Tavish Adagio, Parasound JC3+, JC3 Jr or something else in the $1.5K - $3K

Aw go ahead and order one. If you don't you may always wonder what you missed. All that tube goodness...

 

Just an FYI, Scott told me earlier in the year he was hiring on help in April and that would speed things up a bit. Apparently they are back ordered on all their gear, not just the Adagio.

 

Ummm... I already did. That was mentioned a couple of posts back. (A few here know I did also from another thread). But you are forgiven, I understand not everyone reads my long winded posts, and it WAS at the end

Plus, if you read above, I have been in touch with Scott, exchanged emails....

By the way, to add to my last post --- my "EDIT" above is why I am surprised at this point you haven't chimed in about your Adagio ownership to the thread... everybody - Otlset owns an Adagio and likes it a lot!!!

 

Mike! Welcome. With your current and recent experience with stages, I am happy to hear your thoughts!!

Funny you mention that - you talked to him after I did - when I talked to him, he said he was CONSIDERING hiring on more help. Then we had a good exchange about how that can be a double edged sword -- for a small business like that there is always a certain degree of risk, as with the current set up, QC is high and once you start adding more, you have to work a little harder to make sure it does not dip!! Scott alluded to that, and coming from a small family business I grew up in I COMPLETELY understand.

But it is a trade off - and a risk you have to take if you are always behind the demand curve --- people on long waiting lists loses customers, there is no doubt, and if you want to grow that only comes from increasing revenue and hence volume (unless you can exorbatantly raise prices to make up for the supply gap).

But I digress, economics lesson over.

Cheers Mike.

 

Well I would have chimed in before, but I have no experience with the other phono preamps you mentioned for comparison, so I thought it wouldn't be all that much help to you. All I have to offer is more praise for the unit, especially with the tubes I've substituted for the stock ones (down in the rabbit hole).

 

Maybe you mentioned this elsewhere but what is your phono stage history? That will provide some context on how the Adagio sounds. BTW, I'm glad you love yours so much!

 

Yes, I saw that tube progression on your profile earlier this morning --- before you chimed in!!! (I am stalking you LOL)

And who cares if you have the phono preamps --- Adagio owners are rare as hen's teeth in the bigger picture --- as happy as you are with it - chime away!!!

Serisously - I recall, and from your profile, you have an all tube delivery path through the amp to the speaker too, correct? I know you mentioned before, just checking about current.

When I talked with Scott, I asked him about pairing with SS and gave him my setup details --- he said actually most of his customers ARE pairing with SS to "warm it up" --- you know what I mean.

 

Yes my (main) system is all tube, all analog. It's so warm it's hot!

I think Scott is right, this will really be a change in your system, "warming it up" some. But it's the spacious, almost indescribable character of 'realism' or 'liveliness' of the reproduced sound tubes deliver in a component besides "warmth" that I like too. I think our forum host once described it as the "breath of life" system characteristic.

 

Remind me again - did you go with the standard Jensen 44's, or did you upgrade to the 347's........?

 

Standard Jensens, because with my London Reference's healthy 5 mv output I only use the MM section.

 

From the beginning, mostly receiver phono sections up until the 90s, when I started to get serious about vinyl and my system. In order then afterwards:

-- Audible Illusions MA3 phono section.
-- Hovland HP-100 preamp phono section.
-- Lounge MkIII
-- Bellari VP-130

Maybe a few others I forgot.

This is why I didn't chime in before -- not a whole lot of units for comparison.

 

Honestly as one of the only family members here with an Adagio your comments are waited on with baited breath! Every time you mention it, I read your posts and try to analyze your comments with a microscope, but you never offer too much in the way of descriptors, just that is is really very good. I don't mean that as a shot at you, everyone's personality is different, (I know I tend to go overboard personally) just wanted you to know that if you typed out a 3,000 word post on the highlights of the Adagio I'd read it several times as I am sure others would as well.

 

By the way, the loading values of the MC section each have an effect on the MM outputs sound. I didn't know this until by accident I tried switching them around, although I'm only using the MM section. So the thing is very adjustable for tweaking.

 

This is the stuff I am talking about Otlset!!!!!

 

I don't want to go overboard with superlatives, because of the limited amount of comparisons I've had. I'm sure many phono preamps are that much better, but I'm also sure you'd have to spend a lot more money to get them!

 

That is more than most. Don't sell your experience short, especially if you spend significant amounts of time with them.

 

So Mike, I counted 40 words.... at least if you read it over and over it won't take too long. At least I hope not!

Otlset -- seriously, if you want to gush and go on, nobody would mind!!

 

Wow!

 

A typical listening session...

 

Welcome Robert!

Do you have anything to tell us? Wasn't too long ago we exchanged something about you were kicking around the idea of building a tube phono stage from Lounge....?

When I saw your post it all came flooding back in.

 

Now that would be something I'd buy sight unheard. If you build it Robert, they will come.

 

What tubes did you swap in, if you don’t mind my asking? What did that do to the sound/how did it change vs the stock ones?

 

Matt - check his Profile Page - he lists them there...

 

Well, be sure to take my "quietest preamp" comment in context. I've owned a somewhat ridiculous number of mid-fi and entry-level hifi phono preamps, but nothing truly high end like many folks here. The Junior and the Chinook are in contention for the best I've tried.

 

Trying to understand the "quietest" qualification -- if you power everything up, with no music playing, at what level does the "white noise" kick in where it is audible in your listening position / distance from the speakers as you crank up the volume knob? At normal / casual listening volume? Slightly above? +20db above? Etc.... (you probably know this but for others -- slowly increasing the volume with the phono stage active and no music playing is a tool used to check many things, including grounding problems, EMI, and also noise floor of the stage to help identify "noisy stages)

Of course, all this assumes you already have no audible whine, or hum accompanying because you already had all the grounding, EMI, issues previously worked out

Or do you mean something different by quietest?