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Anybody ever hear/listen to an Audio by Van Alstine Ultravalve Tube Am
- Thread starter MadMonk
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MadMonk
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- Feb 21, 2008
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Hah! A lot to be said for that.Devil Doc said:
I did quite a bit of Van Alstine related reading over the weekend. I was vacillating over his Hybrid preamp and the T9. Pretty sure I'm going T9 with phono riaa.
I'm going to hook it up to my Solid State He-Man Leach Amp while I save up for the Ultravalve. Talked to Frank about biasing the Ultravalve, and it is a piece of cake as well as very safe. His philosophy on tube design, choosing tubes that will be compatible with that philosophy, and the idea that with proper engineering, we shouldn't need vintage tubes or tube rolling to get good sound is so practical and refreshing.
MadMonk
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OK. so it turns out I met a guy on base who has a T9. He brought it over and we hooked it to the Leach Amp feeding into my Thiel loudspeakers. It did flesh out the stage to larger in both width and depth. I thought it did a fine job portraying the music, but found the System's upper midrange and treble still a bit too bright. This preamp is brutally honest. Maybe too honest for the rest of the components in the system. One of his friends had a Audio Electronic Supply, by Cary, "Constellation" Preamp. We installed that, and I would say it was comparable to the AVA in performance, with a bit more coloration, warming the upper mids and highs. In this case, that was a very good thing. Both are musical. Neither pleased me as much as my old Counterpoint. 
A few days later, the fellow who had the Constellation gives me a call, giving me a lead on a company clearing them out at $750.00 for a $1500.00 preamp that I can live with. I should have it mid week! Now to finish saving up for the Amp.
A few days later, the fellow who had the Constellation gives me a call, giving me a lead on a company clearing them out at $750.00 for a $1500.00 preamp that I can live with. I should have it mid week! Now to finish saving up for the Amp.
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I never really got totally away from tubes, although have triamped and run the subs with Bridged Crown SS amps for a number of years.
Ran GM70s driven by 75th's on the midranges for the last 8 or ten years. As I have continued to lose higher frequencies in recent years the lushness of the GM70 75th mids began to get on my nerves.
I have sold the midrange amps and replaced them with a First Watt, S2 at 10 watts per channel, static inductor Transistor, only a single gain stage. The curves on it are almost identical to Single Ended Triodes.
Really like the sound. Still not all solid state, am running the top pair of drivers with 2A3's in a parafeed design driven by 76's.
Ran GM70s driven by 75th's on the midranges for the last 8 or ten years. As I have continued to lose higher frequencies in recent years the lushness of the GM70 75th mids began to get on my nerves.
I have sold the midrange amps and replaced them with a First Watt, S2 at 10 watts per channel, static inductor Transistor, only a single gain stage. The curves on it are almost identical to Single Ended Triodes.
Really like the sound. Still not all solid state, am running the top pair of drivers with 2A3's in a parafeed design driven by 76's.
BTW, upgraded to latest version of Jriver and it sounds better. Does screw up your playlists and libraries when you do so.MadMonk said: