Club-member comments on system and amps

Posted by jeffreybehr (A) on October 3, 2014 at 13:00:49

In Reply to: WAVAC MD-805m 55-Watt SET monoamps posted by jeffreybehr on September 19, 2014 at 18:25:55:

1. In such a huge room--about 25' wide and 70' deep--the 8-Watt Frankensteins ran out of power at higher levels while the WAVACs never did.
2. Within the Franks' comfort level of power output, they sounded a bit edgy all the time while the WAVACs never did, and the WAVACs sounded a bit tonally warmer.
3. Maybe the Franks were a bit more detailed; opinions were mixed on this. IMO, edginess tends to sound like more detail in a short listening session.
4. Comments on the sounds of the whole system were VERY complimentary.

Overall-system sounds:
One fellow called the sounds STUNNING (his all-caps, not mine).
"It sounded so good to me. Very impressive"

"While the Coincident mono block amps probably work fine in a smaller room to fill it to satisfactory listening levels, I think the strain of having to turn it up louder than normal may have depleted the 8 watts generated faster than usual. While both the Coincident and the Wavac are both very musical amplifiers, to my ears the Wavac made your speakers come alive and truly handled the complexity of the classical recordings with ease. The extra head room was evident at the levels we listened. While the WAVACs lean to the warm side, I could easily live with that bent and not feel everything sounded the same."

"...it was a fantastic sounding system, likely one of the best I have ever heard..."

I received lots of verbal comments such as 'best sound ever at a Club meeting', 'wow, I can't believe it sounds so good', and more. To some of my buddies, I answered 'thanks; took me only 50 years'. :-)

I'm keeping the WAVACs and will eventually sell the Franks. How extensive our* improvements to the WAVACs will be is still open, but I'm likey to replace all the output-stage and frontend caps.

* I now ask a friend who's really good at soldering and working with small parts to do a lot of my electrical work, and, as usual, I'll be getting advice from Jeffrey Glowacki of Sonic Craft.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - WAVAC MD-805m 55-Watt SET monoamps - jeffreybehr 18:25:55 09/19/14 (21)

FWIW, I'm selling the pair of GE805s and buying more of the RCAs. - jeffreybehr 20:06:25 10/09/14 (1)

What about a pair of United 805s? - Naz 04:38:52 10/15/14 (0)

Club-member comments on system and amps - jeffreybehr 13:00:49 10/03/14 (2)

RE: Club-member comments on system and amps - charles1dad 14:01:50 10/03/14 (1)

Indeed. The Franks never sound strained in my c. 3200CF listening room. - jeffreybehr 18:24:01 10/03/14 (0)

RE: WAVAC MD-805m 55-Watt SET monoamps - Caucasian Blackplate 22:17:14 09/26/14 (0)

Wednesday's Club meeting was a success; 'results' - jeffreybehr 19:20:04 09/26/14 (0)

RE: WAVAC MD-805m 55-Watt SET monoamps - rusiee 07:36:14 09/26/14 (2)

RE: WAVAC MD-805m 55-Watt SET monoamps - horn kid 08:49:53 11/02/14 (0)

TY for your thoughts. (NT) - jeffreybehr 18:03:39 09/26/14 (0)

These are sounding slowly better...I think...the more hours on them... - jeffreybehr 15:46:26 09/24/14 (2)

RE: These are sounding slowly better...I think...the more hours on them... - Caucasian Blackplate 22:28:15 09/26/14 (0)

RE: These are sounding slowly better...I think...the more hours on them... - charles1dad 16:33:58 09/24/14 (0)

Replacing Caps - Triode_Kingdom 18:03:57 09/20/14 (0)

RE: WAVAC MD-805m 55-Watt SET monoamps - Kloss 07:18:58 09/20/14 (6)

Well, seems they don't have much value in original condition, too. - jeffreybehr 15:51:19 09/20/14 (5)

RE: Well, seems they don't have much value in original condition, too. - morricab 07:24:21 09/21/14 (0)

Why ask a ? if you already made up your mind. - Kloss 06:54:52 09/21/14 (3)

If you did waste any time, it surely was only a few minutes. :-) - jeffreybehr 00:48:56 09/22/14 (2)

I can't believe anyone would modify a current WAVAC amp... - Jim Dowdy 01:58:13 09/22/14 (1)

TY. ... :-) (NT) - jeffreybehr 11:35:43 09/22/14 (0)

Follow Ups

Club-member comments on system and amps - jeffreybehr 13:00:49 10/03/14 (2)

RE: Club-member comments on system and amps - charles1dad 14:01:50 10/03/14 (1)

Indeed. The Franks never sound strained in my c. 3200CF listening room. - jeffreybehr 18:24:01 10/03/14 (0)

Club-member comments on system and amps

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