Dear Andy, Kharma et al:

Of course I like the talk about the CHEAP T-amp. As a matter of fact,
I had to see the hype, so I got one months ago thru group order of
Wesley. Have not picked up yet.

I bought the cheapest one because I believe even the cheapest can give
me the BOTTOM LINE. I am not interested in turning it into superamp,
which I doubt can happen without draculian effort. One thing, I
SERIOUSLY doubt even at its best it can rival a good SET amp.

Reading some of the discussions I believe the discrepancy in
perception stems from personal differences as well as SETUP, which is
of paramount importance. The speakers better be efficient, and many
so-called high-efficiency speakers (like "TAD VSM300") are really not.
In your case, the Bastanis has an active woofer, so that's a help, and
you won't notice the bass deficiency so much. The situation is
similar to the matching of SET amps and speakers. Notice the Hong Kong
Tube audio idiots who write profusely that SET amps are not as good as
PP amps, judged all by a pair of LS3/5a. You just cannot stop
assxxxxs.

The opinions seems to hint at whether the listener tolerates "clean
notes" with less decay. This is nothing new, even among high-priced ss
stuff. Some expensive ss stuff, like Gryphon, seem to have short decay
to me and that bothers me personally. Another is perception of "air".
Ditto Gryphon, regarded by ss users as "tube-like", has little air to
me. Another example is speakers. Take JM Lab Utopia, whether you
really like it will depend not a little on the slightly short decay,
hence "clean" sound. Digitals too, needless to say. This is perosnal.
For me, even CHEAP tube will HAVE to have excellent decay and bags of
air. "Refinement" has to come later.

Yes, cheap can be good, but HOW cheap, and HOW good? Hmm...The search
is the fun part though. Just do not expect the "ultimate".

Recently at a bookfair for HK $2 per copy I bought some Chinese
hifi magazines and one of them is excellent. I cannot post the Chinese
name but they have a link, but BE CAREFUL as it seems full of
dangerous pop-up's:

www.avfline.com

This magazine has quality writing, but what really caught my eyes was
a review of SUPRAVOX FR-5 floorstanding speakers. It uses the 135LB
units, has a front port as well as a back one, claiming 92 db.I
searched the web but could not find finished Supravox speakers. Just a
Chinese thing? If any of you is using Supravox fullranges, please post
and let me know what you think. These I believe are reasonably priced
in China and I'd be most interested in trying a pair out.

Also, thanks to Thomas' diyaudiocraft I got a little toy to try out.
It is DIYZONE's AK4395 DAC:

http://diyzone.net/article.php?sid=366

At a hifi meet, the rudimentary version gave a good account of itself
against a mainland PCM63 DAC as well as the USD 10k Remiyo
upsampling CDP. I took it home but has not auditioned it yet. Maybe
more later.

It is indeed amazing computer use and audio use are merging.

These days actually I play with a lot of new things, but I find time
limited to post serious reviews, which is my wont. I am thinking of
posting frequent short hifi notes on whatever I envounter. What do
people think?

This new Yahoo format is disgusting and discouraging.








--- In doctorjohn_CheapTubeAudio@yahoogroups.com, "andy2667" <andy
2667@s...> wrote:
>
> Hello DocJohn & Others,
>
> It seems that this forum is not as active as years ago. My
discussion
> on Class-T may a little bit ouside Topic.Just want to share my
> experience in Class-T amp.
>