Mapletree Preamp

Airborn · « **on:** 26 Dec 2007, 07:19 am »

I just received my new Mapletree Ultra 4A SE preamp and PS2 power supply from Santa aka Dr. Lloyd Peppard on Christmas Eve. I have been listening non-stop for the past 2 days. What can I say, I am stunned by the performance for the price. I'm going to post a full review after I listen for a while, but straight out of the box I can tell my system sounds better than it ever has thanks to this preamp. And this is with the stock tubes. I can't wait to try some tube rolling, as I hear that really improves things.

Any suggestions for tubes to try will be greatly appreciated.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Dec 2007, 07:28 am »

Quote

I have been listening non-stop for the past 2 days. What can I say, I am stunned by the performance for the price.

Its hard to beat for the price...a really nice preamp. You might send topround a PM...he's had his for awhile...did a lot of testing....and it always sounded great at the "Rave's"....

Here's something.......

Airborn · « **Reply #2 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 01:00 am »

Thanks for the link, Chris. Its too bad the Mapletree Board is no longer active or I could post there and maybe get some more feedback from other owners. I'll have to check with topround about his experiences tube rolling.

After more listening today, I want to amend my prior statement. This isn't just great "performance for the price", but great performance at any price, period. I auditioned several preamps in my system before the MAD Ultra 4A SE, including a borrowed Rotel RC-1070, a demo. Arcam C31 and a McIntosh C220. I listened to the same cds on each and the Mapletree squashes the Rotel and the Arcam and I feel I am giving up very little, if anything, to the 3 times more expensive McIntosh. All are fine components, but the fact is that the music from the Ultra 4A has a rightness of tone that I didn't perceive with any other preamp, either SS or tube.

Based upon what I had read, I was afraid the Mapletree might be too "tubey" for my system given the "warm" character of my amp (Odyssey Khartago) and the laid back presentation of my speakers (Strata Mini). Those concerns were not justified. The Ultra 4A gets the music just right for my taste and that's what makes it a great component to me!

It also appears to have a pretty good phono section, although I haven't had enough time (and probably will need a better source) to fully evaluate the phono performance.

rajacat · « **Reply #3 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 01:28 am »

In my Mapletree Line 3a, I prefer the Sylvania 6SN7's to the RCA 12SX7s' and the various 12SN7s' that I've rolled. They seem to be more dynamic and just have more fire.

-Roy

topround · « **Reply #4 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 01:53 am »

I agree, in my U4 SE I find the Sylvania 6SN7's to work really well.
The 12sn7's were OK but a bigg difference in air and dynamics with the SYlvania's, don't forget the rectifier as well.
I find the Phono section to be outstanding! It makes my son's maxxed out Bottlehead Seduction sound broken(maybe it is)

Dr.Lloyd is a real gentleman, that little preamp will always stay in my system, my next MAD product is a Mapletree infused Dynaco ST 70

Enjoy the delicious midrange love

mike

ajzepp · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Dec 2007, 08:46 pm »

I just ordered a Line 2A SE with HT bypass

rajacat · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Dec 2007, 08:59 pm »

Quote from: topround on 27 Dec 2007, 01:53 am

I agree, in my U4 SE I find the Sylvania 6SN7's to work really well.
The 12sn7's were OK but a bigg difference in air and dynamics with the SYlvania's, don't forget the rectifier as well.
I find the Phono section to be outstanding! It makes my son's maxxed out Bottlehead Seduction sound broken(maybe it is)
Dr.Lloyd is a real gentleman, that little preamp will always stay in my system, my next MAD product is a Mapletree infused Dynaco ST 70
Enjoy the delicious midrange love

mike

Mike,

What rectifier tubes have you tried? I'm currently using a Ken Rad 5X6 CKR G1.

-Roy

rajacat · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Dec 2007, 09:01 pm »

Quote from: ajzepp on 28 Dec 2007, 08:46 pm

I just ordered a Line 2A SE with HT bypass

Congratulations.

I wouldn't mind having the HT bypass.

--Roy

ajzepp · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Dec 2007, 11:22 pm »

I was really close to going with his multi-channel analog preamp, but decided just to keep it simple for now. I'm excited to get this thing into my system!

My amp and speakers have had to put up with my Outlaw 950 as the preamp, so I'm expecting a pretty significant improvement in my 2-channel music.

Airborn · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Dec 2007, 06:56 am »

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I just ordered a Line 2A SE with HT bypass

I also thought about a HT bypass and asked Dr. Lloyd about it; he seemed confused about what exactly I was talking about, so you must have explained it better than me.

Anyway, it became moot for me when Dr. Lloyd offered me a great deal on a brand new returned Ultra 4A SE that allowed me to avoid the 2 month wait.

Quote

My amp and speakers have had to put up with my Outlaw 950 as the preamp, so I'm expecting a pretty significant improvement in my 2-channel music.

I think you will find the improvement significant. I was running an Onkyo receiver as a pre before and a borrowed Rotel RC-1070 and there is no comparison with the Mapletree pre. I've had mine for less than a week and I just can't get over the sound; very fast, dynamic and detailed with my SS amp, yet still full bodied and emotional in the midrange. The bass is great too, not bloated or slow at all. I know you will enjoy it.

ajzepp · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Dec 2007, 09:48 am »

I guess I better clarify with him what an HT bypass is, then! lol He seemed to know what I meant, so maybe your discussions with him made it more clear. He said basically it would bypass the tube circuitry of the unit and one of the inputs would be assigned to it. That's pretty much what I want, since I don't care to have the tubes working on the sound when I'm running in bypass mode. My payment won't reach him until Thursday, so I'll talk to him before then to make sure we're on the same page. Thanks for the heads up!

And I"m glad to hear that it made a big difference for you. His approach is well suited to what I look for in any product - simple design, great performance. I don't like a lot of bells and whistles. I hope my experience is as good as yours has been!

ajzepp · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Jan 2008, 02:15 pm »

Just in case anyone is considering a Mapletree product, I wanted to give kudos to Dr. Peppard for his excellent correspondence. He and I have exchanged at least one email on a daily basis over the past week or so, and he's helped me with every question I've had. He's passed along schematics and explanations that have gotten us on the same page in terms of what I need out of a preamp, and he's been an absolute pleasure to deal with.

I have a really good feeling about this purchase.

ajzepp · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Jan 2008, 08:52 am »

My Line 2A SE arrived this past week. I have about 50 hrs on it, and even though my only source right now is an iPod Nano (playing mostly compressed music from iTunes!), the sound is AMAZING. I usually use my brother as my second pair of ears since he's not much of a fan of home audio and thinks it's crazy to drop lots of cash on a system, and also because he absolutely loves music.

Anyway, I am using an iPod-to-RCA cable from ALO, which connects the iPod to my Mapletree. The Mapletree is handing off to my Butler 5150 hybrid tube amp, and my speakers are the DeVore Fidelity Super 8s. With things sounding this darn good, I can't wait to get a *real* source in the mix! My Denon 2900 Uni player just crapped out with regard to CD playback, so I plan to get an outboard DAC (probably a Monarchy NM24). But anyway, Mapletree is da bomb!!

topround · « **Reply #13 on:** 27 Jan 2008, 01:31 pm »

Monkey Love,

Wait till you get some good nos tubes in there, call andy at vintage tube services for a nice pair of sylvania 6sntgta"s you will be amazed at what you will hear then!
Dr. Lloyd is a true gentleman, welcome to the club!! The mapletree and the butler are a good combo, had it in my house with one and two butlers, courtesy of lonewolf.

enjoy your music now

mike

ajzepp · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Jan 2008, 06:44 pm »

Thanks, Mike

I'll definitely take the advice on the tubes, thanks! This is my first tube preamp, and I have a lot to learn about them...particularly with regard to tube rolling!

Mapletree rocks

Airborn · « **Reply #15 on:** 29 Jan 2008, 07:24 am »

Congrats Monkey Lover on joining the MAD family. I told you the preamps were da bomb!

I bet it sounds very nice with the Butler Hybrid and the Gibbon Super 8's. I envy your set up.

I find myself listening to more and more vinyl these days as the phono stage of the Ultra 4A SE just sounds great.

I just bought some sylvania and tung sol 6sn7gt's from a fellow Ac'er to try tube rolling and I can't wait.

ajzepp · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Jan 2008, 04:04 pm »

Right on, Airborn

I like to think I typically make good decisions on product upgrades cause I usually take a lot of time before pulling the trigger, and I try to find pieces that are known for exceptional value. I really owe you guys a lot for helping put Mapletree on my radar! I've been thinking about it the last week, and I really think this is the single best audio purchase I've ever made. I like to think that my speakers and amp perform beyond their price point too, but this preamp is just awesome. From the build quality, to the customer service that Dr. P provides, to the amazing sound, it's really quite a bargain. I don't even know if the damn thing is broken in yet, lol

When you said that the Mapletree stuff just has a "rightness" about it, I now know exactly what you mean, and I concur

Airborn · « **Reply #17 on:** 29 Jan 2008, 06:46 pm »

Glad you are enjoying it.

How's the HT bypass working? I may have to ask Dr. Lloyd to add that to mine.

Quote

When you said that the Mapletree stuff just has a "rightness" about it, I now know exactly what you mean, and I concur

Yeah, I guess I always expected the "classic tube sound" to be mushy, slow and rolled off or lacking in detail and nothing could be further from describing the MAD preamp. I hear more detail, high end sparkle and stronger bass than I ever heard before. I also have to thank others like Mike/topround and Chris/lonewolf for describing their experiences with Mapletree's products. Those posts lead me to discover a small manufacturer with a personal touch who produces exceptional products at reasonable prices. Gotta love that combination!

rklein · « **Reply #18 on:** 29 Jan 2008, 08:55 pm »

Hi All:

I was very interested in either building a Mapletree 2A or buying an Ultra 4SE. Unfortunately, I couldn't get Dr. Lloyd to commit to putting in a HT Bypass (about 6-8 months ago).

I ended up buying a used SAS Audio 10A and had the seller ship it directly to Steve Sammet at SAS where he put in the HT Bypass. I am VERY happy with this pre. One can always wonder "what if..." in terms of going the Mapletree route. However, I don't think one can go to far wrong when dealing with such quality vendors as Dr. Lloyd at Mapletree or Steve Sammet at SAS Audio.

rklein

ajzepp · « **Reply #19 on:** 30 Jan 2008, 02:36 pm »

Airborn: HT bypass works great. I really wasn't sure if Dr. P knew what I was asking of him, cause he sent me back this technical diagram and said, "I think this is pretty much what you want". Well, I'm a medical guy, not an engineer, and even though the diagram was pretty simple to someone like Dr. P, I had no idea what the hell he was showing me, lol. Thankfully after one or two more clarification emails we agreed that we were on the same page. Basically what he did was designate the first input as the HT input, and then he had a switch installed on the rear of the unit. I can have the unit completely off and unplugged, and the HT bypass works great. To listen to one of my other two sources (of which I only have one currently), I just turn the knob to the appropriate input and make sure the switch in back is in "normal" position. It works great, and this way I can use my HT pre/pro w/out wearing down the tubes in the Mapletree. I know they last for thousands of hours, but no sense burning them out if I don't need to. And I agree about the bass! I have been trying to find a subwoofer upgrade that would allow for both HT and music, but I don't think I need to worry about it for music anymore. I had no idea that my DeVores could hit this low and with such impact, and I give credit to the Mapletree for that big time!

RKlein: Based on what I know about Steve S., it seems like he offers products with the same sort of amazing value as Dr.P of Mapletree. I've never heard the SAS stuff, but I dare say that I doubt you'd feel one was clearly better than the other (between an SAS 10 and a Mapletree preamp). I'm pretty confident saying that both brands kick ass, and I think this is a big reason why I love this hobby. I love to see what some of the smaller guys are doing, cause often times that's where the best values can be found. I had a few email conversations with Steve and he seems like a really good guy. I would have been happy to have bought from him, I just happened to pull the trigger on the Mapletree. BTW, I'm pretty sure I'm still goign to pick up that Monarchy NM24 that you and I had inquired about in the other threads...the reviewers seem to think it's an exceptional DAC when used as a DAC alone, even though it has the preamp feature built in. I figure this way I'll have a great DAC and a back-up preamp just in case. I thought the things were going for like $1500, but if Mr. Poon will sell me one for a grand, I'll probably bite on it in a month or two.