Beacon Two Preamplifier & LH-1 Cable tour: Impressions & Reviews

dangerbird · « **Reply #180 on:** 9 Nov 2010, 11:14 am »

very nice pic,,,Blair,,you're up early,,,eh,,,maybe late ?

dangerbird · « **Reply #181 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 12:08 pm »

hmmmm,, just about time for another review eh? I'll add something,since the Beacon II has been out of my system for about a month now,,,my wife and I noticed that when we watched movies(Beacon in the mix),the vocals/dialogue seemed much more "present" and understandable.I don't know if anyone else has found this true,but there is a definate difference,,certainly not subtle.

MaxCast · « **Reply #182 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 05:35 pm »

shipping to WA today. I hooked up my pre as I packed the Beacon and it just wasn't the same

I'll try to get some impressions out before deer camp.

JakeJ · « **Reply #183 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 06:14 pm »

Thanks, MaxCast! I

at myself for posting such silliness.

etcarroll · « **Reply #184 on:** 17 Nov 2010, 06:30 pm »

Quote from: MaxCast on 17 Nov 2010, 05:35 pm

I hooked up my pre as I packed the Beacon and it just wasn't the same

I know the feeling.

dangerbird · « **Reply #185 on:** 21 Nov 2010, 02:11 pm »

Quote from: MaxCast on 17 Nov 2010, 05:35 pm

shipping to WA today. I hooked up my pre as I packed the Beacon and it just wasn't the same
I'll try to get some impressions out before deer camp.

Looking forward to your impression,,good luck with the hunt.

Niteshade · « **Reply #186 on:** 23 Nov 2010, 01:04 am »

A note to all future reviewers and for myself:

Please contact the person who is next in the tour before shipping to make sure they are able to receive it.

JakeJ · « **Reply #187 on:** 25 Nov 2010, 03:40 am »

The Beacon Has Landed!

I just received the Beacon. Since it is colder than well-digger's a**, I will let it sit for 24 hours before plugging in and firing it up. Condensation and electricity are bad mixture.

Impressions to follow the weekend.

MaxCast · « **Reply #188 on:** 25 Nov 2010, 02:06 pm »

Glad it made it there, Jake. I'm gonna try to get my review up before you post yours

MaxCast · « **Reply #189 on:** 25 Nov 2010, 05:23 pm »

First of all a big thank you to Blair for offering a tour of the Beacon.
The unit arrived and I unpacked and let her sit for a couple of hours. Turned off my amp, did the I/C's and power cords, installed the tubes then turned everything on in order. I put the LH-1's from the amp to the preamp. Tidied up the room, made a song list and about 20 minuets later hit play.

My system and gallery are in my profile.

It has been awhile since I had a tube preamp in the system. The first was a Foreplay that I made myself. I was expecting a thick mid range with tapering highs and lows. What I got was an improvement in the highs and mids. The Beacon presented a quiet, clear and 3D music experience.

I was presently surprised NOT to get a hiss from the speakers with no music playing. Ok, source muted, volume cranked I could get a bit if noise but I had to be in front of the speakers. When brought back down to 70% it was very quiet. The notes and voices were very clear. By clear I mean the beginning and end of the note especially the beginning. The music sounded more true to the source and correct. Not necessarily natural as I have never heard a system sound like a live event. But on albums I consider a "production" vs. a performance, like say, Roger Waters the music was very clear and painted his story very well. The 3D I noticed was not so much over all front to back depth but separation in space of individual instruments and voices. Two notes could be very close to each other, say right of center, and yet very distinct from each other weather a voice, instrument or combo. Like the female singer sitting next to the piano.

I listened to a lot of music but here are a few notes I took.
Aldo Nova-Aldo Nova. I bought this for nostalgia a while back but it is very bright and I don't listen to it much. The Beacon definitely made it more listenable.

Roger Waters-Amused to Death. For got what song but there is a chime that I never noticed before. I even had to hook the Pre-5 back up to see if I could hear it. Yes I could but never noticed it before the Beacon.

Roger Waters-Pros and Cons. I love this album. The Beacon gave a great presentation of the story and I got lost in its midst. On Arabs with Knives at the Foot of the Bead there is a sharp clink of two metal swords hitting together. Very clear and precise but not the omph I'm used to.

Peter Gabriel-Up. Growing up had all the usual fun stereo imagery going on with better separation.

Phil Keaggy-Symphonic Dance. A wonderful presentation of this instrumental.

Regina Specktor- Clear 3D presentation of the notes like described above.

Dire Straits - Down by the Water Line. The back ground in the beginning, there was something going on there I never heard before.
Private investigations-very good stage and separation.

One thing a tubed pre adds to the system is a little complexity. I never turn off my system except I unplug the TubeDac during the week. If you don't wish your tubed pre to be on all week then you must turn off the preamp then your power amp and reverse for start up. This may be an issue for some that like a easy start up or only have a short time to listen. The other thing is the no remote volume. I used the Beacon at ~75% then used the Squeeze box to adjust volume. Not the way I would like all the time.

I was sad taking the Beacon out of the system and packing it up. I would encourage anyone interested to give this pre a spin in their own system. It really is the best way to audition new gear.

JoeT4L · « **Reply #190 on:** 26 Nov 2010, 12:36 am »

Is there still time to get on this train? Would like to hear the Beacon Two in my system.

cujobob · « **Reply #191 on:** 26 Nov 2010, 12:49 am »

Max, I know you were really happy with this pre...down the line, perhaps I'll try it out myself.

The volume control on the squeezebox degrades the signal, however, ease of use is certainly more beneficial.

Niteshade · « **Reply #192 on:** 26 Nov 2010, 01:22 am »

Thank you for the wonderful review and a warm thanks to all participants!

If more people would like to go on the tour, just let me know.

Looks like two more are interested?

Remote controls: I have a Beacon 4 in R&D with a remote control and a multitude of other features. It will become an upgrade option after this unit is completed.

jtwrace · « **Reply #193 on:** 4 Dec 2010, 02:21 am »

Quote from: Niteshade on 26 Nov 2010, 01:22 am

Remote controls: I have a Beacon 4 in R&D with a remote control and a multitude of other features. It will become an upgrade option after this unit is completed.

ALPS?

Niteshade · « **Reply #194 on:** 4 Dec 2010, 02:22 am »

Yes, I believe it is based around a motorized Alps.

Niteshade · « **Reply #195 on:** 9 Dec 2010, 01:47 pm »

Jake requested an extra week with the tour items and I will grant him that due to a busy schedule. Rollo will be next in line, then Hebrew Hammer.

If there is anybody in Canada that would like to participate, please let me know. I need at least two people to make it feasible. I have one person interested so far and need only one more!

I will pay the additional shipping to get it there to the last person who has the pre & cables in the U.S.

JakeJ · « **Reply #196 on:** 11 Dec 2010, 05:50 am »

Beacon Two Impressions
Phase 1

First a quick thank you to Blair Lamphear for going out on a limb and putting his equipment out for a tour. It takes some guts to do this but his product is easy to have that kind of confidence in as I have learned over the past few days. Sorry this is late but I tried to get ‘er done while at work last night but the network, and subsequently my PC, got very flaky so I saved what I had and emailed to myself at home

I got the Beacon when it was absolutely the coldest it has been here this fall so far, -12 F. Yup, that’s minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit. When I pulled the chassis out of the packing materials it instantly formed condensation on the surface and I decided to let it sit for 24 hours. Don’t want to let any smoke out of this baby and ruin the tour.

Next I cleared off the top shelf on my secondary rack so I would have easy access for connections and tube rolling. Once set up I hooked everything up and let it all warm up for about 15 minutes.

The first sonic character I noticed about the Beacon….was silence. No matter where the volume knob was there was just inky blackness. This preamp is spooky quiet and I really liked that. Music just starts out of this quietness and in my case this was kinda startling as the first piece I played was Reference Recordings “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Arron Copeland and performed by Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra. This is one of my go to reference pieces as the tympanis thunder and the cymbals are long open notes and have so much decay they are still trailing off when the next measure starts. Then comes the brass layering up as each section comes in for its part. I love how the horns sound individually and together and if your system resolution is high enough you can easily discern the French horns entering last. It is interesting to note that in the original score Maestro Copeland called for the French horn second, the trombone third and finally the tuba last but Eiji Oue’s interpretation doesn’t call for any tuba and calls for trombone second and then French horns. I need to find a recording that follows the original score. For those interested here is a scan of the original score in Copeland’s own hand. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100010473/100010473.pdf

Next up was some Afro-Celt Sound System which has some tracks with sonorous synthesized bass lines in it. They bill themselves as world genre but one might also think they are techno-dance-pop and play with ethnic acoustic instruments mixed with electronic ones. Most of the music is complex layered rythms combined with classic reeling celtic melodies played on instruments like the uillian pipes, flutes, kora, djembe and tama drums to name a few. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing ACSS live and it’s just amazing to watch and hear 10 or more musicians weave a musical tapestry as complex and beautiful as these folks can. This music is just plain fun and gets my toe tappin’ and my butt boogying! I noticed the bass lines sounded just a bit thin and cold so I gathered up some tubes for rolling as I figured this would be the way to get some more warmth and fuller bass. Sure enough it worked great.

I rolled in a pair of Sylvania tall-bottle chrome-domes and the top end opened up, bass filled in and vocals gained just a bit of liquidity. Soundstage grew too, in width, depth, and height. More toe tappy and butt-boogy factor for sure. Next up I tried a pair of NOS GE 6SN7s from the early 60’s and while the soundstage shrank a bit the top end became a little more neutral and lost some of that extended treble that Sylvania chrome-domes typically display. However these may open up nicely once I have some hours on them. I happen to like that extra bit of treble information but some may not. I am 54 years-old so that explains a lot. I still have a pair of NOS Tung-Sols to roll and a pair of brown base 5692 that I can’t remember the brand of right now.

And so, I will report back with further findings.

catastrofe · « **Reply #197 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 01:33 pm »

Quote from: Niteshade on 9 Dec 2010, 01:47 pm

Jake requested an extra week with the tour items and I will grant him that due to a busy schedule. Rollo will be next in line, then Hebrew Hammer.

If there is anybody in Canada that would like to participate, please let me know. I need at least two people to make it feasible. I have one person interested so far and need only one more!

I will pay the additional shipping to get it there to the last person who has the pre & cables in the U.S.

Blair, I'm in Saint Louis. Would it be okay with you if I tried to coordinate with Hebrew Hammer to hear the B2 in my system while he has it?

Niteshade · « **Reply #198 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 01:35 pm »

Of course- no problem!

Hebrew Hammer · « **Reply #199 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 02:09 pm »

Quote from: catastrofe on 12 Dec 2010, 01:33 pm

Blair, I'm in Saint Louis. Would it be okay with you if I tried to coordinate with Hebrew Hammer to hear the B2 in my system while he has it?

It's OK with me man... maybe we can listen to it in each others rig?