Well, I finally got to hear the ClariT amp from Red Wine Audio and it was good. Thanks go out to Gary from NY who was kind enough to pack his ClariT and Scott Nixon all the way from home to share and listen to thru my Altec 19s.
As I've said before, I was 'chuckling impressed' with what the Sonic Impact amp could sound thru my speakers, and the ClariT definitely kicks the ball a little higher!
Sturgus, Mike D. and Gary all came over last nite, to join me in my totally unfinished attic packed with boxes of anything I ever save worth keeping, and many things not worth keeping. It is about a 16' x 22' room, with drywall and 'stuff', flakeboard floor (with some carpet scraps), and camping chairs. Not the most ideal of conditions, but at least for my own purposes, having listened to my other gear up there, I was at least used to the sound (or lack of acoustics) already.
My current rig for listening most recently has been tubed amp and pre amp in the form of the ST-35 clone which comes from DIYTube.com.
It sports el-84 tubes, and has a lively, full sound, for me, especially in the midrange.
The preamp is the Hagerman Technology Clarinet I built last fall. Although not there when I originally built it, I have developed a low level hum in it, and have not had time to chase it down. It is a disagreeable hum for me because it is there, but it seems to disappear righteously once music is playing. Synergistic Research aftermarket power cords make the tube amps sing nicely.
On the digital side, I have my trusty Rega Planet and Theta DSPro Basic IIIa for a dac. This is the only dac I have ever owned, but never before have I heard another one, more or less side by side. The quick version is that there were no quick swaps of them, and they both 'did their job' really well. I'd hope to spend more time with a Scott Nixon dac again, before willing to plunk down cash for one to replace the Theta. But then again, the original price of the Theta was over $2k if I remember right, and the Nixon dac had big shoes to fill. WIthout listening closely to them, I'd find either one easy to live with coupled up to the Planet.
ANYway, Gary graciously brought his amp over while in town on business, and it was a delight to hear something 'new' again, coupled up to the Altec 19s. I'm still getting used to these speakers, which I hope to 'renew' in the spring/summer, though I have no real complaints about them, save their size and their lack of cooperation with my solidstate Bryston gear.
IN the previous arrangement of my listening gear, it has been in my living room measuring 13' square. Basically, it was real nearfield for the Altecs.
In the new arrangement piling everything into the attic while I worked on other areas of the house, this long room has allowed new distances and a new way of listening for me. Last nite, we sat between 12-15' away from the speakers, and it really broadens the soundstage, something I thought I would never have in my home. The speakers sit about 3' off the walls to side and rear, but there is a lot of stuff piled up between.
Gary put his amp and dac in at the same time, and we cranked it up.
Listened to music he knew, or Sturgus knew, or me.
My biggest impression of the ClariT and the Sonic Impact I started playing with were that everything the SI brought, the ClariT fulffilled. The 'dark background' from which the music played gets a new coat of unreflecting pitch with the ClariT. !!
I've messed with cords and deadicated circuits, a PowerWedge, JR Power doohickey...and never gotten as fully blackened as this gave up.
Listening for 'obscura' I guess I'd call it, I was finding them as well.
We probably all have favorites that we have listened to over the years and found renewed interest with new gear when there is a different soundstage painted, and some things not even heard before, show up. ayup! Towards the end of 'Spirtual' on the "Beyond the Missouri Sky' album by Pat Metheny/Charlie Haden, there are critter noises in the form of crickets, and then doves that when I first bought the album, I couldn't even hear, so I use that album a lot for such things.
I would say that on the ClariT, the crickets came in earlier than I remember them coming in. (I listened to this cut again on the tubes when everyone else left.) There's another good mark for the ClariT! I don't always know where to put this capacity, though I have always thought of it as a good thing. I realized though, as I talked to Gary about it that with some recordings, it is almost like one were listening to a different mix, like finally getting a MoFI recording of an old favorite. It is just amazing sometimes when you can find new information you haven't heard before.
We listened to the ClariT for about 2 hours, I guess, and it was a lot of fun hearing something so completely unknown. The music had a lot of energy, clarity and freshness. I don't think that we got the volume up past 10 o'clock much, and at least one time Gary noted it at 9. That still astounds me how much comes out of those Altecs with battery power!
Eventually, we returned my gear back in place and listened to the tubes for about an hour or so. After everyone left at that point, I went back up and listened for another hour and thought about things.
I feel like I got a good taste of what the tripath amps can offer, though admitedly, not under the best circumstances, given the room, and for me, given that I spent tuesday and this (thursday) morning having a root canal.
I wish I would have had a clearer mind, but that is asking a lot for someone like me.
I'd like to hear the ClariT some more. There are many things I liked that it brougt to the performances. The nits I could pick with it could mostly be because my gray matter hasn't quite figured out how to perceive it and I might need more break-in time than the gear. I went through the same sort of thing going from solid state to tube stuff.
I have further opinions, but I'd like to keep my mouth shut a little longer to sort it all out and let others perhaps comment on what they heard.
My thanks go out to Gary for bringing his gear half way across the country for letting me hear something I don't know how I'd hear, any other way. Your kindness abounds, sir! Sturgus and Mike D. for showing up, sharing thoughts and helping to make the beer go away. Vinni and Scott Nixon for laying on us these crazy battery powered delights that I think can run alongside about anyone's gear, if they have speakers willing to be sensitive enough.
I sure had a good time.
Here's some pictures, I think, couched in another album of the old room:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=542Best Regards,
DeadFish
