[Ultralight]

Just reading up on the RWA amps.

May I ask what the house sound is on the RWA? (Similar to what other brands?  First Watt?)  I know that these run on batteries so it is much quieter in the background.

And with a tube stage, do these approximate some tube amps very closely?  And I assume that the tube stage can be turned on and off?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Thanks,
UL

[Rocket]

Hi,

I don't have a Red Wine Audio amplifier but I do have an Isabella preamplifier.  The sound is very transparent and draws you into the music.  I had an N.E.W. p3 preamplifier which I had for years and didn't think it could be improved upon but the Isabella certainly did.  Very happy with it and the batteries are easy to use.

Cheers Rod

[Vinnie R.]

Just reading up on the RWA amps.

May I ask what the house sound is on the RWA? (Similar to what other brands?  First Watt?)  I know that these run on batteries so it is much quieter in the background.

And with a tube stage, do these approximate some tube amps very closely?  And I assume that the tube stage can be turned on and off?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Thanks,
UL

Hi UL,

Sorry I missed this one.

Tubestage CANNOT be turned ON/OFF in the RWA units. 

Definitely sounds like a tube amp, but I find the bass is tighter and more articulate that many (but NOT all) tube amps, mainly because there is no transformer on the output.  Solid-stage can do wonders with grip and control.  Tubes work their magic in the midrange and top end.  This is why since 2010, I have been combining them and LOVE the results of putting tubes in the line-level, and using MOSFET for the speaker output stage. 

Not having tubes on the speaker output also has been much easier for me when using battery supplies (lower voltage, higher current) and even with the new Ultracapacitor supply in the LIO.  Getting the higher voltage required for tubed speaker output stages is a more beastly task using batteries or ultracaps, and I view it as very counter-productive if you are going to use a transformer on the output.  Just my take on it 

Hi Rocket,

Thanks for your post! 

Happy listening,

Vinnie

[Rocket]

Hi Vinnie,

Yes I have been listening to the Isabella quite a bit.  I've finally ordered a balanced headphone cable for my Sennheiser HD650's and it will be interesting to ascertain what improvements I'll hear using the headphone amp in the Isabella preamplifier.

Cheers Rod