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In Reply to: RE: The Whole HK Citation II Craze posted by geezerrocket on December 9, 2014 at 06:57:04:
Not sure I want to start another craze:) The V is a great amp. It is about my favorite of the more conventional tube amps and will do about 53-54 watts/ch after being rebuilt properly with the McShane kits. Jim and I have worked out the CCS tail for that one as well. We also have a way to convert the two input tubes to regulated DC filament. These changes along with the power supply upgrade bring the amp into a pretty special class. They image superbly.
I would say that if the imaging on a properly rebuilt Citation V with all the tweaks is a 10, then a Citation II is a 9.5-9.7. That said, the Citation V simply does not have the detail or just plain effortless sound that the II has. At the risk of igniting another thread.... In my system I can hear subtle details and shadings with a Citation II that I have yet to hear from any other amp. I love the Citation V, but it cannot quite do that. A citation V will smoke an ST-70 though, to my ears. Again, you asked for my opinion, so take it as just that. The rest of the amps all sound just a bit veiled to me compared to the citation II. I think Samra and a few others will agree with my take on the Citation II. Mike has every piece of tube gear known to mankind, or at least has had them roll through his house. He uses Citation II amps in his main setup. Others of course will disagree as it should be. The V is among the best of the rest, especially given the price difference. But you have to do some things like add an overall bias adjustment pot so you can dial the whole supply up or down to match a quad of tubes. I do the same in the S5000. They were built to a price point. For a few dollars you can add some features that make them better from a biasing perspective. No, I am not saying the V is quite in the class of the II or the 8B or some of the best Macs or (insert your favorite holy grail amp here) you get it. Just that it is a fantastic amp when rebuilt and tweaked and can be done for far less money than some of the others. You put a good preamp in front of it and don't ask it to drive 2 ohm speakers and you will be very happy, and 50+ watts of 6L6 power sounds very, very good.
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Follow Ups
- RE: The Whole HK Citation II Craze - dls123 07:26:40 12/09/14 (0)
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