Art Audio Carissa vs deHavilland 845 tube amps

I spent a few hours listening to the dehavilland 845's with a Hovland preamp, Naim CDS3 CDP, and Von Schweikert VR4jrs a few days ago. I would hardly say they were veiled, although perhaps I could have used their larger GM70's for some music to generate greater volume. I was generally very impressed with the stock tubes, but I understand that some Chinese 845B tubes can dramatically increase the amp's potential: I found the midrange very detailed and a dramatic improvement over the Pass X350.

Tube rolling with the 845B from Shuguang

Ah, my post popped up : ) The question of is the deHavilland "veiled" was an unfortunate one based on reading only a few comments. I have heard many times after this post that they are not veiled at all. I will soon hear one of the deHavilland Ios amps and I'll report back my experience.

I've never heard an Art Audio amp, but the deHavilland 845s I had were lovely, especially with the new Shuguang 845B tubes. I'm not one of those who is thrilled with the 845 sound however, but my local dealer is. When I asked him to sell the deHavillands for me, he took one listen and promptly traded me his Canary preamp for them. He's still thrilled 6 weeks later. They're seriously butch amps, just as bit too romantic and bloomy for me.

I own the deHavilland GM 70 amps. I have a local dealer who carries Art Audio-I listend to the Jota BX connected to the same speakers I bought from him. I can't say there is any difference. They both sound absolutely great. I loved dealing with George and Kara at dehavilland. A great company

I can't compare the Carissa and the Ios. But I have th deHavilland UltraVerve and the Art Audio Carissa.

I just wanted to say that the music this combo makes is amazing. Dynamic, smooth with unbelievable resolution. The soundstage is top notch.

If you gat a chance, listen to what these companies are creating.

Also, Joe Fratus at Art Audio and Kara and George at deHavilland are wonderful. The customer service and support from these companies are second to none.

Cheers