Life after DarTZeel

Dartzeel dealer,
On SF strads I might prefer the Dartzeel. Having owned the SF Levinson is about the worse combo you could come up with. On my Avalon Diamonds the 33H and Boulder worked out much better. The Avalon is a harder speaker to drive and it's sound 100% different then the Strads. Peoples opinions do differ greatly but that is exactly what poster has asked for is an opinion so I gave mine.

The other reason I sold it is, I had a product that broke last year that wasn't made in the USA and it took 4 months to get it fixed. I'm not saying Dartzeel would be the same case but I wasn't going to find out. I will not deal with that again so I only by US products plus it helps support my country in these crappy times. I also worry about companies like Dartzeel ability to stay in this business with such a limited product line and such high prices and we all know about the economy. $25,000 for a 100 watt stereo solid state amp that weight 65 pounds is hard to justify even if it sounds out of this world and it hates 4 ohm loads. You will see 20% of high end companies go out of business in the next 2 years. You will hear "business has never been better we are not going anywhere" then the next day a sign on the door.

Sorry for the ot, Mike: "Which SET tube amps are you considering?", I love the Dartzell sound but I'm eager to try a tube amp.
Thank You
E

This thread is just another example of how subjective this hobby is.

Equipment synergy is so important when putting together a system. Many people loose site of this.

Mike's response was excellent in stressing this.

Mtdking feels Levinson & Bryston were superior to the darTZeel.

I do respect his statement, as I don't know his speakers, room & associated equipment.

I have owned many Levinson & Bryston products. I like them both very much, & still use them both in other systems.

I have done direct comparisons with both compared to the darTZeel.

Levinson 33H's were used in my same room after I purchased the darTZeel combo, to do a comparison.

The dart was new & the 33H's were fully broken in.

As much as I love the 33H it does not stand a chance against the dart, they are not in the same league.

The darTZeel was clearly the better amp. Much more open & transparent. More musical with with a touch of warmth as in tubes.

A natural presentation that is very pleasing & non fatiguing. Bass control is a non issue as well. I love the bass in the darTZeel.

As a result I sold my 33H's & never looked back.

Mike, ditto for looking at pretty women !!!!! ( been married for the same women 30 yrs. ) I don't know how she put up with me for so long.

Mtdking, i owned the Levinson 33H's for 2 years (1997-1999). a really fine amplifier.....i replaced them with the big Levinson 33's. the 33H is still one of the more 'listenable' solid state amps out there. i know that it has been somewhat updated since i owned it to good result.

regarding your service concerns on foreign made products. it is and should be a concern. one needs to investigate what happens if there is a problem. regarding darTZeel i think within reality you are in as good a position as you could be. it is Swiss after all. not fly-by-night or casual about anything. immediate response to any question. eager willingness to assist with support and advice. and built like a tank. these days there is no audio business or national economy which 100% certainty of continued business health. but i would wager that a conservative Swiss company would be as likely as any to survive and uphold it promises. there is the shipping to Switzerland. the shipping cartons are well designed and everything is encased in thick foam.

i would bet that darTZeel will more likely be here to service their products in 10 years than Levinson or Boulder.

were i to venture from darTZeel it would be toward SET tubes of some sort

E, my point here was that if i were to venture away from musical neutrality into an amplifier with a sonic signature it would be toward the 'beauty' end of the spectrom. i dream of having a tube amp sitting around for when i'm in the mood. i'm not really serious about this.....it's more a bit of musing.

if i did go 'there' my short list (one's i've heard i thought were special) would be;

Tenor OTL 75w
Lamm ML3 or ML2.1
AN Kegon
any of the Kondo AN's

there are likely others which i've not been exposed to which could be on this list.

all of these wonderful tube amps are entertaining to listen to. but; unlike the darTZeel they always make you aware that they are there to some degree. which is not really a problem but it is a factor.

with the dart it is always the music. i like that.