First let me recommend a video to you, the Master Class in Audio - Session 5 - Featuring Peter Qvortrup, produced by Karthik Ramanathan.
This video offers a glimpse into Peter's extensive experience with all kinds of vintage and modern audio over the decades, and how he came to his current views about which performance characteristics in audio are crucially important for the reproduction of recordings in such a way that preserves their musical authenticity.
I found the content to be so interesting and illuminating that I am in the process of transcribing the video for notes to refer back to for my future articles about Peter and Audio Note (UK) at Jeff's Place and Positive Feedback.
Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player and Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier.
In speaking of my future articles about Peter and Audio Note (UK), I just placed the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player and Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier back into my primary music system in preparation for my upcoming feature article for Positive Feedback about the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player.
After spending time with the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player, I have come to realize how crucially important it is for music lovers to have a source that can play Red Book CDs in a musically convincing fashion, otherwise you'll be missing out on an incredible amount of important music that is available from the entirety of our recorded music canon of the last 140 years or so.
The idea is this: if you only listen to the relatively small number of recordings that audiophiles generally listen to, which represent less than 1% of our historic recorded music canon, you are missing out on a great deal of important music that I think you would truly enjoy, at least that has been my experience.
Sadly, many hifi systems that are designed with an audiophile style of presentation in mind, can only play that 1% of music that audiophiles enjoy so that it sounds musically convincing, while sounding rather amusical on the 99% of music recordings from the last 140 years of the recording arts, which is counterproductive if you are a music lover at heart that wants to explore more music.
Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier.
I introduce the importance of this point, as well as for high-quality Red Book CD playback for music lovers, in my most recent article for Positive Feedback about the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier (HERE). Check it out if you get a chance.
Pass Labs XP-17 phono preamplifier.
After the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player article for Positive Feedback, the next component in my review queue is the Pass Labs XP-17, which like the XP-12 line-level preamplifier, is also designed by Wayne Colburn at Pass Labs. After hearing how good the performance of the XP-12 was, I'm looking forward to checking out the XP-17.
Upcoming at Jeff's Place and Positive Feedback
I am looking forward to telling you more about Chris Young's (Jupiter Condenser) upcoming offerings of "Natural Tone and Vintage Sound" replica Sprague Bumblebee and Sprague Vitamin Q capacitors for guitarists and audio nuts, and a replica of the Western Electric WE16GA tinned-copper wire, in the not too distant future.
Leben CS-600 integrated amplifier coupling capacitors.
Chris and I have been talking about what PIO style of capacitors I might be able to modify my Leben CS-600 integrated amplifier with, as there are numerous reports from the field about how well Leben integrated amplifiers respond to changing out the stock coupling capacitors for more high-performance versions.
It is a trickier proposition than it sounds like it would be, as PIO capacitors are generally quite large in the values needed for the Leben, and there's limited space inside the CS-600 to work in, so that precludes using most PIOs.
I've had my CS-600 for more than a decade and it has been a delightful music-machine, but I think it would be fun to try and coax a wee bit more "natural & vintage sound" from it, don't you?
The Bumblebee caps aren't yet available in the 1.5 uF value of the stock Leben, but Chris is looking into whether we might be able to get some 1.5uF Vitamin Qs in a physical size that will fit inside the Leben.
Stay tuned on this one, as I'll be providing more information as it becomes available.
The Triode Lab 45.
In the near future I will be telling you more about the Triode Lab 45 Evo single-ended-triode integrated vacuum tube amplifier (in the photo above in gorgeous Ferrari red), that is hand crafted from the best materials and components by Frankie Ng in Toronto, Canada.
Frankie's SET amplifiers are bespoke designs that offer the customer a variety of options to best voice them for a customer's particular loudspeakers and tastes.
Triode Lab Evo integrated amplifier.
Frankie already has a Triode Lab 45 Evo built up, and he suggested sending it to me for a listen with my Altec loudspeakers, and then me providing Frankie feedback on how well it matches my Altecs, so he can optimize the Triode Lab 2A3 Evo integrated amplifier he is constructing to best match the "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers, in the same way he would optimize a Triode Lab amplifier for a customer's speakers and tastes (above).
I love single-ended amplifiers, and integrated amplifiers, so it is a real treat for me to be able to tell you about these currently available bespoke 45 and 2A3 SET integrated amplifiers, that will keep your audio fires burning in your imagination as we enter into those cold Winter months ahead!
The new First Watt F8 amplifier from Nelson Pass.
I just heard the First Watt F8 amplifier from Nelson Pass might be winging its way towards me sooner than I was expecting, so there will be more to read about that here in the near future as well.
First Watt SIT-3 stereo amplifier.
I've been listening to the First Watt SIT-3 for a while now and it always amazes me, so it is easy to understand the tremendous excitement around a new First Watt amplifier release.
More to come on the new First Watt F8 in the not too distant future!
Vintage Altec Corona 832A loudspeaker.
My immediate audio project is to put back together my Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers in my bedroom system after borrowing the Altec 802D compression drivers from them to try in my "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers.
Vintage Altec 8332A Corona loudspeakers.
I'm dedicating my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers to friend Yazaki-san, so I'm going to rewire them internally with vintage Western Electric WE16GA wire, as well as WE16GA speaker cables, in honor of Yazaki-san introducing us all to the charms of vintage Western Electric WE16GA tinned-copper wire that sparked a worldwide revolution in vintage tone wire!
As is typical with vintage loudspeaker cabinets, the wood-screw interface tends to loosen over time, so I'm installing some slightly oversize Philips flat-head wood screws to replace the original straight blade screws that they were put together with.
The Corona's have a V-shaped back, as they are designed to fit snugly into room corners, so that means there are twice as many screws in the backs as there are typically with Altec loudspeakers, so replacing all the screws is a bit of a chore!
I've been pondering for quite a while about upgrading the old Altec crossovers in the Coronas, but I haven't yet figured out what to do with that, so I'm still considering options.
I'll report back on rewiring internally with vintage Western Electric WE16GA in the future!
Leben HiF-Fi Stereo Company CS-300F Integrated Amplifier
I love high-quality integrated amplifiers, as they provide so much performance for the money, not to mention that you don't have separates scattered all over cluttering up your room.
I'm a big fan of EL84 integrated amplifiers, so when Yoshi-san (MuSon Project, Inc.) told me he would have a Leben CS-300F for me to try in the not too distant future, I got quite excited about that.
The design of the Leben CS-300F very similar to the popular CS-300X(S) EL84 integrated amplifier, but is optimized for the use of the NOS GE JAN-6197 and 17EW8 vacuum tubes, so I am very interested to hear how it compares to the usual EL84 integrated amplifier.
The Leben CS-300F is a physically small integrated amplifier that puts out 15 watts of power. It uses the unique NOS vacuum tube combination of "the GE JAN-6197 which was developed for use in computers, and we used this tube for audio purpose for the first time in the world. We purchased this tube many years ago and have been seeking for the best circuit design to bring the best performance out of this clean tube. For the driver circuit, we used a very high quality tube 17EW8 (Hi-FI), specially produced for Hi-Fi use by a major Japanese electronics manufacturer."
The next Leben production run will be in November, so I'll be hearing more about the Leben CS-300F before too long, and I'll look forward to telling you all about it.
Allnic T-1500 MK2 300B SET stereo integrated amplifier.
Also, at some point in the future I'll be giving a couple of Allnic Audio designs a listen, like the beautiful Allnic T-1500 MK2 300B SET stereo integrated amplifier in the photo above, and the upcoming successor phono stage to the Allnic H-1202 (photo below).
Allnic H-1202 phono stage.
I'm really looking forward to hearing the beautifully crafted Allnic components and telling you about them. 2021 is going to be a grand year for the SET integrated amplifiers!
There's more to tell you about regarding upcoming audio delights, but that'll have to wait for another post, as it is time for me to move on to other activities today.
As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
