Were psychedelics involved?? Have go with Caesar based on my experience as well. Stenheim with DarTZeel is somewhat better…at least what I have heard.
Stellavox Introduces a New State of the Art Amplifier IDEM Monoblocks
- Thread starter Steve Williams
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Entertaining thread. I am amused as competing dealers jump on and sling stuff. But hey, its Steves thread. Not Gideons. Steve created the plug for Audioarts.
Gobel speakers. High efficiency. 18 inch woofers. Isn't there more to it than efficiency. A friend of mine once said you need a welder to control 18 inch woofers. They may make a lot of noise. But to start and stop them takes enormous power. As in, thousands of watts. 200 won't do it.
I am told the same with my PAP. 40 watts works. Even 17 works. But many owners like 250 watts or more.
Gobel speakers. High efficiency. 18 inch woofers. Isn't there more to it than efficiency. A friend of mine once said you need a welder to control 18 inch woofers. They may make a lot of noise. But to start and stop them takes enormous power. As in, thousands of watts. 200 won't do it.
I am told the same with my PAP. 40 watts works. Even 17 works. But many owners like 250 watts or more.
I did the same with my Studer A80 playing master tapes and my current DAC. But my stereo decisions were conditioned mostly by the exceptional sound quality of many modern digital recordings.
I would probably not have changed if it was just to listen to digitized old analog recordings.
Come on, Spirit, fess up: you got off on the CH app.
So many alter kakers that own CH Precision tell me they love fiddling and changing the sound and controlling things via the app. That thing is truly a "killer app" that sells the product, like the spreadsheet popularizing computers or iTunes for apple music gadgets. Wait till the new ch marketing whiz, john giiolias from wilson fame, starts pushing that to the extremes. Kidding aside, since our tastes are somewhat similar (I absolutely LOVE Zu!) , I get where you are coming from , having heard a decent 2 way stenheim with CH.
Yet the best I have heard Stenheim with was with Einstein OTL - completely natural and transparent. Like no box speaker I have ever heard. I was in the room with a reviewer from the Analytical sound - Allan Quinn-Taffel or Taffel-Quinn, and he was not too enthused, though; the clown would rather listen to magico. Amazing how the more expert these guys become at audiophilia, the further they get away from realism and emotion of music...
It was also excellent with Engstrom at Axpona, but I prefer Einstein with that speaker. And as Morricab brings up, Dartzeel is pretty good: still sounds like solid state, but less obnoxious solid state.
Curious to hear these with Stellavox. I think Audioarts was a dealer and / or distributor of CH a while back, so Stella is possibly better, or maybe just different
Unless guys compare to other gear, we will never know - It will just remain a myth and guys will just ascend to it
Would love to hear them with Einstein OTLs, which I think sound fantastic (at least the ones from a decade ago do). Where did you get to hear that combo?Come on, Spirit, fess up: you got off on the CH app.
Kidding aside, since our tastes are somewhat similar (I absolutely LOVE Zu!) , I get where you are coming from , having heard a decent 2 way stenheim with CH.
Yet the best I have heard Stenheim with was with Einstein OTL - completely natural and transparent. Like no box speaker I have ever heard. I was in the room with a reviewer from the Analytical sound - Allan Quinn-Taffel or Taffel-Quinn, and he was not too enthused, though; the clown would rather listen to magico. Amazing how the more expert these guys become at audiophilia, the further they get away from realism and emotion of music...
It was also excellent with Engstrom at Axpona, but I prefer Einstein with that speaker. And as Morricab brings up, Dartzeel is pretty good: still sounds like solid state, but less obnoxious solid state.
Curious to hear these with Stellavox. I think Audioarts was a dealer and / or distributor of CH a while back, so Stella is possibly better, or maybe just different
Unless guys compare to other gear, we will never know - It will just remain a myth and guys will just ascend to it
One of my formative audio experiences was with Odeon Nr. 32 speakers with all Einstein gear. They had an Einstein tube cd player (this was around 2004 or 5) with an Einstein tube preamp and those 70 watt OTL monos. Shocking experience. The next year, the same Swiss dealer had the same Einstein gear with Living Voice Avatar OBX speakers...magic again. So, I have no doubt that you heard something special with the Stenheims and Einstein OTLs.
Having owned a couple of OTL amps in the past, there is something shocking about the transparency of the best ones (the Tenor OTLs were also like that as were my Silvawelds) that nothing I have heard can match. But, they leave a bit to be desired for tone and overall coherence. I still think a usable power single ended OTL could possibly be the ultimate amp. Only a couple of companies have ever attempted it.
I have not heard an Engstrom demo, yet, that has left me reaching for my checkbook. Very good overall but maybe a bit too controlled?? IDK...
I will also say that the biggest amp disappointment of my entire audio career was an Einstein hybrid integrated. It looked great, measured great (like what you would want for a "good sound") but sounded lifeless and mechanical...with kind of grayish tonality... One mistake of buying without hearing first based on the reputation of the other products I had heard.Come on, Spirit, fess up: you got off on the CH app.
Kidding aside, since our tastes are somewhat similar (I absolutely LOVE Zu!) , I get where you are coming from , having heard a decent 2 way stenheim with CH.
Yet the best I have heard Stenheim with was with Einstein OTL - completely natural and transparent. Like no box speaker I have ever heard. I was in the room with a reviewer from the Analytical sound - Allan Quinn-Taffel or Taffel-Quinn, and he was not too enthused, though; the clown would rather listen to magico. Amazing how the more expert these guys become at audiophilia, the further they get away from realism and emotion of music...
It was also excellent with Engstrom at Axpona, but I prefer Einstein with that speaker. And as Morricab brings up, Dartzeel is pretty good: still sounds like solid state, but less obnoxious solid state.
Curious to hear these with Stellavox. I think Audioarts was a dealer and / or distributor of CH a while back, so Stella is possibly better, or maybe just different
Unless guys compare to other gear, we will never know - It will just remain a myth and guys will just ascend to it
Yep Caesar, I'm high as a kite inhaling those fumes.Come on, Spirit, fess up: you got off on the CH app.
Kidding aside, since our tastes are somewhat similar (I absolutely LOVE Zu!) , I get where you are coming from , having heard a decent 2 way stenheim with CH.
Yet the best I have heard Stenheim with was with Einstein OTL - completely natural and transparent. Like no box speaker I have ever heard. I was in the room with a reviewer from the Analytical sound - Allan Quinn-Taffel or Taffel-Quinn, and he was not too enthused, though; the clown would rather listen to magico. Amazing how the more expert these guys become at audiophilia, the further they get away from realism and emotion of music...
It was also excellent with Engstrom at Axpona, but I prefer Einstein with that speaker. And as Morricab brings up, Dartzeel is pretty good: still sounds like solid state, but less obnoxious solid state.
Curious to hear these with Stellavox. I think Audioarts was a dealer and / or distributor of CH a while back, so Stella is possibly better, or maybe just different
Unless guys compare to other gear, we will never know - It will just remain a myth and guys will just ascend to it
Maybe of interest to you, the owner didn't talk about CH P adjustability, and didn't make any adjustments.
The sound was the epitome of natural resolution, fully flowing and tonally fleshed out.
Hard pressed to even start to identify any shortcomings, indeed I'm very aware of where my Nats-Zus fall short...and my TT...and my CDP (well, maybe not my digital, if one piece in my system punches well above its weight, it's my modded Eera Tentation).
Ha that would have been fun! I’ve only heard Stenheim with Dartzeel at the Munich show and it did not engage me but of course I would never judge based on show conditions. One of the worse systems I heard was the U2s combined with the Nagra mono blocks in the large room downstairs.
The best sound I have heard from CHP is when the speakers can be positioned so as not to require feedback to control the bass… with zero global feedback and careful matching of gain structure the amps will deliver an incredibly pure transparent sound….absolutely not dry or sterile.
However I can imagine that in a poorly matched and/or poorly set up system the results will be very different
Having heard the Stellavox amps, they clearly have SET qualities at their core. Combined with the advantages of no negative feedback, the transparency, intimacy, and soundstage produce an intimate connection to the music. I look forward to the comparison with your beloved ML3s.
I got to hear the Einstein / Stenheim at axpona, before Covid. It was put on by a dealer / distributor/ importer of both products (at least at that time/ Fidelous?).
Where as most systems are put together via well-marketed HI-FI sound, to the clueless and inexperienced audiophile, such as pairing Wilson with Pass alps or Sinus Fibrous with Audio research, this definitely sounded like a well-curated system a dealer put together for his own personal listening or for a very good friend and long-time customer. It had a musicality that few people who have been in the industry for a long time, and who have been acclimated to the Hi-Fi sound appreciate.
As for Engstrom, really hard to tell at a show. I believe it's a really special amp, better than 90 percent of tube amps out there. It reminded me why so many members here go with Lampizator, especially with their analytical solid state systems: really beautiful sound - but with severe lack of dynamics, at least on the $30K lampizator, and their lower models that I heard.
Does it flow better than SET? Would love to do some comparisons... In my ideal world, I don't want to compromise on realism of dynamics vs. realism of tonality. Real music has both! Shame so many guys need to choose one or the other...
With the right speaker and amp, you can have both. So want to hear that with Engstrom...
Just bustin your balls.
Every time I have heard CH, the tonality is WRONG! So some old dude is constantly messing with the app "to get it right". Glad it was right for you and you enjoyed it. I hope you can replicate this experience, both technically and psychologically!
This is why I choose Aries Cerat...amazing dynamics and truth of timbre... Not as otherworldly transparent as an Einstein OTL (nothing is except for some other OTLs) but more truthful with the tonality and better dynamics.
This is totally incorrect, with the DHT Lampis you just need to roll tubes and match with preamp to get highest dynamics possible through digital. If you use incorrect tubes it will sound flaccid - and everything in between.
been talking to Gideon and a pair of Stellavox IDEM mono blocks should be here in my room to compare to my darts in 3-4 weeks. might make an event of it. Gideon will be here to set them up properly. from all i'm hearing and reading, they go down my personal sonic compass road of being 'not there' without any gear signature. not tubes, not solid state. my view of the darts is similar so it ought to be a great and fun compare. in a system and room already tweaked for that sort of 'lack of' character amplification.
just the music.
did not think i was in the marketplace for amplifiers, but this has possibilities to go a little deeper. stay tuned.
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