Tekton Double Impacts

Terry, that's a shame since you tell it like it is, but I imagine that a fair amount of home theater equipment gets reviewed at home theater review, so if you hear of anything, let us know.

Disruptive products reviewed by a disruptive reviewer. Gotta luv it. Terry flies in the face of many reviewers that patently praise the big name companies with huge marketing budgets and won’t give the highly innovative and cost conscious little guys the time of day. That’s understandable as how do you explain to the big boys that spend beau coup bucks on advertising with your magazine that you rated the little guys $3000 speaker ( that spends nothing on advertising) equal to or better than their $20k speaker? Terry deserves kudos for honestly reviewing these "disruptive" products and for putting his money where his mouth is by purchasing them for his reference system.

I look forward to having a disruptive system including the DI’s, MZ2 and soon the Aric Audio Transend SET amp.

vitop, should I ever go the Lyngdorf route I'll take your suggestion! As intriguing as the Lyndorf is I just have to give the SET route a go first. I so love my tubes!

333Jeffrey:
Yes, your latest YouTube has a significantly more uniform frequency distribution and I can appreciate the Flecktones examples. They are my favorite jazz/indie/bluegrass group. Keep up the good work. The Flying Hippo tells the story on bass with Wooten's incredible playing. Still waiting for you to open up on the Model D...

On the subject of potentially disruptive products, I’m currently looking at power cord choices. I believe Mike Kay’s Blue model at $250 was recommended by highly regarded contributors here. Does anyone have experience with the Green model that comes in at $300?

Bill M

@vitop  Good question! As for why the DI SE over the Ulfberth or Mini Ulf I don't have technical reasons. 

Other than @333jeffery 's feedback on his Ulfs and @teajay 's take on them there isn't much out there and nothing on the 'Minis' or the SEs.

The Ulfs would work in my current room, but would also overwhelm the aesthetics. As long as I listened at lower and moderate volumes they would be great, but I wouldn't be able to let them truly loose in this room. I didn't discuss the Ulf's with my wife because I just don't want to do that to the room for her sake. If we were ever to bring 2Ch into our formal family room then the Ulfs would be a perfect fit there.

As for why the SEs over the 'Minis', it came down to a known quantity with performance I'm already very satisfied with. Upgraded parts for speakers have generally correlated strongly with higher performance. The SEs also save me some cash and since I'm going to add a tubed amp into the mix, every bit of savings helps. 

@mac48025   Thanks for your favorites "BMW Phoenix Green, a bright metallic M3 color. Not for the faint of heart! The gloss Porsche Gray is very classy looking.....or the BMW Mineral Gray."

@vitop  Thanks for your suggestion on " Ferrari color for me, there is a gloss griggio (grey) color that I saw that I really liked"

@treebeard1  Thanks for you suggestion and the link to the photo  "There is a post on the Tekton FB page of a DI in a color called spanish tile.  The nicest I have seen yet."

@evolvist  Thanks for the versatile White and Lighting scheme suggestion! : )  I know my wife will be thrilled with a white/off white color scheme.

I'll be making a trip to see paint samples tomorrow and I will check out all of your recommendations.

Other paint color suggestions? ...Thanks.

imswjm,

Since you are asking about Audio Archon's green cord,I can tell you I bought a 2m one and replaced a much more expensive Triode labs cord.This was the only change to my system that day and within 15 secs of listening I could hear the difference in lwr noise and more music without a doubt and easily 1/3 of the cost.The 2 m green cord was $360.00 including shipping.I have a shorter blue cord going to my preamp's pwr supply and it was the same story,lwr noise equals more music.

I consider Mike's pwr cords to be very well made and a extremely good value.

Does anybody want to buy a slightly used one owner triode labs pwr cord.😃

Kenny.

lol lmswjm
I consider any time I spend $250 on a power cord to be disruptive! :-)

Thanks David. There is no right or wrong. Just interest in what the criteria was that won the day for the SEs

David got the SEs because he figured his wife wouldn’t notice the difference. I mean, it’s not like she doesn’t pass these huge monoliths everyday, thinking to herself, "These are the best things that have happened to our relationship."

Another positive review Double Impacts from Zero fidelity.
https://youtu.be/nqgWHPv26L0

Who is zero fidelity?  Is it just some guy in a base ball hat?

@213runnin

If you go to the about section on youtube it says... "I'm just a nerd who loves music and the gear that makes it sound awesome."

213runnin
Of course not! He is just some guy in a base ball hat but with a youtube channel.

@evolvist  Now there's the reason why a light grey paint color choice is the leading candidate! : )

His review was good and honest. I didn’t agree with some points but it is still a great reference for future buyers. I don’t see that he has owned speakers anywhere near 30k for comparison so I found that bit confusing. His comments about being a speaker you don’t need to make excuses for was spot on. All I have to do is put them on for company and the speakers do the talking.

Okay, who would be more likely to own DIs, Edison or Tesla? 

They are electrifying -so I guess both would qualify

TO craig159 
Check the postings Mike Wright  has done a direct comparison.
The DI'S where the ones Terry reviewed.I was there, it was not close.

TO aolprodj
Where are the posts? Could not find them by searching on the Mike Wright name. If not close, which was the winner?

Original quote here on 8/19 by mykeryte re-quoted and expanded upon by Eric Alexander in another thread here:

"We now have Michael Wright at Stereo Times pulling the Wilson Sasha's out of his rig for the Double Impacts because they perform to a higher level. The fact is... I've had multiple people to call me and email me to inform me of the fact the DI's sound superior to the Wilson Sasha's.

Here's a quote from the REAL Double Impact Audiogon thread from a few days back:

"Just to be clear on the statements I made about the DI's and my Sasha's a couple of months ago; the DI's, overall, did outperform my Sasha's. From the mid-bass up through their hi frequency performance, they were more enjoyable and more musically engaging than the Sasha's. The level of performance and achievement, especially in the all important lower mid-range to upper bass region of the DI's, is exemplary. Eric Alexander and his team should be lauded for what they have accomplished. To gain this level of performance is commendable for a speaker at any cost, but at $3,000??? It should have been interesting, sitting around the Tekton board-room table and hearing Eric discussing the lofty design goals he had for the DI's, then share with his confidantes that he could do it all for around $3,000 retail. I'm sure somebody snickered and said "Yeah right". All I can say is interested parties should get their speakers soon before Tekton figures out what they have on their hands and puts their speakers thru a well deserved pricing restructure." - Michael Wright"

Here is the original quote from mykeryte that preceded the above also on 8/19:

"Okay sports fans, here we go with the comparison of Double Impacts that teajay has been listening to with my Wilson Sashas. Keep in mind, my Stereo Times publisher, Clement Perry, is working on the Double Impact review and I don't want to get in the way of what he has to say. With that being said.......

Allen Richards and I got together for this listening session and as was mentioned previously, we were listening with the VAC Renaissance Mk V preamp, two VAC Signature iQ amplifiers run in mono ( so that's 200 watts per amp) and I'm running Asus laptop with Fidelizer Pro (maxxed out at the "audiophile" level) and a custom NOS DAC built for me by Gilbert Yeung at Blue Circle Audio. I had been using Klee Acoustics cables throughout but discovered another little inexpensive gem from Tellurium Q called the Black II that I have been using on the speakers. Mike Kay's Archon Blue power cords are used on the amps and the preamp.

Allen and I bought the DI's in the house and laid them down as we began to listen to music on the Sasha's. We each took two tracks to listen to, and once we were done, we set the DI's up, if you want to call it that. Nothing too serious. The DI's were set up with the side of each speaker five feet from the side wall, seven feet between the speakers and the front of each speakers was ten feet from the front wall. They were spiked. We re-listened to the four tracks we listened to on the Sasha's. Initially, the sound from the DI's was uninvolving, bass was diffuse from the midrange and the highs, and pretty much just not a good listen. The Sasha's were clearly the better sounding speaker.

I shared with Allen that before I passed judgement on the DI's, they needed to settle into the carpet with the spikes, that I needed to spend a lot more time setting them up, remembering that we had merely set them up where we placed them when we bought them into the house, and that I need to do more experimentation the taps on the back of the amps. We were listening to the DI's on 2-4 ohm tap which is where they work best with the Sasha's and I suggested we listen on the 4-8 ohm tap. Allen didn't want to wait until later so I made the tap change right away. The improvement was immediate and it was not subtle at all.

We started off with the four tracks we listened to on the Sasha's and the DI's and the music sparkled with life and energy. There was a sense of verve and reality, with the music seemingly being performed "live" within the landscape of my listening room. The Sasha's has these attributes as well, but not to the same level as the DI's. What's remarkable to me is the DI's ability to sound effortless like a horn speaker, have the ability to "see into" the performance like good planars, and the the ability to convey the life-like realism of dynamic speakers, all at the same time. Though they do a fine job, the Sasha's couldn't quite match that.

The Sasha's deep bass performance exceeded that of the DI's if that type of thing is important to you. I need to move the Sasha's to the side, do my due diligence and devote some time doing some serious setup experimentation for the DI's in my listening room (25' X 16'). One last thing to add; I noticed a lot of you like using the SET or small powered tube amps to drive these speakers. That's cool. The sound of these amps has been quite impressive at teajay's on the DI's and Ulberchts. I just want to lend my two cents and say that the DI's can sound just as compelling with 200 watts/channel as they do with the lower powered amps. That's just my opinion and probably Allen's too. YMMV. "                       

My take is that Zero Fidelty says that this is one of those products that come with a lot of hype and actually delivers.He looks like a regular Joe that loves music and in his opinion it seemed like he was saying these are not $30,000 dollar speakers but they ARE a great value.The ability to use the DI's with such a wide range of amps is a super bonus but he did say that they do really well with lotsa watts.I think E.A./Tekton promotes that same point of view.

Hey Guys,

Regarding Zero Fidelty's take that the DI's are great in a lot of ways, but are not really at the same level of performance as 20 to 30 thousand dollar speakers, well, I sold off my 19K speakers and I know two other reviewers who sold off their 30K speakers and replaced them with the DI's.  

As far as the issue of using SET amps or high power amps on the DI's or Ulf's it completely comes down to personal taste.  One of the great virtues of both speakers is that you can use low/high wattage to get what you want. 

With much love to both my brothers, Micheal and Allan, they both adore   FREAKING loud volume levels when listening to music.  Even though I have no problems with dynamics/dB levels in my system, when they come over and decide what volume level to set the system to it is almost always much louder then I would play it for my own personal taste.  These guys like it really loud! Therefore, they might assume that you need a lot of watts for the DI's/Ulf's to make them "sing", however, at least in my system this is not my experience.

As usual, well said teajay.

 In my younger days I preferred big SS amps in order to reproduce live concert sound levels. Hopefully I didn't damage my hearing too much! Now I prefer much lower listening sound levels with peaks in the high 90 db's so flea amps work best for me and I'm grateful the DI's perform equally well with either type amp. Even though I currently enjoy the sonic benefits of small tube amps I can definitely appreciate the appeal of a good high powered SS amp. As teajay stated there's no right or wrong, just personal preferences. 

I personally don't know how the DI's stack up to $20-30k speakers as I've never owned speakers in that stratosphere but I trust the opinions of those here that have. I do know that after many years of owning many very good speakers the DI's are my favorite. I'd say they are my forever speakers, but the DI SE's might be in my future :)

Not to put words in his mouth, but I honestly think that zero fidelity just played it safe. Would have been too big a backlash from people that a $3k speaker was better than some $30k speakers, so he added that and saved himself a lot of "you don't know what you are talking about" and people calling him a homer. He said in about as strong terms as he could without offending the "expensive speakers are inherently better" crowd. Just my opinion though.

imo:  feeding the DI's  with more Current or  higher watt  amps is not about the Necessity, for playing music at a  higher or a  louder level. 

the extra current gives the DI's more of a sense of "Realism"  in which  i don't  feel that lower watt (SET etc..)  amps  can not achieve!

the higher current (quality) amps make it  apparent  especially  while listening to instruments such as a piano or horns and drums  and so forth. the Music just sounds  more  Real and Faithful!

i heard the DI's  with both a lower watt  amp and a higher current amp and its a Night and Day difference in the Music Presentation  or Realism  in MY experience!   (impact, soundstage, air etc..)  

the DI's are  speakers that offer great flexibility, in terms  of  matching  with a low watt amp or higher current  no doubt about that!


My summary:

low watt amps= Clark Kent  
  (Mild-mannered man)


Higher current (quality) amps= Superman 
(you know the story...)


Cheers.....




 


   



    

I would have to totally disagree with a night and day difference between high pwr amps and low pwr amps with the DI's.

I have probably used more different amps in comparison than anyone else that I know of,the 1.4 watts from the MZ2S to 700 watts class d from the ps audio mono's.

I have found the differences in power to mainly effect the bass presentation with tighter and dryer bass when using higher pwr SS amps.The speakers definitely need enough pwr to be convincing and that could most definitely differ with room size,volume levels,types of music.

I have used 24 different amps with the Di speaker and I will be trying out the benchmark ahb2 this week,on loan from a local friend.

I have played the piano the majority of my life and I definitely know what's convincing and what Isn't and I base the sound of other instruments from live music.

Now if you where talking about any of the Zu audio speakers I would definitely agree with you,they do need some pwr to give them some shove or the music sounds like it's stuck in the box.

The good news is there isn't a right way or wrong way and It's up to the individual to decide.

Kenny.

Only 24 different amps with the DI’s Kenny? Slacker! :)

I’m on amp #5 with the DI’s with #6 arriving Tuesday and #7 in a couple of weeks.....both SET amps. Fun, fun, fun!

As always it comes down to perspective and personal preference.

If dynamics and tighter, controlled bass is realism to you then high powered amps would probably be preferred. If tone, timbre and texture provides realism to you then SET amps are hard to beat in that regard. I’m not implying SS can’t do tone, timbre or texture well I’ve just never heard one do it as well as a SET. The same goes for tube amps with dynamic slam and bass, they can do it quite well but I’ve not heard one that could match a good high powered SS amp. Having said all of that, just because I haven’t heard something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

As Kenny stated.....no right or way way. It’s all good and it's all fun.

@kdude66:

my observations and thoughts were based on   "MY EARS"   and not what i heard  or anything posted about the DI's!

when i said higher current amp   (clean and quality)  both tubes and SS. the DI's  produce such   "Realism" and Faithful Sound  that i found lacking with the low watt amps, just keeping it real!

We all hear different and i understand that!

so i suppose there is  no right or wrong  when pairing with the DI's?









 

Totally agree with Kenny's opinion/position on what happens as you go up in power/watts on the DI's, and the Ulf's, slight changes in bass presentation, nothing radical regarding over "aliveness" dynamics and clear differences in tonality/color depending if you are using tubes or solid state amps.  Since both speakers are easy to drive conduits, I much prefer tubes in general and SET amps specifically because of what they have to offer in timbres/tonality, meaty 3D imaging, and spatial dimensions.

To be quite frank/honest, with no disrespect to anyone, I find that many so-called audiophiles and reviewers need to play their systems at very high volume levels because over the years they have really screwed up their ability to hear high frequencies at realistic volume levels because of the many years of setting in front of their system at unsafe/harmful dB levels.  Ever time I have gone to shows my first request virtually in ever room is could you please turn down the volume.  Because I'm spoiled reviewer, instead of copping an attitude they often oblige.  When I'm invited to other listener's home to hear the music through their system I also almost always am requesting to turn down the volume.

In all systems because of many factors their is going to be a "sweet spot" were all the dynamics are present, along with realistic sound-staging/layering, and finally the size of the individual players.  My major way of dialing in that sweet spot is the size of months of singers, and if a trumpet becomes four feet long its time to reduce the volume.  As a system reaches reference level performance the "sweet spot" becomes more precise with each recording and sometimes has to be reset on different selections on the same recording because the sound engineer did some changes from cut to cut.  So many times I have sat in front of systems that are playing at possible damaging dB levels with prefect clarity and dynamics but the snare drum sounds like it is the size of a bath tube!  Please turn it down is my quick request to the owner of the system.

The good news for all of us is the DI's most definitely give us a speaker that is a true "Conduit" and will respond to any changes made upstream of them but on the other hand we have a speaker that's fairly forgiving and does exceptionally well with all kinds of gear.

In my 36 yrs in this hobby,I haven't ever owned or heard a speaker quite like this one and I smile in amazement every day that I listen too them.

Simply no right way or wrong way in gear choices and what pleases the "Ears" of each individual audiophile/musiclover.

Kenny.

@kdude66- Totally agree the DI is a fantastic tool for an audiophile to learn what they like. I do agree with sprocket75 that putting some power behind the DI's does add some presence and "realism" and I listen at an average volume in the mid to upper 70db range with peaks in the mid 80's.
   This big SS vs SET amps brings up an important personal distinction and there aren't too many speakers out there that can sound good with  both big SS and SET. For many years I wondered what was wrong with me because I didn't feel so passionately about SET amps that people gushed over and I tried (845,211,300B, 2A3). I finally read a Nelson Pass article about distortion and found out that it's about an even split between people that prefer 3rd order harmonic distortion to 2nd order....Clearly my ears prefer the 3rd harmonic and that truly helped me make decisions about speaker choices and amplification. It was liberating to know that there wasn't something wrong with me for not loving SET.
   As far as the DI's go, they are the perfect way to find out what camp you fall in (2nd order, 3rd order, mixture of both). If you don't know which camp you fall in, pick a representative example of both topologies at the same time (if economically feasible) and find out what your ears prefer.
  

Everything about this hobby is subjective when it comes to sound quality. But you have to be very careful about generalizations regardings amps and especially specific tubes.

All I can tell you guys is that my solid state 30 watt per channel All Class A Pioneer M-22 sounds noticeably better than my solid state 200 watts per channel Class AB Schiit Audio Vidar amp.

The Vidar bass is outstanding for a $699 amp. But, the bass is better with the M-22. I listen to a lot of classical music and my max volumes do see an occasional 100dB because of the dynamic range. I have never had the M-22 have a problem with headroom. I wish it had a meters so I could tell how much power is being used. I don't see how extra power would change the sound if you never use it....

Teajay,

My most excellent brother reviewer and audiophile friend.  I take issue with your remarks:

  "With much love to both my brothers, Michael and Allan, they both adore    FREAKING loud volume levels when listening to music."  

When were you ever at my home, listening to music with me, and felt I was listening to music so loud that you had to ask me to turn the volume down?  Other than my wife complaining, no one has ever come over to my home and said I listen to music too loud.   

Now, I will say that I'm used to listening to music in rooms that are a little more intimate in size than in your large room.  It very well could be that when I'm in that large room of yours, listening to music, that I don't feel I'm hearing everything and is why I ask you to turn it up.  It could be that I want to hear a particular passage of music better, or I'm not following an instrumental line, or want to get a better idea of a performer's placement on the stage.  That may be why I ask you to turn it up.  So I can hear things better in your system. 

Allen, on the other hand, being a DJ and knowing how he feels certain selections should sound, has his moments when he really wants to feel the music and turns the music up.   He has come over to my house and asked for the remote and I brace myself just in case.  Not with everything he plays, but just with certain tunes where he feels he needs to.

Whereas you, on the other hand, who spends 30 seconds or more, setting the volume for "seemingly" every CD and every selection where you want to hear it or where you think visitors want to hear it.  Again, this is a subjective observation, and you're entitled to your opinion, but I do not listen to music loudly and do not adore "FREAKING" loud music.

Hey Micheal,

My remark meant no disrespect to you, or Allan, at all.  My statement regarding other individual's systems being played to loud for my taste was not directed at you at all, but at others.  Correct, the times I have had the pleasure to be at your home this was never an issue.  However, with respect to my guest listeners, including you, I always ask if the volume level is were you want it to be.  Please don't take this personally, virtually everybody, with a few exceptions, that comes over asks for volume levels that I would not being listening to if I was seriously listening to my system alone.  And it is very true that are dear friend Allan might be the volume "King" at getting to levels that he loves to listen most of the time.  Of course the levels I think are realistic for the reasons I shared in the other post (regarding size of individual images) might be my own personal criteria, indeed.  One other possibility why you like higher volume levels  in my house is that the way you experience bass, how percussive/powerful it is, is more important to you then me and to get it in my very large acoustic space to your personal liking it needs to be turned up to a higher volume level. Remember, in the past Mike Kay and I have affectionately nick named you the "Bass King" because those lower frequencies are really very important to you.  That's way I think you loved your Wilson speakers so much because of their low end grunt/punch.

 So, love ya man, so no offense was intended at all.

51 pages and over 2500 posts and yet this thread is as interesting, informative and thought provoking as it has ever been. This current debate on power amplifiers is providing excellent perspective and insight from very reasonable and experienced (and polite) participants here.

The subject of àmplifier choice is a natural outcome when discussing speakers given the obvious importance of achieving a sucessful pairing of the two. The Double Impact and Ulfberths seemingly increase the relevance of amplifiers due to their easy to drive characteristics which permits the use of multiple types of amplifiers.

Everyone posting here has their own listening biases and preferences and this prevents any universal concensus as to what type of amplifier is best with these speakers. Due to the musical or sonic parameters that matter most to me, high quality SET will exceed high quality solid state amplifiers.

Conversely those who have different listening parameters from me will find solid state the better option for their needs. This is completely understandable and rational. I’ll state the obvious and say there can not be a "best" amplifier that all will agree upon. This is why I find High End audio so endlessly interesting and enjoyable. Your can begin with an empty canvas and literally create/assemble an audio system just the way you desire. This is a beautiful thing 😊😊. I believe that most of those posting on this thread recognize and appreciate this opportunity.

P.S.
I'm grateful for the overall maturity displayed on this thread and the refreshing absence of trolls.
Charles 

"Not to put words in his mouth, but I honestly think that zero fidelity just played it safe. Would have been too big a backlash from people that a $3k speaker was better than some $30k speakers, so he added that and saved himself a lot of "you don't know what you are talking about" and people calling him a homer. He said in about as strong terms as he could without offending the "expensive speakers are inherently better" crowd. Just my opinion though."Vitop you may be on to something there as he did seem to really enjoy them.And Kdude66..24 amps..WOW.I think that gives one of the best  insights on what these speakers are capable of.

If you own Tekton Design Speakers then you might be interested to join this facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/135142323767796/

Hey Guys,

Just spent over four hours listening to the Ulfberht's  being driven by the AricAudio SET KT-88 amplifier/Micro-ZOTL combo with one difference.  I had being running a pair Tung-Sol KT-120 tubes with superlative results in my system.  This morning I borrowed from my friend Ezra, who will be getting his DI SE's hopefully soon, a pair of Shuguag Golden Dragon KT-88's.

I have been listening mesmerized by the changes they brought to the system!  First, the spatial dimensions exploded with more air around each instrument, depth/height in the sound-stage, and more palpability/3D imaging.  Secondly, the timbres/colors of all instruments/voices had a much better density/vividness.  

Again, this confirms that the DI's/Ulf's are pristine conduits that pass on what ever you feed them upstream.  It also proves that Aric's SET amp is so transparent that any tube changes you make will be easily heard.  A sign of a great amplifier, indeed.  So, these Shuguag tubes being driven by 5751 RCA NOS Black plate triple mica's is one of the most musical amplifiers, along with the Triode Lab SET 2A3, that I have ever experienced in my system.   

teajay,

Very interesting update with some different tubes,
I personally haven't ever used any of the golden dragon tubes in any amp but I've been told by several guys that they can be quite good.

I'm happy to read that you are enjoying Aric's workmanship and I hope you are able to also try a pair of Tung Sol Kt-150's for comparison.

Kenny.

Thanks for sharing teajay. Sounds exciting. Would you or Ezra ( or anyone else here) have any idea on where to purchase the Golden Dragons? I could find Shuguang Treasure KT 88 and out of England some Golden Dragon KT 88 Retro.....not sure if they're Shuguang though. Thanks

Hey mac48025,

Ezra had gotten these tubes about 5 to 7 years ago.  I don't know if Shuguag still even makes this version.  I'll try to find out.  

I believe if my memory is correct the golden dragon kt-88 was made by the JSC Svetlana company in Russia and was actually a 6550 retro tube of the original Gec.This company also made several Dht tubes such as 2a3,300b,350b,211,845 and more starting in 1992.

They also made a limited selection of 9 pin small signal tubes that were well thought of at the time.
Most of these are very hard to come by now but not completely impossible to find.

Kenny.

Hey Guys,

I was just sharing with Mike Kay (Audio Archon) what magic I was hearing all day long with these Shuguag KT-88 tubes in the AricAudio SET amplifier driving the Ulf's.  It dawned on me during our conversation the best way to explain what I was hearing was that if the Micro-ZOTL, used as an integrated amplifier, put out ten watts per channel instead of two that's what the combo of the Micro-ZOTL and this amplifier sounds like!

 

Just a quick update for those that ordered Electrons. Tekton is still waiting for 8" woofers to arrive hopefully tomorrow and Eric apparently is still tweaking. I was told another 2 more weeks. I ordered them 3 weeks ago. Can’t wait to hear them. Peace out!

After a rather complicated Audiogon transaction, I finally  have some glowing glass and steel in house.  It's currently driving a pair of VSA VR-33's.  This is the best amp I've had driving these speakers.  Very nice air and detail, paints a big picture with nice color saturation .  I'll keep you guessing for a while while I do some listening.  But I'm enjoying this system so much right now the DI's may need to wait a bit.  What a great problem having two systems you enjoy so much!

Really good posts recently. 

teajay, was a bit shocked to hear that a kt-120 floated your boat!  I've heard very mixed reviews on that tube.  Of course the tube is only half the story.  Implementation is the other.  Sounds like Aric has some nice amps going.

Kenny, you are the AmpMaster.  Thanks for  all your insightful posts.  Much appreciate reading about what these different amps bring to the DI table.

Mac, I'm excited for the loaners that are coming your way.  What a great opportunity you have right now to help you find your ultimate amp.  And really nice of Charles to let you enjoy his amps as well.

So now, the question.  Did Corelli follow his wife's advice  when she declared that  "no tube amp should have more than 6 tubes!"?

Aniwolfe,

I heard similar news late last week that the parts are soon to arrive for my now 8 week old order for Electrons, and will be shipped in approximately 1 more week. However, I did not get the impression that the model is still being tweaked. I absolutely do not want them until they are completely ready on all parameters. I will call tomorrow for clarification, and post my findings for the soon to be Electron owners.

Corelli,

No way you were restricted on your tube amp quest.

No one with the gumption to bike thousands of miles would get caught in that trap!

Right?

   LP