[topround]

Just borrowed a RM 200 from a friend.

My God!! It is great. I must own one.

OK here is the system
sony 7700 ea modded
Bel Canto dac 2
Mapletree Ultra 4 se
Audiophysic Virgo ll's

I was using a van alstine Dynaco st 70 but I knew I needed more power, BTW the Dynaco is one of the most beautiful sounding amps I ever heard, it just needs the right speaker.
The Dynaco is a keeper because it does things for me that are just so right, I know its shortcomings but hey what it does right is so hard to get, and it has it!!

The rm 200 is like the dynaco but on major steroids, incredible tone, my god what tone, a visceral grip on the speakers that makes you feel evry vibration of the trumpet with the clarity and reality that you can feel in your minds eye, not a 2 dimensional representation but every frigging rip in the cycle.

Great bass(by my standards) My speakers woke up!! WOW , I know power will do that but what finesse!

Detail like a ss amp, tremendolo detail, with the delicious tone I love

This is no review but a rave,

Thank you for allowing me to gush, but I am so happy right now
I have spent the last hour just laughing, screaming and giggling in delight and awe
I gotta get one
tonite was one of those moments that we audiophiles dream about, adrenaline flowing, high as a kite, I want everyone to experince music like this..

OK goodbye....back to my music....wish you were here aa

[mca]

I can't agree with you more. I have one mated up with a Bolder modded SB3 and a pair of Al's excellent RAW HT8's and they are a very good combination 

[Roger A. Modjeski]

Topround,

Thanks for your enthusiasm. I'll take your cue to wax a bit myself.

The RM-200 is the culmination of several design ideas I have had over the years.   

For those of you who like to hear of the technical issues I sought to cure here are the highlights:

1. An amp that is dead quiet. Hum and noise on the RM-200 are below 0.3 MV. I have measured some tube amps with hum over 2 mV, roughly 20 db higher.

2. An amp that is stable into any load I could devise: I have a load box where I can switch in various capacitances that make most amplifiers ring like a bell or go into destructive oscillations. The RM-200 handles these with ease.

3. An amp that actually increases power into loads lower than the tap impedance.

4. An amp with a tube compliment that won't break the bank when the time, a very long time, comes to re-tube. Every Music Reference amplifier has many times the tube life that is considered reasonable in the industry. I often get calls from original owners who are thinking about re-tubing after 15-20 years of service.

5. An amp that treats both balanced and unbalanced inputs equally. The input, output and feedback are fully balanced yet there is no degradation in performance when it is used unbalanced. A simple RCA to XLR does the trick.

6. An amp that is so well fused that even a shorted output tube causes no damage to the amplifier.

7. All Music Reference products are user friendly, cause very little trouble and easy to own. Most customers keep these amplifiers as a core of their system while other components come and go.

[jamesgarvin]

Thanks Roger. I sent in a check yesterday to a dealer for the RM200, so this is pretty timely for me. I told the dealer I wanted the balanced inputs. The amp will sit close to my speakers, requiring a cable run of anywhere from 16-20 feet. It is difficult to measure the exact distance with a tape measure.

I am having some difficulty finding reasonably priced balanced cables in that length. My current pre-amp is single ended, but I'll upgrade that piece in a couple of years, and an upgraded pre-amp may or may not include balanced outputs. Who knows? So I told the dealer that I wanted balanced, figuring it would a better performing option at that length.

Your comment in this post leaves me with the impression that there is little difference between balanced and singled ended, at least in reference to the RM200. Should I go with the single ended, where I have no problems finding a long cable at a reasonable price, and then use an adaptor if I end up with a pre-amp with a balanced output?

Thanks for your help.

[Roger A. Modjeski]

If you have or plan to have a balanced preamp you might as well take advantage of being balanced all the way. We can make cables for you. Just how unreasonable are balanced cables you have found so far?

[jamesgarvin]

Thanks Roger. I probably need about twenty feet. At the risk of raising people's hackles over the cable issue, my own experience tells me that cables, more than any other component in the chain, suffer from the law of diminishing returns. My own prejudice is that cables are priced significantly higher than comparable electronic component. Which is a way of saying that while I am willing to spend bucks on speakers, amps, etc., I do not feel the need to spend big money or cables.

The most inexpensive balanced interconnects that seems more than marginal is Roger Sanders' interconnects, which run $89.00 for the first five feet, and then $4.00 a foot thereafter. These seem reasonable to me, although he states they are low capacitance cables based on Belden wire, which dovetails to the topic I started titled 'capacitance.' I've found a cable called "Bettercable" that is $239.00 for a twenty six foot run.

It seems there are more single ended cables in long lengths than balanced, which I thought ironic, given I thought the advantage of balanced interconnects was less chance of noise over long cable runs. In any event, the prices for that length run $500.00 used, up through thousands of dollars, which is more than I would like to pay for cable.

Thanks for your help.

[Roger A. Modjeski]

James,

I have some nicely made balanced cables of 25' length that I believe will suit your budget at $80 for the pair. They measure 900 pF which works out to 36 pF/foot. That's quite low and I find them very enjoyable in my Electrostatic system. They are about 1/4" diameter (.225")  and very supple. Personally, I dislike stiff cables. There is no need for them. I am also very suspicious of cable makers who do not specify their capacitance as that is the most important factor when choosing cables.

I am always happy to provide cables for those who are not looking for Jewelry. I recently looked at a website where the cable was wrapped seductivly around a woman's wrist. Could the maker be sending us a subconscious message? Or is she sending us the truth for those whose eyes can see.

I have determined that Cardas makes nice connectors at a reasonable price so we have become a Cardas OEM. As an alternative, we will install any connector sent to us by the customer should he have a favorite.
The same goes for resistors and capacitors.

I would appreciate hearing from those of you who would like some proper cables that are shielded, low capacitance and with good connectors. For a starter, I can offer a 1 meter pair for $75 if there is enough interest to make a large run.

[jamesgarvin]

Roger, thanks. Let me know what I need to do to buy those balanced interconnects. Thanks.

[Roger A. Modjeski]

James,

Call me at 805-687-2236 at your convenience. I can take a credit card and send them right out.

Roger