Dennis,congrats on the stereophile praise.

RE: Dennis,congrats on the stereophile praise., posted on October 16, 2016 at 01:59:25
Frihed89 Audiophile Posts: 15703 Location: Copenhagen Joined: March 21, 2005	At an RMAF, many years ago, I had the opportunity to sit, listen and talk with Dennis about his music and equipment, and I would have to agree to with Stereophile. I can't vouch for his philosophy (which we didn't discuss), as i am far from an expert, but the music i heard in his small room (then) was marvelous.

I have to admit, posted on October 16, 2016 at 03:54:35

Michael Samra
Dealer

Posts: 36118
Location: saginaw michigan
Joined: January 30, 2005

Jeff and Dennis sure know these low powered 2A3 SET amps and the execution of the power supply.I'm still shocked at how Pat(Banpuku)is driving a pair of ESL63s full range,with a 2A3 SET amp. He got quite a bit a help from Jeff and Dennis and I hear lots of good things about Dennis Fraker.
I remember talking to Jeff a few years back and it's not necessarily how much power you have but it's how well the first watt is delivered to the load.Of course that is where 85% of your sound pressure and musical architecture of your amp comes from,depending on how loud you listen to music.
Fri,did you ever live in the states?
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken

RE: Dennis,congrats on the stereophile praise..."home built" - LOL...., posted on October 16, 2016 at 06:43:02
Steve O Audiophile Posts: 12383 Location: SE MI Joined: September 6, 2001	...As if fit-n-finish was ah...noticeably "different". Doesn't hurt that the Serious Stereo room was playing music that HR really liked instead of the typical audiophile demo material.

The OTHER Stereophile mention of Dennis, his Room, etc. SEE it !, posted on October 16, 2016 at 06:43:26

drlowmu
Manufacturer

Posts: 9730
Location: East of Kansas City
Joined: January 10, 2005

Go to this URL

http://www.stereophile.com/content/rmaf-2016-assessment#WLTXrIE5J9qmP58k.97

scroll down the text on the page until you see in a darker ( bolder lettering )

"Favorite Rooms"

Read first three paragraphs.

Gordon Rankin gets a rave, likely deserved, we couldn't get away to hear it, wish I had. Then read third paragraph about Dennis' room, etc.

For anyone on this Forum's information : the red amps' Hammond Power Transformers ( very likely ) had modified lead ins, the chokes in his LSES supply were ALL Non Critical in Henries, all 11 Ohms or less, and there was tastefully ( and expensive ) multiple film bypassing ARTFULLY done, where Dennis determined it was needed, to get the sound and bandwidth he wanted. He demoed with JJ 2A3-40s, ( which I liked ) not his EML mesh plate 2A3s.

Jeff Medwin

http://www.stereophile.com/content/rmaf-2016-assessment#WLTX

2a3 driving ESL 63s, posted on October 16, 2016 at 06:53:01

banpuku
Audiophile

Posts: 1008
Joined: January 19, 2006

I still am quite amazed at how well my Quad ESL 63s are driven by the 2A3 amp that Jeff has helped modify. Out of the box from Tube Audio Labs, the 2A3 amp was very good and drove the Quads nicely. Please see the link below for my review of the 2A3.

I have a natural tendency to want to learn and explore, so I started tweaking the amp. Thank you to many who have chimed in on this regards, especially Jeff and Mikey. I have made a few significant changes and I believe most importantly, the power supply changes recommended by Jeff. These changes brought a whole new level of dynamics and transients that I had yet to hear from any amplifier. I now can play music at lower listening levels and it still sounds dynamic and lifelike.

Thanks to all on Audio Asylum who have responded to my posts and helped me learn a bit about DIY tube amplifiers. Great eduction. Very fun and much appreciated.

Pat

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=set&m=81899

I guess those amps sound good in spite of their ..., posted on October 16, 2016 at 08:14:29
rickmcinnis@dogwoodfabrics.com Audiophile Posts: 3040 Location: Atlanta Joined: December 15, 2003	wrong power supplies!!! Mr. Fremer must have been unduly influenced by Jeff's proselytizing and could not separate his belief from what his ear/brain was really hearing. Sorry, just couldn't resist. Glad to see Mr. Fraker getting some notice. Wish I could hear that system ...

RE: Dennis,congrats on the stereophile praise..."home built" - LOL...., posted on October 16, 2016 at 14:28:00

Michael Samra
Dealer

Posts: 36118
Location: saginaw michigan
Joined: January 30, 2005

Steve
I realize that much of the content these articles are subjective in accordance with the reviewer's taste.I personally don't read Stereophile anymore because I know the publications have to appeal to the advertisers to survive. I'm not knocking the integrity of anyone but the reason I thought this story might have some relevance is because Mr Fraker doesn't put big expensive ads in the magazine that would maybe influence getting a heads up for the stuff he builds. I will be the first to tell you that I am very far removed from reviewer publications.I have heard enough audio systems in my life as I know you have to make our own determination of what we like.
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken

RE: The OTHER Stereophile mention of Dennis, his Room, etc. SEE it !, posted on October 16, 2016 at 17:50:36
Michael Samra Dealer Posts: 36118 Location: saginaw michigan Joined: January 30, 2005	I see that. "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken

RE: Dennis,congrats on the stereophile praise..."home built" - LOL...., posted on October 16, 2016 at 18:06:54

Steve O
Audiophile

Posts: 12383
Location: SE MI
Joined: September 6, 2001

I was commenting primarily on HR's interesting choice of words. He could have used typical euphemisms like "hand crafted" or "custom crafted" or "bespoke" or "limited edition" or "made to order" or even "artisanal". But he chose "home built". As a professional wordsmith, I assume HR's words are chosen with great care and are subjected to further scrutiny through the editing process. IOW, Serious Stereo amps and possibly speakers may sound great but won't be winning any awards for aesthetic design. As always in matters like this, YMMV.

JEFF MEDWIN - DON'T EMAIL ME, posted on October 16, 2016 at 21:57:08
Triode_Kingdom Audiophile Posts: 10048 Location: Central Texas Joined: September 24, 2006	Why the Hell would you think it's OK to email me uninvited when the moderators have repeatedly told you not to respond to my posts? I couldn't care less about the fiction writers at Stereophile. Don't do it again, and don't respond to this post, either.

RE: Dennis,congrats on the stereophile praise..."home built" - LOL...., posted on October 17, 2016 at 03:24:09
Michael Samra Dealer Posts: 36118 Location: saginaw michigan Joined: January 30, 2005	That makes sense.I just kind of speed read thru the article but I see what you mean. "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken

Wavelength + Vaughn, posted on October 17, 2016 at 08:15:20
Frihed89 Audiophile Posts: 15703 Location: Copenhagen Joined: March 21, 2005	I had the good fortune to visit Jeff Vaughn's place a few years ago (before the plasma speakers) and the pairing of his speakers, then, with Wavelength SETs was so, very good sounding to my ears. That has also been my experience at previous RMAF events.

RE: it's the Fraker effect ..., posted on October 17, 2016 at 19:51:49

deathtube 667

Too much "transfer efficiency" in your amplifier wires can lead to this...

Edit: Congratulations to DF for the good review in Stereophile.

RE: I have to admit, posted on October 18, 2016 at 01:30:01
91derlust Audiophile Posts: 1101 Joined: December 25, 2014	Yep, I think I'd very much like Dennis - seems like a genuine person willing to look at a challenges and their solutions in unique ways. Cheers, 91. "Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems to characterise our age." Albert Einstein

Mikey, we all love you, but speed reading is liable to cause us / yout to :-, posted on October 18, 2016 at 03:03:39

Timbo in Oz
Audiophile

Posts: 23221
Location: Canberra - in the ACT - SE Australia
Joined: January 30, 2002

miss salient points, deeply affecting the meaning of the text.

We can go so much with the flow that you forget how DF's designs tend to measure.

If all we want is to make mostly poor and lossy recordings sound better than they actually are, then IMO we are not doing high fidelity anymore.

I listen to live acoustic music as often as once a week or more.

That's my gold standard.

Warmest

Tim Bailey

Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger

In fairness to Dennis,..., posted on October 19, 2016 at 07:14:51

Lew
Audiophile

Posts: 10912
Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Joined: December 11, 2000

it was really never clear (at least to me) that DF was in complete accord with Jeff as regards the "original" (meaning, as described here) LSES power supply topology. In fact, we really do not know much about those Serious Stereo amplifiers. Nowadays, of course, even Jeff has changed his tune considerably. Anyway, can't one just take it at face value that Dennis' system probably does sound damn good? I always thought DF was relatively restrained and polite in the face of some rather vicious criticism.

RE: Dennis,congrats on the stereophile praise., posted on October 19, 2016 at 08:35:31
used-hifi Audiophile Posts: 1100 Location: Surprise AZ Joined: March 18, 2003	well after all these posts, besides jeff no one has commented on the sound of Dennis room?! lets have them please Lawrence

agreed (nt), posted on October 19, 2016 at 23:45:55
SteveBrown Audiophile Posts: 2454 Location: Portland, OR Joined: November 14, 2002	nt

Dennis is about as nice of a person as one is likely to meet..., posted on October 20, 2016 at 08:20:58
Ivan303 Audiophile Posts: 48887 Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM Joined: February 26, 2001	and yes, over the years his room has sounded quite good a RMAF, especially in the smaller rooms. One year he shared a suite with someone else and the room was too big for those puny little 2A3 amps. ;-) First they came for the dumb-asses And I did not speak out Because I was not a dumb-ass

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Dennis,congrats on the stereophile praise.

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