[Art_Chicago]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I hooked this up to the main system.  I am running my Squeezebox into the TOPP-Hat DAC into the preamp, into the power amp.  Consider me impressed.  I'm listening to some Pink Floyd right now and very much like what I'm hearing.  That says a lot, since my speakers are particularly unforgiving of harsh amps and associated equipment.

Welcome to the AVA family!

[avahifi]

The 440HC heat sinks will run hot when it is pushed, but not burn your hand hot.

The bias setting may have been "played with" in the time it left our shop, and that could cause it to run too hot.

Again, since you are local, call me (651-330-9871) and bring it in for a quick check out.

Regards,

Frank

[BrianM]

Frank will point his little heat-seeking pointer gizmo at it.

[Inspiribomb]

Frank graciously invited me over to have him look over, under and through my newfound gear.  We discovered that it was manufactured in 1995, and that the 440HC is in excellent condition, as is the TOPP-Hat DAC.  The preamp was also doing very well, with the exception of a dirty tape-monitor switch.  I fully intend to give it a good treatment with De-Oxit to alleviate the situation (we did give it a cleaning while at AVA).  I am very much looking forward to hearing all of this equipment powering my Infinity Renaissance 90's.

I'd like to extend a personal, heartfeld "thank you" to Frank for his generous offer, and also for the opportunity to hear his high-end gear powering the Salk HT3's.  I was extremely impressed with the sound, and there is a good possibility that I will be upgrading to TOTL Van Alstine and Salk equipment in the near future

Thank you, Frank and company.

[gjs_cds]

I used an Omega-III 440HC for years, and I loved every moment of it!  You did very well, a great find

[Tone Depth]

Frank graciously invited me over to have him look over, under and through my newfound gear.  We discovered that it was manufactured in 1995, and that the 440HC is in excellent condition, as is the TOPP-Hat DAC.  The preamp was also doing very well, with the exception of a dirty tape-monitor switch.  I fully intend to give it a good treatment with De-Oxit to alleviate the situation (we did give it a cleaning while at AVA).  I am very much looking forward to hearing all of this equipment powering my Infinity Renaissance 90's.

I'd like to extend a personal, heartfeld "thank you" to Frank for his generous offer, and also for the opportunity to hear his high-end gear powering the Salk HT3's.  I was extremely impressed with the sound, and there is a good possibility that I will be upgrading to TOTL Van Alstine and Salk equipment in the near future

Thank you, Frank and company.

Did you get to listen to both Insight and FET Valve Ultra gear while at Frank's?  If so, what were your impressions about any differences you heard?

[rcag_ils]

I think he's selling them on Agon.

But why did he stack all those equipment on top of his turntable?

[avahifi]

Correct, the equipment mentioned above is for sale on Audiogon at reasonable prices.

 I did bench test the preamp and DAC, and ran power tests on the power amp too.  I did not test the bias setting on the amp other than with my little infa-red point and shoot thermometer.  All four heat sink sections were the same and normal so the bias is certainly set correctly too.

Regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[gjs_cds]

Correct, the equipment mentioned above is for sale on Audiogon at reasonable prices.

Assuming that the chassis is in good shape, the amp is a great candidate for an upgrade.

(Someone else must think so as well... it's already sold!)

[gross]

In the final analysis, I find that although I could certainly live quite happily without the TOPP-DAC in my system, I would prefer to have it in there. The combination of the Marantz CD-63 ($399) and the AVA Omega III TOPP-DAC sounds better than any CD player I have yet auditioned, and at a total cost that is hardly cheap but is certainly reasonable. I hope to keep the TOPP-DAC for a while and use it as a benchmark unit, and I certainly recommend it to those readers who have a decent-sounding CD player that they think could sound a little better. The AVA Omega III could well bring that welcome improvement about.

[srb]

amittayal76,
 
Your posts are relevant and useful, so I would recommend that you edit your 4 posts thus far and remove the spam links, so that the Administrators don't remove the posts and send them to the IGW (Intergalactic Wastebin).
 
Steve

[turkey]

amittayal76,
 
Your posts are relevant and useful, so I would recommend that you edit your 4 posts thus far and remove the spam links, so that the Administrators don't remove the posts and send them to the IGW (Intergalactic Wastebin).
 
Steve

Like the other pure spam posts by him/her that are already there?

[srb]

Like the other pure spam posts by him/her that are already there?

I hadn't seen the pure spam posts.  When you look at a post, and it says "posts: 4" under the username, I forgot that doesn't include posts that have already been IGW'd.  So the 4 I looked at all had composed replies that directly addressed the subject, rather than a generic post that said "Agreed.  Great post!", with links to condoms/condoms/videos/gambling.
 
I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, and like I said, hadn't noticed the pure spam posts.  But ..... you spam, you lose.
 
Steve