[Peter Wieck]

On Mar 26, 12:24=A0am, Audio Empire wrote:
We all assume that today's new equipment is so much better than yesterday=
's.
New materials, improved technology, better components; all conspire to gi=
ve
us levels of performance unheard of a generation ago. =A0Certainly that's=
true
with speakers, today's CD players certainly outperform those of the mid
'80's, Today's phono cartridges are better than those of vinyl's heyday, =
as
are arms, and to a certain extent, turntables. But what about electronics=
? Of
course they're better, they just have to be. Better circuits, better
capacitors, better resistors, modern output devices etc. Well, I had that
smug conviction badly shaken recently.

An audiophile buddy of mine called to say that he had a couple of "new"
acquisitions that he wanted my opinion of. When he showed-up, I was somew=
hat
amused. His "new" equipment consisted of a pair of MONO Eico HF-20 integr=
ated
amplifiers from the 1950s. My friend had recently bought these from dispa=
rate
sources. He had run across one of them about a year ago at a garage sale =
and
was so impressed with it that he bought it and then started looking for a
mate (for stereo). Well, he recently found =A0the mate to the unit and so
equipped he started their "resurrection". The hardest part was replacing =
the
multi-section electrolytic capacitor in the power supply (these are no lo=
nger
available), which he did with modern tubular capacitors from Rubicon moun=
ted
under the chassis (where there was plenty of room). He then cleaned the
controls, replaced the tubes, and fired them up. They both sounded fine, =
It
was then that he called me.

Now, my main speakers are a pair of Martin-Logan Vista electrostatic hybr=
ids.
I was skeptical that a pair of =A020-Watt amps could drive the M-Ls , but=
was
willing to try. After making two-pairs of spade-lug-to-banana-jack adapte=
rs
(the old Eicos had those phenolic strip screw terminal speaker connection=
s on
the back which won't accommodate today's spade-lugs (screws are too close=
to
one another), much less a pair of banana plugs), we fired the amps up aft=
er
connecting them to my Sony XA777-ES SACD/CD player.

The first thing that I noticed was that while my guess was that the amp
wouldn't be able to elicit more than a peep from the M-Ls, I was quite wr=
ong.
I got normal listening levels with the volume control only cracked to abo=
ut
the 10 o'clock position (all the way closed is about 8 o'clock). That was
startling enough, but what came next was even more startling. =A0The amps
sounded every bit as good as any modern amp. Now, I didn't do any DBTs
against my reference amp or any such thing as that, I just listened. The
little Eicos had solid, tight bass (often a failing of older tube amps) b=
ut
these had huge output transformers for their power - easily as big as the
Acrosound untra-linear transformers that rival Dynaco used in their MK II
monoblock amps (50 Watts/channel), and I attrubute their decent bass to
those! =A0Mids were clear and clean with good presence on vocals. Highs w=
ere
clean, articulate, and didn't sound particularly rolled-off. =A0This real=
ly
surprised me as the impedance of the M-Ls drops to under 2 Ohms at 20 Khz=
..

The only place I noticed any distress at all was on loud crescendos or wh=
en I
pushed the amp to high average levels of volume with the control well pas=
t
the noon position. At that point things started to get a little thick
sounding. I get the general idea that with more efficient loudspeakers, t=
hese
little amps would equate themselves very handsomely at all volume levels =
with
any kind of music. =A0I could happily live with them as my main system if
coupled to a decent pair of high-efficiency speakers. My friend plays the=
m
through a pair of recently acquired Warfedale W60Ds with a vintage Thoren=
s
TD-150 turntable/arm and a Sumiko Blue-Point Special cartridge. I'll bet =
the
combo sounds marvelous. I almost envy him.

Aw, fer crissakes!

Guys and gals - this is a hobby - And this forum exists to support
that hobby. There are cutting edge technologies out there, there are
vintage technologies out there and they all have their place in the
choir. Permit some 'observations' i.e.: Opinions that I hold. Not holy
writ by any means.

1. It is impossible to get the same performance out of a pair of
earbuds, computer-speakers or even very good headphones as out of a
pair of even moderately decent full-range speakers. These smaller
items simply cannot move enough air to permit any sort of ambience
outside of the skull. I do have a pair of rather good headphones - and
they are used _only_ when courtesy requires, never by preference.

2. I would never argue that tubes are better than solid-state. However
I would argue that as-applied-in-real-life, many good tube amplifiers
sound better than many solid-state amplifiers of the same approximate
power rating. Much of that has to do with behavior at the margins as
most (but not all) tube equipment clips softly whereas most (but not
all) solid state equipment does not. And some ears prefer the
colorations of tube equipment.

3. Very good speakers driven by very good electronics are incredibly
revealing. And that is not always a 'good' thing. With well-recorded,
well engineered, well played music it mostly is. Otherwise, the mud &
fudge added by inherent limitations hides other defects.

4. Vinyl shares the same general characteristics of tubes. Some prefer
its colorations, and very good vinyl systems sound very good indeed.
Is it necessarily exactly what was recorded in the same way as with a
CD or other digital source? No. But neither is that the point.

5. Headroom will do more for a conventional/traditional stereo system
than any other single user-operable input. All other things being
equal, a 500 watt amp will sound better (more revealing) than a 10
watt amp. Although a 100 watt amp might not. So ultra-clean high-
wattage power amps are a definite addition to the hobby - although by
accident of being so revealing that may not necessarily be
appreciated. Too often I have seen defects in the recording process
attributed to 'brittle' amplification.

6. Audio is much like wine - a matter of preference, experience,
availability and the moment. Our audio memory is generally wretched,
inaccurate and wildly distorted such that even 24 hours after an
experience there will be _NO_ reliable memory for it. Much as a wine
one day enjoyed with tacos the next day is nasty with fresh fish - but
we remember it as good from the previous day and therefore blame the
fish.

Just recently, I almost entirely reconfigured the "main" system. The
only two items from the previous configuration are the CD changer and
the tuner/pre-amp. Changed out were the speakers (MGAs replaced by MG-
IIIs) and the power-amp (Revox A722 replaced by a Citation 16). Sound
pretty wonderful. Also pretty ancient given that the newest item on
the table is the changer at 6. Tuner/pre-amp at 37, power-amp at 35,
speakers at 30+. The previous system was more-or-less unchanged for 3
years - and the change was driven by the opportunity to obtain a very-
nearly-perfect set of MG-IIIs for sparrow-feed. Cosmetics being the
only-and-very-minor issue. I expect I am getting more fun and pleasure
out of $2,000 worth of stuff than many here get out of their much
more costly equipment. Opinion based on some of the discussions here,
not a judgment.

In any case, ENJOY fer crissakes.....

Been lurking for over a year - and then saw this... Yikes!

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA