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Has anyone had a chance to compare these two amps? I've been listening to an Audion Silver Night PX25 for the last couple of days, and it's blown my little cotton socks off. Dick Olsher apparently thinks the Art Audio is somewhat better overall than the Audion. Is it even possible?
Follow Ups:
DO favors 2A3s to the Art PX25s for his BassZillas.Since the speaker/room is first in determining sound, and the amp is also the speaker's motor, if you start with the amp, you could be on to new speakers next. Mind you, I'm not saying it isn't worth it. Just something (else) to consider. My RM-9, as great as it is/was, was a poor match for Lowthers.
Synergy is everything. I recently replaced Cain & Cain Abbys with Reference 3a Virtuosos, because the Abbys didn't work as well with my Gaincard as they did with my Decware monos. Then I bought an Art Audio Carissa to go with the Virtuosos. This is an excellent combination, so I can stop now (except for upgrades and tweaks, of course).
I don't think I've begun to explore the ultimate capabilities of the Total Victories. The issue is to find just the right amp for them (and me).
Paul Chefurka
How can you go wrong if you've tried the amp with your own set-up? If the Audion works in your home with the speakers you will be keeping, and it sounds like real music, then it sounds like you've found your amp! What else is there? Congrats.
Paul S
I've not heard the Audion, but I had the Art Audio PX-25 for some months. They certainly provide "the tingle factor" and the clarity and detail they extract is astonishing. On most music I found the AA amp just amazing with bass and perceived power way beyond its 6 watt spec. If anything, the PX-25 is less good with full scale orchestral music, but everything else - great. If you can get an Art Audio amp to try, I think you should.
Paul:I'm not sure if you mentioned this, but which brand of PX25 tubes are in the Audion amp? Assuming that the tubes are of recent manufacture, wouldn't it be interesting to compare them with old stock PX25? Of course there may be tube socket compatibility issues.
The tubes in there now are "Golden Dragon" branded KR tubes. I would at least like to compare them against the new TJ's, for sure! I don't know much yet about NOS PX25's - they'd be pretty old, from what I understand.
Paul Chefurka
Dick likes his hi-fi on the "rich" side, or so he says. You might take that into consideration. For instance, while Dick strongly recommended substituting optional KT88s for the EL-34s the RM-9 PP amp was designed for, I MUCH preferred the neutrality and tonal/timbral accuracy of EL-34s in that amp, thought they made it a cost-no-object contender, while the (albeit richer) KT88s rang like church bells.The biggest trap in audio upgrading is latching onto something that sounds 'amazing' for a while but subsequently wears thin, then gets annoying over time. To ward this off, I try to stick with what serves the 'sounds most like the real thing to me' constant. Otherwise, it can be flavor-of-the-month, like so many reviewers, who can, after all, change components like socks.
You know what you like. Is it music?
I know exactly what you mean.I got an education in this last night, when I heard the new Sapphire 300B monos recently announced by Wyetech Labs. These are remarkable amps. They are 18 wpc parallel 300B's that have deep, controlled, resolute, thunderous bass that I've never heard from any tube amp before, massive dynamics, remarkable micro-detail, impeccable transient response and a purity of tone that goes right up the spectrum and covers the full volume range. I was transfixed by what they did right. In the end, for me they inspired more admiration than love. I apparently need different audio tickles to keep me happy.
You could argue that the Sapphires are more neutral and faithful to the original signal than other amps, and I'd agree. For many people these amps are going to be search-enders - they're that good. But I kept missing the sheer extravagant expressivness of the PX25s I've been listening to for most of a week now. For me, that's where the music lies, not in the laundry-list of audiophile attributes that are easy to describe in reviews. The PX25 may be more coloured than the Saphhire, it may have less slam, but the dumptruck load of eloquence it drops in my lap more than compensates.
Keep the Audion and forget about amps. You know what you like and it sounds like 'you are there'. O.K. so call a masseuse to get the kinks out of the shoulder muscles and listen to some music.
I've been listening to it for five days now, and the magic won't let go. I'm becoming convinced that much of my future has PX25 tubes in it.And who needs a masseuse when the sound is like Magic Fingers for the soul?
Paul Chefurka
down to the type and length of interconnects and speaker cable, there's no gaurantee that you will prefer the one he preferred.You easily could hear them differently, and more likely than not you _would_ have different opinions.
We hear things differently, have different physiology, have different preferences.
If you got something that sounds great, look to upgrading other parts of your system.
Regards
I've been steared wrong too many times by "golden eared" reviewers. All they do is have great writing skills, they put their pants on one leg at a time like you!
I wrote an email earlier today that included a comment on this subject:"This points up one of the worms in the apple of the Internet. We can now go online and buy all kinds of stuff anywhere in the world, but we have to do it mostly based on reviews and the reputation of the purveyor. We don't get to hear much of the gear before we buy however, and there's no guarantee that glowing recommendations from online sources will translate into exceptional performance in our own systems. We can still usually audition only the gear that's available through local bricks 'n mortar dealers. Buying online is a seductive but risky business."
Paul Chefurka
This is true. I'm trying to demo a Meridian G08 CD player, but none of the local dealers stock it, even for demo. I'd be forced to order it. It's roll the dice and see what you get!
...often 30 days or more. With used gear you're on your own, but I bought a used pair of Wright Mono 3.5's based mostly on advice here, and LOVE them.
PS used gear can often be sold again for little loss.
Even good direct sellers typically won't offer eval periods on custom orders. Buying electronics with a significant number of factory upgrades is usually a "you buy it, you own it" deal.
Paul Chefurka
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How does the Audion compare to the Tritons?
Compared to the Tritons? I've barely turned the Audion off since Friday night. It's so harmonically dense, so rich, clean and detailed, with dynamics that can make your shoulder muscles twitch and bass I just didn't know a SET could deliver. Its 6 wpc drive my Total Victories better than the Tritons' 16.But most of all, it's the first amp I've heard that I think has Soul. This is perhaps more a reflection on the number of amps I've heard, but what I hear is a window that is wide open on the intent and emotion of the music as well as the technicalities of the sound. I just feel immersed when I'm listening to it. It's a hell of an experience.
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