Mr Peabody
01-17-2012, 10:13 AM
What is it that causes that itch? I suspect this time it was a combination of adding the F52's and hearing recently a lot of good gear The gear, Levinson, Boulder and Sim's Evolution, sort of got me interested in whether I could achieve more transparency. The F52's sound very good with the CJ gear but I began to wonder if I needed more power and current to control the bass and give a bit more impact or weight in that area.
I was hoping to try some things locally just to experiment, so far my CJ, in myopinion, beat a Theta Intrepid and my Bryston 3Bst. No other auditions came to pass which led me to the internet. I narrowed it down to either the Channel Island D200mkII monoblocks or trying a Audio by Van Alstine 600r FET Valve amp. I learned the FET Valve amps are about to go a price increase with new faceplates and I saw AVA had a 400r he just received back, so I jumped on it.
Alright, what you are waiting on, from first listen I was impressed. It's a bit difficult to put the 400r sound into words, it just has a correctness and musicality to it I found involving and making me want to listen more. The amp allows loads of detail to come through with a certain coherency. I didn't think I'd ever hear an amp that grooved like the CJ but the 400r certainly does but better. Better in areas of transient, control, detail, and transparency. I liked the sound of the 400r so much I am going to try the FET Valve preamp to see if I get more synergy and characters mentioned above. The 400r isn't like one of those amps you can say it excels in bass or one area or another, the 400r is balanced, musical and to me does everything right without calling attention to any one area of the response. Brass shines through naturally exposing the growl horns should have, on Classical music fine instruments in the background like triangles are easily heard, even guitar cuts through like it should yet some how doing it in a fashion not to offend the ear but not seem too warm or dull. The 400r & 600r are hybrid amps, I feel truly blending the best of both tubes and solid state while really sounding like neither. If ever in the market for an amp you would do yourself an injustice by not auditioning the FET Valve amps. A combo is being built right now to go to TAS for a review.
I wrote impressions on Frank's AVA forum and in doing so I commented on some earlier reviews. There was a bit of debate on the high frequency response, I found the 400r extremely smooth in that area, not rolled off but on the other hand maybe not as forward as some may like. I will try to come back after I hear the FET preamp, I think it will be interesting to see how much influence the CJ preamp still has on my system and how the two will compare. I mentioned also on certain recordings a bit of bass congestion in the very low frequencies, such as on Ozric Tentacles but on other recordings as Paula Cole the bass was deep and controlled. So is what I heard always been there just not revealed? Maybe we shall see with a different preamp. The bass was also very good on the Reference recording Pipe & Organ,.
I was hoping to try some things locally just to experiment, so far my CJ, in myopinion, beat a Theta Intrepid and my Bryston 3Bst. No other auditions came to pass which led me to the internet. I narrowed it down to either the Channel Island D200mkII monoblocks or trying a Audio by Van Alstine 600r FET Valve amp. I learned the FET Valve amps are about to go a price increase with new faceplates and I saw AVA had a 400r he just received back, so I jumped on it.
Alright, what you are waiting on, from first listen I was impressed. It's a bit difficult to put the 400r sound into words, it just has a correctness and musicality to it I found involving and making me want to listen more. The amp allows loads of detail to come through with a certain coherency. I didn't think I'd ever hear an amp that grooved like the CJ but the 400r certainly does but better. Better in areas of transient, control, detail, and transparency. I liked the sound of the 400r so much I am going to try the FET Valve preamp to see if I get more synergy and characters mentioned above. The 400r isn't like one of those amps you can say it excels in bass or one area or another, the 400r is balanced, musical and to me does everything right without calling attention to any one area of the response. Brass shines through naturally exposing the growl horns should have, on Classical music fine instruments in the background like triangles are easily heard, even guitar cuts through like it should yet some how doing it in a fashion not to offend the ear but not seem too warm or dull. The 400r & 600r are hybrid amps, I feel truly blending the best of both tubes and solid state while really sounding like neither. If ever in the market for an amp you would do yourself an injustice by not auditioning the FET Valve amps. A combo is being built right now to go to TAS for a review.
I wrote impressions on Frank's AVA forum and in doing so I commented on some earlier reviews. There was a bit of debate on the high frequency response, I found the 400r extremely smooth in that area, not rolled off but on the other hand maybe not as forward as some may like. I will try to come back after I hear the FET preamp, I think it will be interesting to see how much influence the CJ preamp still has on my system and how the two will compare. I mentioned also on certain recordings a bit of bass congestion in the very low frequencies, such as on Ozric Tentacles but on other recordings as Paula Cole the bass was deep and controlled. So is what I heard always been there just not revealed? Maybe we shall see with a different preamp. The bass was also very good on the Reference recording Pipe & Organ,.