So, about that amp off
Setup is
Lampizator -> Passive pre -> Copland (2x Mills resistor)/Kenwood (I'll explain later)
Lampizator -> Topping Tp60
Both SS amps don't have any resistor attached; I've even ordered extra pair of resistor and try some a/bing - no difference, so I bag the resistor and run bareback. Music consists of mostly progressive rock,baroque and some speedy metal.
Topping Tp60: a seriously built T-amp; TA2024 with 2x Toroidal transformer, not as sweet mids as the TA2020 counter part, but more linear at both ends of the spectrum. The amp got plenty of power (volume ~ 9 o'clock). Quite transparent, slightly lacking in refinement (human voice, guitar string resonating in the air, cello's texture) - nothing I can't live with for 160 quids. Soundstage isn't well-defined, neither is imaging - oh well ...
Kenwood KA 9100: I think this is one of the flagship receiver of Kenwood back in the day. It's among the first to have a stepped alps too. Some minor quibbles: it's old, it has sexy meter, high gain is a bit too much for the He-6 (occasional crackling). Also sometimes there's volume imbalance between Left and Right, cranking it up cure this - so I think the stepped alps isn't "restored" as claimed - I turn the volume up max - basically bypass the stepped, and use my own passive preamp.
The sound is interesting. Without the passive pre it's a bit harsh and dry - again I'm blaming the 30 years old stepped alps. With the passive it's much better. The bass is like holy crap, the impact is the best among three amp. Spacious sounding, not closed in like the Tp60 or the Emotiva I had previously. Treble is grainy - strangely pushing the High pass filter fix this, however that puts a veil over the sound.
The fun stuff is the loudness button, when flipped on, it practically turns the He-6 into a LCD2-like presentation, without the butter mid of course. Maybe good for late night low listening volume, but I can't cope with the squashed soundstage.
If I had found this before the Copland, I think I could have lived with it, as the sq for the price is hard to beat - 2 speakers terminals too!.
Copland CTA 505 with ancient crappy tubes. Well what can I say? Good! Best! Epic win! The most refined sounding of the trio. The funny thing is I don't know what Copland did to this amp, but Ultralinear and Triode mode sounds 99% the same - even same volume too (triode = 35W; linear = 70W). I guess that's why there's no such knob on the 5k CTA 506. Back to the sound, let's just say it's natural and involving - very linear too, nothing roll off/muddy/rose-tinted here, although bass is a bit softer than the KA 9100. Treble is really nice, you can literally feel the plucking and the resonance of the guitar string. Also it's dead silent, even with the passive pre turned to max. However, as with all passive pre - cable longer than 1m cause microphonic/noise, and dynamic is reduced.
I guess the Tp60, while being my trusty companion for awhile, will have to go. I really dig the p/p and the value - it evens got 2 input to A/B dac to boot!. But having 3 amps is excessive and not missus-friendly.
I'm still lukewarm about the Kenwood 9100. I really dig the meter, but the minor annoyance of a 30 years old receiver gets to me sometimes. Now if I can just borrow a Hd800 to test the headphone out - I may be convinced to keep it. The Copland will be with me for a long time - as I plan to acquire some 2A3/845/300B/211 SET to try and compare
. Still if you can find a monster receiver with no flaw (and low/adjustable gain), that could be the best cost effective solution for the He-6, much more aesthetically pleasing than anything modern also. Wonder what happened to all the perfect Pioneer Sx-1980/Sansui dual mono in the UK :<
Coming up next in a month would be Lynx Hilo vs Benchmark Dac2 vs Lampizator with the He-6. Now? back to work I guess.
The bottom line is if anyone is looking for a budget, compact amp to drive the He-6, feel free to contact me
. I'll put the Tp60 up for sale next week when I got the time. Quite the bang for your buck if you're not willing to deal with 25kg scratchy vintage receiver.