[Paul_Bui]

Now that the amps have spent around 100 hours in my room, I like them better and better week after week.  First, for the last 32 days there has not been any reliability issue whatsoever.  Sometimes I left them on overnight after a few hours of late night listening, and only started re-charging in the morning.  However I didn't and wouldn't do it with the stereo unit.  The amps were fully charged again after less than 1 hour.  Mechanically and electrically, they performed flawlessly as though they're new.  The Cardas binding posts are lovely fit.

Second, the sound.  Although not nearly broken in yet, I found them extremely detailed, more so than the superbly detailed stock stereo ClariT.  Low and high extensions are better:  low notes are deeper but not necessarily "fatter " just more articulate, highs more refined having more "surround sound" effect when the recording is good enough.  The overall sound no longer have the "softening" effect sometimes I could hear with the stock stereo unit.  In all honesty I didn't realize such character ever existed before I made friends with the monoblocks.

I feel it's still early to describe their full potentials, but more than once they made me tell myself, "Wow, these babies are making my BB 90db FTA2000s sound like Lowther".  They are THAT detailed.  Instead of buying more recordings (I still do but less so), I found myself going back to CDs bought years ago and discovering how they're sounding now through a new level of resolution.  What a pleasure!

[JLM]

Paul,

Thanks for the report.

I know you've not had issue with limited headroom between the 6 wpc Clari-T and the 90 dB/w/m FTA2000, but do you sense that the monoblocks help handle the load any better?  Perhaps as in more dynamics?  Bob Brines, who created/builds the FTA2000, feels that they need at least 30 wpc to really make them sing.  That would be conventional wisdom as the drivers are rated for 27 watts continous/80 watts peak.  However the consensus thinking (that I agree with) says that the distortion/power performance digital amps don't correlate well with conventional measuring methods.

I'm very satisfied with my Clari-T/FTA2000 combo and haven't heard the FTA2000 do any better with any other amp.  OTOH more quality power would probably be a good thing.  Wondering down the road about monoblocks or the Vinnie's Teac.  I might even be convinced to replace the Ack dAck! with an integrated Red Wine amp/DAC.

Vinnie, any opinions?

[Vinnie R.]

First, "thank you" to everyone who has posted in this thread so far...it has really developed with valuable information!

Hi JLM,

However the consensus thinking (that I agree with) says that the distortion/power performance digital amps don't correlate well with conventional measuring methods.

I have to agree...the Clari-T's 6 watts are a big 6-watts, with a ton of speaker control and the ability to power 4-ohm loads without any trouble.

I'm very satisfied with my Clari-T/FTA2000 combo and haven't heard the FTA2000 do any better with any other amp. OTOH more quality power would probably be a good thing. Wondering down the road about monoblocks or the Vinnie's Teac. I might even be convinced to replace the Ack dAck! with an integrated Red Wine amp/DAC.

Vinnie, any opinions?
.

The Red Wine Teac continues to impress me with its very BIG 30 watts, but with finesse that is very comparable to the Clari-T.  I finished modding a few Teacs that were sent out last week, and am hoping to see some feedback posted about them soon.

If you find that you crave more bass impact and punch from your FTA2000's, the Teac will give you this  

The Clari-T monoblocks (or a dual-mono Clari-T) use a separate board and battery for each channel, which seems to provide less "congestion" at higher volumes, and as I state on my webpage:

"Monoblock operation also offers complete isolation between the L       and R channels, which results in discernible improvements in transparency, soundstaging, stereo imaging and separation."

Still, the modded Teac definitely has more power and can really hit hard if your speakers need such power!  If they don't, the lower powered Clari-T is the way to go IMO...less = more

I would also think that simply sending your stock Clari-T back to be modded with Black Gates and maybe a few other goodies will take your listening experience to the next level.   I just heard back from Panda Gary, who recently sent me his Clari-T for the Black Gate and stepped attenuator upgrade.  He sounds very happy    and mentioned that he'll post his impressions soon.

I might even be convinced to replace the Ack dAck! with an integrated Red Wine amp/DAC.

Or I can fit the Ack dAck! board and batteries in there!  

Sincerely,

[Paul_Bui]

Paul,
I know you've not had issue with limited headroom between the 6 wpc Clari-T and the 90 dB/w/m FTA2000, but do you sense that the monoblocks help handle the load any better?  Perhaps as in more dynamics?  Bob Brines, who created/builds the FTA2000, feels that they need at least 30 wpc to really make them sing.  That would be conventional wisdom as the drivers are rated for 27 watts continous/80 watts peak.  However the consensus thinking (that I agree with) says that the di ...

Jeff,

As I was satisfied with the broken in stock CalriT, the very first thing I noticed about the monoblocks were how much better they handled the load with more dynamics.  Loud passages were louder, and soft ones were quieter yet clearer.  Did I mention I had to go down on the volume control, not by a few steps but between 7 to 12 steps?

Bob stated that the FTA2000s need 30w to really sing, but he has not heard the ClariT with BG caps, stereo or monoblock.

I am waiting for the battery transport to come out so I can have an all battery powered setup.

[Dmason]

I was playing VST plug-in, 16/44.1 sample-based patches (Sample Tank/Mark of the Unicorn,) through the Monica/RealiT this weekend, and the zero-jitter, zero-noise signal added to battery DAC and amp was just astounding. I mean AMAZING, liquid, sound. A serious pro audio based signal gave me insight....

I think a high quality battery transport, well implemented, will put everything into perspective. Based on my experiment, it will complete the picture. My expectations are now high....

[-Richard-]

Since I am now working with Vinnie to get to the
right mod of the ClariT to fit my sound needs I
find this thread invaluable...thanks everyone for
your sharing of what your hearing and your
careful comparisons and suggestions...

Warm regards -Richard-

[miklorsmith]

This is the best of the forums.  I regularly lurk/post in most, and the caliber of participation and organization here is #1, bar none.

Richard, your cultural/anthropological/animal insight is dazzling.  I feel like I'm in college again, in a very good way.  I share some of your reservations and opinions about our cultural history and direction.   As you have correctly observed, participation in our Great Experiment is not voluntary; there are precious few true alternatives to even sample other ways in a realistic fashion.  We think of ourselves as free people, and we are, within rigid limitations established by others.  For instance, I could not decide to just go live off the land legally anywhere in this country.  Not bashing, just musing.

It could be argued that even the places that more recently would have allowed following an old paradigm have been irrevocally "ruined" to this way of living.  Two examples would be the Australian outback and the African Savannah.  "Mutant Message Down Under" by Marlo Morgan is about a middle-aged white woman (Morgan) who is invited by an Aboriginal tribe to travel with them for a period of months, specifically to record their way of living and message to the world.  The message, essentially, is that they have decided the world is too sick for them to continue living.  They are voluntarily no longer reproducing.

It is not cast as a slam on modernized culture, as even the tribe does not tell it that way.  Rather, it is a clear window to another way of living that is not what anyone would expect.  It is at once beautiful, peaceful, and disturbing.  These people are centered and serene and Truly understand their place in the world.  I sure wish I did.

We are left with limited choices on how to stay connected with our world.  People are inventive and have discovered many ways to "plug in".  Others have lost this connection entirely.  Dmason says the first golden rule of audio is "you don't know what you're missing".  I propose to expand this to a much larger scope and placement in the top ten of life's rules.  It represents an attitude of search and discovery that is ultimately much larger than audio.  This is a cornerstone of anyone's worldview wanting to maintain child's eyes throughout life.

I've never thought of it before, but the sense of wonder I feel at home with my rig is not entirely different from that I get watching a meteor shower high on a mountain.  Not the same either, but related.

Within the limitations of our own lives and the choices others have made and make daily for us, we find our own way.  It is up to us whether we seek the spiritual world of Richard's description and how.  To me, ultimate audio is full of magic and my child's eyes (and ears) keep pushing me.  However, nothing replaces those times with all my tools for living on my back and a trail ahead.  Five days is a good number, as I can still carry beer.  It's also long enough to forget who you are in "real" life and feel the wonder of the world.

Thanks for opening the door, Richard.

[MttBsh]

I find it amazing that even after five months the stock Clari-T continues to improve, producing an ever more superb - really, unprecedented level of resolution at such an affordable price. In fact I feel that when you find a gem like Vinnie's amp, it's a real mistake not to bring out it's full potential, that's why I've asked him to make me a dual mono integrated version with all the good stuff including a Dact volume control. It's hard to imagine a better investment of one's audio funds.

BTW, I've found a magical synergy between the blackgated Scott Nixon Tubedac Plus and the Clari-T, in fact the combination sounds so sweet that when I put Albert's much ballyhoed Space Tech Labs QA-001SE tubed preamp in between the SN DAC and amp to increase the volume and add inputs, it just got in the way. Don't get me wrong, the QA-001 is a top notch preamp, I just prefer the magic in the air when the tubedac feeds straight into the Clari-T. I strongly considered getting the battery powered Monica 2 DAC put into my Clari-T - I'm sure the synergy is excellent, but I just can't give up that Tubedac magic.  

I too appreciate everyone's fine posts and willingness to share their observations on all things Clari-T, especially the good doctor/audio guru/ purveyor of ascerbic wit, DMason, and our resident poetic sage and anthropologist extraordinaire, Richard.  Thanks too Vinnie for making this all happen!


Matt



.

[JLM]

Vinnie,

The Ack dAck! is still under warantee, so I don't want to touch it yet.  Yes, hopefully we'll see some feedback on the battery Teac amps soon.  As I posted, I'm very happy with the amp as is.  In a few months I'll be settling into my new listening room and will undoubtedly be making several adjustments.  BTW, do you have a trade-up path for customers?

Paul,

Thanks again for "draging" me   into the Clari-T camp.  I got the Ack dAck! with high output option and as such pleasantly loud is at 8:00, seriously loud is at 9:00, and way too loud for reasonable people is at 10:00.  Don't know what I'd do with more power (except send the DAC back to restore it to stock form).

Mike,

I've read the "Mutant Message Down Under" book too.  According to the natives, they are the real humans.  Spooky how they could sense game from miles away, used ESP to communicate, and could just sit down and will themselves to die.

Matt,

As I've been suffering on and off with head colds and I play a variety of good music versus well recorded music I'm occasionally amazed at some of the relevations the stock Clari-T provides and am left to wonder just how long the burn in really takes.

[fabaudio]

Dmason

 A friend of mine in Brazil, also a musician,had a system I enjoyed a lot- JBL Hartsfield's, Audio Research tubed pre and amp and the front end was a puny battery operated portable Sony CD player. This was back in the 80's. I remember one evening he pointed to the AC receptacle and said "This is the cause of most of the garbage coming through our systems!"

 Frank

[Dmason]

JBL Hartsfields would be destination speakers for this thing, IMHO. This brings up an observation.

One thing I have noticed is that speakers behave differently with digital amps. The rise time, and impulse response is increased through greater driver control. The heavy calibre pro audio cones, provided they have good motors and suspensions, act light and lively. I am looking forward to hearing the RealiT with a good 12 inch coaxial, modern driver, with an XO above 2KHz. This could be an outrageously huge sound, and with commonly 98db SPL, dynamics, the works. I think for anyone DIYing new speakers for the ClariT, they should look hard at the recent offerings in the coaxial products. BMS, B&C, Ciare, Radian.

[Paul_Bui]

The mono amps started to sound good.  Instead of getting new CDs I found myself litterally re-discovering my old CD library.  One of them is Pepe Romero's Flamenco CD, recorded back in 12/1987, which I bought out of curiosity.  I had never considered it an audiophile CD but tried listening to it several times in the past, and gave up.  Luckily I didn't throw it or give it away, as I let it spin on the Shanling for the last couple days and have been thrilled at its performance.  The mixture of guitar playing, dancing, percussion, and singing was presented with transparency, quickness, dynamics and dead quiet background.  I now feel more connected to the Flamenco music style, as I could hear more into the music, getting closer to the artists and the message they wanted to convey.

[Vinnie R.]

The mono amps started to sound good.  Instead of getting new CDs I found myself litterally re-discovering my old CD library.  One of them is Pepe Romero's Flamenco CD, recorded back in 12/1987, which I bought out of curiosity.  I had never considered it an audiophile CD but tried listening to it several times in the past, and gave up.  Luckily I didn't throw it or give it away, as I let it spin on the Shanling for the last couple days and have been thrilled at its performance.  The mixture of guitar playing ...

Thanks for the updates, Paul!