Mshenay expresses his deep love for garage 1217 amps and related miscellania

Discussion in 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' started by Mshenay, Jul 17, 2017.

  1. Ray

    Ray Friend

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    Magic. Isn't in the tubes I'm afraid. It's what's under the hood. Tubes may offer a different flavor but won't transform an amp into what it's not capable up. Tubes are just an added bonus
     
  2. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    I still have an Ember but I can't remember the last time I fired it up. Sunrise with a Linear Power Supply and EH 12BH7 is the one that goes into recreational listening rotation on a regular basis. Been awhile. Time to fire it up again. One important feature I enjoy about this hybrid is the lack of heater hum. I can't stand hum.
     
  3. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    I've got a Horizon inbound to me for use with my Eikon, I've got 2 6sn7 Adapters and my multi meter, so I can also do impressions of the two amps with the Same tube, and because it's relevant, I can use the Stock tube in each as well

    An the tube can some times mask the magic under the hood, finding a tube that let's a good design shine through has been worthwhile for me in this price bracket
     
  4. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    Dude, please, you are just derailing this thread over and over. Tubes make a difference, but you aren't reading or comprehending what the last few posts are saying. Tubes will make your garage amps sound different, and even better. What they do not do is transform a entry level hybrid tube amp into a world beater, you still have a mid-fi hybrid tube amp. And thats good, enjoy and post in the Garage threads. This thread and people looking to read on this topic in the future are going to be bogged down by this side tracking in your own personal ego to prove the ember 3 your favorite tube amp.
     
  5. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    Your right! It's NOT the best Amp, it's NOT a giant killer, it in NO way compares to a Zana Duex or any of the other true Top of the line designs out there, that's never been my point. I'm not here to prove my "ego" I'm here to stop the perpetuation that the "stock tube" is good enough in an mid-Fi amp, and to encourage people who are in Mid Fi to tube roll because it does make a difference, the bigger point is a Mid Fi tube is worth owning, A mid-Fi tube amp is worth rolling tubes into, given the price it performs well.
     
  6. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    I would say don't waste your time or money with excessive tube rolling on lower mid-fi amps. Life is too short
     
  7. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

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    @Mshenay
    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/must-read-for-new-members.3/#post-136204
    Also, arguing about it won't convince anyone. You've made your case, and without the sort of information that would be useful to others. Time to let it go and move on.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2017
  8. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    An by extension the opposite is also true, the Ember is not My favorite thing, what I'm defending is the entire market of Mid Fi tube amps! Any one reading here will foolishly think that the only tube's worth having are the Top of the Line models, I foolish took statements like this to heart

    What a FOOL I was, to let those at the top who hold low opinions of "mid fi amps" stop me from enjoying them or even exploring them. my Mid Fi tube amp sounds better than many of the Mid Fi Solid States! That's my entire point, Mid Fi tubes are worth owning, mid Fi tubes are worth rolling tubes into. They aren't better than Top of the Line options by any means, but this idea that only top of the line options are worth it pisses me off,

    An when I the funds to purchase a top of the line Tube Amp I'd love to upgrade, as those totl models are a world above what I have, and thankfully because of owning more modest priced gear first I can venture into a higher priced option without as much hesitation
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2017
  9. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    And we still don't trust you. Enough already. Sweet Jesus.
     
  10. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

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    I haven't been part of this conversation, so as someone looking from the outside in you're coming across as taking things too personally. I quoted something written previously, therefore it wasn't written specifically for this circumstance. It is however closely related.

    A word of advice @Mshenay , take a time out. Tomorrow try and understand why you're getting this reaction. No one is looking down on you or your preferred gear.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2017
  11. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    Many of us have been down the path of buying and trying a pile of tubes for mid-fi amps. For me it was Lyr2. When it comes time to move on to the next thing, you will wish you had just taken the same money spend on different flavors (in $20-$75 chunks) and put it aside. I think its misleading for people newer in the hobby and with less experience to think that they need to tube roll, this often scares people away from tube amps and creates a barrier to separate people trying them out.

    That said, doing research and buying a set of tubes that tilt the sonic characteristics of an amplifier toward your personal preferences isnt bad. Just beware of becoming a glowing delight enthusiast who listens tubes rather than music.
     
  12. luximal

    luximal Made things right

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    it's bit of a shame that my only extensive experience with tube amps is the wa6, which in the grand scheme of things is mediocre at best (even with the 100's of dollars put into tube rolling). I heard higher end tube amps before (like the bottle head mainline and the dna stratus), but my time with them is short.

    I wonder where vintage amps like my mcintosh mc2505 SS power amp fits into all this. While the amp doesn't sound particularly warm, some of it's best qualities reminds me of the strengths good tube amps have over solid state.

    @k4rstar has heard my mc2505 + he-6 setup before (paired with his Gungnir Multibit) and IIRC he really liked it (more so than the eikon I had at the time).
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I've heard many other owners' Ember amps at meets going back years. Yeah, like years back to the ChangFest meets and have heard plenty about the special properties of specific tubes with the Ember by their respective owners.

    Tubes do sound different and will make a small improvement. But they won't fundamentally change the sound of an amp. A DNA Stellaris still sounds great with $39 Shuguang 2A3 black base. A EC ZDS shockingly still sounds great with an "awful" new production Tung-Sol 6SL7. A good amp is a good amp.

    As far as tube rolling for me, it's more that I've heard so many that I have a good sense what to use once I've heard an amp. Once I pick out something from my boxes of vintage tubes, I usually stick with that forever.

    I don't sit around rolling 17 tubes in a hour pondering hmm, ahhh, hmm. Too is too short. I'd rather have @Torq invite me on his sailboat adventures where we can appease the gods by lathering soapy suds on the boobs of hot chicks.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2017
  14. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    The Schiit Vali 2 gets recommended here all the time, along with reasonable tube rolling recommendations. You might be annoyed that the particular amp you bought isn't often recommended, but that's a different issue than saying we don't recommend mid-fi amps here. In fact, in general we mostly recommend mid-fi amps, because they're a good entry point into the hobby. The TOTL amps get talked about when people are specifically discussing how to move into hi-fi, or as a way to remind people who think their mid-fi rig is god's gift to sound that there's always better out there.

    Multiple people here have been explained nicely why you're coming off badly here. Stop ranting and naysaying. If you enjoy your Ember, great, go listen to it instead of arguing here.
     
  15. OlafR

    OlafR Acquaintance

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    There is a subtle magic about a really well-performing SS amp! You can't get enough of it! Solidity, control & understated beauty! It is like driving a Bentley*..

    Tubes? Too good, if you ask me. You get hypnotized by the sound and the music becomes hard to concentrate on. Unfortunately no car analogy pops up. It is more like riding a fine horse*, I guess. Or a magic carpet*. (Or abandon driving and having sex instead).



    *as I imagine it.
     
  16. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    [​IMG]
     
  17. Delayeed

    Delayeed Facebook Friend

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    None of what you wrote means anything, just reading it is like trying to decrypt some alien language...
     
  18. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    This seems like not the best way to think about it. What does a baseline mean and how can one quantify it. There's no magic number and no list of amps/gear that one should listen to to establish such a baseline. Ownership isn't the solution. I wouldn't pay money for most of the stuff Ive heard. I'm also not rich. But by all means own stuff if you have the riches. People should talk less and read more and talk to people that have heard stuff and listen to as much stuff as possible. Don't live in a place with tons of gear around? Be a local hero and reach out and organize people close by. Spewing stuff on posts making broad sweeping or vague claims and then defending them isn't helpful. To echo @Merrick we don't poopoo mid-fi stuff, whatever that means. I do poopoo mid-fi* behavior and attitudes though.

    *mid-fi here defined as the kinds of attitudes and behaviors you see on headfi reddit and other pits of despair and anguish.** People that want to post frequently, without thought and content should go to those places to spin their wheels and have a good time. Midfi here also used to mean people who worry their gear is midfi. There is only the sound it produces and people get the gear that fits their budgets and priorities and that gives them the sound they want (or close to it).

    **apologies I'm being awfully partisan here
     
  19. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    One TMZ-tier meltdown and now the whole thread gets derailed into Reddit drama + professional Like fishers thirsty for Friend status. This was supposed to explore why tubes have certain distinct qualitative differences! It's obviously summit-fi centric because at that level we can eliminate variables (crap power supplies, engineering compromises related to cost, crap build quality etc.) plus the fact that at that level things sound more similar than different, so we can laser in on the differences that show.

    People also need to quit the plankton hunt for e-peen points on the f'ing internet. Most can't hear it or won't care for it, and you're better off for it. It takes an absolute butt ton of time and money to develop a system to dig that deep into a recording, not to mention a good methodology for critical listening.
     
  20. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    I think you are getting your glassware confused. You smoke out of bongs and listen to vacuum tubes or maybe you are combining the smoking and listening. :rolleyes:
    Friends don't let friends post while high.
     

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