CAT Preamps vs Amps

Sorry if I sound like I'm a defender of a topology,but the Rowland 8t/9t series amps are SUPERB,in every meaningful category,on Avalons.Especially the four chassis 9t's!!I DO LOVE tubes,yet the Avalon vintages of the Ascent/Osiris era do sound wonderful with these amps.Better than the overrated Spectral line(overrated in timbral honesty).Configuration is everything.

BTW--I have NO doubts that the CAT will be fabulous,but will be ergonomically better in the winter months.

Best!

"Hey security, who let this solid state man in here?"

No solid state man!My boy!Prefferably tubes in my heart of hearts,yet having had both on my Ascents,the two chassis modified 8t is of the ilk that even my tube "only" crowd is hard pressed to identify a sonic signature!Runs dead cold,too.What's not to like,Sir Fox? -:)BTW--the Spectral
/Avalon marketing began with the campaign to compete with the Wilson designs using the "2c3d"(two channel/three D)moniker.All while driving the later Avalon Radians,which had bass and mid drivers that pushed a good deal more air than the earlier Ascents,but were NOT as detailed here(yet played Watt/Puppy loud with the SPECTRALS).The Ascents were designed with,and voiced for Rowland's amps of the day(8t/9t),which can be updated to the latest power supply technology.I'm having that done now.

BTW--I had Sir Steve Huntly do massive work on my Pre/phonostage.Result...in a comparison with a friend's CJ Art(orig,and modded)/Premier phonostage,Huntley managed to get me deeper bass with a blacker background.All else very similar.Of course my secret weapon are Siemens CCa's in phonostage.Super quiet/super pricey.Hey we all cannot be perfect.HMM,maybe I am doing a bit of rationalizing.NAH,I'm actually not.

As Ripley would say,of the previous words stated,by little, very old, me....believe it,or not!!-:)

Best!

Jafox,

I started rummaging through my tube drawer, because I know that I have a pair of Brimar's, but I think that they might 6922's rather than 12AX7's. Nevertheless, if I have them, I have tried them in the CAT before and am still stuck on the current Telefunken combination. When I find them, whether they are 12AX7 or 6922, I will evaluate them and report back on this thread.

I have noted that some Audiogoners tend to compare tubes across various tube equipment and I think this is a mistake. I find that while one might be able to make certain generalizations about a certain brand of tube, no matter in what piece of equipment it is used, generalizations that any tube is perfect, great or even good in nearly all equipment are a grave mistake. Characteristics which make a particular tube sound so right in one application are often completely absent when that tube is placed in another product. An example of this would be the Telefunken 6922: Rich, dynamic, with a very ripe midrange, great extension at both extremes in a CAT Ultimate, but undynamic, slightly bright and boring in the First Sound. The same could be said of a Siemens 7308: in the CAT, too forward in the midrange, a little thin-sounding and undynamic; in the F.S., exceptional dynamics, great imaging and midrange smoothes out. You really do have to compare tubes in the particular circuit in which they will be used. If you get too hung-up that a particular tube is great or terrible based on some previous experience in another piece of equipment, you may never hear your tube equipment to its best advantage. I have been surprised by this phenomenon several times.

Rayhall, I am describing the sound I heard with the CAT U2
in my system with stock tubes. As stated, replacing the stock 6922's and 12AX7's with Amperex was transformational.
I was considering the preamp for my next upgrade but am now looking to the digital front end as the weakest link.
So the preamp wasn't the problem, just the Sovtek 6922's.
The EI 12AX7's are decent but the Amperex are better. Yes the sound was as bad as I described with the stock tubes.

Bart