hiya larryi,
i`ve had a chance to have a proper listen to the ei elites. played my usual cd`s dave gilmour on an island, adele 21, steve hillage green and also had a listen to pink floyds remastered wish you were here. i got the tubes this morning so i had to listen at more conservative levels but this evening i was able to crank the volume up a little to more decent levels that i usually play at. all i can say is wow!!! i know i hark on about hearing more things that i`ve never heard before but this is startling! at the beginning of dave gilmours track "then i close my eyes", there`s sound effects that sounds like someone walking up to a car and opening and closing the car door then walking back. it`s a brilliant sound effect but with these tubes i also hear a group of people talking. i`ve never heard that on any other of the tube combinations i`ve had so far. and what i really like is there is a warmth and smoothness to the whole range of sounds as well as the extra clarity. the weight of everything is just right. this midband is just superb. there`s decent soundstage height too. dave gilmour is no longer 4ft tall!!! the bottom end is outrageous! bass goes lower than whale poo now! there`s a really gorgeous warmth to the bass too and there`s texture not only to bass notes but everything at every frequency. listening to steve hillages cd green has high frequencies like i`ve never heard before. this cd is amazing to check your high frequencies and it`s not a half bad recording considering it came out in 1978 i think. synthesiser notes just hang in their own space in the soundstage. this cd is so magical sounding. some of adeles tracks have such amazing bass drive. there`s a lot of piano work going on in her cd and the weight of each key is just perfect. these tubes appear to have brought extended highs and lows to the table with everything in between just right. i`ll go as far to say the soundstage is freaky! my brain computes that all the artists are there right in front of you in their own space but my eyes can`t see them. i`m also wondering if and how the sound might change as the tubes break in. i keep thinking that the sound just can`t get any better. that`s what i thought using the psvanes and then the jan philips 5751`s! and now using these ei elites it has completely changed the sound that comes out of my speakers. these tubes have been an upgrade! and a huge one! i still have those ge 5751wa`s on their way and they`re really supposed to be something quite special. also the black treasure kt88-z tubes are really supposed to be something that are currently on their way through the post to me.
i have to say too that not only is the amp a real cracker but the speakers i have are really something too! every change i`ve made, this combination lets that change be heard good or bad. mostly mindblowing in this case! the speakers are quad 12L2`s and they are real chameleons. they change sound with every change i make. amazing!
if i ever come across the telefunkens at a decent price i may well go for them. i think my tube rolling spending spree better come to an end before i have to sell the furniture to pay the bills! the journey to where i am soundwise on my system has been probably the most fun i`ve ever had! i so wish i`d discovered tube amplifiers years ago. i`ve been missing so much! and i still have a little tube rolling to do when the new ones get here too. i cannot imagine the sound getting any better! but as i say......i`ve said that one before! more than once!
i`ve had a chance to have a proper listen to the ei elites. played my usual cd`s dave gilmour on an island, adele 21, steve hillage green and also had a listen to pink floyds remastered wish you were here. i got the tubes this morning so i had to listen at more conservative levels but this evening i was able to crank the volume up a little to more decent levels that i usually play at. all i can say is wow!!! i know i hark on about hearing more things that i`ve never heard before but this is startling! at the beginning of dave gilmours track "then i close my eyes", there`s sound effects that sounds like someone walking up to a car and opening and closing the car door then walking back. it`s a brilliant sound effect but with these tubes i also hear a group of people talking. i`ve never heard that on any other of the tube combinations i`ve had so far. and what i really like is there is a warmth and smoothness to the whole range of sounds as well as the extra clarity. the weight of everything is just right. this midband is just superb. there`s decent soundstage height too. dave gilmour is no longer 4ft tall!!! the bottom end is outrageous! bass goes lower than whale poo now! there`s a really gorgeous warmth to the bass too and there`s texture not only to bass notes but everything at every frequency. listening to steve hillages cd green has high frequencies like i`ve never heard before. this cd is amazing to check your high frequencies and it`s not a half bad recording considering it came out in 1978 i think. synthesiser notes just hang in their own space in the soundstage. this cd is so magical sounding. some of adeles tracks have such amazing bass drive. there`s a lot of piano work going on in her cd and the weight of each key is just perfect. these tubes appear to have brought extended highs and lows to the table with everything in between just right. i`ll go as far to say the soundstage is freaky! my brain computes that all the artists are there right in front of you in their own space but my eyes can`t see them. i`m also wondering if and how the sound might change as the tubes break in. i keep thinking that the sound just can`t get any better. that`s what i thought using the psvanes and then the jan philips 5751`s! and now using these ei elites it has completely changed the sound that comes out of my speakers. these tubes have been an upgrade! and a huge one! i still have those ge 5751wa`s on their way and they`re really supposed to be something quite special. also the black treasure kt88-z tubes are really supposed to be something that are currently on their way through the post to me.
i have to say too that not only is the amp a real cracker but the speakers i have are really something too! every change i`ve made, this combination lets that change be heard good or bad. mostly mindblowing in this case! the speakers are quad 12L2`s and they are real chameleons. they change sound with every change i make. amazing!
if i ever come across the telefunkens at a decent price i may well go for them. i think my tube rolling spending spree better come to an end before i have to sell the furniture to pay the bills! the journey to where i am soundwise on my system has been probably the most fun i`ve ever had! i so wish i`d discovered tube amplifiers years ago. i`ve been missing so much! and i still have a little tube rolling to do when the new ones get here too. i cannot imagine the sound getting any better! but as i say......i`ve said that one before! more than once!