[jonchard]

Exactly.

Thats the point you are missing. That was not a conversation of SYNERGY. It was a conversation of tube TRAITS. TRAITS are common to all hardware. Synergy is a perfect match. Not sure why you are missing the distinction.

 

[steve468]

I apologize for the Mk1 question, but if anyone has experience replacing the fuse in a Mk1, I’d appreciate a PM (or put it here for the rest of us). As I understand it, I have to open the PS up to replace the fuse.

I recently upgraded the fuse in my Holo May to a Purple and was genuinely surprised by the impact (it stretched both the width and the depth and I think added a little bit of thwap) and so I’m looking to see what the upgrade does at the amp level. Is there any reason why the fuse would change between the Mk1 and Mk2? I know that for Mk1 I’m going to have to open the power supply up, while the Mk2 fuse is near the IEC inlet.

You can just replace the fuse at the IEC inlet in the MK1 as well. I have a 2.5a SB (that’s the fuse rating for NA voltage) SR purple fuse in that slot. That’s where the power comes in, so that’s the best fuse to change I think. I think the change was subtle - but worthwhile, I guess.

There’s another fuse in the power supply strictly for the 300B, and it PROBABLY doesn’t affect the sound as much. But hey, why not try it?

 

[steve468]

Soundstage is equal. Going back and forth nothing stood out as better. Width, depth, layering, space between instruments and vocals all sounded equal. The Takatsuki's felt more intimate at first but after about 3 hours they opened up and have gotten steadily better. Will soundstage improve more, only time will tell.

Placement of sounds, the Takatsuki's eek out a win. This is evident when listening to the Akira soundtrack where on many tracks voices and sounds pan left to right, or right to left coming from far away and spanning right to left right behind you or pinpoint sounds randomly within the stage.

In my experience the soundstage of the Taks didn't get WIDER, or DEEPER, but instead filled in more, if that makes sense. The tubes developed a more natural, realistic sense of space, being better able to give a feeling of the room. Like a better atmosphere for the music. I don't know if that makes any sense.

Glad you're enjoying them, and I'm glad there's FINALLY a direct comparison of Elrogs and Taks. Very interesting!

 

[idairyou]

Thank you for your thoughts! Is one pair more brightly presented than the other?

The Takatsuki's have more detail, without sounding brighter than the Elrogs and giving you more detail without sounding brighter is a pretty thin line not to cross. You may want to take my opinion on brightness cautiously as I am not as sensitive to higher frequency ranges as others on the boards. It does not cause me the same kind of negative comfort levels I've heard people describe here on head-fi.

 

[jonchard]

The Takatsuki's have more detail, without sounding brighter than the Elrogs and giving you more detail without sounding brighter is a pretty thin line not to cross. You may want to take my opinion on brightness cautiously as I am not as sensitive to higher frequency ranges as others on the boards. It does not cause me the same kind of negative comfort levels I've heard people describe here on head-fi.

Once its gets shouty it does my nut in! It was a concern with the MO versions of Elrog. Im happy to say i still love them as much as day1. Now i have to get my mits on Taks and WE's! An obsessive NEED to know But it wont happen for some time. I have conflicting hobbies!!

 

[idairyou]

Would you say ER are more musical / warm and sweet compared to Taks being more reference and extended? How would you rate sub and bass dynamics compared to ER? I like to feel the impact down low

Yes, the Elrog's are slightly warmer, and you can take away from my impressions that the Takatsuki's are more reference.

To me the reference sound only becomes a problem when a piece of gear tries to shove some frequency target so far down your throat that it gets in the way of the music.

Does that mean the Takatsuki's sound less tuby or musical/euphonic. No, they do not, they are very tuby and still musical/euphonic.

Just because I feel the Takatsuki's bass is more controlled does not mean it is more polite. Still, plenty of dynamics and impact. You are still going to feel the thunder and here all the details from the kick drum.

 

[dynamic headphones]

Thats the point you are missing. That was not a conversation of SYNERGY. It was a conversation of tube TRAITS. TRAITS are common to all hardware. Synergy is a perfect match. Not sure why you are missing the distinction.

maybe this is all in our imagination...

 

[ArkNerevar]

maybe this is all just in our imagination...

Every time I hear something like that it makes me think of the comment by "he who shall not be named" in that so-called audio science site that tube amps are just for senile old people being hypnotized by the bright lights.

 

[jonchard]

maybe this is all in our imagination...

Have you missed a part of the conversation? I'm not sure where i have suggested its in ANYONE's imagination ... the question was raised about the meaning of someone else's comments... and the point HE was trying to get across not about system synergy!

 

[krude]

maybe this is all in our imagination...

Technically you would be correct

 

[krude]

Every time I hear something like that it makes me think of the comment by "he who shall not be named" in that so-called audio science site that tube amps are just for senile old people being hypnotized by the bright lights.

Please not him. His minions will storm our humble abode and call us out on our stupidity

 

[krude]

Today rocking Utopia

WE
KenRad 7193
2x Sylvania 22DE4
2x Raytheon Copper

Listening to some hard electronica. The detail and staging is spectacular. It walks the line of too sharp ... just below that line. Synth textures are so sharp you can cut yourself. 100% detail, speed. But with all that still musical and fully engrosing. It doesn't get much better. I love how versatile this amp is

Icicle - Arrows is a very nicely produced track that works great on headphones if anyone wants to try something different.

 

[jamato8]

Why is no one doing some experimentation with two different types of driver tubes? One type in the front and electrically matched but a different brand in the rear.

 

[krude]

Why is no one doing some experimentation with two different types of driver tubes? One type in the front and electrically matched but a different brand in the rear.

It will happen, its a matter of time for me

 

[RobertSM]

Today rocking Utopia

WE
KenRad 7193
2x Sylvania 22DE4
2x Rayheon Copper

Listening to some hard electronica. The detail and staging is spectacular. It walks the line of too sharp ... just below that line. Synth textures are so sharp you can cut yourself. 100% detail, speed. But with all that still musical and fully engrosing. It doesn't get much better. I love how versatile this amp is

I definitely agree.

I'm very curious as to looking at the power supply section one day. Opeining it up to see for myself. I'm no electrical engineer but I hazard a guess that the filtering banks of capacitors are allowing for large levels of power storage and thus allowing for plenty of reserves for instantaneous current. It's that instantaneous current demand that lasts for only milliseconds that allows the amp to keep pace during dynamic transients in music. People ask if the Cayin HA-300B MKII is slow or hobbled due to being a tube rectified amp. On the contrary the MK2 is snappy and fast and has never shown any signs of the usual voltage sag some lesser amps may exhibit.