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Posts: 9730
Location: East of Kansas City
Joined: January 10, 2005
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I believe ferrite magnet GPA 604s.
Speakers / drivers, ferrite GPA .....versus alnico GPA, are not such a big deal IMHO.
AMPS .... Daniel, are where its at.
Being in Dennis' new Room 418, 90% of the time, for three days, here is precisely how I heard it:
DF brought three pairs of amps to the show. Ninty eight percent of the time he played his red "2016 - EXPERIMENTAL " amps, which were not fully broken in, and not quite ready for public display. To my ear, they had a depression ( suck out ) in between the bass and mid-midrange region, which caused the sound to be non-linear bottom to top - on 604 MLTLs.
BUT, and a BIG BUT, the "experimental" red amps played with VERVE, FINESSE and SPEED, and controlled the drivers unlike any tube amp DF, or anyone else for that matter, has ever built that "I" have heard. They just weren't quite ready for the show.
Friday and Saturday's demoing was all done with the experimental red amps. However, after show hours on Saturday night ) DF, his brother, and I inserted his standard 2015 production amps, a pair done in black chrome powder coat, into the system.
Well, to me, the 2015 "production" amps were VERY listenable to my ear, had perfect bottom to top balance, timbre, and frankly, emotionally, I literally "teared-up" - cried, when I heard them play the GPA 604s so lovely, the production amps touched me as being superb.
That night, I got 5 hours sleep, and then stayed awake for 3 hours, anticipating in my mind how WELL the system would sound all day on Sunday, the last day of the show, ( when the Reviewers knew to come by and hear everyone's system critically ).
Show opened 10 AM Sunday, and I was "jazzed ". OMG, at 10:20 a music lover / audiophile comes in and buys the black chrome amps we were demoing, wrote a check on the spot. This person had to drive a long way Sunday, and could not wait till the end of the show, so the 2015 amps left with him, and I was horror stricken.
DF put back in the red experimental 2016 amps, whereas he had a pair of metallic green 2006 refurbed traded-in amps on hand. He should have used the green refurbed amps.
( So, DF demoed 98 percent of the show with his red amps. )
AFTER the show ended, and before he ripped down the room, DF, his brother Brian, and I inserted the un-played metallic green amps onto the 604s. That was also a lovely experience to me.
A few days after the show, DF called me to let me know that the "red" experimental 2016 circuit had been hammered out, and they were now performing ( to his ear ) better than anything he has ever built. SO....I will look forward to RMAF 2016, next year, to hear them.
Change one cap value, or a wire run inside the amp, and it is probably equal to the difference between a GPA Ferrite or Alnico magneted 604, say I !! Amps are "where its at" - the biggest turkeys, they are always the weakest link in my experience.
Jeff Medwin
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