You share the same opinion as my own WRT Musica's system - he paint is still wet on his amp and he is looking to "trade up". He has the basis of a rocking little system that would be hard to beat at the price. He can play with capacitors, speaker wire and interconnects, or improve his sources, but I am of the opinion that going with a 45 amp and a pair of LaScala's is chasing something that might not be there.

I'm using Shindo as a model for my own system, a poor man's Shindo in that the price point is much lower, most parts are readily available (unlike Shindo), and the amplification chain is designed and voiced by one talented individual. The ultimate speakers will resemble Petit LaTours, and the synergy in the amplification chain is a key component (if I can persuade Dennis to build a phono stage). I don't see myself with a Garrard 301 based front end, but I do think I can squeeze some more out of my Kenwood KD500. I'm happy with my Schiit and DB Audio Labs DAC's. In the end, I will have a system with a total cost of a single stereo Shindo amp. 80% of Shindo is probably 100% better than most systems. Dennis' products are well-designed and amenable to tweaks to the owner's taste. When only changing tubes, resistors and capacitors we are not changing the recipe, just adjusting the seasoning. It is a lot of fun reading about Jeff Day's experiments with his own tube, Altec, Tannoy and Harbeth gear. I may not have $100k in my room like he does, but I can splash around in the kiddie pool.

I'm curious how you can be getting 5 watts out of a 6V6 in triode - it must be running them at their very limit. I would expect that even running hard you would be hard pressed to get more than 3 watts out of them. I can see getting 7 or 8 watts with triode connected 6L6's run hot, and probably 9 or 10 with KT88 in triode.

They are simply amps/pre amps that perform well above their price point. Get a combo and you will understand. Good stuff from a guy that has been around a while. :thumbsup:

When I had the Shindo gear I could not get vinyl to sound as good as did with a Korneff 45 and Welborne Labs SS Reveille phono pre. The dealer said I needed a $1K step up tranny because I wasn't using a Shindo $20K Garrard. I bailed after that. I had 30K in the rig and at the end of the day it was just my stereo.

It would be great if we all lived within driving distance and could listen to each others rigs.

I'm fortunate enough to be close to In Living Stereo, which carries Shindo, Leben and Devore. Not everyone is so lucky.

It is a bigger problem in this hobby: so many brands sell direct now, with almost no brick and mortar audio salons around any more. To listen in person means making friends with others who you trust not to spill beer on the furniture.

I was at a recent gathering of the local audio club (I'm not a member, but this was open to members of another forum). There were a lot (30-40) of people there, but the average age was probably 60. People brought "audition" music with them, not music they actually would like to listen to. They then all lamented that the hobby was dying and no one was into music anymore. I explained that both vinyl and high end headphones was going like gangbusters, especially among the under 30 crowd. I was met with blank stares.

The event was hosted in the home of a hobbyist/small manufacturer of cabling. He had Volti-modded Klipschorns driven by a Loesch Preamp, Border Patrol amps, a VPI analog front end, the top of the line Lampizator DAC. In a second room there was a pair of Tannoys in reflex enclosures driven by another Border Patrol amp, an Arthur Loesch Preamp, and another Lampizator. The US Lampizator rep was at the event along with Gary Dews of Border Patrol. Vinnie Rossi was slated to attend but was sick.

I was excited to hear what I thought would be a pair of great systems with hard to locate gear. What I heard was...meh. Music choices weren't music that people actually liked to listen to. System setup was a bit compromised, half the guys were arguing over graphs of the latest B&W in a Stereophile article (seriously). Most importantly, it just wasn't fun. I wanted to listen to music I like to hear in a great system. I wanted to talk about the decision making process that went into the system design. Instead, it was kind of dead. No talk of tube-rolling, no discussion of capacitor choices (despite having an amp-builder in the room).

I really wish is were possible to do what we used to do as a kid: invite friends over to listen to our new kick-ass stereo. As a teenager, getting a stereo was a rite-of-passage gift, one of the big ones in a kids life: bicycle, stereo, car in that order. We all hoped for the big Pioneer or Technics component system but knew in our hearts we would get the JC Penny "compact" stereo system. But it didn't matter - we still invited our friends into our room and played records, starting with Dark Side of the Moon.

Rosco65.......Good post. I much prefer having a single friend or two over to listen to music than host a room full of people who just show up to hear how their particular demo CD or LP sounds on my system, then want to sit around discussing some review in the latest audio equipment rag like it is of some great importance. I find it far more pleasurable to invite one or two friends over, let them audition any music they bring, and play some of my favorite tracks. We end up in discussions about cabling, speaker positioning, room acoustics, and our favorite artists. These visits usually last a few hours and then they go home and I return to the peaceful solitude of enjoying music uninterrupted by discussion or the physical presence of others in the room.

It has been a number of years since I attended a few audio club gatherings as an invited guest. It was interesting to see and hear another system or two but never excited me enough to repeat the exercise or invite any of those individuals to my home. I much prefer listening to my systems in solitude or on occasion sharing the experience with a good friend. I have never felt a compelling need or desire to bond with groups in order to find happiness and satisfaction with my own activities.

I could not agree more!

This is my first posting on this site, and have been following the conversation on here for a couple of weeks. I'm a proud owner of a LP27a pre and Firebottle KT88 SE HO (9 pin), both built this Spring and Summer. Simply great gear. My speakers are Yamaha NS 1000 and I've found that the amp has plenty of drive. I expressed concern to Dennis if a 12 watt amp will be sufficient, and he was right. Thanks Dennis.

For the LP27a, Denis was great in providing a nice set of Sylvania 27 and NU 56 tubes (3 diferent pairs) and a NU 80 rectifier and Sylvania 6BX7GT. I'm running the 56 tubes for the higher gain (I think). I can't think of how the sound can be improved.

As for the KT88 amp, I had fun trying out different tubes, for now, I have settled on Black Treasures KT88, a Mulard GZ34 and RCA long black plate 12XA7, as opposed to the stock Gold Lion KT88 and JJECC99. This amp is great due to its ability to try a huge number of drivers This is what he wrote.

"You can use any of the basic 12AX, AT, AU, AY, BZ 7’s in the driver. You will find this new ECC99 offering from JJ is an amazing input driver tube."

I have also tried Telefunken and Mullard 12XA7s as well as others, and they all have different sonic signatures. Total fun to tube roll, but I'm not obsessive about it. I would rather play vinyl.

Adjacent to my Yamahas are a pair of Omega Alnico XRS, and driving them are two different 45 Tube amps (Music Reference 245.1 and Tube Audio Lab Korneff clone), connected to the LP27a. Regardless of the 45 amp used, the LP27a is a great match.

By the way, the 45 Tube amp has sufficient power to drive the Omegas. My favorite tubes: EML Solid Plate, EML Mesh Plate and Globe CX345 or UX245s.

I had tried Lores in my system above, and I'll post some comments about this speaker later on.

trackpad... Welcome to AA! :wave:

FloridaBoy: "Musica, you have a bad case of Audio Nervosa. Only the Zeka virus get more attention. Your present amp, pre and speakers are fine. Especially for a small space."

I agree with the last portion of your statement. I'm not trying to replace it, I just want another angle from Dennis's art, if and when I can afford it (;

, I'm quite interested in your impressions of the Lore's with both the KT88 and the pair of 45 amps, in particular regarding sensitivity limitations with the 45's. If Omega's Alnicos at 95 dB's can handle the 45's, why would the Lore 2.0 at 98 dB's wouldn't? Unless of course there's some impedance hump somewhere in the frequency range ... These sound just fine and plentiful with my Inspire KT88 amp. Thanks for any inputs. Welcome to the forum!

Rosco65: "You share the same opinion as my own WRT Musica's system - he paint is still wet on his amp and he is looking to "trade up". He has the basis of a rocking little system that would be hard to beat at the price. He can play with capacitors, speaker wire and interconnects, or improve his sources, but I am of the opinion that going with a 45 amp and a pair of LaScala's is chasing something that might not be there."

Wrong! I'm happy with it and will never trade it off. I just want a different flavor besides it for that occasional change in humor. BTW, I don't like it when people decide others' intentions. You seem to have several systems at the same time ... What's wrong with my interest in enhancing choices? Thanks for a more enlightened observation next time around!