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OK, but do you hear how raspy your voice is? It's distorted because of the overload you have in the chain I think. If you do not hear it, all your observations in this video are not credible IMHO.

I really thought you were getting the Western Electric!

Gave up tube anything w Maggie's Modern DAC'S have discrete class A output stages, sonic analog

I heard a lot of good things said about Prima Luna. I listened to one on some horn speakers. It was okay. Nothing to write home about. I didn't hear much in the way of "tube magic" in them at all.

Wow! How could one spend all that money for the intent or purpose of "listening" to a DAC?! I'd be wanting to listen to music reproduced at a high level. What a sham!

Interesting insights, thanks! The microphone you are using in your room, which has an echo in it, is creating a frequency resonance in your speaking range that distorts your voice.

Separates are still the ultimate for me. Not saying all integrated amps sound bad. I still can't get pass heavy power transformers on the same chassis with phono preamp circuits. Also I switch power amps seasonally between tubes and transistors(mosfet amp), but like tubes more.

A lot of inexpensive SETs out there if you have the speakers for it, will sound exceptional. But hey this is a good setup for your upcoming new $10K Unison.

The SPARS code on the mastering seems to be different from person to person. AAD seems to be preferred for me. Try the Twin Peaks soundtrack.

Good content. Thanks for sharing.

I did n't watch this because I just wanted to answer the question It's all costing too much because 1) you're too stupid to refuse to buy it,. 2) communist govt's send people over with endless credit so as to buy up property and business forcing us into a pre www3 panic then crush us under foot, and finally - 3) “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” “Thou shalt not steal.” “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST “Thou shalt not covet.” Being bedazzled by stupid blue meters, wanting more then more then more, building temples of self worship to show off to friends and colleagues, how did you afford all that crap and where did they get all the ideas from in the first place, lying about other people's work. You think it stings now? Just wait until you die as see what you could have done with your enthusiasm if it weren't for being such a load of suckers on your way to the retail outlets and internet sites. All for the same electronic junk with new pretty blue meters.

Solid state rectification?

The website states 67lbs 😮

Archaic tubes and a record player for archaic vinyl. Distortion is not my thing but you do you.

i have a neighbour 2 houses away, he bothers me playing bass. i am 46. to my surprise my father cannot hear this pollution. he is 74. my uncles and aunts has certain hearing loss, and my granma was deaf. i always thought the elderly lost the treble highest highs, but now i know they do actually also lose the ability of hearing the lower lows.

I did my apprenticeship in 1966 as Boilermaker/ Blacksmith and the Training involved explaining how metal moves the art of combining certain grades (temperatures) of colours dull red through to nearly white hot and by applying high pressure air at the right time could make a chisel point cut through B quality steel like butter. Many techniques that seem implausible mealy need to be looked at with an open mind. Thanks for your insight

I use 12 to 56 Phosphor bronze strings on my Jumbo Acoustic guitar which sound absolutely marvellous.

Amplifiers are not a new and untested technology, some vested interests want to make it seem like something new. Any good designs from 1990 onwards should be just fine.

There is plenty of equipment for reasonable prices. As usual, the really cool stuff costs and arm-and-a-leg. Which kind do YOU want?

The founder/designer of Audio Note Japan passed away already. He buried his expertise so none of Audio Note products after he died sound as good as his. Same with McIntosh...nothing new. Mostly just a reproduction of the old one ....none as good as the old products when the designer was alive ! This is the fact!

Spot on 💯, that is why I scaled back on most of the youtube reviewers by unsubscribing. Audio is subjective. This is why I have the upmost respect for the speaker designer andrew jones.

I should save and replay this once a week. This was one of the most useful arguments in audio I've ever heard.

Well, I think it is more about design competence than separates versus integrated - Audio Note Integrated amps will beat most other companies' separates because Audio Note uses extremely high-quality transformers, caps, wires, resistors, and cables (they make virtually everything in-house) AN Japan and AN UK. Moreover, some, myself included, feel the best topology is the Singled Ended Triode (SET) so there is an advantage to the design being the most naturally linear amplifying device without crossover distortion etc. It comes with downsides like a lack of power so one must choose a reasonably sensitive speaker to get the amp to perform their best. But it should be noted that the Ongaku (AN UK or KONDO AN Japan version) are integrated amps - but both brands offer higher level separate versions of the integrated amp. They come in preamp and power amp and monoblock power amp versions but these will set you back 6 figures and it doesn't start with a 1 - or - 2. Kondo was always way out of reach for most people - AN UK made the products that were possible to afford - they make 2 less expensive versions of the Ongaku in the Tomei and the Jinro - these two integrated amps are identical in design to the Ongaku but made with copper wound transformers (Jninro) and Copper/Silver blend (Tomei) whereas the Ongaku is all 99.99%, Silver Litz. The Jinro is a little over $30k - the Tomeis is around $60k and the Ongaku is $130k or so.

I bought my VAC tube amp & ARC LS15 tube pre amp back in 1995 and still going strong Could I do better?? Sure, but to this day when I listen to my stereo rig I can't get the smile off my face

Nothing wrong with inegrated amps - some of them can easily put combos to shame. Try Sugden or Lavardin for starters.

Thank you for your answer! I listen to different music. But my preferences are similar to yours. There are so many amplifiers on the market. How is it possible to find a right amp?

This is a pretty epic rant. Just about everything is spot on. I've argued with reviewers over some of the exact points being brought up here. The only thing I would add is that if you stick with buying used, reasonably priced gear that is at least 5-10 years old, many time you won't lose much money when you sell it. I've even make a few bucks on item that I've held on to long enough that it starts becoming desirable due to rarity or the market realizing the item was undervalued. But yes, it *extremely* rare to make money off high-priced gear you buy new. Anyway, great video and I hope you get a lot of traffic on this as it may save some audio enthusiasts a lot of money.

U R Correct integrated is a great path 100💯

Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg, who was disciple of and went on to found New York Audio Lab. I bought his all tube phono stage with outboard power supply exceptional sound.Also had his NCP1 LINE STAGE.My buddy had a OTL Futterman on his Khorns it had bass you could feel the air it moved.Yes it happened to me synergy!

Hi, where can I get/ by this wallpaper "wooden sculpture"?. Very nice

Can't believe Dr Novak is also an audiophile! Small world.

The brunoco 6l6 integrated tube amp from Korea is build using altec a7 when voicing it. Should fit well with u altec horn

Frankley I have achieved my perfect system. My only interest from start to finish was to have nothing stand in the way of my Prima Luna Integrated amp. In my opinion my choice of valves is now the only thing that defines my sound. This is where I would be very grateful for advice; Prima Luna list an extensive array of useable valve types . I am looking for a single ended valve amp to partner with it in 'Tube rolling', I want to hear what "Single Ended Beauty" means and be able to try valves without always having to commit to "Matched Quad sets" in the P.L. As I trust the pre amp capabilities of my RME ADI 2 DAC,(They are verry proud of it) either an integrated or power amp only suggestion be great? My real problem though is I am a music lover that does not understand electronics. What am I looking for ? class A or for practical/domestic reasons my preferd class A/B? Do any single ended amp's give me the ability to try say a KT 120 or an EL34 or is that expecting too much? If they can potentially handle a variety of power tubes does that depend on the valve types you use as capacitor valves or/and those you use as rectifiers (P2)? I read specs' ,I watch reviews and go to manufacturers web pages and I still have not found answers to these most basic questions. Thanks in advance if someone can help.

There are some killer integrated amps. I am playing my Luxman L100 more recently. It has speed detail and clarity ...50 year old design. Also I like my vintage Rotel gear. First serous amp I had at school RA1210...still have it. It was a big jump from my Pioneer SA7300...my first hifi amp I got as a teenager. My first hifi show I was treated to the Duntech Sovereign powered by the Krell KAS mono amps ...over $40 early 90s....mind blown. Today I'm an Altec Jbl and EV man. Also I heard active ATC speakers at full power in a small hotel room. Again a memorable moment in time. I'm a fan of speed and dynamics with loads of midrange detail. I lusted after cd but I kept all my records. Today I mainly play cd as much as I enjoy my records when I have hours to spare. Cables are a whole new level of discussion. They matter and tune systems but I don't obsess. Hegel and Accuphase and others make some very high end integrated amps.

The WE 91E really skimps when it comes to output transformers, they are TINY!! Core size is KING when it comes to single ended tube amps. They can have incredible bass if you have large and well designed transformers. A proper 300B is a BASS MONSTER in the SE amp world.

i totally agree with you. integrated Amps have come a long way. my experience with them was/is rather positive. i had audition an integrated Accuphase Amp that sounded far better than "more expensive" separate gears .. i believe that more expensive does not equal better quality sound...IMO of course. thank you . great episode

About the 300b lacking bass , could an active subwoofer compensate for the missing bass ?

Trouble with separates is second guessing your cables, $100 or $500 it goes on and on. Give me a well made Intergraded any day, just like my Luxman Class A 590. After 50 years in this game finally found my Holy Grail. 🤓

I just bought NAD separates to replace my McIntosh integrated so I’m looking forward to the comparison.

Agree wholeheartedly, having said that, many tube amplifiers, the Ongaku included I believe, are two stages only, i.e. driver and power tubes, no preamp section, so this effectively makes many so-called "integrated" amps what I refer to as power amps with input attenuator. One of my favorite integrated amplifiers ever is an integrated, the Amplifon SET42 Special Edition, a single-ended GM70 amplifier (driver stage 6N6P, preamp stage EC86). I've never thought it logical that separates would by definition sound better than an integrated, as far as I'm concerned, an amp may be well-designed (or not) either way.

This hobby is about listening to music, not listening to gear. As I feared, within seconds, rattling off brands and model numbers, just as I feared.

In 2019 attended an Audio Note demo at Stassen Hifi and heared a level 2 system (AN-J LX Hemp AN-E SPE + ISIS Cable, OTO Phono SE Sig, DAC2 Sig, CDT-2) outperform a level 5 system (AN-E Sec Signature (SOGON bekabeling, Externe Crossover, M8 Pre Amp, 2x Ginrei 211 PSE, DAC5, CDT5). Although I also think the different room acoustics played a big part in it. On the first demo day, the Level 5 system, due to its weight, was playing downstairs in a small listening room and the Level 2 was playing upstairs in a large room with way better acoustics. On the second dag they wisely decided to move the more expensive Level 5 system upstairs. Unfortunate enough I wasn't there at the second day, but I still to date remember the great Level 2 listening session.

I totally agree on how both 300B’s | EL34’s lack bass impact……., but please look into integrated amps using EL84’s | 2A3’s | 45’s, they’re just more linear overall, with better snap and attack of notes.

As a proponent of both integrated amps and mini-monitors ( by choice ) I’ve had my share of separates between 1980-1993, but since then my systems were built around integrated amps period.

you may be confusing completely different designs (SET triode vs. P-P UL) and output tubes with integrated vs. separates. Have owned both. might be interesting to try that SET amp driven by the CJ preamp.

I like those added hand made wood bases for dampening of vibrations. Do you use any type of special rubber feet for that? As long as you go to the effort to make them, it would be worth finding extra quality feet.

Separates give you flexibility, t i wanted to update my av features, upgrading to a Marantz AV7005 gave me the features I wanted for a reasonable price.

Yep, it happens all the time the particular item is always a real instrument. Lol

Separates have more potential. Also, you can go active with a separate preamp.

Western Electric has high distortion levels. Probably makes it sweet for that reason.