EC Aficionado (was: The Studio Jr.)

Mr Doukhobar (unrelated, but I found this article on Doukhobors interesting),

So far the combination of the Junior 8 XRS and the AF have been pretty good. Natural, easy and detailed sound. Sounds full to me, but I am coming from the Blumenstein Orcas which have much smaller driver and less efficient. I identify a couple of dips in the mids, but nothing offensive. Typical wide band roll off at both ends, but this is to be expected. These all have to do more with the speakers characteristics themselves, not the amp. I do wonder about only feeding a 8in driver 4Ws, and if I had more power, would the speakers perform even better (better grip, bass, fullness, etc), but these are all things I can live with. Living the SET life isn't for everyone. I have heard from a few friends here that they would prefer to see speakers in the 100+ db/W range. This isn't about volume, I can fill a large room with great sound, I think they are thinking bass control and fullness specifically. I don't know how Omega typically rates their speaker efficiency (high, low, true) but I don't see a immediate problem powering the Super Alnicos.

From what I know, the Decaware amps tend to be a warmer, relaxed and maybe soft. I would describe the Aficionado as forward and clean and impactful. If you are looking for a very big exotic clean sound, I think you will enjoy this amp.

$2000 for a BA seems like a fantastic deal (they never come up), but I would still choose to wait in line for an AF and the ability to have both SE and BAL pre outs as well as ability to run speakers. 300b amps are going to trade just a bit of detail for organic sound. Either way sounds like you are in good hands looking at EC amps,

 

Hi @Thenewerguy009 - I am sure it's true, that the design of the AF is right up there with the Studio.

But in terms of sound qulaities with speakers and with headphones is what I am trying to decipher. Marv characterizes the Studio compared to the BA as:

So I would think the BA and Studio sound quite different.

And the Af compared to the BA:

So Af is the spiritual predecessor. Does that mean the BA and Af will share a more similar sound, than the Studio and Af? It seems like it!

PS - Sorry if I am not very good with the forum/website stuff. I am doing the best I can. Any kinks/errors you see in the posting are my own. You can find Marv's original comments on pg 13 of this thread.

 

Hi @JoshMorr , thanks for your awesome reply.

I have heard the Blumestein Orcas, and compared to the Omega XRS with the RS5 driver the smaller Blumsteins sounded very rolled off to me, and a little dryer and less engaging. So I definitely pick the Omega 3XRS over the Blumsteins. Besides the drivers, I think the cabinet size differences accounts for alot of the affects we hear, besides the amp. The 3XRS are super transparent, and I've heard them with Decware SE84CKC, Decware Taboo III, Quicksilver Monoblocks, Dennis Had Firebottle and Portal Audio Panache (a Nelson Pass solid state amp). They sound great form all of these amps, but have best imaging with Decware SE84CKC and best bass with the Quicksilver monos. However, the 3XRS never really had much bass emphasis, as their focus is more on mids and highs which sound stage incredible. Comparing the 3XRS to the Super Anico XRS which I would guess is about 2x the cabinet volume, the Alnico XRS has much fuller bass and can handle more complex music. I have not heard the new RS8 driver so it is really tough for me to comment there. But I would say the rolling off effect is probably a function of both cabinet size and driver, but especially cabinet size in this instance. I don't think getting more power to the Omegas will give you more bass - they seem to have a definite roll off and most people end up adding some sort of sub if they want more low range.

Did I hear you right, the Af has both speaker taps, XLR preamp outputs and singel ended preamp outputs! If that's the case, that would be amazing! Looking at the back of the amp, I think it does!! That means I could use it also as a preamp from a balanced DAC to a single ended amp - wow! Question: does the volume control work on the pre-amp output function? @Marvey The old 6mooons BA review says that the pre-amp volume control did not work on his pre-amp outputs...

Comparing all three speaker specs:

Junior 8XRS Specifications
Sensitivity: 98 dB at 8 ohms
Driver: Proprietary RS8 ferrite magnet
Frequency Response: 38-20kHz
Dimensions: 35"H x 12"W x 7"D

Super 3XRS Specifications
Sensitivity: 94.5 dB at 8 ohms
Driver: Proprietary 4.5" RS5
Frequency Response: 40-20kHz
Dimensions: 27"H x 11"W x 7.5"D

Super Alnico XRS Specifications
Sensitivity: 95 dB at 8 ohms
Driver: Proprietary 6" Omega Alnico HempCone
Frequency Response: 35-20kHz
Dimensions: 35"H x 13"W x 9"D

It seems the Junior is the most efficient and has similar cabinet volume to my Super XRS. I love the bass on the Super Alnico compared to the 3XRS. The Junios bass frequnecy roll off is between the two.

 

@doukhobar Pro tip: Include the link(s) from which those passages come from. I vaguely remember the passages you mention, but the devil is always in the details.

 

double post

 

As a complete EC newb, how would one describe the house sound and compared to what? Cheers.

 

Well I picked up:

DRIVER:

• Raytheon CK5670 yellow label
• 5670 Raytheon orange label
• Bendix 2C51

RECTIFIER:

• AMPEREX ORANGE GLOBE / MULLARD GZ34 5AR4

For 2a3 I am still looking around and will check out what you said. I am not really wanting a darker sound and the bass is fine as is, I just want more transparency and I think the driver and rectifier tubes shipped could be holding it back. I am talking just that last bit that my Pro iCan is scraping up right now. Sophias are usually decently transparent enough. Thanks for the recommendations though. Definitely gonna get some American 2a3s to hone in on my desired tonality. I mean it is right there almost already.

 

No way...

That's not what I am saying.

The Pro iCan first of all is VERY transparent/clear in SS mode but it lacks depth, bass control, imaging, soundstage, and the grainlessness of the AF.

We have, on many occasions, had some wack tubes in an amp that hindered its transparency. I am only saying that with the Atticus the Pro was just a very small bit more transparent and I believe incoming tubes mentioned above would scrape up that last bit.

I wasn't trying to compare apples to apples. Or even make a direct comparison.

 

I can't wait to hear cskippy's AF at our AZ meet this month.

Hey, skip, do I have to take a number?

 

Hahaha no, first come first serve, if you can get my out of the chair

 

hi guys i have the psvane 2a3tll and have the default tubes given in the package by eddie current, are there any sonic improvements if i upgrade these default tubes ?

 

Initial impressions even with a cold and just hours turned on...

 

Congrats Cskippy, I've never seen 2a3's like that before, what are those?

 

Those are shuguangs natural sound tubes. Fairly warm, but technically better than the stock shuguangs.

 

looking forward to comparisons with ZDS hopefully with utopia headphones =)