I did a little research herein and can report that Boead once owned a used T7 SLR preamp that started life as an earlier circuit in our original black aluminum chassis and later updated to an SLR. Reviewing his posts herein (back to front) for a while makes me think he really liked it for a while, especially after cutting off the power cord, etc. I have no idea what its original condition was in as it was a private purchase I believe.
I can note that his experience (as far as I can tell) is with a model two major engineering upgrades out of date. I cannot reference him to our customer data base for any purchases directly from us here.
Merry Christmas to all.
Frank Van Alstine
Correct Frank, I loved the T7. As with any hobby, you get the itch and want to more onto other things and sometimes you come around to something you had before and liked. I’d certainly buy another one of your components but I found something different that I like and am enjoying.
I SO wanted to have my T7 put into a new larger and heavier chassis but it isn’t possible. My one gripe about the T7 was its small and lightweight chassis. For an amp or DAC isn’t doesn’t matter to me but for a preamp it was a problem. The weight of the cables (and I have fairly light-weight cables) overpowered the preamp itself and actually lifted the front of the preamp off the shelf. When I mentioned this some months back, I got a few emails from other owners that said they had the same problem and suggested I put a brick on top of the unit – yeah a brick. Well I didn’t put anything on top of it and just dealt with it.
Buy yeah, the power cord made a difference that was undeniable. I found the imaging to be more transparent, separation of instruments and focus improved and the largest difference was the bass, there was just a deeper, richer bass with some cords. I was actually disappointed with the bass on the unit, although it was better then the Bryston preamp I had earlier, it still wasn’t right. The cords and the tubes I found for the T7 made a dramatic enough difference that I was able to keep it, otherwise I would have sold it weeks after I got it.
BTW: I have a tailored (meaning been modified a few times to my liking) Decware EL84 SET by Eddie Vaughn that is tremendously detailed and revealing, it also has a giant sound stage and is by far one of the best amps I’ve heard. It a difficult amp to own, finding speakers is not easy but when you do there is little that can come close to its fidelity. Everything upstream is revealed, this is why so many Decware SET owners choose not to use a preamp, not because its better without but because most preamps suck regardless of cost and the Decware Select lets you know it loud and clear. You’re better off without then with. Fortunately, the AVA T7 was good enough and actually added fidelity to the system.
Its been said by many that if a power cord or IC makes a big difference then something in your system is wrong. The problem with that logic is that with any cheap(er) audio system (mid Fi) I found that power cords and IC’s make little to no difference yet on High(er) end system they make a big difference. It clear to me that the more revealing the system is, the more impact a cord or IC has on the system.
Oh and BTW: Over at the Steve Hoffman forum which is full of professional sound engineers, they mostly positively and absolutely believe that cords, IC’s and wire make a noticeable and significant difference. From running onto different audio forums I fond that the once that are FULL of skeptics are the once full of novice with inexpensive gear and non-audiophiles. This is my observation, doesn’t’ prove anything.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year.
