Aleph-3 Questions

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.

I have owned the 3 and now the 2 monoblocks. I have found that Black Diamond #4 cones improve the sound considerably. They seem to my ear to tighten up the bass and brighten up the top end a bit. They are recomended for tube amps I know, but I found them to work well under the Aleph amps, which sound kind of tubelike. Even better if you have the means would be a Powersnakes Viper V2 powercord. I bought a pair for my Aleph 2s and they took the sound to a whole new level, improving transparency, speed and most of all image placement.

I've owned Aleph 5s and what I like best about them is that they don't have much of a sound. They don't sound spectacular. They don't impress. There are no thunderous lows, or crystalline highs. What impressed me most about the Pass is that it disappeared better than any other amp I've had experience with (at least any other amp smaller than a 27" TV and costing less than $15,000). As far as I can tell, it's not particularly sensitive to cable, but it sounds best when left on continuously. Relax and enjoy!