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RE: The Whole HK Citation II Craze

Hi,

I am probably going to differ on the "deuce" induldgence to some extent as built in this forum.

I personally find the amp a little hard and grainy probably a function of my preference for electrostatic speakers( fully updated Quad ESLs,USA Monitors and Beveridge Model IIIs) and bias against push-pull 6550s. That said, updated + the price of the core I don't think you can beat it for price/performance in today's market place. I mean where can you get a meaningful USA made designed amp for $2500 with the iron ,power and the quality of the Citation II?

I have a fully restored Citation II done up to Level II mods with parts provided by Jim McShane ( I have not heard or experienced Jim's latest thinking on his most recent mods).That unit was stripped down to the core chromed and relabled and rebuilt from the ground up keeping just the high power resistors which were fine. Jim is a wonderful resource for the Citation community and the Tube "nuts" in general. I am a delighted customer and have purchased parts and tubes from Jim over the years. We should be extremely grateful to Jim's commitment and dedication to the community and the Citation line up in particular- really!

I just don't cotton to the Citation II sonic signature. I think there are better amps (to me) out there in the vintage realm- Admittedly at lower power. Most certainly there are modern amps that are far more interesting at higher prices.

What are my references?- well the electrostatic speakers above + Dyna audio C4's, Wyetech 211 Topaz, Berning Zotl, Futterman H3, Marantz 2,5,8b + a 3 chassis 100+lb phono stage and more. ( BTW the Mc225 is killer if you can live within its power limitiations) I've owned and sold Sherwoods and Fishers although I love the Sherwood S3000 mono FM receiver.. real nice.

Food for thought YMMV and all that...!


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  • RE: The Whole HK Citation II Craze - AJ 14:55:00 12/08/14 (0)

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