Tannoy Black Silver ICL Model 2 DAC Sun Audio VT-25

Click Pics to Enlarge: From Front to Back, 12" Tannoy Black's in DIY Cabinet; 12" Tannoy Silver's in HPD Cabinet; 15" Tannoy Gold's barely seen. 

Virtual Home Visit (3): Tannoy Rarities, Softone/ICL, Sun Audio and DIY Cabinets and Tube Amps

How Time Flies! Last time I reported on our Hong Kong Yumcha Friend K.C. was almost 10 years ago (here)! I have maintained a connection with them via our yumcha WhatsApp group, and it comes in handy during these tough times. You can look forward to many home visits down the pipeline.

Tannoy Black Silver Gold In that article I gave the details of his setups, particularly the extremely rare and expensive Tannoy Black drivers, so please read that for background as I am not going to repeat myself here.

Softone/ICL Model 2 DAC For Digital, K.C. has always used his trusty Philips CD-850 as transport. I sold him the Softone/ICL Model 2 DAC  (still sold here). IMHO it is excellent value for price. It employs a pair of 6DJ8 valves and can handle up to 24/96. Being a DIY'er, of course K.C. had modified it to his satisfaction (I'd change those Japanese brown caps). Should you like to read more on this small but interesting company, I have previously reported on Softone/ICL Models 1, 2, 3 here; I also reported on the Model 4 Phono here. You can call me a fan of this company.

Sun Audio VT-25 Amp Sun Audio is justly famous for their 2A3 amp, which my NYC friend Kevin also owns. It has two primaries, 2.5K and 3.5K and can be easily converted to 300B (I had both, but sold them before I left HK). But the VT-25 is a rarer bird. It uses a lower 8K for the VT-25 and also has a 5K winding, which can be easily converted to a 45 amp (I have done it for a friend). I had another one which I converted to 300B ("mismatched" impedance) and the result was excellent. This is rated at 1.2 wpc, and can drive the La Scala pretty well, but not so much Lowther or Tannoy Canterbury. I loaned it to K.C. before I left HK, and he said it surprisingly drives his Tannoy's very well. Note that the older Tannoy's are easier to drive than current ones.

DIY SE EL34 Amp

Below is a Chinese TV series which features on the sideline hi-end audio. This Lady

got to listen to a 40K RMB system and got the shivers. She borrowed the CD.

But in the next episode (plays automatically) she discovered it was not the same

on her computer,and she went shopping for a system.