Mike, have you tried the 300bs yet? I prefer the 101d replicas you are using on orchestral, for detail, dynamics, and stage, but they are a bit rougher for vocals and chamber where 300b (or 45s might sound better).
The GG takes a while to get going because of the caps in the supply (possibly even 6 months )
At the levels you play at, you need to get the WE original 274b, 101d, and 300b
The following statement is praise & complimentary; said in advance in case someone tries to twist the good intentions:
Are you truly one person that is getting all these components set-up properly & evaluated, or do you split into 3 or more people when alone with your equipment?
zz.
Bravo Mike! - but perhaps you should have taken a full month off to drt up and listen to the new equipment. Did you have any special reason to buy the SE GG, not the balanced one?
Mike, can I ask what the small Dartzeel box is on the bottom shelf under the GG?
I do have a set of the Psvane WE 300b replicas sitting unused so far, waiting for break in to reach a plateau after 500 hours (where it's said the changes start to come slower) where I can then judge what tubes I most like. as I'm a guy who typically chooses linearity first, and mostly avoids colorations, I expect the 101d's will be my long term choice, but I'm open to wherever my ears lead me. and tastes can change to what moves you. I think 300b's have to considered for a product like this.
I would say that vocals and chamber music are stunning with the 101d's.....but that is relative to my previous references from the dsd files. maybe the 300b's will give me a new reference.
once I find the 'presentation' I prefer I may do the big boy 'for real' WE's. I've thought about it, but I've likely got to take a deep breath and just enjoy what I've got for a while.
Congrats! Does your GG have PCM? If have PCM, how does it compare to Trinity?
GG definitely needs break in. The sound is ordinary The first day I got GG. However, it improves tremendously when the capacitors start breaking in.
Why is the fabric not stretched? There are a quite few wrinkles. Is there some special reason to do that?
Hi AC, I was chatting with Bill Ying of shun mook (he is very responsive on email) and he said that the resonators have changed a lot over the years and he has added more weight and changed the size of the diamond tip.
The other thing is I recently bought a shun mook rca. Greg baron of UHA tape deck fame had mentioned in a post on this forum that he preferred it to a 18k RCA he had. I initially found the RCa weird but then realized it was more natural than the others I have been trying. It has excellent timbre, more realism. On details it will be moderate and won't have SOTA bass. But once I locked on to the realism, I can't now add in others I have demoed which include some of most expensive brands, even if they were gifted to me free. It is made from original western electric cables, looks messy, and comes only in 7 and 14 feet lengths
no, my GG is dsd only. so anything I say about the level of PCM playback would just be a guess. I did briefly hear PCM on Bruce's Bal GG in his studio a few weeks ago. it certainly sounded quite good, but it's an unfamiliar system and unfamiliar recording. I also heard PCM on the Bal GG at RMAF. again; sounded quite good.
no doubt. it has beauty and tone from the beginning but the detail, openness, and agility/speed take time. it's a bit opaque and then.......it's not.
Please tell me what I'm missing.
First, Elberoth aquires a GG and Trinity DACs
Then Audiocrack.
Now Mike.
Three top guys, running two purported SOTA DACs, one Euros 40k, the other Euros 15k-20k.
One for DSD, one PCM.
Are we saying a SOTA DAC can only do one or the other and therefore if you want to run multiple native formats, one must run multiple DACs?
Please tell me what I'm missing.
First, Elberoth aquires a GG and Trinity DACs
Then Audiocrack.
Now Mike.
Three top guys, running two purported SOTA DACs, one Euros 40k, the other Euros 15k-20k.
One for DSD, one PCM.
Are we saying a SOTA DAC can only do one or the other and therefore if you want to run multiple native formats, one must run multiple DACs?
I do have a set of the Psvane WE 300b replicas sitting unused so far, waiting for break in to reach a plateau after 500 hours (where it's said the changes start to come slower) where I can then judge what tubes I most like. as I'm a guy who typically chooses linearity first, and mostly avoids colorations, I expect the 101d's will be my long term choice, but I'm open to wherever my ears lead me. and tastes can change to what moves you. I think 300b's have to considered for a product like this.
I would say that vocals and chamber music are stunning with the 101d's.....but that is relative to my previous references from the dsd files. maybe the 300b's will give me a new reference.
once I find the 'presentation' I prefer I may do the big boy 'for real' WE's. I've thought about it, but I've likely got to take a deep breath and just enjoy what I've got for a while.
Vintage 101ds need not be so expensive Mike:yes; turns out one week has not been enough time to sort through all the issues.....but I'm not complaining....I'm loving every minute of it!
yes; as Adam mentioned, one big reason for the SE version is the dart pre is mostly SE; I'm using the one XLR on the dart pre for the Trinity which is a balance design and only outputs XLR. the new dart pre no longer uses a transformer for it's XLR input or output and it sounds great.....as good as the SE inputs.
but there are other reasons for me preferring the SE version. it's $4000 cheaper to begin with. and if I did want to buy a set of big boy 'real deal' WE tubes.....it would be 'only' $10k for the SE set of 2 instead of $20k for a set of 4.
but also I'm of the belief that SE circuits sound better generally.....assuming a great preamp and a system with lots of dynamic energy and.....super low noise floor. there is simply less 'stuff' in the signal path and it's simpler.
I think that SE circuits 'can have' more nuance and subtlety. are those things true about the GG SE compared to Balanced? I have no idea.
add it all up and SE seemed right for me.
I absolutely 'get' the attraction of the Balanced GG with it's more weight and authoritative presentation, and better ability to drive an amplifier directly. those are simply not needs for me. I got the preamp of my dreams and all the weight and authority in my system already.
Mike
Careful with those tubes cuz it can be like playing the slots. Sooner or later (hopefully much later) you turn on your system and a tube can go. You only pray it ain't one of those WE
I also agree with you about SE vs balanced.
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