Quote:
Originally Posted by PHC1
Does the CT-5 sound more euphonic or warmer?
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I would say that the CT-5 is more neutral but no less musical. It's a lot like my Dynaudios. It's more transparent, airier, resolving, quieter, with a more expansive sound, greater presence and imaging, more "plankton", more nuanced, and has more drive (but not a lot more drive). There's a very slight "hardness" to the Valhalla's Soviet 6N6P output tubes that the Sovteks do not have. Still, you have you to bear in mind that the CT-5 originally sold for 20X as much as Valhalla 2 and it does not sound 20X better.
The most accurate analogy I can give is the Valhalla 2 sounds like my Dynaudio Contour 3.4s with their original Esotec tweeters, and the CT-5 sounds like my Dyns with the Esotar 2 tweeters. Both sound great, very musical, accurate and easy to listen to, but the Esotars just take things to another level.
The most remarkable thing is how well Valhalla 2 holds it own against a much more expensive preamp. It's absolutely ridiculous just how good Valhalla 2 sounds for the money. It's just stupid.
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components.
Last edited by Puma Cat; 11-05-2017 at 05:45 PM.
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