Hi guys,
I had a chance to have a good listen to Brad's system yesterday. What a FUN day! Thanks for the hospitality Brad, I had a great time yesterday
The system sounded lively and relax, bass was tuneful, tight and punchy, no boom whatsoever, and if you consider the small size of the room it's even more amazing. If anyone can recall the sound we heard during Canberra GTG, it's even better in Brad's system. The musical qualities, beautiful tone, weight, body and dynamics were all present. Very impressive indeed. I kept telling Brad if he's going to sell the speakers (and other stuff), I would like to be the first in line to audition in my own room.
We played different IC, speaker cables and power cables. I didn't have any fancy IC, speaker cables nor power cables so I only brought IC from Bunnings (SV likes and uses this IC in his second system) and Neotech speaker cables. The system certainly has very good resolution as the differences between these cables were easily heard. Paul (hedalfa) brought some nice Van Den Hul cables. I think everyone agreed that the VDH were the best cable for the system. I liked them too, compared to my Bunnings IC and Neotech the VDH were more sophisticated and smooth. Sorry Steve, you gotta chuck away those Bunnings IC, Paul absolutely can't live with them!
We also tried different valves for the preamp. I brought some nice RCA red base 5691 and 5692 for Brad to try, a pair of Amperex EL34 double D getter (my personal favourite EL34) and also Siemens EL34. We didn't have more valves to compare so we could only compare them to the Russian valves. Let just say, it was not a fair comparison. Paul has some interesting words about these bloody Russian valves. Go for it Paul!
Next step for Brad is to try the U52 rectifier. I didn't know his Supratek preamp can run U52, otherwise I would have brought some with me. The good thing is I might come back to Brad's in a week or two to bring the U52. Have another listen and maybe another chance to enjoy super special hot chilli sauce that he personally makes (Loved it Brad!). I will also get a chance to tune my Leak 20 for the Canberra GTG since the speakers have similar qualities and sound similar in a way. So, I look forward to another meeting with you Brad!
Cheers,
William