Thanks to Wayner! And Frank, too! Ultra Double 550

orthobiz · « **on:** 23 Feb 2009, 12:00 am »

My damaged 550EXR has been reincarnated as an Ultra Double. And thanks to Wayner, it has a "new" old faceplate. Outside, a mild mannered 550EXR. Inside, the guts of a tiger! Of course, Frank and crew made it all happen.

Thanks again, Wayner!

Oh yeah, my regular Ultra's going up for sale soon...

Paul

Pic of the Double:

Tone Depth · « **Reply #1 on:** 23 Feb 2009, 03:28 am »

Now it is my turn to send a "Greetings, Double Cousin". Hope you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying mine!

orthobiz · « **Reply #2 on:** 23 Feb 2009, 03:39 am »

Quote from: Tone Depth on 23 Feb 2009, 03:28 am

Now it is my turn to send a "Greetings, Double Cousin". Hope you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying mine!

Thanks, TD. Having approximately 300 watts per channel sure does keep my Dahlquist DQ-10's happy.

Paul

martyo · « **Reply #3 on:** 23 Feb 2009, 09:45 am »

Congratulations "Double brother"

Happy listening aa

Tom Alverson · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Feb 2009, 04:05 am »

Quote from: orthobiz on 23 Feb 2009, 12:00 am

My damaged 550EXR has been reincarnated as an Ultra Double. And thanks to Wayner, it has a "new" old faceplate. Outside, a mild mannered 550EXR. Inside, the guts of a tiger! Of course, Frank and crew made it all happen.

Thanks again, Wayner!

Oh yeah, my regular Ultra's going up for sale soon...

And thanks now to orthobiz, as I now have his "old" Ultra, as he shipped it out very quickly. We both stimulated the economy by using UPS, VISA and Paypal (they all got a cut). Ortho promised to use the pile of cash to go and do some more stimulating.

My old amp is the original T-3 Fet-Valve 500, before the 12AT7, before Exicon FETS, before regulated HV supplies, and probably a lot of other upgrades. I am using and Insight DAC and an old Omega II preamp with it right now. The first thing I noticed was the bass was cleaner and more powerfull. The improved clarity and spatial "focus" I heard when I switched to the Insight DAC was improved even more. It was much easier to hear background singers and distinguish between multiple background singers and instruments. Also I seem to be able to play it louder than before without the sound getting congested. I'm sure the Omega II preamp is holding things back a little bit right now. I have an original Fet-Valve preamp (with 12AX7s in the line stage) and I will try that out shortly.

Tom

Wally King · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Feb 2009, 01:45 pm »

Quote from: orthobiz on 23 Feb 2009, 03:39 am

Quote from: Tone Depth on 23 Feb 2009, 03:28 am
Now it is my turn to send a "Greetings, Double Cousin". Hope you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying mine!

Thanks, TD. Having approximately 300 watts per channel sure does keep my Dahlquist DQ-10's happy.

Paul

I'm hoping that you will share your impressions on the upgrade to the Ultra Double.

Right now, I use a 550EXR to drive a pair of Salk HT-3s, and even though the combo sounds pretty wonderful, well ... we all know there's always something a little better out there. The new Ultra Double sounds intriguing.

martyo · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Feb 2009, 02:55 pm »

Quote

Quote from: Wally King on 26 Feb 2009, 01:45 pm
Quote from: orthobiz on 23 Feb 2009, 03:39 am
Quote from: Tone Depth on 23 Feb 2009, 03:28 am
Now it is my turn to send a "Greetings, Double Cousin". Hope you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying mine!

Thanks, TD. Having approximately 300 watts per channel sure does keep my Dahlquist DQ-10's happy.

Paul

I'm hoping that you will share your impressions on the upgrade to the Ultra Double.

Right now, I use a 550EXR to drive a pair of Salk HT-3s, and even though the combo sounds pretty wonderful, well ... we all know there's always something a little better out there. The new Ultra Double sounds intriguing.

Wally, here is a link to a thread of my impressions going from the Ultra to the Double Ultra; http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=63500.0

And, I decided to buy the Ultra 550 based on listening to my brothers 550EXR6, and the EXR6 is no slouch, but the Ultra is a significant upgrade from that. And then from the Ultra to the Double was pretty damn significant through my HT3's.

Wally King · « **Reply #7 on:** 26 Feb 2009, 05:53 pm »

Martyo,

Thanks for the link. I believe that tells me what I need to know.

Now, if only my Citigroup stock would rebound ... just a bit ...

Wayner · « **Reply #8 on:** 26 Feb 2009, 11:06 pm »

Glad you could use the faceplate! Looks nice!

Wayner aa

rcag_ils · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 Feb 2009, 03:18 pm »

Quote

Martyo,

Thanks for the link. I believe that tells me what I need to know.

Now, if only my Citigroup stock would rebound ... just a bit ...

I am afraid it will take a very long time, if C will rebound at all, when government takes over, the company stock will be worthless.

The current administration should have let all the failing companies fail, go through the bankruptcy process, and re-emerge as stronger companies, in turn, retaining our capitalistic system that has been working so well in our country. Instead, they decided to bail everyone out with our money, throwing good money into bad.

We could have bought more AVA electronic.

martyo · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 Feb 2009, 04:20 pm »

Quote

Quote from: rcag_ils on 27 Feb 2009, 03:18 pm
Quote
Martyo,

Thanks for the link. I believe that tells me what I need to know.

Now, if only my Citigroup stock would rebound ... just a bit ...

I am afraid it will take a very long time, if C will rebound at all, when government takes over, the company stock will be worthless.

The current administration should have let all the failing companies fail, go through the bankruptcy process, and re-emerge as stronger companies, in turn, retaining our capitalistic system that has been working so well in our country. Instead, they decided to bail everyone out with our money, throwing good money into bad.

We could have bought more AVA electronic.

I come here for music and hi-fi, it's an Audio Forum. There is a Sportsbar for sitting around chewing the fat on varied topics with the usual no politics or religion.
I don't care to read your partisan/political take on anything. That pollution has saturated out culture. This place is a santuary from that. There's a gazillion blogs around for that, really, why bring it here?

rcag_ils · « **Reply #11 on:** 27 Feb 2009, 04:43 pm »

Quote

I come here for music and hi-fi, it's an Audio Forum. There is a Sportsbar for sitting around chewing the fat on varied topics with the usual no politics or religion.
I don't care to read your partisan/political take on anything. That pollution has saturated out culture. This place is a santuary from that. There's a gazillion blogs around for that, really, why bring it here?

We don't really "bring" this topic here, at least it wasn't me, I just wanted to respond to why C is down to nothing.

We talk about this mainly because everyone's being affect by it. I am sure some of the readers here are professionals, we may even have a few economists in this forum. I am sure some of the readers in this forum have lost jobs because of it. I just don't see any big deal about mentioning the state of our economy.

martyo · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Feb 2009, 04:59 pm »

Quote

Quote from: rcag_ils on 27 Feb 2009, 04:43 pm
Quote
I come here for music and hi-fi, it's an Audio Forum. There is a Sportsbar for sitting around chewing the fat on varied topics with the usual no politics or religion.
I don't care to read your partisan/political take on anything. That pollution has saturated out culture. This place is a sanctuary from that. There's a gazillion blogs around for that, really, why bring it here?

We don't really "bring" this topic here, at least it wasn't me, I just wanted to respond to why C is down to nothing.

We talk about this mainly because everyone's being affect by it. I am sure some of the readers here are professionals, we may even have a few economists in this forum. I am sure some of the readers in this forum have lost jobs because of it. I just don't see any big deal about mentioning the state of our economy.

Why do I care about your personal spin of this. You didn't just validate Wally's comment, you took the opportunity to share with us your Expert opinion. What is so special about your take on the world that you need to share it with us, in the "Re: Thanks to Wayner! And Frank, too! Ultra Double 550" thread.

rcag_ils · « **Reply #13 on:** 27 Feb 2009, 07:48 pm »

Alright, I am not allowed to talk about vinyl records, I am not allowed to make any comment about our economy, and I only have so much for my Ultra 550 to talk about.

martyo · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Feb 2009, 08:11 pm »

Quote

Quote from: rcag_ils on 27 Feb 2009, 07:48 pm
Alright, I am not allowed to talk about vinyl records, I am not allowed to make any comment about our economy, and I only have so much for my Ultra 550 to talk about.

If that is what you take from my post, oh well.

How do you like your Ultra and what all is in your system? What is your room like? What are some good Cd's/Albums you've heard lately, or what are some of your all time favorites? ........ I'd be very interested in all of those answers.

rcag_ils · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Feb 2009, 10:35 pm »

Well, my listening room is 22' x 15', the width on the other end is 10' because of the hallway. My set up is at the 10' end, but I'll move it to the 15' end soon to get a wider soundstage, hopefully.

Other than my AVA Ultra 550, Super Pas4ii (improved), and Ultra DAC setup, I have a truckload of lps, and 9 turntables.

My Ultra 550 experience is it's haunting soundstage. The extra bass extension, and more detail were pretty much given, since that was what I expected from Frank's upgrade.

"The Song Remains the Same" had never sounded like a "live" recording since the music was heavily modulated, but played through the Ultra 550, it sounded like sitting at the front row seat, I can actually hear Jimmy Page walking across the stage while he's playing

. The harmonic from John Paul Jones keyboard in the song No Quarter can only be heard through the Ultra 550, I didn't even know it was there until now, well, of course, it was played through a high quality turntable which I've acquired just recently, I haven't heard the CD version yet (I do have the CD), but I will.

Listening to my Eric Clapton's "live" recording "Eric was here" is another story, great recording.

martyo · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Feb 2009, 12:46 am »

Haunting is a good word to use to describe the soundstage. It's very convincing.
9 turntables! You and Wayne, I think he has 8.
You have an Ultra DAC too!
What speakers are you listening through?

rcag_ils · « **Reply #17 on:** 28 Feb 2009, 01:49 am »

My primary speakers are a pair of Magnepan MMG, I like their size which fit my listening room well, anything bigger from their product line maybe too big. The sensitivity on these are 87db, Ultra 550 drives them with no problem.

My secondary speakers are a pair of Large Advent, re-foamed them myself, they are not what you would call the modern high-end, but they still beat the high price monitor size speakers of today. They sound very neutral when driven by the Ultra 550.

As far as my Ultra DAC, I do use it and love it, I prefer analog Lps for two reasons, 1. I believe the analog recordings are unaltered, and sound better to me. 2. A lot of music are still unavailable in CD.