Kind regards and salutations to all

spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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I visited The General on Saturday, joined by Bill, Ked and Larry.
It was a bit of a unique experience, our host is truly one of a kind.
Unfortunately I’m not the greatest classical aficionado in the world, so couldn’t quite gel with all the music played.
I learnt one pivotal thing, and that is despite the stellar Vyger/Mayers/Magmas/Pnoes sound that is a true larger than life experience, it’s not for me, and indeed horns full stop aren’t for me.
I’ve now heard Cessaro Liszts 3x, AG Duos dozens of times, AG Trios, WE once, Cessaro Gammas at Munich, now the Pnoes (twice, at a show and here).
And despite so much speaking to me, in the final analysis they don’t fully talk to me on the genres I enjoy.
I can only thank our host for the kind invite, he’s inadvertently put me out of my misery chasing the promise and potential of horns in my life that I’m pretty certain now won’t ever get realised.
 

bonzo75

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I need to further break down the system by separating the source from the amps/speaker, but here is an impression from the first two visits

These sound completely different from the sound at Munich (which was bad, Brad described it accurately that at Munich the bass came with a whump) and the 2016 sound at Marriott was much worse. However, this room was fantastic, and nothing similar. We first heard with NAT Magma (on its 40w triode setting) and then the Thomas Mayer 1w 46 valves driven by 46. It sounded good with both, the higher power of the NAT made the bass a bit over but with the Mayer, the bass was more perfectly integrated. The NAT pressurized a bit too much to give too forward a soundstage, the room would have to be much larger for the NATs; with the Mayer, the noise floor dropped, the speakers disappeared, and the distance to stage seemed more normal. I can therefore understand why the bass whump happened in Munich with the 100w Ypsilon hybrid.

These were the fastest and most liquid speakers I heard across violin concertos. The inflections and nuances were better with the Mayer than the NAT, as was the rise and fall of the orchestra. You could hear minute details with great tone of woodwinds, brass, violins, cello, all individual inflections being heard and appreciated with excellent tone.

The one key point is that the analog set up and the recordings were the best I have heard, so the source is far beyond what I have ever experienced before in any system. The General has 250 - 300k vinyl, extremely clean pressings of the best performances and recordings, and these were playing off a Vyger Indian Signature with the Top Wing Red Sparrow into a Mayer 10Y, and he probably knows more about analog set ups than anyone I have met. He is also a bit bonkers, and at times buys 30 pressings and puts 29 in the skip, to find that one amazing press. These guys are working 16 hours a day understanding every pressing, performance, conductor, that exists. They have mastered the cleaning cycles at times going up to 40 minutes in KL Audio to get the dirt out of the groove.

I heard many monos across the two weeks, some of the records had grooves engineered by hand to make each groove a different size to fit the dynamics of the passage. Some had the limitter of 0 db taken off to allow for a smoother flow of music across the dynamic range (the General can explain the tehcnicalities better).

During the second visit, we replaced the Top Wing with MSL. The MSL seemed slower and had a more cart color as compared to the Top Wing

Also the speakers had mods that made them different from what was at Munich.

This was a fanatically purist approach with no caps and resistors in the path, no crossover, and a coreless cartridge. Because the speakers are so tall and vertical, unlike most other horns they do give that planar like feeling of a large tall stage and transparency. When we compared a New World Symphony Original to the Speakers Corner reissue, the system collapsed with the reissue, as it did with the Fone. The system is set to be driven by the purest of recordings, so emphasis on the source more than one I have encountered, or envisaged. It just shows the increase in range in the possibilities of analog.

Also, I expect in the newer, much bigger room the General is building, the soundstage could be mahoosive as these will spread out more. A bit like the Apogee Grands the General doesn't like ;)

My main reason for visiting the General the second time around was just so that I could listen to Larry (astrotoy) and him discuss music and records...these chances don't come often - a person with 15k Decca and EMIs discussing with a person with 300k of all performances mainstream or otherwise. Both with deep knowledge of the music being played. I actually postponed another audiophile trip where I could have learned about new gear just so that I could be a fly on wall this Saturday.
 

spiritofmusic

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Ked, good luck differentiating what we heard re source v amps/spkrs.
This system is as close to as simple you can imagine.
Highly accurate analog source fully isolated from the environment, truly pure amplification, and full range spkrs w no crossover.
Just how are you going to ascertain what part of what we heard was more down to the Vyger or more down to the Pnoes?
 

bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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Ked, good luck differentiating what we heard re source v amps/spkrs.
This system is as close to as simple you can imagine.
Highly accurate analog source fully isolated from the environment, truly pure amplification, and full range spkrs w no crossover.
Just how are you going to ascertain what part of what we heard was more down to the Vyger or more down to the Pnoes?

Ask him to play one of his other TTs with a pivoted arm and cart. More average recordings.
 

spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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You’re going back a third time, to actively ask The General to play less stellar lps thru a worse tt than the Vyger.
Gosh, you really know how to have a good time .
 

Audiophile Bill

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Mar 23, 2015
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Back from the General’s system today. The General has a new very special dual differential Mayer phono stage and quad chassis 211 Mayer amps (in addition to his plethora of other statement Mayer gear).

I wasn’t sure what I would hear today but the system has gone up yet another level. The noise level, ultra resolution, delicacy and timbral fidelity are simply the best I ever heard anywhere. The amount of times the General would ask me a question and I was totally lost in the music is just a monumental testament to what he has achieved here. That and the best vinyl recordings ever.

The General has a new dual differential Mayer preamp arriving soon - can’t wait to hear what is going to happen next...
 

Ron Resnick

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What an amazing experience that must have been, Bill!
 

Tango

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Back from the General’s system today. The General has a new very special dual differential Mayer phono stage and quad chassis 211 Mayer amps (in addition to his plethora of other statement Mayer gear).

I wasn’t sure what I would hear today but the system has gone up yet another level. The noise level, ultra resolution, delicacy and timbral fidelity are simply the best I ever heard anywhere. The amount of times the General would ask me a question and I was totally lost in the music is just a monumental testament to what he has achieved here. That and the best vinyl recordings ever.

The General has a new dual differential Mayer preamp arriving soon - can’t wait to hear what is going to happen next...

Sublime hardwares and softwares. Must be an audiophile nirvana. Some music video please General.
I totally enjoyed when the General posted music video in Lady Chau thread.

Kindest regards,
Tang
 

Audiophile Bill

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It was indeed - I am so fortunate to live close to the General.

I hadn’t visited for some time and had somewhat forgotten just what league he was playing in with his system. The one trait that I came away with that is imho the most critical is the ability to immediately disconnect the listener from the system and deliver full absorption into the music.
 
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Audiophile Bill

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Hi Tang,

If you ever decide at some point to upgrade any of your amplification, I think you would be wise to try and audition the Mayer kit for sure. It is IMO on a different level.
 

Tango

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Hi Tang,

If you ever decide at some point to upgrade any of your amplification, I think you would be wise to try and audition the Mayer kit for sure. It is IMO on a different level.

You are talking the 845 four chassis? What preamp the General is using with this amp may I ask.

Kind regards,
Tang
 

Audiophile Bill

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Hey Tang,

I heard his new 211 4 chassis but his 211 6 chassis is arriving soon so that will be worth hearing. The exact choice of tubes will ultimately depend whether you keep your Cessaro or end with vintage cinema horns. I prefer his 46 monoblocks for my classical predilection and his uber efficient (116db+) horns but the output of those will clearly not be optimal for most less efficient horns hence needing something with more grunt. You have many choices but in honesty I believe that Mayer is top of the tree. Best discuss with General depending what speakers you want to drive in the end.

General is using the Mayer 2 chassis 10Y preamp but has the dual differential version of the 10Y arriving shortly. That 10Y preamp is extremely low noise, very textured, ultimate tone and intimacy, nicely layered / positioned staging. Built to outlast the owner with finest transformers and components.

Mayer is the Rolls Royce of amps imho - for sure these would be my first choice given your budget and system level.
 

astrotoy

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Glad to hear about the improvements in the General's equipment. Wish I could have joined you all again. I didn't realize that you all were the same people so active on WBF and other forums. In addition to the equipment, two things that make the listening experience at the General's so special.

First, is his collection of vinyl. There are so many special recordings, both stereo and mono, from such great artists. Classical is my main interest and General's collection is more than special - with multiple copies of some of the rarest and best records.
Second, is his space. I've have rarely been to residences in the UK which have as large a space for the music to expand out. I think all but the General's either have the name "Palace" attached to them or they are now owned by the National Trust. They don't have stereo systems in their sitting rooms.

Hope to be able to see you all again on my next trip to the UK in June.

Larry
 
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Audiophile Bill

Well-Known Member
Mar 23, 2015
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675
Glad to hear about the improvements in the General's equipment. Wish I could have joined you all again. I didn't realize that you all were the same people so active on WBF and other forums. In addition to the equipment, two things that make the listening experience at the General's so special.

First, is his collection of vinyl. There are so many special recordings, both stereo and mono, from such great artists. Classical is my main interest and General's collection is more than special - with multiple copies of some of the rarest and best records.
Second, is his space. I've have rarely been to residences in the UK which have as large a space for the music to expand out. I think all but the General's either have the name "Palace" attached to them or they are now owned by the National Trust. They don't have stereo systems in their sitting rooms.

Hope to be able to see you all again on my next trip to the UK in June.

Larry

Hi Larry,

Lol at your comment about the National Trust.
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,604
5,413
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E. England
General, I see news of the AER Excenter open baffle horns using the BD3 drivers and dedicated sub.

Can you fill in a bit more info on these?

I'm a little confused that the quoted price of €60k only includes one sub, and the BD3 drivers, not the BD4 ones used in the Pnoes.

At that price, other than size considerations, why would one buy these when the Pnoes can be had for not much more.
 

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