My new Amplifier... I'm so happy...

So, now a week has passed, I managed to listen to the new beast every day.
Obviously… on Saturdays and Sundays we listen more, but during the week every day at least an hour, and that's okay, so.

As was to be expected, the sound has improved even more ... the break-in will still take, at least, another week ot two, but already now, on all parameters, the curve is slightly shifted towards the other.
Not very big things, in general, but especially the detail in the high frequencies is even more enjoyable.
Not that it is "softer", it is a bit difficult to explain, but I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that by using the words "a more rounded sound", I am certainly not wrong.

As for the low frequencies… there, little has changed: very strong but restrained bass, not lashed with unnatural tails. Far from it!
Still improved after a week's break-in? To tell the truth… no, I don't think so, maybe fifty hours of operation are still not enough, for the low range, maybe a hundred more hours are needed.
But I assure you that that's okay already! I can say, however, that I do not expect big changes, I really think it is difficult to do better ...

And the midrange? What to say?
The midrange was probably what made me decide to take this leap. Simply ... "very natural", little else to add, except that ... it is incredible, but now, having about fifty (?) hours on its back, it is even better than before.
No… it's not at all addictive or anything, I'm not trying to "convince myself" at all. It is simply true!

Ah, I forgot to tell you ... I have all the devices in silver, I don't like black so much ... so yes, this one is also in silver ...
The sale price was mentioned, which is around 6,000 euros, which would be around 7,200 USD.
Well, know that I paid less for it. Much less. To be honest… let's say I feel lucky….

There was a hint of doing some "tube rolling", more than anything else on the preamplifier part.
Well, yes, I thought about it, right, but ... I'll wait a bit... Maybe in 6 months, a year, 3 months? Who knows ...
First I want to absorb the sound very well, because I think that only AFTER will I be able to say that I know the sound of this amp thoroughly, and it seems logical that then, but only THEN, I will be able to think about changing some tubes ...

One thing I can add ... I have the Stonefly speakers, from the Italian company "AudioSonica".
I'm finding these speakers are better, much better, than I thought.
Having used them for many years with the NuVista M3, of course, made me know a great sound, but I always thought it was a little too hard, too cold ...
Evidently ... it wasn't, it isn't, like that. They just wanted a different husband. The husband of this kind of speaker must have tubes. Quality valves!

I will keep you informed if you like!

 

Congrats on the new amp looks like it will be very nice. My first and only tube amp is a Rouge st100. I had all the same reactions you had. I was blown away by how real everything sounded. There was an adjustment period because everything sounded different. I could focus in on any instrument and hear it more clearly. I can hear more of the silence around the instruments and vocals.

I have heard this for years. Tubes adding distortion and it's some kind of a Jedi Mind Trick. I'm not saying that isn't true. I think it all depends on the gear. I think my amp has more of the characteristics of a SS amp so maybe that why I have difficulty accepting that type of statement.

 

Congrats on your new amp looks like a beast! You should think about running it topless, if no small children around, those KT90's do run hot and extra ventilation is never a bad thing.

 

A very nice looking amp indeed! And a nice system to go with it. I hadn’t heard of either your amp or the AudioSonica speakers so we US folks are being exposed to some new names.

I agree with @jonwoody about removing the top cover. The amp will run a bit cooler topless.

 

My comment said ," what i usually hear". I am sure you understood that.
Of course, there may be a few exceptions that come with extreme price differences when comparing amps from the two different types (ss vs tubes) or in the case of hybrids. But, my statement would hold true for the vast majority of tube vs SS comparisons at the same price point and the absence of hybrid architecture etc (and whatever else you've got in the chain that could introduce a confoundance). For instance, if you already have a DAC with tube output stage in the chain before you start comparing tube vs ss amps etc...

 

No I get what you are saying. I believe it must be basically true, so many people claim it so. I like how my tube gear sounds and nothing sounds distorted. To me sitting on the couch it sounds cleaner if anything.

Maybe the Jedi Mind Trick works.

 

Looks very impressive ...i'll look forward to your observations as you have more and more hours on it ... how it will open out and more

 

a good tip for the OP ... unless like my Minute EL34 amp by SAC (thailand) the instructions request that the cage is left on as it is part of the designed heat transfer / ventilation and they warn not using it will shorten tube life ... even so from time to time i run it without the cage there is something about listening and seeing the tubes naked that adds to the experience of listening ..

 

here it is, guys, my little musical paradise.​

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

 

To reassemble the whole system ... I obviously had to remove all the pieces.
Headphone amplifier on the first shelve of the Solid Steel_rack, then the BluRay player, then, over there, the YAMA CD-S3000, and, above all, the Pegasus.
The mains filters are behind, almost invisible to the eye.
To do this, I had to move the rack forward one and a half meters.

Clean all the cables, clean behind the rack (of course ... there was a lot of dust ....)

The worst thing was that last year I gave the whole hall white paint, but I didn't want to move the whole rack, even heavier and bigger then NOW (I had an extra CDP, plus there was the power supply of the NuVista, great and big ... Move the whole thing ... it takes a couple of hours No ... I'm not exaggerating at all!)
So ... with great care ... with the brush I painted around the "stereo", which, so ... no one sees it, no one looks at the rear of my HiFi_Rack, behind it... ...

Too bad that, last week, my wife saw that I hadn't moved everything, a year ago ... she grumbled a lot, but I ... to make amends, I said that next time I will move everything.
Seriously èegh .. I will! (who knows if she believed me?)

 

and this is about the cables ...
I'm waiting for two copies of XLR signal cable ... they should arrive shortly (I hope ...)
maybe ... if I write that to detach, move, clean everything it takes a couple of hours ... well ... maybe, with these images ... who knows ... I am also believed ??

 

Enjoy your new amp!

 

Looking good! What is the tubed unit on the bottom shelf of your rack?

 

@siebrand Good job on the SoundCare Superspikes on the tiled floor.

Your system looks very nice indeed sir.

 

That's a beautiful piece and system, and I have no doubt it sounds sweet as hell. Audio derived joy is what we live for!

 

yeah ... I played a lot on the little things too, maniacally I take care of cables, plugs, spikes and everything else.
My ears tell me to do it .... And then ... when I'm alone at home, I move the speakers, with the soundcare superspikes, with great ease half a meter forward, slightly widening the distance and tilting towards the point 'I listen.
My wife is also happy, apart from the fact that she too has noticed that, in this way they sound better, but more than anything else because she has more ease to move them if she wants to clean up. for the question "what kind of device is that, that " tube "at the bottom ... well ... is my headphone amp for my Denon AH-100 (Denon's 100th anniversary model, produced in, it seems to me, only 1,000 pieces)
This amp, tube only, is UNIQUE in the world ...: my son-in-law is good in electronics, my son made the frame ... When they gave them the gift ... I was moved ....

If it PLAYS? hihi ... yes, other than ... it sounds divinely ...

 

Hi guys
Well ... it's been another two weeks now, I can say that the Burn-in is over.

I am still waiting to receive the new XLR cables (at the moment I use, to connect the Yama 3000 Pegaso, the simple "Supra EFF1" xlr.
I normally use these cables for the BluRay player, but I was too curious to understand the differences between a cheap XLR cable XLR and a expensive RCA cable.
Well, there are some differences...

Using fully balanced CDP / Amplifier mode has certain advantages; especially the scene is improved.
OK, you will tell me, "we knew that before too", but I personally did not know it, as my previous amp, the NuVista M3 could not be used with XLRs, having only RCA connections.

The first week I used the “Silcable RCA” between CDP and amplifier. I was really amazed at the great sound quality that was created.
Later, but only AFTER, I wanted to try to use the Yama S3000 with the Pegaso in a balanced way, in order to better understand the differences.

What is gained, what is lost? (we are talking about 100 euro / pair XLR cables and RCA cables that cost 800) ...
Well ... the stage improves a lot, really, "the audience" widens, and not a little.
XLR wins

The details… mmm… the macro detail, with the XLRs remains similar to that of the RCAs, but in the complexes I would say that from this point of view the RCA is preferable.
But the micro detail looks a little better, with the XLR. So ... detail: even, there is no winner

Dynamics, much better with XLRs. Using the expensive RCAs you have a clear feeling that the DR, with this system, is something amazing.
But than, I almost did not believe it, and instead… with the XLR it improves, and not a little.
XLR wins, therefore, without any doubt.

Tonality
What is the cable that respects the original sound of the single instrument?
That is difficult, because we do not know the sound that is used by individual musicians, we do not always know what instruments are used.
Intending to say… a trumpet is a trumpet, OK, but… every trumpet has its own sound, every trumpet player plays in a different way.
Listen to Keith Jarret's "Koln Concert" (ECM / UHQCD) on Steinway Grancoda is NOT listening to ANNE BISSON: "Tales From The Treetops" - Camillo / UHQCD) putting her fingers on a Bösendorfer.

Listening to Miles Davis "Kind of blue" MFSL / SACD) or Freddie Hubbard's "Hub-Tones" (Rudy Van Gelder Remasters) are completely different things.
It's hard to say which combination of cables has the most truthful sound.

I also listened (I must have listened to it hundreds of times, in my life, maybe even more) the double CD "Hot August night" by Neil Diamond ..
There are many instruments here. How do we know which cable respects the tone better than the other?
Well, obviously, I have to leave the answer blank.

However, I can say that with the XLR cable the feeling of having a slightly sweeter sound, especially in the mid-range (the voice, above all) well ... yes. The economic cable wins... or, better Balanced/XLR wins.

In 2/3 weeks I will receive the XLR cables (the manufacturer withdraws the RCA cables, which he produces) and then the sound will improve even more, I assume.
The quality of the new XLRs as material will be even better than that used for my RCAs, so I have no doubt about taking that one step further.
OK.
So far the cables. Perhaps for some a bit boring, as a description, but we are talking about a high-level HiFi system, and the cables make, (if done well), the difference!

And now ... the general impression... YOUR question: "After almost a month ... are you still happy, Siebrand?"
"Yes I am!"

The fact is that listening to CDs now has a particular effect on me, more than what happened before: My heart, if I sit "in the armchair", after a while it starts beating very strongly, VERY hard.
I mean… I am totally hooked on the music. I close my eyes, I don't look at the system, I don't look at the speakers, I can't read the booklet attached to the CDs.
I only hear the music, nothing else. I go into ecstasy. My hearth bounces... in a strange way, in a strong way....

Maybe now I have to confess… it's not true that I don't do drugs (I don't even smoke…)… I do drugs, and how: my drug is music. Music played with THIS HiFi system.

So ... for the serious rehearsals, in these two weeks after we last heard, I used, among other things, the records mentioned (Jarret, Bisson, Neil Diamond, Miles, Hubbard), but also some particular records , which I care a lot (being a trumpeter in the band of the little city I live). These are two discs of marches (HORROR !!! There is someone listening to the marches, here ...)
Mostly simple compositions, but full of JOY!

These are really outstanding performances, both of them 3--Channel and Stereo Hybrid SACD, Mercury (I only use 2 channell, by the way...)
Screamers, Circus Marches, March Time
Fennel Conducts Sousa


Well, the fact is that I enjoy it, this music brings joy, some of these marches we do play with the band, it is usually not a difficult genre to play.
That's true, but is difficult to play this genre WELL !!!
The difference is there ..
Play… or play well!
Well, Mr. Fennell is a true master of conducting these great orchestras. I wish I was good at playing like that.

But I am satisfied with listening.
These are old recordings, but extraordinarily well done, the SACD technology finds an excellent collaboration with the Yama 3000.
Dynamics, natural sound, Joy ... dynamic ... mmmh ... only now do I realize that I have used this word "DYNAMICS" very often, speaking of the Pegaso PA50 and Yamaha CD-S3000 ..

We will resend, if you like, when I have my new cables….







Finally… come on, my last word...… someone mentioned that full tube amplifiers leave some parameters behind.
It is true, of course, but if high quality circuits and components are used, an amplifier made like this does NOT suffer from these defects.
Therefore, it is easy to say: Tubes, OK, but only if combined with high quality components, and only if the project is of great class.
With the Pegas it is...

 

Well we are at the fourth revision, now ... I owe it to you

So after a few weeks of using the new cables, what can I say?
Maybe it would be better to talk about it in some thread where we talk about cables, but those usually "go crazy", so I mention them here.
Attention that what I write are MY impressions, they are not mathematical certainties certified by who knows who.
I simply feel how I feel, and I try to explain what this "what I feel" is.
Everyone is free to criticize, positively or negatively, God forbid !!!

So: power cables: both on the Yamaha CD-S3000 and on the Pegaso, “Silcable Limited” (but before the CDP I also put a Sound & Magic Extreme_V2 filter).
You should know that the Pegaso is supplied, already by the manufacturer, with an excellent power cable, a PC2 BCD developed and produced by Audio Analogue.
Pegaso is the brand that produces one and only tube amplifiers from this house.
This BCD PC2 ”is made up of 14 conductors (7 positive and 7 negative) of 0.8 mm each, solid core, OFC copper insulated with polyethylene, wound on a PVC core.
It costs about $ 150 / $ 200.
I'm not telling you this feeling the need to to blow from the top of some tower, I am reporting these details, instead, because I want it to be clear that the PEGASO brand strongly believes in the importance of power cables.

Well. The supplied cable is already an excellent cable, I plugged it now into my Yamaha BD A1060 BluRay player, which was powered by a simple "Monrio" cable, just a little better than the cable supplied with the device itself.
He (Yama - A1060) will thank me that from now on he will be able to work with a much better powercord.

The Pegaso is, in fact, very sensitive to the electric current that is supplied to it.
The more quality it is, the more it likes (but this is a characteristic of all tube amps). Does this Silcable Limited add anything to the sound?
Does it take anything away from it?

I would say, surprising you, NO! It does not add, it does not take away, it simply transmits.

Indeed ... it is not true that it does not remove ... It removes a bit of "dirt" from the sound, especially in the higher frequencies.
Small things, of course, but you feel the whole still earns a little bit.
The best thing though, once again I use this word, is DYNAMICS.
With the Silcable Limited the dynamics grow a bit more, incredible!

Warning ... the difference in cost between these two power cables is considerable ... they are not comparable ...
Is it worth it? Is it worth spending that much on cables?
Each listener will decide for himself.
Certainly with the GOOD cable supplied with the Pegaso you can rest assured, it's really good.
Do you want to "go up" again? Well. It is possible, we have the possibility.
This is the spirit that I have adopted, and I must say ... with joy!

Now …. The XLR cables that connect the two devices;
I replaced the "Supra" (returned to transmitting signals from the BluRay player to the amplifier, with the "Silcable Lisa".
I know, I know ... the brand is an all-Italian reality.
In Italy it is quite well known, but we don't hear about it abroad.
This is because it is not a large company that markets (also) abroad, but it is a solid national reality.
Certainly not the only one who is capable of making cables, but I liked the idea of having as much as possible Italian, in my HiFi set.
I also used the CDP Labtek HiEnd (tube) but it broke, so now I count on the reliability of the Japanese Yamaha ...
I still have to replace the speakercables (amp / speakers) and the HDMI cable from the Yama A1060 to the TV.
But time to time, one step at a time! Calmly, I'll do that too.
To see some of my cables, I refer to post 36

Too much talk ... shall we come to the point? What changes with the “new” XLRs?

They cost 15/20 times more. Do they also render 15/20 times more, in sound terms?
No, obviously not.

But at least… does the sound… improve? And if so ... in what? How much?
Well… as always, when you replace the cables…
the scene changes (for the better, in this case) the detail (for the better, in this case) the space around the instruments and the voice (for the better, in this case) changes the dynamics.

In practice… everything changes.
Everything changes but the main characteristics of the speakers, CDP and Ampli remain as they are.
I finally understand (now I seriously feel it) how important it is to have a quality CDP.
Now, that slight upward shift of the speakers is gone.
Now… I understand what my CDP can do.
Now yes, I know, how good my speakers are.
Now I know, how gorgeous my Pegaso tube amp is.
To find out, it is imperative to provide excellent quality cables.
It is not true that cables do not count, it is not true that it changes only a little, it is not true that "it does the same".

One can argue about the price. But not on the sound result.

I said, in the first line of this thread "I'm so happy". Believe it or not, friends. It's the truth.

 

Waiter, I’ll have what that guy in Italy is having, please!