[newzooreview]

With my HT1-TLs I'm using a pair of HEED PM monoblocks and a HEED PRE with HEED PX external power supply. Wonderful tone, dynamics, detail, bass, and overall musicality. Hand made in Hungary.

The HEED equipment replaced a pair of Wyred4Sound monoblocks (SX-1000s) and Wyred4Sound STP-SE preamp.

I had a Van Alstine amp (his best model at the time, Fet Valve Ultra double die) and AvaStar Preamp in the system on trial (new from AVA) and those went back within a week. Bleached tonality and upper midrange glare. Good bass and detail but eviscerated the music.

[stew]

With my HT1-TLs, I use Blue Circle BC22Mk2 monoblocks with BC3000mk2 tube preamp, all of which have been heavily modded. All BC gear is handmade to order. This combo really makes great music. Good audiophile qualities, but a pleasure and fun to listen to. IMHO, BC + Salk is a very good match.

[stew]

With my HT1-TLs I'm using a pair of HEED PM monoblocks and a HEED PRE with HEED PX external power supply. Wonderful tone, dynamics, detail, bass, and overall musicality. Hand made in Hungary.

The HEED equipment replaced a pair of Wyred4Sound monoblocks (SX-1000s) and Wyred4Sound STP-SE preamp.

I had a Van Alstine amp (his best model at the time, Fet Valve Ultra double die) and AvaStar Preamp in the system on trial (new from AVA) and those went back within a week. Bleached tonality and upper midrange glare. Good bass and detail but eviscerated the music.

Hi newzooreview,

In fact, I have the exact same HT1-TL you do... because I asked Jim to make my speakers to the same veneer and color as yours

[newzooreview]

Hi newzooreview,

In fact, I have the exact same HT1-TL you do... because I asked Jim to make my speakers to the same veneer and color as yours

Oh, cool. The red dye looks good with the curly cherry. Not the most exotic but still pretty.

[DMurphy]

With my HT1-TLs I'm using a pair of HEED PM monoblocks and a HEED PRE with HEED PX external power supply. Wonderful tone, dynamics, detail, bass, and overall musicality. Hand made in Hungary.
I had a Van Alstine amp (his best model at the time, Fet Valve Ultra double die) and AvaStar Preamp in the system on trial (new from AVA) and those went back within a week. Bleached tonality and upper midrange glare. Good bass and detail but eviscerated the music.

Well, I just spent a day listening to "bleached tonality" and midrange "glare" at the Audio Karma Fest.  That's obviously your opinion, and you're welcome to it, but an awful lot of people trooped through the Salk-Van Alstine room without hearing anything remotely bordering on bleach and glare.  Check out the reviews of the SS8.  Or the Illuminator-Raal monitor.  Or anything else. 

[newzooreview]

Well, I just spent a day listening to "bleached tonality" and midrange "glare" at the Audio Karma Fest.  That's obviously your opinion, and you're welcome to it, but an awful lot of people trooped through the Salk-Van Alstine room without hearing anything remotely bordering on bleach and glare.  Check out the reviews of the SS8.  Or the Illuminator-Raal monitor.  Or anything else.

Hi, Dennis. I haven't heard the recently released AVA amps and preamps. And I've only ever heard the SoundScape prototypes (12s I think, with FAL drivers?) at your place vs. the production models. So, I have no doubt that the systems at AK were sounding good to people there.

[DMurphy]

I gotta be honest here.  We may well have been listening to the same amp, or a very similar amp, as you auditioned.  And I also doubt very much that there is a dramatic difference in the sound of Frank's amps as they continue to be refined.  I spoke with Frank at some length last Saturday, and he mentioned that he had obtained a volume-compensated switching preamp that could be programmed to produce a sequence of ramdomly selected A-B-X (where X is no change from the previous amp or other device) changes among sources to test scientifically wheter listeners could really hear differences between devices (be they speakers, preamps, or amps).  It can be a humbling experience, as Frank was willing to admit, particularly when it comes to electronics rather than speakers.  This is an endless debate.  I don't doubt the sincerity of people who say they can hear major differences between amplifiers.  But if those amps are operating within their power limitations, I would bet just about any amount of money that listeners couldn't pass a properly controlled blind ABX test.   In any event, I have full confidence in the neutrality of Frank's amps--I'll be using his electronics to run my Philharmonic speakers at the Captial Audio Fest in July.   

[newzooreview]

I gotta be honest here.  We may well have been listening to the same amp, or a very similar amp, as you auditioned.  And I also doubt very much that there is a dramatic difference in the sound of Frank's amps as they continue to be refined.  I spoke with Frank at some length last Saturday, and he mentioned that he had obtained a volume-compensated switching preamp that could be programmed to produce a sequence of ramdomly selected A-B-X (where X is no change from the previous amp or other device) changes among sources to test scientifically wheter listeners could really hear differences between devices (be they speakers, preamps, or amps).  It can be a humbling experience, as Frank was willing to admit, particularly when it comes to electronics rather than speakers.  This is an endless debate.  I don't doubt the sincerity of people who say they can hear major differences between amplifiers.  But if those amps are operating within their power limitations, I would bet just about any amount of money that listeners couldn't pass a properly controlled blind ABX test.   In any event, I have full confidence in the neutrality of Frank's amps--I'll be using his electronics to run my Philharmonic speakers at the Captial Audio Fest in July.

It would certainly be fun to try a good ABX. I wanted to like the AVA amp and preamp in my room, and I even blamed the room at first. I ordered eight sound panels and set them up on the wall behind the speakers, at first reflection points, and even had one made to partially cover a window. It didn't solve the problem I was having. Maybe it was a break-in issue, even though Frank claims there is no such thing with his amps. I wanted to return the equipment under the trial period, however, so I sent it back with less than 150 hours on it. That might raise red flags for some people and perhaps I didn't have the benefit of listening to adequately broken in equipment. But none of the six other amps/preamps I've had in my system have been as fatiguing or lacking in timbre.

[DMurphy]

I'm sure it wasn't a break-in issue.  I'm baffled.  His stuff just doesn't sound like that to me, but if it did, I would have returned it as well. 

[newzooreview]

I'm sure it wasn't a break-in issue.  I'm baffled.  His stuff just doesn't sound like that to me, but if it did, I would have returned it as well.

Thanks, Dennis. I've read all of the back issues of the AVA audio newsletter and still follow developments on their forum page. I know the AVA equipment performs exceptionally well in all sorts of systems. I was puzzled as well that it didn't work out in mine.

[Tone Depth]

Thanks, Dennis. I've read all of the back issues of the AVA audio newsletter and still follow developments on their forum page. I know the AVA equipment performs exceptionally well in all sorts of systems. I was puzzled as well that it didn't work out in mine.

NZR, it appears that you have eliminated all but two physical variables:  Room interactions and your source. You said you had limited success at treating your room.

Consider your sources:  You had a MacBook in 2009. Sometime in 2010 you changed to a Mac Mini. Then on August 9, 2010 you reported you changed power cables for your Mac Mini brick switching power supply and noticed improvements to an upper midrange "glare" problem. In September 2010 you disabled your remote IR receiver in your Mac Mini, and removed “some hash/grit in the upper treble”.

Salk HT1-TL speakers:  Your HT1-TL speakers were delivered in December 2009, you listened to them through your W4S integrated amplifier for seven months through both your MacBook and your Mac Mini, before listening to them through the AVA electronics.

AVA electronics:  AVA electronics are very good at revealing deficiencies of sources, probably better than many other electronics. When you have a problem with your sources, you will likely hear it through AVA electronics. The AVA FET Valve 600R was first designed and built, according to Frank Van Alstine, to facilitate successive design of the FET Valve preamp and DAC. The new amp design was required to be able to hear and evaluate preamp and DAC circuit improvements.

Your AvaStar preamp and FET Valve Ultra+ Double 550 amplifier were apparently delivered around the first of August 2010. When you substituted them for your W4S integrated, as you subsequently reported in September 2010 a “cloying, in-your-face nature of the sound” after some extended listening, before returning them within a week. In January 2011, you reported the sound you heard as “very forward, with an upper mid-range emphasis” and further commented with a “glare that I heard in the upper midrange”. In February 2011, you compared the sound you heard “the AVA amps had an etched upper midrange that was fatiguing to me. They also bleached the timbre, lacking in the natural distinctions between the sounds of instruments” to a W4S preamp and monoblocks you subsequently purchased. In November 2011, you noted you replaced the W4S electronics with a Heed preamp and monoblocks. In May 2012, you reported the AVA sound in your system was “Bleached tonality and upper midrange glare. Good bass and detail but eviscerated the music.”

Perhaps you had a "glare" caused by your Mac Mini and its power supply, which you subsequently removed by power cord and setting changes. The comments you’ve made over the past year and a half, which you have attributed to the performance of the AVA electronics, do seem like you are taking repeated and unwarranted potshots at AVA.

[nemir]

It's way past time I summarised this thread.   It got a lot of awesome responses!   Thanks to everyone so far.   I am still keen to hear from you if you haven't chimed in yet!

There's a lot of different people using a lot of different amps, and for the most part they're very happy.  Most common seems to be AVA gear,  which makes sense as it's what Jim Salk uses and recommends.  There's also a lot of love for the high value D class stuff like n-core,  emotiva and wyred4sound.  Amongst many other amps.


Page 1:

SX-500s

ht2-tls using http://bryston.com/products/power_amps/4BSST-2.html

SS10s using McIntosh MC501 amps

ST's with LCY RT driven by AVA 240 amp (+1 but with the AVA Ultravalve)

HT-3s driven by 550 Ultra Double, ava t8 preamp.

ht2-tl driven by parasound halo a51

songtowers primaluna prologue, nad 272 bryston 4b sst2

songtowers with AVA Ultra FV500,  Ultra Pre.   Also insight 250 and t-8 pre sound good.

ht3s - best sound amp was the bat vk-v600se.  McCormack DNA500, Dodd 120s CI Audio d200 and moscode 401HR also are good.

HT3s with Spectron Musician 111 MK2 Amp, Audio REsearch LS 26 PreAmp.

sogntowers van elstine exh 440 for standard songtowers
ht2-tls emotiva xpa-1 monoblocs
ht1 with AVA synergy300

SongTower LCY with Parasound23,  but this is not beefy enough.

ht2=tls driven by the AVA Insight+ 440 with the double die option.


Page 2:

ST & SC driven by the AVA 240+/3 amp with double die option.

A Big +1 to the DNA-500

A discusion about enough power being important. 

HT2-TL driven by Parasound 5250 and Anthem AVM20 prepro.

Songbirds driven by AVA insight & control amp.   Upgrading to Synergy amps and T8+ pre soon.

SS12s driven by Wyred4Sound MC5 (and they sound stupendously great with 1140W @ 4Ω)

Butler amps were a little slow and soft with the Salk Speakers.

SS10s driven by a McCormack DNA-2 modded by Steve McCormack.   Also used Odyssey extreme monos and an AVA ultra 550 double.

BRM has a soft spot for Wyred amps.  Wyred, Cherry, McCormack are hard to beat price per watt. 

fishinbob is breaking in a pair of SX-500s.  Amen!




page 3:

HT2-TLs with AVA Ultra+ 550.

HT3s.   LSA Signature integrated amp had great sound but not enough power.  Monarchy SE-250 with AVA Eklipse preamp.

HT2-TL in 5.1 powered by Anthem Statement p5, with matching D2 preamp.

Wyred4Sound's 7ch 3x 500, 4 x250 for the main HT.  D-Sonic 3x500 2x250 for the smaller HT.

HT3s using  Pass XA30.5 with a Modwright Transporter.  The Class A really makes the Salks sing!

Hypex Ncore are not only the best class d amps,  but excellent period.

HT2-TL powered by a pair of Quicksilver 88 monoblocks.  Attennuated by Placette audio RVC.  DAC is Ayre QB-9.   Utterly transparent heaven.


page 4:

BRM's huge list of amp history is summed up by saying "I love my Samsons.  I would not hesitate to use BAT and Wyred again from my list."

S10s with Sanders Magtech

Much love echoed for the Wyred4Sound range, with the d-sonic mentioned as it uses the same modules but with budget switches.

[Frans]

Well done!

[JerryLove]

Feel free to include my SCST's powered by a Yamaha P5000S.

[greenhouseman]

W4S for my STRT's
Pioneer sc-09 for my HT2's
very happy with both.

[n2siast]

Currently running McCormack DNA 1 revision A Monoblocks with HT -2TL's oh my

[screener]

Wyred4Sound's SX-500 front and center, W4S ST-250 rears, STRT.

[nemir]

Is there a way to make the hyperlnk be text instead of the full URL?

I want the words "Wyred4Sound SX-500" to be a direct hotlink.

Do you know what I mean?

[JerryM]

Is there a way to make the hyperlnk be text instead of the full URL?

I want the words "Wyred4Sound SX-500" to be a direct hotlink.

Do you know what I mean?

Like this? >  Wyred4Sound SX-500

Click the 'Quote' button for this post and you can see how to do it. 

Have fun,

Jerry

[nemir]

just like that,   thanks.   I was certain there must be a way.