I have long wanted to place some tubes in front of my VMPS speakers.
I have tried several SS Pre's including a Citation 17, an Integra P303, A Parasound, and currently a .5B Bryston.
I like "silence". I like .00% or better distortion numbers and I like "real" sound and a lifelike soundstage. (is that too much to ask?
)
I recently talked to Bill O'Connell at Eastern Electric and he gratiously has sent me the MiniMax unit which arrived today as I was installing a "cryo'ed" Hubbell wall outlet.
I had been listening earlier to D. Krall "live in Paris" with the Bryston in place.
The Reference System in Music Room One (shades of AS and Seacliff) is plain and simple.
Denon 2200 DVD<AudioQuest Jaguar w/DBS interconnect
Bryston .5B<AudioQuest Jaguar w/DBS interconnect
CineNova GRANDE<AudioQuest CV6 w/DBS speaker cable
VMPS 626R with FST
I also have a BPT L-9 PowerCord on the CineNova, and an AudioQuest NRG-1 Power Cord on the Denon 2200
I leave the system on 24/7 so no warm up is required.
I normally have a BPT BP1 for power conditioning, but it is out on loan as of 3 days ago.
I spent well over an hour listening to D. Krall and a few reference cuts before changing out to the Hubbel Outlet. It sounded great. Listening to this live album, the soundstage was full and clear, though not quite as "black" as with the BP1 in the system.
I generally focus on "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" and and a Joanie Mitchell tune called "A Case of You", as Reference Cuts.
While on my knees switching the Outlet, UPS delivered the MiniMax.
The box was very light.
I didn't open it but instead finished my installation and plugged everything back in and fired it all up.
WOW!
I wish I knew how something like this (cryo'd Hubbell) can make such a difference, but it does. Although the improvements were throughout the sonic fabric, the two things I noticed most were the fact that at the same volume level on the knob (12:00) it was defineatly "louder", and the BASS was "much" tighter, deeper and stronger.
It was so strong that I could "feel" the old pant leg just barely moving and the couch was letting me know it was feeling the impact too.
CRAP!!!!
Now what further could the new Pre do to improve on this?
Well, I can't really tell you yet since it is just fresh out of the box and Bill said at 20 hours it should sound good. At 40 hours better.... and at 100 it should be as good as it gets.
But I did plug it in and hooked everything up (actually the other way around)
I powered the CineNova up again and then powered on the MiniMax.
Cool....
It has a very clean look and a good looking blue light (LED) in the power switch. The Knobs feel very tight and of high quality.
Now remember that I have just powered this thing up and the tubes are just begining to "glow". The chassis is still very cool/cold "to the touch" from being on the UPS truck all day, so this is not the best time to listen to the thing.
But I did....
I won't rave on about how it blew the top off the system since my system was sounding incredibly good and tight, but I immediatly noticed "detail"!!!
Not nessesarily more detail, (since I wasn't A/B in yet) but I did notice much more detail than I was expecting. Bass was about the same (maybe an ever so slight touch less) and midrange sounded clean and full.
So I cranked it up. D. Krall at 92-95 db can be "very" sharp, and aggressive. Well straight out of the box and not even warmed up, I still noticed these qualities, but they were different. (and I can't put my finger on it)
In any event, if I had to say that I noticed anything important, it might be the texture to the depth. That is, I was picking up more of a 3-D depth with great "shape" to the sounds.
So, I decided that was enough and flipped off the CD and walked over to the Great feeling Volume control and turned it up to about 3:00. Sure there was noise, but not much, and I bet when I get my BP1 back that much of that will burn off like morning fog, by noon.
And when I turned it back down all of the noise was gone by 2:00 on the volume dial. Keep in mind I was hitting 92db with the dial at about 11:00, so I think it passed the noise level test.
So now it is playing in the other room while I pound away on these keys, and the music seems "slightly clearer" and has nice highs for what I call ORL (other room listening).
So let me get to the 20-40 hour mark and I do some good A/B comparisons with the Bryston whch is one of the cleanest SS pre's I have heard (it passes the noise test too, with flying colors)
I did a couple minutes at really reduced levels (65-75db) and found the bass and detail still there. That's impressive.
But right now I am very impressed, that it can offer this type of sound, straight out of the box, not "burned in", and actually "cold".
If this was as good as it got, it would be a sweet little number. If it gets better with a few hours on it (you know how good a stew, or caserole tastes better after it allows everything to 'blend"?) it will likely find a place in the Reference System.
But right now, only time (and burnin in) will tell.
More later.....
PS - I'll also say it is a very well built little number and looks like a very "high quality" peice. Gold RCA's and very tactile pleasing movment to all the knobs and switches.
