I've got a lot of really interesting hifi things to tell you about, but it may take me a little longer than usual to fill you in on all the details, as the last few weeks have been difficult on the home front, and it is likely to be that way for a while longer. 

My 95 year old Mom had to go into the hospital ER to undergo an emergency surgery related to a terminal lung cancer diagnosis. Mom's never been a smoker, so it is likely adenocarcinoma, a form of lung cancer mainly found in non-smokers. 

As a result, Mom was unable to go back to her assisted living apartment, but her hospice care team helped me find a really nice skilled nursing group-home where she is getting the tender loving care she needs in this last chapter of her life. Mom's going through a particularly rough time right now, as you might imagine, and as she does, so do I.  

Now I'm in the process of getting all of Mom's things boxed up in her apartment, and arranging to get a few bigger things moved. With the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, facilities in lockdown, and it being the holiday season, it has been a solo operation so far, but I'm getting things done, and offered help with moving the big items is coming after the holidays. 

Triode Lab 45 EVO SET Integrated Amplifier

A more complete report on the Triode Lab 45 EVO SET integrated amplifier will be coming as I can get a little more time to write, but I can tell you the 45 EVO has been really impressive in my audio-visual system powering my big vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theater loudspeakers, while it is accumulating some additional run-in time. 

The 45 EVO has really opened up and smoothed out, providing an intoxicating mix of vividness of presentation, some of the best bass response and articulation I've ever come across, and with a big spacious immersive presentation that puts me into the films that I'm watching, if you know what I mean. 

Even with only 2 watts of output power, there is no lack of power while watching video, and the combination of SET allure with the big & sensitive A5 horns is rather spellbinding to say the least.

While I have no doubt that modern AV systems can be impressive, there's a certain magical illusion of life that is brought to the film experience in my AV system with my big vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers combined with the impressive Triode Lab 45 EVO integrated amplifier, an experience that I find highly irresistible and deeply addicting.   

I have found that my Leben RS-30EQ phono equalizer in my AV system doesn't have quite enough gain with the Soundsmith high-output Carmen Mk II phono cartridge that I have on my Thorens TD124 turntable to achieve satisfyingly live-like levels, like it can with the much more powerful Leben CS600 amplifier.

However, with the combination of the Soundsmith high-output Zephyr Mk III phono cartridge and the Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II phono preamp, I was getting plenty of gain in my "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers based system with the Triode Lab 45 EVO SET amp, and was getting all the volume I wanted. 

Sophia Electric 45 Power Tubes and 274B Aqua Rectifier

Many thanks to Sue and Richard at Sophia Electric for sending a pair of their beautiful 45 mesh plate power tubes and Aqua 274B rectifier to try in the Triode Lab 45 EVO SET integrated amplifier.

It took a couple of days for the new Sophia Electric tubes to settle-in in the 45 EVO, but now they have, and they are sounding very impressive. 

The Triode Lab 45 EVO SET amp is very sensitive to tube choices, making it easy to hear the differences among various tubes, and you'll want to spend some time optimizing your tube choices for your 45 EVO depending on your room and associated equipment characteristics. 

Frankie at Triode Labs sent the 45 EVO to me with the Emission Labs 45 mesh plate power tubes and a Psvane Acme 274B rectifier as his preferred vacuum tube choices, and they are a nice sounding combination.

While I'll give you more detailed impressions in time, my initial impression with the Sophia Electric 45 and 274B vacuum tubes is that they are more resolving and transparent, more vivid, more spacious, and more three-dimensional sounding in my AV system than are the Emission Labs 45 mesh plate power tubes and a Psvane Acme 274B rectifier.

The Sophia Electric 45 and 274B vacuum tubes make watching video more exciting and immersive as a result, than do the Emission Labs 45 mesh plate power tubes and Psvane Acme 274B rectifier.

However, the Emission Labs 45 mesh plate power tubes and a Psvane Acme 274B rectifier are very nice sounding as well, being smooth, kind of laid back, and natural sounding in my AV system.

I'll provide more detailed comparisons of the Sophia Electric 45 and 274B vacuum tubes to the Emission Labs 45 mesh plate power tubes and a Psvane Acme 274B rectifier in the future.

I also have a special treat coming for you as soon as I have time to write it up, as Richard has written up some very interesting commentary about 45 tubes that I think you'll all enjoy reading, and with more to come in a second part - thanks Richard!

First Watt F8 Stereo Amplifier and Pass Labs XP-17 Phono Equalizer

I'm in the process of getting ready for the Pass Labs XP-17 phono equalizer review for Positive Feedback, and have just installed the combination of the Pass Labs XP-17 phono equalizer, XP-12 line-preamplifier, and First Watt F8 amplifier into the "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers based system.

I actually haven't got the XP-17 phono pre setup yet, but I've been listening to the First Watt F8 amp with the Pass Labs XP-12 line-preamplifier, with the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II as a source. 

The First Watt F8 isn't fully run-in yet, but even at this preliminary point it sounds great (more details to come), so if you're thinking about getting an F8 you may want to get your order in before they run out of F8s.

I'll be comparing the First Watt F8 to the First Watt SIT-3 for some additional context, once the F8 gets some more run-in time on it, so stay tuned for that comparison in due time. 

Audio Note (UK)

The photo of my living room in the photo above was done with my entry level 2020 iPhone SE to give it that nice wide perspective. The photo makes it look like the gigantic Altecs and Westminsters are about thirty feet away from the listening couch, but in reality it is only about twelve feet or so, and the Altec's are nine feet apart in the photo. Wide angle perspective makes things look a little out of whack, but at least you can see everything in the system from the listening position in the photo. 

Somewhat embarrassingly, my beloved Westminsters are still shoved into the room corners, but I plan to get them out soon for a long overdue workout - really! 

I don't think it is any secret that I am mesmerized by the combination of the Audio Note (UK) kit in my main music system with the Duelund-Altec Project "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers. It is simply the most musical system I have ever experienced.

I can listen to nearly any recording and the Audio Note (UK) kit in combination with the Duelund-ized "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers just puts me in music heaven, allowing me to experience the music in profound ways I've only rarely experienced until now, and ways that are opening up new musical vistas for me to appreciate.   

So, from source to speaker cables, I now have a full complement of Audio Note (UK) equipment in my primary music system with the Duelund-ized "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers: Audio Note (UK) IO I MC phono cartridge, Audio Note (UK) AN-S4 step-up transformer, Audio Note (UK) AN-V silver interconnects, Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier, and Audio Note (UK) AN-SPe silver loudspeaker cables. The digital source is the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player, which is connected to the Oto with a Duelund DCA16GA interconnect terminated with Duelund plastic-free RCAs. Oops ... so not completely Audio Note (UK) with the addition of the Duelund interconnect. 

If you've been reading my introductory posts where I described how Peter Qvortrup and I have been discussing developing a new vocabulary for articulating the performance of audio components (HERE and HERE), part of that reason is being driven by this system, because I just can't articulate some of the amazing things this system is doing musically with our current audio vocabulary.

The usual audiophile reductionist approach to articulating performance fails me in some of the most important aspects of describing this system's performance. The way this system completely engages me into the musical performances from any recording period, whether they be from the acoustic horn recording era (1877 -1925), the electrical recording era (1925-1945), the magnetic recording era (1945-1977), and the contemporary digital recording era (mid-1970s to today), is truly extraordinary. 

I'm entering into new territory trying to articulate this aspect of audio performance, and perhaps a vocabulary that has a holistic focus will be more useful, but at this point I have no words ... you should be laughing at that, as you know I am rarely short on words.  

Peter has proposed a week-long workshop for us to come up with a better audio vocabulary than the one currently in use so we can articulately and fairly talk about this kind of performance, and until international travel allows for that, we are trading thoughts on the topic, which I am just getting started with telling you about. 

On a scale of one to ten, the musicality of this system would be 50-something, due to its engaging musical virtuosity on such a wide spectrum of source material. If you are a music lover that doesn't want to fool around with high-performance audio any more than necessary, you'll know how to proceed.

I have so much more I want to tell you about, but I've run out of time to write for the moment, so I'll have to sign off for now with a promise of more to come.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!