[Nomad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus I have heard several different KGSS amps at various meets and have never been overly impressed by them other than the one that Canman had at a NY meet a couple of years ago. [...] In all cases other then with Canman's amp, I felt the presentation was less than ideal with the Omega II's which tend already to be "matter of fact" in their presentation.

Hi Wayne. So what was so special about Canman's amp? Was it using a special component (Like Black Gates, etc)? Was it a slight modified design (Like the ones the polemic zzz made, although it seems like most of them did run into heating problems later on)?...

BTW I can't agree more regarding the date issue. I always find the American way very confusing.

Cheers

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomad Hi Wayne. So what was so special about Canman's amp?

I'm not sure, it could have been a parts thing. It just sounded really good. Or was it Grinch's amp? Now that I think about it, the KGSS that I'm remembering was the one at the October '03 New York Head-Fi meet. So as you can imagine, my memory of it is very fuzzy.

 

[Nomad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus I'm not sure, it could have been a parts thing. It just sounded really good. Or was it Grinch's amp? Now that I think about it, the KGSS that I'm remembering was the one at the October '03 New York Head-Fi meet. So as you can imagine, my memory of it is very fuzzy.

Thanks. I'll search for Canman, Grinch and KGSS. I'll take a look to that NY meet impressions!

Keep enjoying that V20-K1000 combo. Better value than the Orpheus if it's that good as you can drive some very nice speakers too. Cheers!

 

[sclamb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1690doc I started with the SRM 717 for my Omegas. I then considered the KGSS or the Egmont Signature. In the end I went with the Egmont. Several factors influenced the final choice: I had already bought an Rudistor amp and found them a pleasure to deal with and whilst the KGSS was cheaper, ordering from the USA had its drawbacks. I have not regretted my choice - to my ears the Omegas sound excellent through the Egmont.

Can you elaborate on the differences between the 717 and the Signature. The 717 is supposed to have better top and bottom end extension that the 007t (which some describe as rolled off at the top end), so I would be interested in your comparison.

Thanks.

Simon

 

[sclamb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker BTW- Please PM me with the British use of the word "fanny" because even though I can take an educated guess as to the slang meaning, I can't help thinking that it might be on the lines of the Caribbean expression "nanny". As in a mom saying: "daughter, don't forget to brush your teeth and wash your nanny".

I think you are on the right track there

 

[sclamb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus To get the best performance from the Egmont Signature, you should use CV181 tubes in the middle socket positions. Unfortunately, one of the tubes on each of the pairs that I have went bad, so to use the ones that I still have would be a mix and match situation. Instead, I've resorted to using standard issue Russian 6SN7 tubes in those positions (which is the way it is configured at Aaron's place now). So with a nice pair of CV181 tubes rolled in, it will sound even better than what Aaron or Danny have heard from it of late.

I was told by Rudi that a circuit board change was needed to accommodate the ECC32/CV181 tubes. I thought that this meant I could not then go back to the stock tubes. Are you saying that I can use either with that modification in place?

Simon

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sclamb I was told by Rudi that a circuit board change was needed to accommodate the ECC32/CV181 tubes. I thought that this meant I could not then go back to the stock tubes. Are you saying that I can use either with that modification in place? Simon

Hi Simon, I'm not sure that I know the answer to your question, and would obviously trust what Rudi is telling you. My amp was the first Egmont Signature that he built, and as I understand it, he built it to Nik's specifications. When I bought it from Nik, he (Nik) told me that it works best with CV181 tubes in the middle sockets and was designed for these tube types, but that I could use any 6SN7 tubes in those postions as well without harming the amp in any way. It just wouldn't sound as good as the rare and expensive CV181 tubes he had experimented with, some of which he sold to me.

From my experience in using the amp, I'd agree with Nik's assessment that it sounds best with the CV181 tubes, and hopefully Nik or Rudi will confirm that there is nothing "wrong" (as such) with using 6SN7 tubes (it still sounds good with them, but not quite as full and refined).

 

[immtbiker]

I hope there's nothing wrong with using 6sn7's in the middle. I've been using NOS 1940's tubes there for 2 months.

 

[sclamb]

Thanks for that, I will check with Rudi. Rudi did say that he felt it was warmer and slower with the CV181s in there as opposed to the standard tubes and, given the range of music that I listen to, he suggested staying with the standard ones, with a set of NOS tubes that I can use if I want to try them out.

If I get the mod included for the CV181s, and I can still revert back to the other tubes, then that would be good if I find the sound too warm, or I want to play some heavier music that needs more speed. I am sure for jazz, vocal and acoustic it will be superb, which is mostly what I listen to. However, sometimes Nightwish calls, and I do like metal in small doses.

Simon

 

[sclamb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker I hope there's nothing wrong with using 6sn7's in the middle. I've been using NOS 1940's tubes there for 2 months.

Rudi said you can use NOS tubes just fine. However, I believe the voltage (or something like that) for the ECC32/CV181 tubes is different and the circuit board of the Signature needs to be changed to accomodate them. I was questioning whether the NOS or standard tubes would work okay after that mod.

Simon

EDIT:

Just got this response from Rudi:

Hi Simon,
the VT181/ECC32 is a not revert mod, so after mod you can use only
VT181, to go back to 6SN7 some components must be replaced.

Not sure what this means if you have been successfully using 6sn7s in the middle sockets.