Avant-Garde speakers are very interesting. Some listeners/owners find them to sound stunningly good. Then there are those who can’t tolerate their overt (in their opinion of course) coloration. It’s always YMMV with High End Audio.
Charles
Which one to choose between two 80K$ tube amps?
There are two interesting 80K$ tube amps on sale at Audiogon.
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9jhj0-david-berning-co-211-845-otl-tube
The first one is David Berning OTL design with output of 60 Watts.
it looks beautiful. But I had never used OTL amp yet.
I am curious how it sounds with high efficiency speaker.
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa27ii-jadis-ja800-flagship-tube-amplifier-six-chassis-best-ever-made-nos-new-old-stock-tube
The second one is Jadis JA800 with 6 pieces and 400watts.
I had used JA500 (only 4 pieces with 350 Watts) from 2000 to 2002 to drive B&W Notilus 801 with utmost authority and unbelievable slam.
It was kind of lifetime experience to own this beautiful and overbearing monster.
But I could not use it during summer time in modest size room.
Thus I let it go and got Silbatone 300B SET amp to drive efficient full range speaker.
350 Watt to 8 Watt
If you have money or hit the Jackpot, which one will you go for?
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9jhj0-david-berning-co-211-845-otl-tube
The first one is David Berning OTL design with output of 60 Watts.
it looks beautiful. But I had never used OTL amp yet.
I am curious how it sounds with high efficiency speaker.
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa27ii-jadis-ja800-flagship-tube-amplifier-six-chassis-best-ever-made-nos-new-old-stock-tube
The second one is Jadis JA800 with 6 pieces and 400watts.
I had used JA500 (only 4 pieces with 350 Watts) from 2000 to 2002 to drive B&W Notilus 801 with utmost authority and unbelievable slam.
It was kind of lifetime experience to own this beautiful and overbearing monster.
But I could not use it during summer time in modest size room.
Thus I let it go and got Silbatone 300B SET amp to drive efficient full range speaker.
350 Watt to 8 Watt
If you have money or hit the Jackpot, which one will you go for?
- ...
- 125 posts total
What particular vintage WE horn system are you looking at? Are you looking for a complete vintage system, or are you looking to build a system from vintage drivers and horns? I have heard many systems built from vintage drivers and horns and these can be very nice. But, as far as sound quality goes, there is no reason to avoid considering replicas made by G.I.P. Laboratories; they make terrific replicas of Western Electric field coil drivers. These replicas cost about as much as genuine vintage drivers. They make a few updated and improved versions of certain Western Electric drivers, but, these are exorbitantly priced. I have heard the upgraded version of the 597 tweeter and it is very good (the upgraded tweeter sells for $58,000 for a pair). I have a sort of modern system, based on old school design. It uses twin 12" woofers with alnico magnets, and pleated paper surrounds in a Onken bass reflex cabinet. The midrange compression driver is a Western Electric 713b (my favorite driver) feeding a Western Electric KS 120125 horn. The tweeter is a Fostex bullet-type tweeter. I am having a crossover designed around Western Electric paper in oil capacitors built for me. I will probably also upgrade the wiring of the speaker (Audio Note silver wire). |
@larryi No recommendation for replica. I had listened to GIP in Korea but not my cup of tea. I want a complete vintage system with original box. Actually I had listened to one in Seoul, Korea 2 years ago for 2 hours and I liked it. But I could not shell out 300K $ at that time. I need to save money before searching one. My Lansche 4.1 is pretty good for modern speaker. Thus I may wait until I save enough money. I do not consider any other options including modern horn. |
What Western Electric system did you hear? With the exception of the Western Electric 753 and 757, they did not make many complete systems. It was more the case of someone assembling a system from components. Do you recall what components or system you heard? The same can be said of G.I.P. drivers, they have to be assembled by someone into a system. How someone did this makes all the difference and you cannot judge the drivers as good or bad based on any one particular assembly. G.I.P. does make very expensive systems, utilizing their own cabinets and drivers; I have not heard any such system and I don't know what they sound like. |
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMtNSB4H5MbCvLRW_yUOEOl3WRBxcf--Jdo_iBJFwEeTH1i-rg4WsWWn5tp03-W1Q/photo/AF1QipMt44zSIw0NovqUoZCHdqHa1CNu4zUSEYxdXFKu?key=VjN The big one on the back. I do not remember parts no. No more question please. Until I save money, I do want to consider any other options. Last December, I had pulled for used Scaena 3.2 speaker at whim but have to assemble it yet. I may do that next week with help of my friend. But I am not so sure whether it will sound better than Lansche 4.1 or not. If I buy Western vintage horn, I will get advice from my buddy. He is the owner of Silbatone with many vintage horn speakers. |
- 125 posts total