Eastern Electric Avant Preamp ?

Wayne1 · « **Reply #20 on:** 8 Apr 2011, 03:55 pm »

Quote from: Neogeo333 on 8 Apr 2011, 05:17 am

If im not mistaken Bill told me its the V2 position, the 12au7 closes to the balanced input that should leave in stock tube because it might not matter sonically... If Bill is watching this thread, can you please find out what each tubes does? Im guessing the 12ax7 are linestage?

The V2 tube is for the balanced input. If you do not use balanced, that tube could be left for stock.

The 12AX7s are the input/gain stages of the pre-amp. The gain control is in the feedback loop from the pair of 12AU7s. I suggest the gain control be set for the lowest amount of volume boost. The control also affect high frequency response. By increasing the gain, the balance of highs to lows is changed. The most neutral setting is the lowest gain.

Gopher · « **Reply #21 on:** 10 Apr 2011, 03:59 pm »

Bill,

Awesome. My first impressions are pretty darn good and I can't wait to see what finding the right tube compliment can do. I prefer certain things about its presentation to my Shindo right off the bat and if rolling some tubes can get me a little more harmonic richness and texture, I think we will have a contender.

Are there any tricks to getting the remote to function a little better? I may change rack shelves with my dac just to get it a little higher up and see if that is more to its liking.

djbnh · « **Reply #22 on:** 11 Apr 2011, 02:05 am »

Quote from: Gopher on 10 Apr 2011, 03:59 pm

Are there any tricks to getting the remote to function a little better? I may change rack shelves with my dac just to get it a little higher up and see if that is more to its liking.

Seems to work fine from 6'-10' if direct line of sight out to 35 degrees or so. YMMV.

Neogeo333 · « **Reply #23 on:** 11 Apr 2011, 06:44 am »

It takes some good hears to hear a problem with my pre. Well I was all happy before i invited the friend who lended me a pair of 12ax7 to replace the stock ones. The guy has like 20+ years at this hobby. He spotted that the left speaker wasnt sounding right. I thought he was loco, at least i didnt hear a problem at my listening position that was 10 feet away from speaker. He told me to get closer to each one while music is playing, i did and noticed that the left speaker has less volume and more noise than the right one, i thought it might be the amp so i changed the rca input left to right on amp and now the same thing happens with the right speaker. Now i take the pre out of the loop and use the Minimax dac as pre to amp and to my amaze no noise or low volume, it was just right, equal volume at both speakers. Is it possible that the two loosen tubes inside pre from Illinois to Puerto Rico might have cause more damage than expected? I remember that the left inputs and output in the pre are grounded, could that be the culprit? I tried with a cheater plug but still the same. I even took out my old outlet tester to see i have ground or bad a/c but it turns out good on reading. Any thought will be helpful. I really hate to send this back to repairs if a simple fix can be done. Oh, i was using all new 8 tubes that Bill send me.

Neogeo333 · « **Reply #24 on:** 12 Apr 2011, 03:28 am »

The darn thing fixed it self. Forgot to turn off the pre its was on for more than 18 hours straight. Just got off work and popped a cd and both speaker have same volume. Noise/hiss is still present. I havent done anything to it yet. Could this be that the tunes really needs time to warm up and get settle in? For a moment i thought i had to send it back to Bill but from it looks or sound it needs more time to break in.

Ike · « **Reply #25 on:** 18 Apr 2011, 09:04 am »

Sorry to hear your having problems cause by extremely heavy handed couriers Neogeo, look forward to your impressions once you get everything sorted out.

Gopher i look forward to what you think of the preamp too, as an ex Minimax owner/Shindo owner. Would you describe the Avant as more dynamic and forward than the Minimax?

Best, Ike

Gopher · « **Reply #26 on:** 20 Apr 2011, 09:33 pm »

It is hard for me to say whether the Avant is more dynamic than the Minimax with Tutay mods as there were several months in between my hearing my old MM and my borrowing the Avant. Going from memory, I'd say it was similar but the Avant may get the nod. The Minimax as I remember it had more heft to the sound, a little harmonically richer, more of a classic tube sound while the Avant was a little leaner but really fast, more transparent and very engaging.

It was very close in performance to my Shindo Aurgegies-L which says a lot. The Shindo edged it out in weight and texture though while being equally nimble and similarly transparent. The Shindo and the Avant are NOT in the same price point and at times things were a little close for comfort.

I did most of my listening with Citfe tubes which were my favorites in the Avant. I also listened with NOS RCAs that made Avant sound a lot like the Shindo offering similar tone and texture but it gave up too much in terms of transparency.

I tried Siemens tubes too (silver plates I believe) and did not much care for them in the mix--there was another as well which Bill was kind enough to send which were similar in presentation to the Citfe, but I prefered the Mazdas.

The Avant is a seriously good piece and a great value. With the right tube compliment I think it may be capable of really slaying some excellent pieces. I didn't have the combination on hand to best the Shindo, but I enjoyed the time I spent with it quite a bit.

For the price difference I was seriously considering selling my Shindo and putting some cash in my pocket going with the Avant, but it was ultimately not the perfect fit for my rig for a few reasons.

It didn't fit within my audio hutch (due to depth). The remote was problematic through the glass door of my hutch (I couldn't close it all the way and it reflected the IR signal away from receiver). I'd have to buy a power cord for it unit (people don't roll Shindo PCs) and there were a number of tubes to roll which can be fun but I'm looking for simplicity these days (Shindo isn't intended to be tube rolled).

I do give it an enthusiastic recommendation though and am looking forward to hearing others findings on it.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #27 on:** 20 Apr 2011, 09:44 pm »

Uh oh, a preamp with a remote, with many tube rolling possibilities, and which gets close to your Shindo's sound?

must. resist. temptation.

Thanks for the great review Fred. Bill certainly seems to have another winner on his hands.

Gopher · « **Reply #28 on:** 21 Apr 2011, 08:42 pm »

Roscoe,

Its definitely worth an audition as you are in Chicago anyway. I suspect it would mate well with your Atma-sphere--I bet with Mullard CV4003s it would gel just right in your rig. Wish I had a pair of them during my audition, I was thinking about it afterwards and that might have been my "it".

roscoeiii · « **Reply #29 on:** 21 Apr 2011, 09:15 pm »

Oh yes, I would imagine that audition will eventually happen.

Shindo-like, with a remote...damn.

Gopher · « **Reply #30 on:** 22 Apr 2011, 02:11 pm »

Similar sound with the RCAs in place, yes. But wanting for resolution with that tube compliment. With the transparency and revealing nature of your S-30 it may balance out quite nicely.

As I said before, if I were keeping it I'd be looking for a warmer, tonally rich tube to compliment its fast, dynamic and slightly leaner tendencies. Definitely a nice piece!

Neogeo333 · « **Reply #31 on:** 23 Apr 2011, 03:31 am »

The Telefunken 12ax7 worked really well when it was functional. The stock tubes seem a little short of everything compared to Teles. I mostly love the mids of the Tele on my system. P. Barber and Jorma Kaukonen never sounded better. Used A 1957 Tung Sol 6X4 over the one Bill provided i think it was a nice upgrade too. Gonna get some more 6x4 to try out when the pre gets back from Bill.

Ike · « **Reply #32 on:** 23 Apr 2011, 08:49 am »

Quote from: Gopher on 20 Apr 2011, 09:33 pm

It is hard for me to say whether the Avant is more dynamic than the Minimax with Tutay mods as there were several months in between my hearing my old MM and my borrowing the Avant. Going from memory, I'd say it was similar but the Avant may get the nod. The Minimax as I remember it had more heft to the sound, a little harmonically richer, more of a classic tube sound while the Avant was a little leaner but really fast, more transparent and very engaging.

Many thanks Gopher! Good to hear there is not a massive amount in it (which i suppose there shouldn't be, apart from the functionality).

What are the "*Tutay" mods by the way?

*sounds like a tribe from Star-Wars!

rollo · « **Reply #33 on:** 23 Apr 2011, 03:43 pm »

Is that a choke regulated power supply ? Plenty of room to play with for the tweaker as John pointed out. looks like a winner to me. Good luck.

charles

Gopher · « **Reply #34 on:** 29 Apr 2011, 04:19 pm »

Quote from: Ike on 23 Apr 2011, 08:49 am

What are the "*Tutay" mods by the way?

*sounds like a tribe from Star-Wars!

The Tutay mods were on my Minimax. It was a power supply upgrade and a gain lowering IIRC. I never actually heard a stock Minimax, but others reported the mods as significant. I don't know if he does anything for the Avant yet (or plans to).

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #35 on:** 16 Nov 2011, 08:08 pm »

Just bumping this up because I'm interested in more peoples thoughts on the Avant pre.

Bill O'Connell · « **Reply #36 on:** 16 Nov 2011, 11:00 pm »

I was not happy with the remote in the Avant as it was recessed a little to much into the face-plate to get the sensor to catch the remote. Alex has fixed this now as requested, although I have a few of the re-adjusted sensor Avant's in stock, I haven't had time the last couple of days to check the design out. My wife leaves for a (3 day get away from Bill) with her Mom and sister

, so I will have time over the weekend to check the new remote sensor out in the Avant.

Later,
Bill

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #37 on:** 17 Nov 2011, 01:20 am »

Quote from: Bill O'Connell on 16 Nov 2011, 11:00 pm

I was not happy with the remote in the Avant as it was recessed a little to much into the face-plate to get the sensor to catch the remote. Alex has fixed this now as requested, although I have a few of the re-adjusted sensor Avant's in stock, I haven't had time the last couple of days to check the design out. My wife leaves for a (3 day get away from Bill) with her Mom and sister , so I will have time over the weekend to check the new remote sensor out in the Avant.

Later,
Bill

Well, I'd be happy to "check one out" for you

I am needing to add a pre to my system so I can integrate the turntable, something new or used in the $2000-ish range is what I'm thinking. The Avant is a contender, as is the Doge 8 Clarity (because I LOVE Clarity MR caps, and it's chock full of 'em), and I have somebody offering me an Aesthetix Calipso for $2200. Wants are as transparent and resolving as possible, totally neutral ... and needs XLR outs.

Ike · « **Reply #38 on:** 30 Jul 2012, 09:19 am »

Thought id post back to see if anyone else has any other impressions of the Avant, searching on the internet there isn't a lot written about it, it doesn't really have seem to have taken off like the great Minimax preamp of which i'm still soldiering on with (oh the humanity!

)

So any other thoughts? id like a balance preamp but can really stretch to a BAT.

Audioexcels · « **Reply #39 on:** 12 Aug 2012, 12:44 am »

Quote from: TurboFC3S on 17 Nov 2011, 01:20 am

the Doge 8 Clarity (because I LOVE Clarity MR caps, and it's chock full of 'em),

Is this a joke? You willing to participate in a test with a Doge 8 without the Clarity Caps vs one with some Solens or Clarity SA's? If you love the MR cap, or "believe" in caps, the MR is far from the better caps out there list. Not to pick on you, but find it silly seeing these words about caps when they can actually sound inferior to stock basic stuff or just have no sound difference period...Doge 8 is exceptional, btw....