I only bought 2 tubes for the left sockets. Of course, no time on these, but out of the box they are not better than the shunguang Treasures CV181-Z's to me. I'll switch back to those tonight as I expect my Stealth Indra's to show today.
Don Sachs Owners Thread
A place to discuss amps, preamps, and phono stages from Don Sachs.
I just purchased a like new D2 linestage. It has 2 gain controls, 64 step volume control, and digital volume readout. It is set up for the new rectifier. This is my first 6sn7 based linestage. It came with Ken-Rad Vt 231and gray RCA tubes. There are 3 rectifier tubes. A huge Philco 6BY5G, a Tung-Sol 6BY5G, and a Bendix 5852. There is also an Ice Age Audio power cord. With 2 different sounding outputs there are a lot of options. I need to find out what value the output caps are. I have the D2 connected at the moment to a VTL ST150. Input impedance is 125K and 2v in for maximum gain.
I placed the RCA tubes in left front and rear and Ken-Rad in the right. Used Philco rectifier. Plugged VTL amp into output 1. The brightest sounding preamp I've ever heard. It was comical, bass drums sounded more like cymbals. Output 2 sounds like normal music. This surprises me. With 125K input, I thought there would be no problem getting bass response.
Some questions.
1. Are the 6Sn7's in the right locations? I guessed by looking at the sellers photograph.
2. Is the Ice Age Audio the AC cord the brand Don offers as an option?
3. I'll audition all 3 but which rectifier would be considered tops?
The linestage sounds amazing.
Thanks,
aldnorab
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- 148 posts total
Soren, The Kootenai amp is really outstanding, far better than the HK Citation II and V amps that Don earlier fully modified for me. Its 60-wpc drives a lot speakers just fine with remarkably solid base response, a warm liquid mid-range and extended high end. It has none of the sluggishness as several my former CJ tube amps had; it is as quick as any excellent SS amp. The true magic of the amp is its outstanding soundstage, front to back, side to side, and up and down. The amp provides a glimpse of "being there" with the music, which is additive to the sound of his preamp. While it might not be exactly as quiet as the better SS amps, to my ears, it is very close, pretty much dead silent. When Don first told about his idea to create his Kootenai amp, I was at that point annoyed with tube amps because of the PITA biasing of my HK amps, but the Kootenai is self-biasing/auto-biasing (I don't understand the difference, honestly) and when a pal brought his Kootenai by for an audition, both of our jaws dropped driving my Spatial Audio speakers when compared to my Platinum-upgraded Modwright DNA .05 SS amp. I currently run the Kootenai in the cool months here in Northern CA and a Wells Audio SS amp the rest of the year. The Wells Audio amp is a SS amp masquerading as a tube amp and is as fine as the Kootenai, but at a dramatically higher cost. I have a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C-1's in transit to me -- a relatively constant 4 ohm load, and Don assures me that the Kootenai will drive them just fine. Back to the DS2 preamp. Roger Modjeski of Music Reference fame, told me at a Burning Amp gathering in San Francisco that 6SN7 tubes were more appropriate for old TV's than for preamp circuits, inherently too noisy for audio. Modwright and Supratek employ them to excellent advantage, perhaps others too. Don's preamp is a fully-developed iteration of Roy Mottram's of Tubes4Hifi SP14 preamp, which employs the same tube configuration, the development of which has been fully sanctioned and applauded by Roy. I had Roy's stock SP14 for a while and it not nearly the equal of Don's version, but it definitely will give one a strong sense of the magic of a 6SN7 tube preamps for a very economical price and if you have the skills, cap upgrades are pretty easy to do and very beneficial. Tubes4Hifi make very well-made power cords and speakers for very reasonable price, as well. As Don has always said, "there is magic in 6SN7 tubes." My ears tell me that he is exactly right.
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@whitestix the Kootenay amp is very interesting. Wish my tube amp didn't require me to bias it. Looking forward to reading more posts about it and how it performs with the new speakers. Thanks, aldnorab |
Barondla, I told Don that I would never again consider a tube amp that did not auto bias and he assured me that he sorted this out with the Kootenai and the LED meter on the Kootenai has been locked on solidly since I got the amp for all 4 power tubes. By many accounts, the Carver Crimson 275 amp is a good performer, albeit with questionable current output, but it too required manual biasing which to me would be a PITA. With modern electronics, this auto-biasing feature ought to be de rigueur for all tubes amps. The Dyn's are to arrive in a couple of days and since you asked, I will report back how well the Kootenai performs driving the consistent 4 ohm load they present. They will be compared to my Buchardt S400 SE speakers which are quite good. |
@whitestix Thanks for the description of the Kootenay. It sounds like a wonderful amp and great complement to the DS2. You got me looking up Wells Audio. Their amps seem very well reviewed. Which model 'matches' the Kootenay in your setup? I have been thinking of replacing my trusty old Pass Labs, which also spits out a lot of heat. Cheers, Soren |
- 148 posts total