[Scott F.]

 Hey Guys,
Well, it’s been a long and fruitful ride. But as it goes in life, all good things come to an end. My New Adventures in High Efficiency have officially come to an end.


As most are aware, since I’ve stopped writing, I’ve pretty well stopped any critical listening. In turn, I’ve torn apart and boxed up my Lowther/Welborne/Altec system. In turn, my recent system has been a very simple Jolida 1502 hybrid integrated and a pair of Aperion 633T floorstanders. I’m still streaming music through my various DACs and spinning vinyl on occasion. I really like the convenience of having a remote and not having to feed hundreds of dollars of tubes to my SETs and pre’s every year. This system is simple and sounds OKish.
 
Over the past few months I’ve been jonesing over something completely different, an old path in audio that I gave up on years ago when I discovered the magic of SETs and Lowthers. So this past week, with the help of a few truly committed to emptying my checking account (literally), my delusions (maybe nightmare is better word) are being fulfilled.
 
I’m going McIntosh and B&W……GASP!!!
 
Yep, that’s right. I went for a McIntosh C220 tubed pre complete with remote controls AND bass and treble knobs! It also has a phono stage. It will be driving a McIntosh MC452 stereo amp rated at 450wpc. All of that will be feeding a pair of B&W 800 Diamonds in cherry finish.
 
Ever since I heard the 800Ds at Tim’s place on Lindbergh (the old Best Sound), I was smitten. Super smooth with a tweeter that doesn’t rip your face off at high volume. The transition to the tweeter from the big B&W Kevlar midrange was seamless. The older I get, the less I like audiophile tweeters, and this was one of the smoothest I’ve heard.
 
The 800Ds are pigs when it comes to power. After talking to several others, they said of all the Mac line, the 352, 402 and the 452 are the pick of the litter. Unlike the earlier amps which can sound harsh on the big B&Ws, these are smooth as silk. Add the tubed C220 in front of it and it should be an ‘audio hot tub’ (to coin Mike D’s phrase).
 
I’ll lament about my journey in this fashion using a car analogy, my other passion; I liken the FleaPowered system to an F-1 racecar. Ultra-light, they now use a 1.6L (98cu in) motor coupled with the Energy Recovery system that can produce over 750 horsepower. They are unbelievably fast, nimble and stick to corners like crazy.
 
The McInB&W will be more like a new Bentley Continental. Stately, refined, yet has the all the horsepower you could ever want when you play carpet masher behind the wheel. Sure, it may have some body roll on the corners and will be quite forgiving on bumpy roads. You won’t have a great ‘feel’ for the road but the overall ride should be exquisite.
 
Black face panels trimmed by chrome, illuminated green lettering and big blue meters are in my audio future.
 
So…(nearly) Everything MUST Go to finance is audio escapade.
That’s right, I’m cleaning house. Gone (or soon to be gone) will be all my;


 
SET Amps
Welborne DRDs - $1800 firm! Simply put, this is the cleanest, best sounding SET I've ever heard and I've had several dozen through the house over the years. !!!-STILL AVAILABLE-!!!
MidWest Audio 2A3, Black Gates in the Power Supply and cathode to ground, other premium parts - $1,200 firm!You won't find a better sounding 2A3 anywhere. SOLD!
My beloved Lowther PM2As, SOLD!

Altec 416s in cabinets
     Altec 416s SOLD!
     The cabinets are going to get used for the Tannoys.

Hot-rodded Tannoys in vintage cabinets,
So, these are the 12" HPM Gold Tannoys. I've built a custom crossover with absolute premium parts. Copper foil coils, VCap OIMPs bypassed by Sprague Vitamin Qs, Clarity Caps and Jantzen Superior Z caps on the woofs. The driver and crossover are going to get mounted in a pair of vintage and highly sought after, Ricardo Linn speaker cabinets. These are Teak...and they are huge (30tx20dx22w). They are 7.5cf cabinets. The are well braced (by me), have a bout 2.5 pounds of stuffing and a layer of 1 1/2" OC-702 on the back panel as dampening. they are tuned to 40Hz. These are big and heavy and will be expensive to ship...not to mention, buy. Hold on to your wallet. I'm thinking $2500 as a starting point. These will have to be crated and palletized. That will be around $400. Shipping has to go common carrier and will vary from $250 to $500 depending on your zip code. !!!-STILL AVAILABLE-!!!

Audio Research EC-3 tubed crossover (hot-rodded) $1k
Has a rebuilt power supply. Coupling caps were replaced with VCap OIMPs for the mids and other cool caps for the woofs and highs (I'll have to check as I forget what got installed) !!! - STILL AVAILABLE - !!!
Pioneer SF-850 crossover, SOLD!

Both of my beloved Kortato tubed pre’s (both severely hot-rodded),
      KVP 20 - SOLD!
      KVP-10, twin chassis, phono stage, tube rectified, ALL VCap Teflon coupling Caps. This is the Mack Daddy of tubed preamps! $2,000  !!!-STILL AVAILABLE-!!!

Radii EL-34 monoblocks,
Loaded with VCap teflon coupling caps. 8 total. Just because of the Teflons, I have to get $1500 for the pair. I'll be happy to pull the teflons and install something else that you provide. Cost for the Radii's without the teflons and you supplying the caps that I install, $800. Oh, I've had a soldering iron in my hands since I was 12 or 13 so no fear.   !!!-STILL AVAILABLE-!!!

Jolida 1704 (three channel plus sub output) hybrid amp - $400
Nice little 3.1 channel amp for someone in an apartment that wants the hybrid tube sound for a 3.1 channel (L,C,R,Sub) rig in a family room. The amp has a separate connections for a subwoofer output (un-amplified) and gain control via a volume knob on the face or through the remote. Really nice sounding piece of kit. 75wpc. $400     I think I'm going to hang on to this piece.

Numerous pairs of Triodes (45s, 2A3s, 300Bs, 211s)
     Only 1 pair of Sylvania 2A3s left! $150 SOLD!
     1 pair of KILLER Amperex brass base 211s. As I'm told, these date to 1934. These UBER rare. Test as new. Hold on to your wallet if you want these. We'll start at $900.  !!!-STILL AVAILABLE-!!!
     1 pair of NOS (unused) JAN GE 211s, matching date codes in original boxes (Jun 1942) $350  !!!-STILL AVAILABLE-!!!

I've got pics, just no time to upload them. If you are interested, I'll make time and send them to you.



…and just about anything else that isn’t nailed down (need a Tremec T5 transmission for your race car?).
Collect uber-rare and expensive records? I’ll have a bunch of those too.
 
Oh, I’m keeping all my tables and DACs for the time being. Once I get my Octo-table built, that may well change and the Opera (less the arm) and Francis’ old Merrill may hit the market. It will be a few months on those though. The DACs are staying.
 
I have to say this up front, these won’t be fire sale prices since I’m using the proceeds to fund the McInB&W venture. For the local guys, I’ll do about 80% of used retail (or so) since I don’t have to ship. Still, a good deal on some great gear.
 
In the days to follow, watch these pages as I’ll post pics and prices. I’ll need a number of days since there are so many pieces. Once posted, I’ll give it a couple weeks for you local guys and other AC members to pic through then it all goes up on AGone, eBay and US Audiomart.
 
MerRev, I know you’ve always wanted a pair of PM2As. If you are interested, I’ll hold then for you. I think Bryan (Pape) wants the Pioneer SF-850 so it’s already on hold. SOLD!
 
Once I get the McInB&W system dialed in, if your curiosity overcomes you, plan a trip out. I’d love to catch back up with all our old friends. Maybe I’ll plan something for later this year.
Oh, listening seat is gone. In its place is my desk for when I work out of the house which is fairly often. Still plenty of off axis seating in the main room and around the bar to visit and listen.
 
 
…stay tuned to this channel
 


UPDATED with sold items, prices and brief descriptions 8-21-16

[thunderbrick]

Damn, Scott!  What's next?  Bose?   

Anyway, PM sent.   

[Bob in St. Louis]

Good luck on the sale Scott. I'd love to hear the Mac and B&W' when you get them fine tuned.
Heck...I haven't even see you 'new' basement!

Of everything you're selling, I'm most shocked at the Lowthers. I thought they'd be a permanent fixture at your house.

Bob

[thunderbrick]

....I thought they'd be a permanent fixture at your house.

Bob

The only permanent thing in Scott's life is Laura…..

 

[Bob in St. Louis]

You said "life", I said, "house". 

But yes, you are very correct, as it should be. 

[Scott F.]

The only permanent thing in Scott's life is Laura…..

 

Amen to that. 34 years and still going strong In fact we are headed out on a double date Friday night with Francis (Baumli) and his lovely bride Abby in the TBird 

[thunderbrick]

Yeah, Scotty married well ABOVE his station in life.

Must have been all that audio gear in the basement.   Yeah, that's the ticket!

[steve k]

Scott,
What are bass and treble knobs?

Congrats on your ephiphany! You have more to get rid of than most of us ever owned. 

I love those speakers too. Smooth as butta. Next you need to go all way  back to the beginning and get some Maggie 20.7's.

[Scott F.]

Scott,
What are bass and treble knobs?

...it's those thingies on the left 
 

I love those speakers too. Smooth as butta. Next you need to go all way  back to the beginning and get some Maggie 20.7's.

I was joking about that the other day with somebody. With all this horsepower, I could even drive Thiels....almost 

[bpape]

Dibs on one of the xovers.

[Sarmck]

Say it ain't so....

Hey my friend,

Have fun on/during the transition. I'll PM you on some tubes and a few other items.

[mark@marktwain]

WHAT!
Let me look outside, is it snowing in July? I'm at a loss for words....
Scott, pm me your mobile number I need to get my hands on something your letting go I'm sure.
Mark

[bpape]

Dibs on one of the xovers.

[sturgus]

The sky is falling, the sky is falling. BREAKING NEWS!!! Hell reports 17" of snow and no end in sight.
Good luck on your new adventure.

[JLM]

Curious Scott, could you elaborate on what has caused this tidal shift in your audio wants?  Did you tire of the hair shirt/boy racer lifestyle versus having a degree of mature comfort or a return to past joys? 

You mention using a simpler system of late.  How did that come about?  Beyond the convenience and savings of tube replacement, what drew you to the Jolida/Aperion setup?

All this could be a bit disconcerting for those of us on the older side of middle age.      

[mjmsound]

I'm at a lost for words. McIntosh?

[Bob in St. Louis]

Curious Scott, could you elaborate on what has caused this tidal shift in your audio wants?

I certainly won't take the liberty of speaking for Scott, but I would say that he has gasoline running through his veins, that should give you a little bit of insight.

[hdspeakerman]

What's wrong with McIntosh?  ( asks the guy who has been using the same McIntosh amp since 1975?)

[Scott F.]

Curious Scott, could you elaborate on what has caused this tidal shift in your audio wants?  Did you tire of the hair shirt/boy racer lifestyle versus having a degree of mature comfort or a return to past joys? 

You mention using a simpler system of late.  How did that come about?  Beyond the convenience and savings of tube replacement, what drew you to the Jolida/Aperion setup?

All this could be a bit disconcerting for those of us on the older side of middle age.      

JLM,

Honestly, I just lost interest in high end audio. I reached what I considered the 'pinnacle' of resolution and involvement with my old system.

My work schedule has become very demanding plus we've gotten back into classic cars and hot rods after a 25 year respite. The car enthusiast crowd out there simply dwarfs the audiophile community. Every time we take one of the vehicles out, we end up making new friends. It's a love that both my wife and I share where on the flip side of that coin, she could care less about audio.

You'll admit, audio is a largely singular hobby. Sure you get together with audio friends and listen but it is probably infrequent. And your wife may like music but (many) only listen passively. They aren't in awe of the sweet spot and all the nuances of high end audio. They just like to hear tunes and most could care less how its reproduced.

I've started leaning (heavily) towards that latter statement. My caveat is that I want a system that still holds much of the audiophile qualities but I'm far less interested in that last 10% so many audiophiles are searching for. I want something that sounds really good and maybe [moreso] looks cool. Sort of a shallow statement but I think we'll all admit that looks play a big part in audio. I can forgive a lot of warts if a piece is drop dead sexy...and the this McIntosh B&W system is a stunner (IMO).

To seal my fate and have my audiophile card revoked, the Mac pre has tone controls....and I WANT them. I'm tired of the stupidity of no tone controls on high end gear. If I have to make the excuse that the system sounds like sh*t because its a crappy recording, I'll toss the towel in completely and go buy Bose. I want the ability to level out the sound on a crappy recording by twisting a bass or treble control. Sure, it may not be perfect but remember, I don't care anymore. The lack of tone controls [alone] excludes a very large segment of the music I listen to, regularly. I spend about half my time listening to Country music, a genre soundly rejected by 'audiophiles' along with techno/electronic/chill/trance and the occasional (and select) pop/hip hop. I listen to everything, not just audiophile music. If I have to listen to another audiophile piece of music, I may slit my wrists.

Anymore, I could care less about depth of stage, placement across the soundstage, extension or any of the other audiophile obsessions. I get more pleasure listening to country music over the (nearly) 50 year old, full range speaker in our '66 Thunderbird than I do a high end stereo.

Now that I've outed myself as a reformed-audiophile, I have to say I still enjoy some of the audiophile trappings...and want to retain them on some level, hence this system. I'm just not going to let those obsessions get in the way of my musical enjoyment because they really are nothing more than a distraction in my enjoyment of music.

I guess that was a long way of saying, I don't care about the audiophile trappings anymore but I still want something cool looking that sounds decent.

[Bob in St. Louis]

BREAKING NEWS:
.....the audiophile community was rocked today as Scott F, "exits stage left", and claims to have tone control knobs and is proud to use them.

Rock on Brother.