Tekton Double Impacts

The Ulysses is still listed as a Daedalus offering it isn't under the discontinued list.

Walter,
Good to hear back on your experience with the DI's.  There are so many good choices out there these days.  A nice problem indeed.  I'm glad to hear you have enjoyed your DI's.  I love their abilities  in  creating  a holographic sound stage.  They replaced Magnepan 1.7's, a speaker lauded for its coherency.  I find the DI's to be at least as good in this regard.  Your Ulysses must be very special.
I opted for the plain satin black finish and I must say that if I could do this over, I would opt for the same.  It just seems to up the value factor to a very high level.  At the same time it fades away with the lights down and leaves just the music. (I love a beautiful wood/veneer product, but I tell myself it competes with the music.  So I'm very content.)
I once laughed at a friend who had 7 different bikes.  Now that my biking interests have expanded, I totally get it. Every machine is a compromise, each with it's strengths and weaknesses to one degree or another.
Do you remain happy with your LM 805?  Curious if you have owned SS gear and how you feel the 805 compares.

Corelli,
Chris (Waltersalas),
Has owned very good components including fine SS amplifiers. He is an experienced listener with good ears. I’d find it rare for a SS amplifier to match the pure naturalness and emotional involvement of his LM 508ia. Of course this is just my humble opinion. Chris is obviously quite capable of speaking for himself. 😊
Charles

Thanks for all the kind comments, folks, and I appreciate in particular the nice remarks from Charles and Al, two longtime members here for whom I have the utmost respect. It is also great hearing from fellow Double Impact enthusiasts, a couple of whom put me on this trail to start with. And thanks to teajay for his outstanding, spot-on review.

As for the question about amps I have known and loved prior to the LM 508ia, yes, there have been a few solid state amps along the way, a couple in particular that I really enjoyed. I was very fond of a Plinius SA-102 that I had several years ago, which I can easily imagine sounding great with the DI speakers. I also once owned TRL Samson monoblocks designed by the late and much missed Paul Weitzel, which I ran along with his Dude preamplifier. They were also very fine sounding amps. I took them to a friend's house to compare directly with some very expensive Pass Labs monoblocks--I believe they were 160.5s--and I thought the Samsons were within the thinnest sliver of being as good as the mighty Pass (both were driving another pair of Ulysses speakers). I also had a couple of years with a Devialet amp that, while very clean and powerful, just did not engage me on a musical level. It was "impressive" and a technological marvel in terms of its versatility and power, but I found myself listening to music less and less when I had it.

The bottom line is that Charles is right. None of these amps have engaged me on a visceral level like the best tube amps I have owned, especially the VAC Renaissance 70/70 and now the Line Magnetic 508ia. For years I split the difference, running several different tube preamps with my solid state amps, because prior to the Ulysses, I had speakers that were not as efficient and I thought I needed solid state amps to drive them properly. I had several pleasing combinations, but was never completely satisfied, which is why I kept trying new preamps, believing that the next one might be the last one.

When I bought the Ulysses, with its much more amp-friendly efficiency rating, I couldn't wait to try a tube amp, and when I finally bought the VAC amp, I found what I had been missing. Pure bliss. I think the LM 508 integrated might be just as good, perhaps even better in some parameters (although I have yet to hear any amp surpass VAC's magical midrange).

As so many of you have already noted, one of the great attributes of the DI speakers is that you can drive them with just about anything. For sure, the 508 drives them beautifully. It has finesse and that tube magic--especially if you roll the 300Bs and 6SN7 tubes--and it can also rattle the china in your cabinet and the fillings in your teeth, if you're in the mood to "entertain" the neighbors. It sounds great at low volumes and great at high volumes. For me, a great tube amp just has that "breath of life" that keeps me up way too late listening to music.

Chris

Chris,

I can fully relate to this,

For me, a great tube amp just has that "breath of life" that keeps me up way too late listening to music.


I like to call it a inner glow or Lit with life from within,but I think we both are talking about the same thing.

I think It's truly a wonderful and magical place when a person can find his or hers musical bliss.


Even though I really enjoy the First watt amps and other solid state amps,I fully realize that no ss amp can fully replace a quality tube amp on all parameters in my humble opinion.


Best,

Kenny.