[mresseguie]

This post is to start a thread to chronicle my impressions of a vacuum tube preamp. I bought sfox7076's AVA T8 preamp a couple days ago, and received it this morning. WOW! That was fast. [I still think he rented a LEER Jet to get it to me so quickly. He, of course, denies it.] A big  to you, Shawn. Thank you. I'm so happy I finally decided to contact you. You see, this is my first foray into tubes. I've had so little contact with tubes that I wasn't sure if I should even try yet.

I was gone all day, so I could not hook it up to my S240 amp until about 30 minutes ago. I bought the Synergy 240/3 for my HT back in March of this year to replace my older Denon 2113ci (which I never liked). I was very impressed with the clean power from the get go. It didn't matter if I were playing music or watching a video; the Synergy sounded great. I used a Nuforce AVP-18 pre/pro in the HT system.

So what am I doing posting this? I've wanted to discover some things for quite a while now. I've wanted to know if tubes are where I want to be. I've wanted to know "How good are AVA amps and preamps, and how would they compare against my SimAudio i3.3 integrated amp?" ever since I discovered Audio Circle and AVA. Well, now I get to find out with my ears instead of my eyes (reading posts and reviews). Both amps are now in my home office hooked up to my DacMagic Plus and my ProAc D2 monitors. I'm listening to my CDs that I copied to my new Mac Mini's iTunes.  I'm listening to the Synergy 240/3 (just the left and right channels, of course) paired with my new T8 preamp, DacMagic Plus DAC and my ProAc D2 monitors. It sounds great! Some time this month, I expect to receive my Rythmik F12G sealed sub, which I will include in this set up.

I'm listening to Yo-Yo Ma; Ennio Morricone: Rome Sinfonietta now. I really love this CD. The Cello is such an amazing instrument.

Eventually, I will reattach my ProAC D2's to my Simaudio and replay the same music. I may wait a week until I make the switch as I want my ears to get a wide selection of music. I wonder what I will find.

Yes, the music sounds wonderful....

Michael

[It just occurred to me that perhaps this ought to be posted in the Tube-o-Phile circle rather than here BWTHDIK? Frank/Admin, is it okay to post this here?]

[Minn Mark]

Welcome !    Hoping you have a copy of Please Welcome...Matt Haimovitz (CD 2004, Oxingale records).  On my system its uncanny how much he's "in the room".  I have AVA solid state (Amp/pre-amp) and would be interested in your impressions of this disc that I'm familiar with, using the tubed pre-amp.

Happy listening.

Mark

[sfox7076]

Enjoy it.  It will sound better in a week when those NOS tubes have been under load for a bit.

Shawn

[hogzilla]

That's awesome to see someone got Shawn's preamp. I was thinking and thinking about it, but decided I will hold out for the Fet Valve CF.

Looking forward to seeing your ongoing impressions Michael! Enjoy! 

[mresseguie]

Shawn:

Oh. I am enjoying it. 

Hogzilla:

I saw this as my opportunity to take a staggered ladder approach to improving my system. If this pans out (as I hope it will), I will sell my SimAudio in order to buy a 400R (or similar?) amp. Then, soon after, buy an even better preamp to pair with the new amp. This is safer (to me anyway) than jumping straight in by spending big $$$$ for equipment I may not actually want or need.

On the last day of Axpona, I was in one of the rooms when a gentleman asked the presenter if he would play a CD. "Of course," was the reply. The CD was "Lush Life" by Jacintha. It sounded so good that I went straight to the CD seller (in the basement of the hotel) and bought the CD. That's what I'm listening to right now. Nice.

I guess it should come as no surprise that poor quality recordings still sound like crap. I've got this double CD of Fleetwood Mac "Greatest Hits" that has lots of the titles I like, but the recording quality just sucks. It sounds as though it were MP3 quality rather than redbook CD. It sounds almost good on my car stereo, but can only be played as background music at home.

I've noticed my room is a tad warmer than before. I expected that.
 

[mresseguie]

I thought I'd update my findings/impressions so far.

I haven't reverted back to my i3.3 yet, but I think I'm hearing a quality to the music that is different from what I recall when I listen to the i3.3. I'm struggling with words to capture this....bass seems fuller...I'm more aware of the after-sound (okay, my weird word), or is it the 2nd half of the sound(?) seems to hang in the air for just a split second rather than disappearing. [I'm not sure that makes sense BWTH.] Female vocals are just a bit sexier sounding. I played Diana Krall's Glad Rag Doll this morning and enjoyed it. Until today, I hadn't especially enjoyed this CD. I've heard her live recordings (sound great), but I've struggled to appreciate this CD. I'll listen again in a day or so. Am I experiencing the "warmer" tube sound or is my mind simply tricking me?

Right now I'm listening to Connie Dover's "The Wishing Well". It's one of my wife's favorite CDs. I'm not experiencing the same 'A-ha' with this as I did with Glad Rag Doll. Different recording quality? Dunno.

Now: ALS The Best of Atlanta Rhythm Section "Spooky"

I've always loved this song. This CD is a bit bright, so I do not play it often. I wish I had a better recording. It's still bright.

Back to Yo-Yo Ma; Ennio Morricone: Rome Sinfonietta........love this sound...

[mresseguie]

Welcome !    Hoping you have a copy of Please Welcome...Matt Haimovitz (CD 2004, Oxingale records).  On my system its uncanny how much he's "in the room".  I have AVA solid state (Amp/pre-amp) and would be interested in your impressions of this disc that I'm familiar with, using the tubed pre-amp.

Happy listening.

Mark

Mark,

I do not have that CD, but I will look into it.

Rochester, huh? Back in the late seventies, I lived in Rochester. That address has never left my memory even after 30+ years. I'll bet things have changed just a wee bit.

[mresseguie]

I made some A/B comparisons this evening. I listened to some Yo Yo Ma, some Heather Masse, Eagles, Little Feat, and other stuff.

The differences weren't earth shatteringly huge, but repeatedly the SimAudio i3.3 lost out to the AVA duo (Synergy 240 + T8 preamp). There was a bit of distortion present in the i3.3 in the higher frequencies that was imperceptible in the AVA duo. Drums....the drums (snare drums?) were significantly clearer with the AVA duo....better bass over all.

I played a couple songs at higher volume than I normally like to listen. This is where the differences really stood out.

The only two negatives for me with the AVA equipment was the lack of a remote and how my banana plugs are a wee bit loose in the Synergy's posts. [not deal breakers]

I need to figure out how to dispose of my SimAudio amp (sell it? relocate it to my vacation home? place it in the family room?). Now, I'm really curious about what sound I'll get either from a tube amp or a hybrid amp. One day I will find out.

Darned good equipment, Frank! (But you knew that, huh?) 

[sfox7076]

Stock tubes or the Mullards still in?

[mresseguie]

Hi, Shawn.

With the Mullards. I wonder what it would sound like with the stock tubes now. I'll switch them before too long.

This experiment using the T8 with the Synergy has been an eye opener for me. Prior to this, I had already known the 240 had plenty of power. I simply didn't realize how clean it was (or wasn't) as it had never been compared to any other amp in my home. Now I have a reference point. Now I also can conjecture how good a tube amp would sound, and how an AVA 400R/600R would sound (or other high-end amp). This is more fuel for my upgrade-itis.