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???Anyone Here UpGrade From Yaqin/Cayin/etc... To Another Tube Amp Considered Hi End???

Say something from Ayon,BAT,AR,Raven,Rogue,Unison etc....
Did you gain anything from the upgrade?Lower noise floor increasing low level resolution?Tighter more defined imaging & staging?Anything?
freediver
audiothesis
168 posts
 
Congratulations on your purchase, but I do wish you had jumped on the BoX instead.  Yes, that is my inventory listed that you saw.  I am no longer the US distributor (mutually agreed decision) but their products are fantastic.  I probably would have directed you to the Dueventi more than the BoX with the 30.1 depending on your room.  The Dueventi is more romantic and doesn't need tubes rolled while also having a cleaner sound.  If you put a good set of NOS 12au7 in the BoX, you get a really incredible amplifier capable of driving most speakers.

I do wish you luck on the Icon though and hope it will take you to the next level!
freediver OP
1,351 posts
 
@ audiothesis
There were several points that swayed me away from the Box & the Due Venti,which I did look at,cost of retube & circuit design being foremost(Triode EL34 vs KT150 in UL)...Someone WILL get an amazing amp from you at an absolute STEAL of a price but my requirements were a better fit with the Icon Audio..
freediver OP
1,351 posts
 
To expand on my choice,after a lot of listening to both EL34 & KT88’s running Triode & UL,I simply prefer the KT88..IMO it has more extended treble,a more electrostatic midrange & bass is no contest..BOTH the Mastersound amps were EL34 based so I passed them on to someone who prefers what the EL34 brings...
twoleftears"Geez, how much gear are you buying?"
About $10,000.00 all total.I got an absolutely amazing deal on my Harbeth M30.1’s at almost -$3000.00 under retail..Same for the Cayin CS55a being replaced & the Creek Evo50a/Ruby & those funds go back towards the end game system...The Nordost Leif series cables were also bought used at about 50% off retail(gotta love cable depreciation hahaha)...The Icon Audio amp also received a nice discount from the N.American importer in celebration BOTH founding members & lifelong friends of the 2 companies turning 67years old...That left just enough for a magnificent pair of ProAc Tablette Anniversaries in the amazing Ebony finish for the bedroom & a good DAC/Headphone amp...
audiothesis
168 posts
 
While tubes do make a difference, the design is the key.  The BoX has well extended treble and a shocking amount of bass.  The Dueventi is more of what you'd expect from an el34, giving the richness with a smoother top and bottom end while still maintaining proper speed of the music.  Both excel at a holographic image and damn near black background due to the quality of the transformers.

I hope this doesn't come across as a disgruntled seller not closing a sale.  These amps will sell so I'm not worried about that. My only point is that not everything is cut and dry and understanding what a product is as a whole is much more difficult than looking at the 'key' components used.

With all that said, I've followed your journey here and I'm happy to see it continuing!
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
I agree that the topology and the sucess of its implementation and quality of parts determine the ultimate sound quality level  of the amplifier. Pure class A single ended (Very simple circuit) KT 150 with high quality output transformers should sound fantastic.
Charles
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