TRL Dude Dilemna

I am totally smitten by this Atlas amp. It is very refined sounding and reveals the inner detail of music wonderfully. It has the best tone of any high power amp I have heard. It is not at all forward sounding, but rather more nuanced and in control.

You can buy one used for the same price you sell your 402. The 402 is an awesome amp, but the Atlas may very well be the better choice for your speakers and Dude.

Which Dude do you have? The older style or newer style? One or two 6sn7's per side? Thanks

"12-18-11: Charles1dad

Good points, impedance matching matters.The Dude with my 300b SET was exceptional(once we replaced the 6sn7 tube in the power supply) very dynamic,lively and large scale with good tone."

Did you give me back my original tube Charles? I see a Gold Aero 6SN7 tube in the power supply.

Bug, that was very nice of you to lend out the Dude. Great to see fellow Aphiles being generous with each other and learning.

Charles1dad, just read your comments on the Dude. Glad you liked it and had a chance to compare the two. I think you would agree that the Dude coming in cold after a long car trip and needing to settle into a new system would need more than one day? I have found that any gear I have purchased always has a settling in time into a new system. Usually at least a weekend.

For example, I just purchased a used Aesthetix Atlas amp and thought it sounded very good after coming in out of the cold and warming up for 6 hours of play. The amp however sounds better and different after settling into my system for the past 3 days. To really hear a component you must live with it over several days. This is a good start and fun for sure!

Also, I read above that you changed a tube (6sn7) in the tube regulated power supply. When this is done the power supply regulator voltage changes. That is why Paul has an adjustment pot in the Dude. You would need to once again dial it in for proper voltage operation and sound. I have personally found NOS tubes can differ from new production in the Dude in terms of potentially throwing off the voltage.

Just a couple of thoughts on this quick comparison.

The Dude I have has one 6SN7 per side, but it does have larger caps. It is the newer chassis design.

Someone mentioned Aesthetix gear. I spent a month auditioning a Janus $10k pre loaned to me just for play and it could not hold a candle to the Dude. Try as I might to give it every chance it was clean and clear but not 3 dimensional. And the bass could not even come close to the Dude.

I'll have to have Paul give me instructions to measure the voltage.