Purist Preamp US In Home Audition Tour

Mad DOg · « **Reply #120 on:** 17 Dec 2003, 12:20 am »

Quote from: Carlman

I requested to be on the list in a PM last week... Is there a list you can post so we can see where it is where we stand in line?

Thanks,
Carl

C-man,

Page 4 of this thread middle of the way down...u can see who's on the list and where the preamp is on the audition tour.

i'm looking forward to comparing it to my Aragon Aurum which pretty handily spanked my Rogue Magnum 99 in every respect...

Carlman · « **Reply #121 on:** 17 Dec 2003, 12:49 am »

Ok, I see it... I'm not on it but, that was a long time ago. So, I was hoping for an updated list... specifically with my name on it...

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #122 on:** 17 Dec 2003, 01:51 am »

Carlman,

It's worth the wait...whenever that is. It's a real value in my book. The tit-tat thing about it being 'the best out there' is a step that is so elusive I avoid it, but the Purist is good, damn good That's all.

Have fun.

Curt · « **Reply #123 on:** 17 Dec 2003, 03:16 pm »

Quote from: Carlman

I requested to be on the list in a PM last week... Is there a list you can post so we can see where it is where we stand in line?

Thanks,
Carl

Carl, your on the schedule, please see page 4 of this thread.

I also emailed this message.

Curt · « **Reply #124 on:** 17 Dec 2003, 03:17 pm »

Randog postponed due to work, the ball goes to dogberry.

Dogberry, you have email and a Purist with your name on the box

dogberry · « **Reply #125 on:** 17 Dec 2003, 03:39 pm »

Outstanding. Looking forward to receiving the unit and cranking some bosst tunage!

Carlman · « **Reply #126 on:** 17 Dec 2003, 04:10 pm »

Awesome, thank you Curt!

Looks like I'll be comparing it to 2 tube pre's when I get it. (Dodd and Eastern Minimax)

-Carl

dogberry · « **Reply #127 on:** 20 Dec 2003, 02:16 am »

Got the Purist an hour ago and have been spinning CDs. Initial review under separate topic.

Curt · « **Reply #128 on:** 26 Dec 2003, 03:04 pm »

JeromeS you have email, it's your turn, are you out there?

I will give you a couple of days to respond then I will have to move on to the next audition (only because I will be gone for a week [on holiday] myself).

JeromeS · « **Reply #129 on:** 5 Jan 2004, 07:11 pm »

Well I've had the Purist for a couple of days now and wow, love the sound from it. I'll have more to talk about later in the week.

Funny though, the first 4 hours of listening with the Purist I was like "It sounds really really good". Then I realized that the speaker cables were reversed on the amp since my Bottlehead Foreplay inverts phase.

Switched the leads and it sounded even better.

guest1632 · « **Reply #130 on:** 6 Jan 2004, 03:20 am »

Quote from: Carlman

Awesome, thank you Curt!

Looks like I'll be comparing it to 2 tube pre's when I get it. (Dodd and Eastern Minimax)

-Carl

That will be an interesting read. That Minimax sure looks like a winner.

Curt · « **Reply #131 on:** 9 Jan 2004, 04:18 pm »

JeromeS, you have email. Time to move the Purist to the next audition

Curt · « **Reply #132 on:** 9 Jan 2004, 05:56 pm »

FYI: The Purist tour schedule is on page 4 of this thread:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=4402.msg40563#40563

If anyone else is interested in an in home audition, just drop me an email.

Thank you all for your interest in IRD audio components.

JeromeS · « **Reply #133 on:** 10 Jan 2004, 07:47 am »

Well I’ve listened to the Purist for the past week and have to say I enjoyed every minute with it. I’d like to give a big thanks to Curt for the opportunity to audition the Purist.

First time taking it out of the box, I noticed how heavy it was. Whoa, this thing means business. Also it's very nicely built and loved the simplicity of the dials.

The first system I put the Purist into was my combination Home Theater/2 channel system. I use a Bottlehead Foreplay preamp with Mullard CV4003 tubes, Sweet Whispers –20 to –50 attenuation, RRSF(Reverse Recovery Spike Filter), DC heaters and Auricap output capacitors. Amplifier is the 5 channel Outlaw 750 and speakers are PSB Image 5T. Source components are Music Hall MMF-5 turntable with a Gram Amp 2SE phono preamp and for CDs I use a Pioneer DV-434 DVD player with Modwright Transport Level 1 modification and a Perpetual Technologies P-3A DAC with Monolith Sound P-3 power supply. Interconnects are Blue Jeans Cable with speaker cables being DIY CAT5 Ethernet wire.

The music I played on both systems ranged on CD Eric Clapton “Unplugged”, AC/DC “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, Mapleshade’s “Music Festival”, Rolling Stones recently remastered hybrid SACDs, Norah Jones “Come Away With Me”, and some techno/dance music while on vinyl I played an original shaded dog LSC-2240 “Rhapsodies”, Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy”(Bob Ludwig mastered), Fleetwood Mac “Rumours” and Alison Krauss “Forget About It”.

After I connected the Purist the lower bass that is missing from the Foreplay in it’s current configuration showed itself immediately. Either source, whether CD or vinyl, displayed the bass that I know I’ve been missing all this time. Also the bass was somewhat tighter with the Purist. The midrange and high frequencies were better with the Purist than the Foreplay. It seemed the Foreplay was a little rolled off but I don’t know if this is because of the Foreplay itself or the Mullards. The Anticipation upgrade for the Foreplay is suppose to remedy some of the shortcomings which is on my ‘To do’ list but as is the Purist beats it in the first system. Definitely would be a keeper here.

The second system I connected the Purist to is my recent 2 channel only system. This consists of an Antique Sound Labs Orchid 2A3 SET integrated amplifier, and Omega Loudspeakers TS1Rs using Mapleshade Clearview Golden Helix speaker cables. Source components would be the same as above. I expected the Purist to have less bass advantage in this system since the TS1Rs don’t have as much bottom end as the Image 5Ts, 49Hz compared 35Hz. When I did start listening yes there was less bottom end but I also noticed that the great sound that I had heard from the first system was somehow muted here. The midrange and highs weren’t as clear as they were before. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that the Purist sounded bad, it just wasn’t as good as before. I tried all 3 gains but still the sound wasn't there. I don’t know if it was a component mismatch or the old adage of not putting a SS preamp with a tube amp but something was missing. However, the preamp in the Orchid was actually worse sounding since the bass sounded boomy and the midrange and highs were less than the Purist. I then put in the Foreplay and this is what I had expected. The midrange and highs were better and bass was about the same as the Purist. I guess if I had to use a scale of 1-10 Orchid preamp:5, Purist 7 and Foreplay 8.5 in this system.

In the end, the first system I put the Purist into was a definite improvement and just sounded great. The second system it didn’t have as much synergy as I thought it would have but still sound was very good. I guess that’s why it’s recommended auditioning components in your system to give you an idea about matching them up. But for $665 and you get it in the right system, this preamp is a steal!

Curt · « **Reply #134 on:** 14 Jan 2004, 07:37 pm »

Hi Jerome,

Thanks for taking the time to write such an interesting and detailed review. I'm glad you enjoyed your in home audition.

One point: When adding a standalone preamplifier to an integrated I have never had great luck. It seems they are tweaked for the built-in preamp and use less than optimum circuitry for the preamp input section. This may or may not have had something to do with the results you experienced.

Thank you for your interest in IRD audio components and for taking part in our Purist US tour.

JeromeS · « **Reply #135 on:** 1 Feb 2004, 06:17 am »

Here is an addendum to my review above.

After reading Curt's statement about the built-in preamps for integrated being tweaked for them, I tried to figure out why my Orchid did so bad. Well I figured out what the problem was. It seems that one of the tubes for the input is suppose to be a 12AU7 and I had a 12AX7 in it's place instead. How did this happen?

Well I bought the Orchid used from Audiogon without a manual or remote. Guess that's why it was cheaper than expected. Anyway, along with amp came 2 sets of tubes for each of the input and output section. One bag was labeled "Good" and another label "Best". Of course I used the tubes labeled as "Best". What I didn't know though was that one of the input tubes had to be 12AU7 since I didn't have a manual and used the 3 12AX7 tubes contained in the "Best" bag. Well after the comparison test and trying to find out why it did so badly, I finally found a schematic for the Orchid and saw my mistake.

So how did the amp sound with the correct tube? Wow, what a difference. Boominess in the bass disapeared and the midrange and highs were there. Judging the sound based on 1-10 and trying to remember how the Purist sounded, it would be Purist 7, Orchid 8 and Foreplay 8.5.

Looking back now in the beginning, I did wonder why there were 4 tubes in the "Good" input bag with 3 12AU7 and 1 12AX7 and in the "Best" there were 3 12AX7s. I figured it was the difference in the tubes that made them be "Good" and "Best". Oh well lesson learned being a newbie to tubes.

Curt · « **Reply #136 on:** 6 Feb 2004, 04:21 pm »

Randog is the next tour stop, he is ready and waiting, we are just waiting for Mad Dog to ship the Purist his way

Mad Dog did you get your email instructions? I wait your reply.

This has been a long tour, almost six months now...

Brad · « **Reply #137 on:** 6 Feb 2004, 05:02 pm »

Going a little off topic:

When does the Sabai tour start?

Curt · « **Reply #138 on:** 17 Feb 2004, 06:30 pm »

Quote from: Brad

Going a little off topic:

When does the Sabai tour start?

Good point, and good idea. We are working on the micro circuit firmware now, that and laying out the PCB is all that's left. We have most of the electronic parts and the chassis parts in stock waiting.

But don't expect it anytime soon, our workload is currently holding up the audio products. This is just to let you know I'm thinking about it and know I need to get there as soon as possible.

Curt · « **Reply #139 on:** 17 Feb 2004, 06:32 pm »

Randog, you got email. It's time for the Purist to move on

Purist Preamp US In Home Audition Tour

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