Aleph-3 Questions

I purchased my Aleph 3 as a demo with very few hours on it. I was initially disappointed that it did not sound as good--a little raw--as the used ones I had heard. Once broken in, I have no complaints. Be patient; I think you will be very pleased. FYI, I use mine as mid/tweeter only in a bi-amped system but I don't think that makes any difference, other than the Aleph is probably a better treble than bass amplifier. The 3 has only 20 db gain and an input impedance of only 23Kohms; mismatches could detract from its performance. Cheers,

I heard the volksamp version of the aleph 30. It's one of the very best solid state amps I have heard. I recall that when we ran it straight out of the wadia 30, the sound was some of the best I had heard. When we ran it through an Audio Research 12, the sound took on significant degredation. A preamp mismatch may be what you are experiencing. I have read that you need an active preamp with lots of gain to drive the aleph 30. That may be similar to what you are experiencing. Also, I have read that the alephs sound like an ordinary ss amp until they have been on for a whole hour.

To my ears my new amp sounds very good.My concern is I feel it should sound MUCH,MUCH better.Am I asking too much from a 'Beyond class A" amp? It replaced a stock Dynaco ST-70 with good tubes.As I said before it has <50 hours on it.My ex- girl friend was invited over last night for a listen as she watched my obsession over owning a Aleph-3 for over 3 years.I thought it only fair she have a listen.Any way she has very good ears but said"the tube amp sounds better than that!" She did change her mind as the evening went on but she was never overly impressed.I feel the sound quality should be a HUGE improvement considering all the rave reviews and awards this amp got.The sound stage is about 2 feet deeper,but no wider.Much better bass,far better dynamics,Imaging a little better as well as focus.The tone is sweeter too.I expected a HUGE soundstage not a Dynaco soundstage.I guess maybe I expected too much.My speakers are 92dB so volumn is no problem.Do I need a pair of Wontans to get a huge soundstage??

I owned an Aleph 5 for several years and would not count soundstage size among its strengths, but that isn't something I particularly lust after anyway. You may find what you are after by experimenting a little with cables.

david99: you mean this was your dream amp for >3 years and you didn't audition it in your system b4 you bought it? if so, shame on you. perhaps your expectations were too high. more likely, you and your ex became so used to the distortions/"euphonics" of your dynaco that a "neutral" amp doesn't quite sound right. i assume you changed interconnects when you moved from valves to ss. no? then i'd suggest you TRY (not BUY) something like cardas neutral reference. this will knock the "edge" off what you're likely hearing with your valve-loving wire. just some suggestions. don't give up too soon. you can get it right but 50 hrs doesn't even make it to the fun part of foreplay.