[murf]

Hello Audio Experts!
  I've had my new T8+ for about 3 weeks now.  It is a funny little box that has "Frank" written all over it!
Let's pick nits first:
 A tape loop?  Wat up wit dat?  Does anyone buy for this feature anymore?   
The front panel doesn't have a display to tell me anything, not even #s to tell me how loud I am playing.  Only a primitive looking knob thingie with a little line on it;  I wonder if I can get used to that?   
There must be some other nits I can pick, but....   
The good:
The good is foremost the music.  The T8 beat the other two pre's I can compare it to here at my place.  The first is a new Pioneer SC-1222 AV receiver.  I wouldn't even mention it here except that when I was inquiring about getting an AV pre/pro on the AVS forum, the preponderance of opinion said that a good AV pre/pro with Audessey or other room correction software would beat most any dedicated 2-ch pre that was without room correction.  So I got the Pioneer, which was supposed to have the best sound for an AV box at ~ $1k.  Don't be fooled, it doesn't come close; cramped, compressed, no air....   
The T8+ replaces a Cary Cinema 6 pre/pro, which has a reputation of being one of the very best sounding AV pre/pro's of its day & price, cited in the famous Zissou (sp?)  AVS thread of a while back as being a top pick for 2-ch music.  I had this in my system for ~ 4 years, and was very happy with it!  But the T8+ wins the comparo.  It has more detail, more nuance, and is a bit more smooth (Cary stuff is said to be quite tube-like).  But what I noticed most was the seeming greater initial impact of each note.  Some people talk about the life-like decay of a note, or an ability to hit a note accurately & hard.  The T8+ does that so well.  But I have been going to a lot of chamber music concerts recently (most by the Brklyn Phil. Orch.), and it seems to me that the live instruments have an initiation, a sort of initial strike power, that is impossible to duplicate with electronic playback.  It is hard for me to explain, but sort of like how cold water feels different when you plunge in rather than inch in; maybe an ability to grab you?  To access that part of the brain that says "Attention!  This is real."  It's not like the sound was turned up for that milli-instant, but close.  Maybe the speed of the initiation & climaxing of the notes?  I noticed this kind of improvement when I upped to my 400R amp, being able to dissect the notes into constituent parts, but the T8+ puts the improvement more on the start of the notes, whereas the 400R put this power & control more into the whole of the notes.  I hope someone understands what I mean!
The T8+ also put more air, positioning, and a more accurate soundstage into the music.  This is a concept I poo-pooed a bit in the past, thinking my room was probably at fault, so hey.  I have no concept of how this is done, but accuracy & separation are my thoughts.  In the harmonic range, I think the T8+ really excels with voice reproduction.  Put on some good Ella, and enjoy.

Thanks Frank.  When I called AVA to order my T8+, the guy asked if I would like to speak with Frank.  I said sure!  Being star-struck, I think I babbled a bit, but didn't really thank Frank for putting such great products out at relatively bargain prices, bringing such pleasure to us lucky searchers.  He could have taken a different path, maybe working for HK or someone in Cali or NYC instead of freezing in Canada or where ever that place he lives is.  So really, thanks Frank Van Alstine.

Murf & Little Bear

[avahifi]

Good observations Murf, and thank you!

The "energy" we seem to be able to rescue from the ho hum playback of most audio systems is mostly due to our outrageous active regulated power supplies that we have designed into every new AVA electronic product.

Not one regulated power supply, not one regulated power supply per channel, not one regulated power supply per tube, but one regulated power supply for each plate of each tube plus more for the tube heaters.  In the hybrid units more regulated power supplies for each active small signal mos-fet too.  And in the power amplifiers, in addition, active regulated power supplies for each separate B+ and B- supply for the output devices.

Everything electronic is absolutely controlled.

What does this do that is useful musically?

First it eliminates any possible power supply interaction between channels, between devices, and even between parts of the vacuum tubes and there is a hell of a lot of interaction available to eliminate in most any audio circuit.  We do it, others haven't got it yet.

Second, it means that the bias conditions for all the devices are unchanging independent of load or demand.  Each active device has a different phase gain curve depending upon its bias status.  Change the bias, change the operating characteristics of the active device.  So your power supply changes with demand?  Guess what. you have a variable gain phase amplifier, or to simplify, an intermodulation distortion generator, just one that won't show this flaw up in normal IM tests. Just bigger or faster power supply capacitors won't hack it, they still have a relatively high output impedance at some frequencies and don't even get me started on the inductive effects of power supply feed leads, they are a sonic nightmare.

Finally when the supply droops, the large scale transients droop too, so there goes the dynamic range, impact, and that elusive "energy" content of the music.  With an AVA preamp or amp, the supply does not droop, nor does the music.

It did not cost all that much to do the power supplies correctly, so we don't charge you an arm and a leg for our products.  All you got to do is to be willing to give us a try.

Regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[resonance]

Hey Murf,

I give thanks to Frank too. I use Frank's Fet Valve Pre and R + S series amps on Salk SoundScapes.

Frank was being modest. Those were great observations. Your words make things real. Finally I understood most clearly what someone was experiencing as they paid attention to their music.

As I listen to my setup right now, I think to myself, yup, that's what I'm hearing, just like Murf said.

I'm not an audio expert but a good listener,
David

[yeastguy]

I just want to add some thoughts here. I have been following Frank's work for 30+ years and it has consistently incorporated extreme value for the price. I have just ordered a T8 myself and just received an Ultravalve amp.

In the 80's, I started playing with DIY kit building and read a lot about power supply regulation and its affect on sound. This was after I paid a visit to Franks place for an evening. I built a single little preamp based on an Ic chip ( I think it was Phoenix Systems), but added a couple of highly regulated low impedence regulators to the circuit. That preamp project was more musical to me than a highly regarded preamp of the month recommended by Absolute sound.

Frank's designs seem to incorporate this well regulated supply philosophy. It seems to translate into very precise instrument placement, width, and depth of the soundstage.  These are very important to me.

My cary preamp  has some of this but still kind of wooly. For that reason I am back with Frank again. Even his Super PAS 3 and Omega upgrades were/are truly modern preamps in their own right.

I'm all in with AVA now and envy that you already have your T8. If the T8 is anything like the ultravalve I've been listening for the last 24 hours,  I'm going to be replaying my music collection again to listened for what I've missed.

My comparsions by the way have been with a highly regarded Cary SLP-94 preamp and a PASS LABS INT30A megabucks Integrated amp. Frank suggests Salk Speakers with his equipment so I guess that will be my next step.

This kind of a comparison, but also a testimonial...great value here.

[murf]

Yes, it's as Yeast & Resonance say!  As I play more music, I am continually impressed with the T8+.

OT: Yesterday I listened to Philip Glass, "Songs From Liquid Days".  Glass might be a bit of an acquired taste for some with all that spacey repetition, but I have always liked this album.  The recording is very good, and sounds even better with the T8+.  The composition is original, the vocals are shimmering, and the musicians outstanding.
 Check out the personnel:
Lyrics: Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega
Vocals: Linda Ronstadt, the Roches, Douglas Perry, Bernard Fowler, Janice Pendarvis
With: the Kronos String Quartet

Enjoy,  Murf