I want to thank Todd again for this really fun opportunity. Once this loaner program kicks off, I highly recommend taking advantage and getting a listen. Or just buy the thing and have one all to yourself!
I have now spent a fair amount of time listening on both speakers and headphones and I continue to be very impressed. The price to performance ratio is incredible, especially given that I have now put the TTVJ up against the RSA XR-10B and found that the TTVJ truly held its own and actually sounded very similar. There are greater flexibility features on the XR-10B, the balanced output, and a slightly more detailed presentation, but the TTVJ was awfully close from a pure sound and musicality perspective. At 1/5th the price even with upgraded tubes I have been using so far, tube snob that I am
, that is really saying something.
As to the noise floor issue I mentioned before, I have never had a truly silent TT rig. The gain needed to get those tiny signals amplified creates some amount of hum without a signal playing, but I have never been too concerned. I don't hear it when music is playing, and it is not so distracting in between as to be a problem for me. Interestingly, when I was switching back and forth with the solid state XR-10B I noticed that the noise floor was not much different than the TTVJ unless I turned the gain to the lowest setting on the RSA and then it was noticeably lower. It is nice to have the ability to drop the gain and lower the noise floor, but that change can come at the cost of authority and dynamics being diminished depending on your cartridge. In the end, the TTVJ is completely satisfactory from this perspective and really did not exhibit more than the slight hum -- more noticeable on headphones, of course -- that I get on my system as it is with the XR-10B.
The first tubes I was using were the Amperex, which are a $250 upgrade if purchased from Todd. They give a beautiful, warm but detailed sound. The words that come to mind while listening to the TTVJ with these tubes are sweet and round. The sound is natural and fluid, and the details inside the music come through very nicely. I have listened to jazz, blues, vocals, and rock, and all have been portrayed beautifully with the TTVJ in place. I was listening to Lightning Hopkins from the Fantasy 45 series and the presentation was incredibly real. In fact, my wife came back from running an errand and walked into the living room saying she thought it sounded like somebody was at the house playing guitar and singing. Now, I didn't think The Who, Wilco or Final Fantasy were in the living room with me, but
Endless Wire,
Sky Blue Sky and
He Poos Clouds all sounded great.
I switched to the Mullards, which are a $240 upgrade from Todd, and he had told me that they are a little smoother or warmer when we were discussing the options. The first time we spoke, he was certain that the Amperex were his favorite, but the second time, he wasn't so sure any more because he was impressed with the Mullards. For me, I think the Mullards win the day. They are smoother, and might roll off a little tiny bit of detail at the top to get that feeling but man is it a beautiful sound. They don't sound mushy at all, but the sweet tone is kicked up a notch while the details still shine through. I was listening to
Endless Wire when I made the switch and Roger Daltry's vocals on
Man in a Purple Dress were even more touching and weighty and real. I loved it. Then, I put on a favorite jazz album, The LA 4's
Just Friends and really went to town. I love Ray Brown's bass (in general) and the way it plays off Laurindo Almeida's guitar, and the sound was gorgeous with the TTVJ. The percussion details and nice alto sax tone were just right too, and I listened to that album all the way through with minimal back and forth with the XR-10B.
I pretty much decided that I will have to buy the TTVJ to replace my Antique Sound Labs Phono LUX even though I have yet to compare them head-to-head. The ASL has moving magnet duty on my wife's nice Dual 505 and I will definitely compare them this next week, but I don't think there is any doubt as to which will prevail. This is a fine product and Todd and Pete Millet ought to be proud of the TTVJ line.
Here are some pics to tease the senses some more:
OK, and some gratuitous TT shots too!
Happy listening, and keep analog alive people!
