Hi Frank,
I have good news and bad news. I am closing down my classical music website since it’s too hard to make a go as a non-profit service provider in classical music. It was, and is for the summer, a concert listing and promotion site for classical music in New York City.
But my loss is your gain, once I’m gainfully employed I plan to order a Fet Valve Ultra 350.
There area few questions that I want to ask, but first a story……
After the three + years that I have been running the site, and getting comps to great music all over New York City, I found that my musical reproduction tastes have changed. All of the best recent musical experiences have been with mosfet amps (Chord, Nagra and Moscode) – so I am sold on the music made by hybrids and mosfets. So I am excited about trying your amps.
Prior to this I was a tube and SET fan with the Abby single driver speakers (96db). Prior to that I mainly used vintage tube amps with Audio Physics (90db). With your amp I’ll bring back the Audio Physics.
The beautiful bloom of SET now sounds too unreal for me (seductive as it definitely is) – I accept that audio is a compromise in various ways, but toe tapping and, shall I say, a (microdynamic) sense of momentum with inflection is now paramount for me, so sheer beauty has to suffer for long term love.
OK, so the questions…..
One, why do the amps have to be so powerful? I have 90db speakers and maybe 50 watts will be good, why are there no lower rated versions? I know that some people use SS watts on their Hi-eff speakers, but are there are practical reasons for not doing what Nelson pass is doing with his First watt series. That is, trying to marry a superior form of amplification with the simplest and dynamic way to make a speaker.
Two, I see you are revamping your SS line, do you think that it will have an effect on decisions on changing the hybrid line? I know the answer will be “no,” but one has to ask.
Three, (again) are the tubes 12AT7? Any plans to change, and yes I love to play with tube rolling. My pre is the Minimax for the time being (great for tube rolling).
My next step is to get a new table or repair my Thorens 124. But a new Pre and DAC are also in the offing. Once I get my front-end set with (hopefully) your amp as a foundation – I’ll see how I feel about speaker topology that I can afford.
OK, so I guess I’ve told you everything, want to see pictures of my kids or last vacation???
Gregg
