[Rhamnetin]

Funny how all of us were all seduced by the Utopia short lived romance/performance. The soundstage did me in on the Utopia.

Not me. I was skeptical since it's only a dynamic, and for $4k at that. Went in expecting it to be totally outclassed by a good SR-009 system, left with that impression each time.

 

[336881]

LOL. But I'm done buying gear, this time for sure, I promise!

My guy is selling his Stax dma-x2. Really he wants to trade for Sony Reference but if you had $15k to dangle in front of him I bet he would bite. That would be the ultimate. An audio setup driven by Stax's 2 best amps. Probably the best amps ever made.

MOAR POWER!!!

 

[mulveling]

My guy is selling his Stax dma-x2. Really he wants to trade for Sony Reference but if you had $15k to dangle in front of him I bet he would bite. That would be the ultimate. An audio setup driven by Stax's 2 best amps. Probably the best amps ever made.

MOAR POWER!!!

I've been good about not shaking up the 2ch for several months now, and everything gels together beautifully. I'd started neglecting it slightly with all the excitement of a new T2, but this weekend I was really back in awe of it again - so happy with what I've put together there.

The Stax amps look wicked cool, but I feel no desire to rock the boat, now that perfect balance has been achieved. Plus my current amps are covered by warranty - and their 280 tube Watts into 96dB/Watt speakers is beyond plenty! Vinyl records had been my main expense until the T2 fever hit. It needs to go back to vinyl again.

 

[336881]

I've been good about not shaking up the 2ch for several months now, and everything gels together beautifully. I'd started neglecting it slightly with all the excitement of a new T2, but this weekend I was really back in awe of it again - so happy with what I've put together there.

The Stax amps look wicked cool, but I feel no desire to rock the boat, now that perfect balance has been achieved. Plus my current amps are covered by warranty - and their 280 tube Watts into 96dB/Watt speakers is beyond plenty! Vinyl records had been my main expense until the T2 fever hit. It needs to go back to vinyl again.

Just messing with ya. Things have been gelling nicely for me as well. My last piece of gear bought has been almost a year ago. I have been into media more as well, mfsl gold cd's in particular.

I did see a complete Sony Reference system on Audiogon for $70k though that made my heart skip a beat. It did not include R10's but that is all that was missing.

 

[mulveling]

I put in some near-NOS Mullard xf3 (British) for a small 1st session. Very nice! Sounds a bit smoother and more refined this way, but to be honest the Russian/New Sensor "Mullards" did an outstanding job too. Think I prefer the British tubes, but could be happy either way; the T2 shines through regardless. I know the xf2 make is supposed to better, but don't have those on hand anymore. Still have some early 60's Amperex/Holland to try later - they're a bit more neutral and detailed, less warm vs. any of the British EL34. The warmth seems to works nicely with T2, though. I felt these same xf3 were perhaps a bit too warm & smooth in the BHSE.

I guess so far I've been leaning towards things that tweak the sound "warmer" on the T2: 009S over 009, and British Mullard tubes.

Also added an AudioQuest Niagara 1000 w/ Thunder cord to the system, but honestly haven't heard much of a difference from that yet. Mainly, I wanted the "non-sacrificial" surge protection for the T2 and turntable. The more likely possibility I have for another performance jump is when the Shelter Accord cartridge arrives - based on my experience with the Ortofon/Shelter lines it should be notably more detailed and much lower in noise floor versus the Cadenza Bronze.

Still getting some great "OMG" moments from this amp!

 

[Whitigir]

Furman iT15 References ? Or 20

 

[nepherte]

@mulveling that chassis looks really classy. All I can think right now is: damn that would look good on my shelf Job well done, @georgep!

 

[HugoFreire]

Congrats! Just received mine from Kerry yesterday.

Congrats!
How do you like the sound?
Kerry is building me one too.
Cheers!

 

[jigster]

Congrats!
How do you like the sound?
Kerry is building me one too.
Cheers!

Fantastic!
It spanked my O2 and woke it up immediately!
The build quality is excellent.
Kerry is quick with responses, accommodating and very particular about getting it perfect.. can't go wrong getting him to build.
Super responsible builder. Glad I got him to build mine... though I'm sure there are others who are as good but I don't have another load of cash to burn...
Eating cup noodles for the next millennia...
This amp's going to the grave with me.

 

[HugoFreire]

Fantastic!
It spanked my O2 and woke it up immediately!
The build quality is excellent.
Kerry is quick with responses, accommodating and very particular about getting it perfect.. can't go wrong getting him to build.
Super responsible builder. Glad I got him to build mine... though I'm sure there are others who are as good but I don't have another load of cash to burn...
Eating cup noodles for the next millennia...
This amp's going to the grave with me.

I'm glad you like it!! And yes, Kerry is awesome. I can't wait for my unit!

 

[Whitigir]

Fantastic!
It spanked my O2 and woke it up immediately!
The build quality is excellent.
Kerry is quick with responses, accommodating and very particular about getting it perfect.. can't go wrong getting him to build.
Super responsible builder. Glad I got him to build mine... though I'm sure there are others who are as good but I don't have another load of cash to burn...
Eating cup noodles for the next millennia...
This amp's going to the grave with me.

How hot does it get ?

 

[mulveling]

A T2 is the only amp I've heard truly wake up an O2. I don't have them anymore, though; I might've kept 'em if I'd planned on getting a T2 at that time.
Man, seeing those BugelBoy 6DJ8 in that excellent Kerry build reminds me there's a whole world of input tube rolling to explore. @Whitigir - any recommendations here? I have a couple of NOS variants floating around, but nothing special. Still running the Japanese 7DJ8 georgep shipped the amp with - no complaints at all about their sound...until I find better!

For EL34, I'm now liking the Holland brown base xf4/xf5 EL34 best so far. Better than the British Mullard xf3, which just give up a little bit too much energy up top. The Hollands are just so well balanced from top to bottom, superbly detailed, neutral, musical, and smooth. But the Russian Mullards are still great for the money and well balanced; really impressive - mostly it's just noticeable that they're a little less smooth versus the Hollands. The other downside of the Hollands, besides price/sourcing, is that those brown-bases clash with the beautiful uniform blackness of the T2!

This amp is still almost life-changing good. The magic simply doesn't wear off. @georgep

 

[Whitigir]

A T2 is the only amp I've heard truly wake up an O2. I don't have them anymore, though; I might've kept 'em if I'd planned on getting a T2 at that time.
Man, seeing those BugelBoy 6DJ8 in that excellent Kerry build reminds me there's a whole world of input tube rolling to explore. @Whitigir - any recommendations here? I have a couple of NOS variants floating around, but nothing special. Still running the Japanese 7DJ8 georgep shipped the amp with - no complaints at all about their sound...until I find better!

For EL34, I'm now liking the Holland brown base xf4/xf5 EL34 best so far. Better than the British Mullard xf3, which just give up a little bit too much energy up top. The Hollands are just so well balanced from top to bottom, superbly detailed, neutral, musical, and smooth. But the Russian Mullards are still great for the money and well balanced; really impressive - mostly it's just noticeable that they're a little less smooth versus the Hollands. The other downside of the Hollands, besides price/sourcing, is that those brown-bases clash with the beautiful uniform blackness of the T2!

This amp is still almost life-changing good. The magic simply doesn't wear off. @georgep

I have tried many different EL34 matched quad, but sticking with Holland NOS is the best. The input tubes I love a lot and staying in my T2 right now is Phillips Holland SQ E88CC

You can try this guy, never tried him

 

[georgep]

My view is that the input tubes are the most important. Matched pairs, west german or british made, EU equivalents of the 6922 or 7308. From reputable dealers only, because these tubes can be a bit noisy in a T2 but perfectly fine in a different amp - probably starting at about $100/tube. The 6dj8/7dj8 matsushitas (made using Mullards old equipment) cant be beat though for price/quality - nothing comes close.

 

[Whitigir]

And they can easily make the T2 goes crazy. So it is best to be careful with buying it from a reputable dealer