Amp for Acoustic Zen Crescendo 2 ?

@ Grannyring

- Do you hear any hum/buzz through your speakers a foot away? 3 feet away?

Slight hum with ear on speaker but can't hear it a foot from speaker

- Do the transformers make a mechanical buzz noise you can hear when the room is quiet? Not through the speakers, but simply emanating from the physical amp.

No

- How loudly do you listen when you go loud? Did you ever capture with a db meter?

Will capture my normal listening levels tonight when kids are in bed.

- How many hours are those 805 tubes good for in that amp before they need replacing?

They say up to 5,000 hrs. I have about 2,600 hrs. on mine with no issues; solid bias with no drifting

- Do you know if the amp is circuit board built or hard wired/tag strip. I could not find internal pics of your amp. Other LM amps are a combo of point to point wiring with only a two or three very small circuit boards.

All hand-wired point-to-point connections but there is a PCB with about 15 small Caps

- Finally, can you bypass the volume control with a direct input option on the back of the amp?

Yes; Pre-Amp in to bypass LM Line-Stage

Wig

Thanks Wig. Enjoy listening tonight. I am doing the same! 

Do do you get your Duelund wire as yet to try as jumpers? 

Charles1dad,

With only 12 hours on the EMLs, they're a little more transparent but it took my Sophia's 56 hours for them to wake-up.  Looking forward to more hours but the XLS are not recommeneded with the 508 circuitry.

Wig

@ Grannyring

Should have the Duelund DCA 16 ga in two weeks when back orders are in stock. Read a reviewer saying to single and run Deulund up both binding posts; bought enough to try as speaker cables.

Wig

Wig,
Yes I assumed you’re using the EML standard 300b. This is a premium brand and all of their various tubes are held in high regard. Another asset is their reputation for reliability and longevity. Wig I find it interesting that the powerful Vitus amplifier seem to lack dynamic impact with your Crescendos. . As I’ve often written, there’s no substitute for actually listening to an audio product.
Charles