.  Solder the tubes in place...what a PITA that was to tube roll... 

[turkey]

I don't go out of my way to bash manufacturers products like some of the heavy hitters on AC do with Franks, but when the circumstance arises I'll share my own experiences. Having compared the Bryston 4bbbb....whatever, their current model 6 months ago, directly to the Ultra double 550, in my system and anothers, it wasn't even close. The Bryston sounded more like my mid-fi Carver gear. The BP26 compared to the AVA T-8 and the Manly Jumpo Shrimp was even worse. Then if you want to bring price into it 

I've heard a fair bit of Bryston gear over the years and have always thought it was quite good. It's also built like a brick outhouse. Bryston is certainly light years ahead of many other companies in terms of quality and engineering. They also offer good support of their products.

AVA products are also quite sturdy, and Frank and his employees offer excellent support of the AVA products (and even non-AVA products since I've seen them helping out people who don't even own AVA gear).

I think AVA and Bryston owners and prospective owners will have to decide for themselves which to purchase, but I don't see either one as being a bad decision.

Manley? Not so much. I think they're off in "Audio Neverland" and I really don't think that the Manley products I've heard sounded like anything special. VTL products when David Manley was running things were ok, and some of his ideas were quite good (Frank later came to some of the same conclusions as he did), but rationality mostly went out the window when David was out of the picture.

And I think a couple NYAR'ers would disagree with the "class and decorum" on the Bryston circle.

I've found that James Tanner is a very nice guy. He perhaps lets people get away with things too much in his Circle, but that just seems to be his style.

Some of the Bryston fans are wound pretty tight though, so it can be like disturbing a wasp's nest if you post something they disagree with.

[turkey]

I don't own the AVA stuff anymore, it wasn't set up for 220v when I went overseas for 3 years.  But needless to say, he doesn't publish specs because it's unimportant save for power output, which he does publish.

I would like to see more detailed specs on AVA gear. They can provide useful information.

The typical IHF-style specs don't tell the whole story, but they can point out problem areas. In addition, if Frank doesn't think these types of specs are useful then I wish he would provide specs that are. As it sits I think he has somewhat thrown out the baby with the bathwater.

[turkey]

You know i completely overlooked all those capacitors!   

More terrible electrical connections, the darn signal path actually has to go through an insulator!

How do we hard wire all the inputs to the outputs to all those capacitors and still make the circuits work?  Oh dear oh dear.

You just need to use the Wonderbread SE capacitors. Each capacitor has a built-in Zerohm bypass. They also come with an accessory kit, including a carefully tuned dry chemical fire extinguisher (the best-sounding extinguishers on the planet!).

[Construct]

I would like to see more detailed specs on AVA gear. They can provide useful information.

The typical IHF-style specs don't tell the whole story, but they can point out problem areas. In addition, if Frank doesn't think these types of specs are useful then I wish he would provide specs that are. As it sits I think he has somewhat thrown out the baby with the bathwater.

Would be nice, except I wish I had the thousands of bucks back on "name"  brands that *DID*  publish specs that worked like crap.  Best example:  Rotel's flagship power amp.  That thing had *pathetic*  current transfer.  A 225 wpc AVA ate it for lunch despite it's 380 wpc rating. 

[turkey]

Would be nice, except I wish I had the thousands of bucks back on "name"  brands that *DID*  publish specs that worked like crap.  Best example:  Rotel's flagship power amp.  That thing had *pathetic*  current transfer.  A 225 wpc AVA ate it for lunch despite it's 380 wpc rating.

IHF output power is not really one of the useful specs. I was thinking more of things like S/N ratio and channel separation, plus maybe some others.

There has also been research done that may point the way towards more meaningful testing and specs. The typical specs published with new equipment were decided on 50 years ago, and they were a compromise between some government bureaucrats and the larger audio manufacturers. We need to re-examine the whole topic and see if we can come up with something better, rather than just dismissing the whole topic.

[woodsyi]

... Bryston. It's also built like a brick outhouse.

So, what are you saying about the content of Bryston gear? 

[Construct]

So, what are you saying about the content of Bryston gear? 

Golly... did I inadvertently bash a manufacturer of fine Canadian high fidelity amplification with a double entendre???  On purpose??? 

[Construct]

IHF output power is not really one of the useful specs. I was thinking more of things like S/N ratio and channel separation, plus maybe some others.

There has also been research done that may point the way towards more meaningful testing and specs. The typical specs published with new equipment were decided on 50 years ago, and they were a compromise between some government bureaucrats and the larger audio manufacturers. We need to re-examine the whole topic and see if we can come up with something better, rather than just dismissing the whole topic.

Again, Krell, ML, CJ, Cary and others publish impressive specs, despite the fact I dislike the sound of most of their stuff for various reasons that aren't reflected in specs.

[martyo]

I think AVA and Bryston owners and prospective owners will have to decide for themselves which to purchase, but I don't see either one as being a bad decision.

Manley? Not so much. I think they're off in "Audio Neverland" and I really don't think that the Manley products I've heard sounded like anything special. VTL products when David Manley was running things were ok, and some of his ideas were quite good (Frank later came to some of the same conclusions as he did), but rationality mostly went out the window when David was out of the picture.

Well Turk, it is subjective and different folks prefer different presentations (look at the huge difference in yours and my speakers for example). So on that day if you were present it may have been 5-1. The Bryston amp was opaque and 2 dimensional and the stand out "attribute" of the B26 was brightness. Not even close.

I don't know the family history or the engineering at Manley, and I prefer my T8 overall to the Manley which is twice the price, but it's a beautiful 3 dimensional liquid midrange. The T8 spanks it's lows and highs. In fact, the guy that has the Manley replaced his 25 year old Bryston preamp. They are built. 

[Construct]

The Bryston amp was opaque and 2 dimensional and the stand out "attribute" of the B26 was brightness. Not even close.
 In fact, the guy that has the Manley replaced his 25 year old Bryston preamp. They are built. 

I seem to remember the specs on paper looking good for the Bryston NRB amp.  We all know how that thing sounded.

[dB Cooper]

Vincent Audio has already beat you to it by soldering vacuum tubes directly into the circuit boards of their hybrid preamps, power amps and integrateds.  Yeah, I know they're just small signal tubes, but I guess no one who has every owned a tube component has ever replaced a small signal tube.
 
Steve
 

Maybe they figure their equipment is aimed at gear fetishists who will move on to The Next Trendy Piece Of Equipment before the tubes go bad.

[Minn Mark]

When I was considering the purchase of Magnaplanar 3.6's (which I eventually bought), I auditioned them using in-store examples of Bryston (4b) and Ayre (??) power amps with Ayre and Wadia CD players (no vinyl, darn).  While my listening impressions are different with these versus my AVA Insight 440H and Insight pre-amp, I feel the perceived differences are most likely due to the different room sizes and room treatments, more than any palpable electronic difference(s). So....for the $$ I spent on AVA front-end into the Maggies I dont think I'm missing a thing. I'm very happy.  When I upgraded from Omega III series AVA to the Insight series, I literally JUMPED outta my listening chair. I could not believe the improvements Frank and his team made in the ten years since my inital purchase.  Sorry, but I don't get the level of 'personality' some posters read into comments here, whether by Mr Van Alstine, or others. Life is too short IMHO to be offended by electronic print.   Everybodies got their opnions--vote with your dollars if you must, but at the end of the day---can't we all just be friends and enjoy the exchange of opinions, and listen to some good music?  The music IS what its all about, right...?

Cheers,

Mark

[turkey]

Again, Krell, ML, CJ, Cary and others publish impressive specs, despite the fact I dislike the sound of most of their stuff for various reasons that aren't reflected in specs.

Again, I'm not saying we should rely totally on IHF specs. I was just saying that some of them are useful, and that we shouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

[Construct]

When I was considering the purchase of Magnaplanar 3.6's (which I eventually bought), I auditioned them using in-store examples of Bryston (4b) and Ayre (??) power amps with Ayre and Wadia CD players (no vinyl, darn).

Cheers,

Mark

I have auditioned Ayre amps in the Seattle area.  They are indeed fine, but AVA impresses me just as much without making such a big impression on my bank account.