Dso, my next phono will be the Zanden. My idea is: Tidal for piano and jazz, Wavac for opera and symphonies and Zanden for Chamber music. These are the very best phono money can buy.
The first thing that he did after the installation of the 833 tubes was to adjust the gain. He reduced the gain of the PR-T1 to the extend where he can turn up the main volume control to reach between 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock. The input gain on the 833 was, however, turned to the maximum position. With the enormous driving capability of the 833, I can tell he is trying to make the influence of the PR-T1 on the signal path as much as possible.
Some interesting observation. Dso and I prefer the older 833 tubes to the new. Charles also preferred the old 833 tubes made in the 1940s. When we asked Ito san his opinion on the overall sound quality between two tubes, his answer was "very good, no problem, fantastic" . We pushed him for more opinion about speaker positioning as the overall density of the 833 is extremely high.
I proposed whether when should move the speakers farther apart. But he said no because he could hear the reflection speed on the left hand side is faster than the right hand side. The route of the sound wave travels to the left before reaching the balcony on the right hand side with big glass windows. I always suspect the right hand side due to the presence of the glass.
Under this case, widening the speaker to the leftward will create more imbalance. He said he could not change the physics of he room and again the sound quality already satisfies him very much
It seems we are always critical of our own system. It could be cultural difference. Ito was attentive, listened for straight 2 hours with two pairs of tubes, and zero complaints. Later on, I asked him why he did not told us the problem of the room earlier. His answer is the same, "we cannot change the phyiscs of the room, and the sound quality is very good, no problem."
Dso is undeniably a proud owner of the HE833v1.3. With the beautiful beast sitting on top of the 833, the dimensionality of the soundstage develops further, lowering structrual borne noises further. The overall sound is balance, open and expressive. Again, we found the performance of opera is simply captivating. The energy, transients, refinement of the lyrical line, and the soul are all there with commanding presence. We found out Ito san is a big fan of opera. His favorite composer is Wegner and he loves the vocalism of soprano.
Ball Lam of Audiotechnique who joined later immedately comments the captivating sound of opera is second-to-none based on his hitherto listening experience. He recongizes combining high power with finesse is not a small feat.
The remaining challenge in my humble opinion is room acoustics. Structure borne noises are taken care by SRA. The hardwares itself is dead quiet with minimum tube noises. Room noises are much more difficult to spot and even if you find out, the solutions are often difficult. Although the room is already treated by the resonator from Franck Tchang, I believe the main source of room noises comes from the wooden board at the rear wall in between the Cessaro.
Dso, I am thinking solutions for you to push the performance to the next level. Franck will be in town in early August, I will ask the master himself to find a solution for you on the spot.
Use FMR on 833 instead of OR. The amp needs high current capability power cord with refinement to get the juice out.
Can you drill some small holes on the rear wall? I don't know exactly what is your wall structure. There must be some hollow space within, no matter how tiny they are, they will trap energy inside. The holes can be very tiny.
I believe you have a great system there, pal.
Oh yes, remember to change the driver tube. The stock tube is crab.
I own both amps. The 805mk2 delivers lightning attacks and speedy punch with clarity. The construction of the soundstage is tidy and clean. I can feel imagine at the farther end of the z-axis won't there before. With Bergman as the source, the soundstage is the most complete that I have ever come across.
The 833, presumably you refer to the v1.3, is a completely different animal. There is more color attachment to each note. There is more softness in vocal. Transmission of energy can flood the room in the absence of acoustic treatment. I agree with PT that the 833 is espesically impressive in all kind of opera. The bolder the better.
Both amp has excellent control. It really depends on what you like and what kind of recordings you try to compare.
Comments
I proposed whether when should move the speakers farther apart. But he said no because he could hear the reflection speed on the left hand side is faster than the right hand side. The route of the sound wave travels to the left before reaching the balcony on the right hand side with big glass windows. I always suspect the right hand side due to the presence of the glass.
Under this case, widening the speaker to the leftward will create more imbalance. He said he could not change the physics of he room and again the sound quality already satisfies him very much
It seems we are always critical of our own system. It could be cultural difference. Ito was attentive, listened for straight 2 hours with two pairs of tubes, and zero complaints. Later on, I asked him why he did not told us the problem of the room earlier. His answer is the same, "we cannot change the phyiscs of the room, and the sound quality is very good, no problem."
Ball Lam of Audiotechnique who joined later immedately comments the captivating sound of opera is second-to-none based on his hitherto listening experience. He recongizes combining high power with finesse is not a small feat.
The remaining challenge in my humble opinion is room acoustics. Structure borne noises are taken care by SRA. The hardwares itself is dead quiet with minimum tube noises. Room noises are much more difficult to spot and even if you find out, the solutions are often difficult. Although the room is already treated by the resonator from Franck Tchang, I believe the main source of room noises comes from the wooden board at the rear wall in between the Cessaro.
Dso, I am thinking solutions for you to push the performance to the next level. Franck will be in town in early August, I will ask the master himself to find a solution for you on the spot.
Use FMR on 833 instead of OR. The amp needs high current capability power cord with refinement to get the juice out.
Can you drill some small holes on the rear wall? I don't know exactly what is your wall structure. There must be some hollow space within, no matter how tiny they are, they will trap energy inside. The holes can be very tiny.
I believe you have a great system there, pal.
Oh yes, remember to change the driver tube. The stock tube is crab.
It looks like you have used 833 before...can you share more about your experience with 833 contrasting with the 805Mk2 that you are using?
Thanks.
Marvel
I own both amps. The 805mk2 delivers lightning attacks and speedy punch with clarity. The construction of the soundstage is tidy and clean. I can feel imagine at the farther end of the z-axis won't there before. With Bergman as the source, the soundstage is the most complete that I have ever come across.
The 833, presumably you refer to the v1.3, is a completely different animal. There is more color attachment to each note. There is more softness in vocal. Transmission of energy can flood the room in the absence of acoustic treatment. I agree with PT that the 833 is espesically impressive in all kind of opera. The bolder the better.
Both amp has excellent control. It really depends on what you like and what kind of recordings you try to compare.
揪揪揪!!! Go! Go! Go! 同門身死决!