Wow, what a difference in forums! I’ve been on a JansZen Valentina A8 actives thread at AudioCircle recently. Those speakers are hybrid electrostatic actives, a meter tall, that include everything except the source. From a practical standpoint, that’s awfully appealing (I have ATC actives). Even better is that the developer claims that because of his design better power cords and ICs for the speakers (as opposed to the source) don’t matter and a regenerator is unnecessary as well. So I ask, "Tell me about their tone on a cool-neutral-warm continuum." I make clear that I’m looking for emotional involvement, not to be listening to the hardware (the latter in my experience is typical of gear that emphasizes clarity, transparency and neutrality, which JansZen does).
Now, these are $12K plus speakers that weigh ~65 lbs each and an audition would mean shipping across the country and moving my speakers out of their good location, so I figure let’s find out first if it’s worth it. The odd, yet revealing thing so far is not one person has been willing to answer my question (including in effect the writer in Part-Time Audiophile whose review got me looking at the Valentina's, which I’d never heard of, in the first place). In fact, this afternoon one guy, who has the passive version, which is not really comparable, wrote that " If someone wants to hear what is on each recording, reproduced with even frequency response, great dynamics, and low distortion, the Valentinas will do it. If the listener wants all recordings to sound similar -- say, warm and comfortable -- the Valentinas probably are not for them." How does one have a productive discussion with that?
So, coming back to this more sympatico thread, thanks for your comment, and good news to hear that the Cortese is coming through for you. Lately, I’ve been focused more on the Lampi Atlantic TRP dac. The Tesla EL51 pair turn it into a whole different ball game, and match really well with the USAF 596 rectifier (also good in a Supratek, if you can find one). For the Chardonnay, recently I’ve been using a 1940s Italian Fivre 5U4G rectifier, which is lovely, and tried a pair of 1950’s CBS/Hytron 6SN7GT in the main unit. While they turned out to be a touch better than the very good Shuguang WE6SN7’s, two of the three tubes I was sent had problems and had to go back. I read that even better are the Melz 1578 and Tung-Sol NOS 6SN7 and 6F8G (+ adapter) versions. Have to see if a pair for a good price (and genuine product) comes along. But no hurry, the dac + preamp are so gorgeous right now.
Now, these are $12K plus speakers that weigh ~65 lbs each and an audition would mean shipping across the country and moving my speakers out of their good location, so I figure let’s find out first if it’s worth it. The odd, yet revealing thing so far is not one person has been willing to answer my question (including in effect the writer in Part-Time Audiophile whose review got me looking at the Valentina's, which I’d never heard of, in the first place). In fact, this afternoon one guy, who has the passive version, which is not really comparable, wrote that " If someone wants to hear what is on each recording, reproduced with even frequency response, great dynamics, and low distortion, the Valentinas will do it. If the listener wants all recordings to sound similar -- say, warm and comfortable -- the Valentinas probably are not for them." How does one have a productive discussion with that?
So, coming back to this more sympatico thread, thanks for your comment, and good news to hear that the Cortese is coming through for you. Lately, I’ve been focused more on the Lampi Atlantic TRP dac. The Tesla EL51 pair turn it into a whole different ball game, and match really well with the USAF 596 rectifier (also good in a Supratek, if you can find one). For the Chardonnay, recently I’ve been using a 1940s Italian Fivre 5U4G rectifier, which is lovely, and tried a pair of 1950’s CBS/Hytron 6SN7GT in the main unit. While they turned out to be a touch better than the very good Shuguang WE6SN7’s, two of the three tubes I was sent had problems and had to go back. I read that even better are the Melz 1578 and Tung-Sol NOS 6SN7 and 6F8G (+ adapter) versions. Have to see if a pair for a good price (and genuine product) comes along. But no hurry, the dac + preamp are so gorgeous right now.