[earlmarc]

Steve arrived at 11:00 am this morning. He brought with him his new 11A preamp, SAS tube mono-amplifiers, cables, Jena Labs CD treatment, power cords and conditioner, Boston Audio Design isolaters, tools, CD's, and IC and speaker cables. I thought he was moving in.

Steve and I covered alot on the first of two days he will spend with me. We went through so many power cable set-ups with the Jena Lab and Black Sand power cables before we settled for what we thought sounded best on my system. I use the SAS 10A, Odyssey Khartago Mono Extremes, TRL DVP-NS900V, Magnepan MG1.6QR, SilverFi IC's and Signal Cable SC. In the end, we thought that the Black Sand Violet sounded best on the preamplifier, however, this wasn't until we changed the position of the AC polarity switch. My compliant earlier about the Violet lacking midrange openess and glow no longer applies. The AC polarity switch added fullness to the midrange without sacrificing the dynamic nature of Violet. We created the "White Violet". We ended up preferring the Jena Labs Basic on the CD player and the Jena Labs 2.1 conditioner on the power amplifiers. The 2.1 power conditioning cord had a slight advantage because it was connected to the Sound Application XE-12. Thus, two excellent conditoners working in tandem which made them slightly preferrable to the Blak Sand Silv. Ref. into the XE-12 conditoner. We spent about 5 hours experimenting with power cables before we did anything else.

Next we dealt with isolation devices under the preamplifier and CD player. We had on hand the Acoustic Dreams Dead Balls, the Boston Audio Design Tune Blocks, and the Mills Sand box. In the end, we preferred the Mills Sand Box on the CD player and the Tune Blocks with Carbide bearing on preamplifier. The Dead Balls dulled the sound compared the Sand Box and Tune Blocks, however, the Dead Balls worked better on the 11A than the 10A.

After listening to my tweaked system through the 10A for hours we decided to try out the 11A. I will save my discussion about the 11A for later. Steve will be back tommorrow and we will be listening to the 11A alot. Its still connected to my sytems. Steve is back at the hotel. I hope he forgets to come back.  

 

[kbuzz3]

I have long admired sas labs pre from afar. I first found out via bound for sound. I have not heard any as of yet. good thing as i have a few pre amps here already. This really seems to be a great time for pre amps. Just look at whats out there:

sas
dodd battery
modwright
juicy music

and a few i cant recall this am.

[earlmarc]

Well Steve left about an hour ago.  He didn't forget anything. I would like to thank Steve for coming by and helping me tweak my system as well as letting me hear his 11A preamp and his power amps. Steve and I made a few more minor tweaks to my system. We added the SilverFi Topaki SC and cleaned all my CD's with the Jena Labs Esoteric 3D-X. These last two tweaks took my system to another level. Sezai, the Topaki SC never sounded sooo good! If anyone is on the fense about purchasing Jena's Esoteric 3D-X or SilverFi cables, I'd give them both a try. You may be surprised.

The SAS new 11A as well as Steve's mono-block KT-88 amplifiers are simply outstanding products. Steve hasn't introduced either product yet. I have a feeling he will be introducing both very soon. The 11A is definately a step up from the 10A. The 10A is an excellent preamp and to better it, I thought before the new 11A, that I would have to spend at least $3000-5000 to find something better. I'm glad that I don't even have to spend that. The new 11A will retail for $2395. I am very content with the 10A, but I know down the road I'll eventually upgrade to the 11A. I would like to hear other options as well when I do. The Dodd Battery, the Herron, Steelhead, and the H-Cat are a few that come to mind. I must say though that so far the 11A is the most impressive preamplifier I've heard. Its very transparent and can pick-up the most subtlest of nuances. It has far reaching extension in the highs. The midrange has a purity and flow that's life-like. Its dynamic with excellent bass articulation. And its dead silent. The 11A truly displays what is played at a level I have not heard before. Klaus, the Odyssey Khartago Mono Extremes are a great surprise through the 11A. Kudos to you for a exceptional amplifier.

I have learned alot about my system this weekend with Steve. More than anything I have grown to appreciate how good products can sound when tweaked appropriately. And how much a great preamp like the 11A can help one discover new pleasures in music.

[silverfi]

my admiration for both of you realizing a joyous "week-end sounds-art happening". seriously, i take similar efforts as another form of art in the making/re-creation of music (art of audio+music which frees and enriches our soul). kudos also to your wife and kids allowing this happen.

it's not that common of a designer-manufacturer spend his time for the betterment of a system and along with the higly personal introduction of his new creations. thank you steve, without passion and dedication it can't be done. one day, i hope to try your products in my system too.

marcus, nice to hear that you liked topkapi sc. i would like to disclose that a new speaker  model called farabi is out and its below the 1K mark.(995.- USD). i think this might be a model loved by many musiclovers and fill a gap pricewise.

yes, tweaking and upgrading (i.e. evolution) could be rewarding and revolutionary, if done propery. please carry on marcus...

[Steve]

Thanks Earlmarc.

     It is not very often when one can spend two whole days tryings lots of setups and tweeks. Usually I am only allowed to install a component for audition in an existing system.

     What also helped was the assortment of products Earlmarc had on hand, with all his testing of late, and what I could bring. We were able to audition a variety of cords, feet, cables, components etc until our hearts were content.

     I really liked the way the new 11A preamp performed. This was the last hurdle of testing before market.

     Thanks again, Marcus, for hosting this session, and the Mrs. for being so patient and kind. She is one of a kind.



     

[xsb7244]

Good things come to he who waits.  How long did it take to produce the new 11A preamp? From the design
stage, test stage, and to the final sell stage? A lot of research goes into a new product.  and how long is the
warranty?

[Steve]

Good things come to he who waits.  How long did it take to produce the new 11A preamp? From the design stage, test stage, and to the final sell stage?"

Hi XSB.

     I actually started around Jan, 2003, testing a 4 chassis model, two for power supplies and two dedicated for signal. It turned out the price would be simply too high for most music lovers. I wanted something for all of us.

So I decided to change back to a single chassis design, to see how good I could get, and still keep the price reasonable. Glad I did as the 11A sounds nearly perfect. Extremely invisible, people just cannot tell the difference with the preamp in and out of line. The music is fleshed out, just like it should be.

"A lot of research goes into a new product.  and how long is the
warranty?"

7 years on parts and labor, 1 year on tubes. I expect the 11A to be as reliable as the 10A, of which I have Not had one actual problem since its inception, December 1996.

Take care.