Altec A7, Sun Audio 2A3, VPI Prime, VAS Nova MC, Fostex FE168SE

Click pic to enlarge. Note JBL 075 on top of Altec A7, Fostex Fullrage in DIY cabinet. On top of the rack, from L to R: Sun Audio 2A3, VPI Prime, CJ MV-75. Beneath, from L to R: TEAC UD501 DAC and Luxman C32 preamp; Luxman CD-S300; and CJ PV5.

Soldiering On with The Audio Handymen and Altec
Letter from NYC (71) 2017 (10): One Fine Day with Altec's

Yet another pair of Altec! But lunch came first.

The Lunch Party On Sunday, Andy threw a lunch party for the audio gang. Early in the morning, the weather report was frightening, forewarning gusts and heavy downpour from afternoon through the night, even invoking a Hurricane Sandy scenario. Of course, nothing could have deterred the gang. James as usual came from Philly and picked up Simon and I on the way; Anthony and Jenny drove from NJ. Mark came from LI. On that day I met Kevin, who lives not so far from Andy.

We were greeted by a cool but strong mint punch. And I noticed Andy's new Odyssey tonearm! He also dragged out his Cary 805 (misnomer; 300B driving 845) monoblocks, which ably played Ellington and other stuff for us over the course of lunch. The long meal started with some steamed stuffed tofu skin rolls and marinated pork knuckles, then proceeded to chicken cooked in fermented rice, Thai red curry seafood and a big salad. We were more than half full when the piece de resistance arrived at the table. Andy had marinated several racks of lamb. We grilled them and finished them in no time! All washed down with a bottle of South African Shiraz Mouvedre and two from Napa Valley. In all, a debauchery (I counted on my plate nine pieces of remains; surely I am a glutton for mutton). As if that wasn't enough, Simon asked for coffee and we were generously served the last of Andy's Kopi Luwak, the world's most expensive coffee (see here.) Andy was overly generous, and I feel guilty that the gang had bankrupted him; his next tonearm would just have to wait... Stuffed to a T, we took advantage of a moment's respite in the rain and shifted to Kevin's place for the next part of the program.

A7 and More
Here we met another nice audiophile wife! Kevin is a lucky man to have the large basement to himself. The hifi bug has really bit him recently and he has been upgrading his system at a good speed. First came the nice Altec A7 picked up from Pennsylvania, then the CJ PV5 preamp, the CJ MV75 amp and for this day, Stephen delivered his VPI Prime Turntable to his door. Stephen is the consummate handymen - from unpacking to listening took all of 10 minutes!

Altec A7 Background Info A word about the A7, even if I am not an Altec expert. Quite similar to its more expensive brother A5 (see brochure at end of article for comparison,) the A7 is called the "baby" Voice of the Theater. Long in production, the A7 had several variations and it can be confusing. Basically, the A7 usually employs the 416 woofer, my favorite (used in my YL; I prefer it to the A5's 515) and a high frequency driver less costly/famous than the A5's 288, housed in a cabinet similar/identical to the that of the A5. If you google, you will find lots of info buried here and there. This article by WAJ is an interesting start, and I can agree with most of what he said. Crossover Woes Altec crossovers are rather infamous for needing rebuilds/updates/revisions (at least according to audiophiles) and many build their own (like Leo's and Andy's A5's). I think Kevin's are originals. In this interesting link is an industry professional who built all his, in a meticulously tweaked system. Here is an even more interesting article from another industry professional detailing what the author thinks should be done to the A7. Note that all A5/A7 lovers love them for the same reasons, even if their approaches can differ quite a bit. Electronic Crossover For some reason it seems people in HK and the Far East opt more often to take this even more complicated path (unlike fixed crossovers, with knobs the users get tempted to constantly adjust the crossover points). I have heard several such attempts with horn systems, including Altec. Most left something to be desired, but a pseudo-A5 I heard in Brooklyn many moons ago was stunningly great (the system was tri- or quad-amped.) Amplifier Choice SET, PP, low or high powered, multi-amped, that is the question. Read on for more discussions below.

Altec A7 + CJ First we listened to Stephen's modified Ortofon Red, amplified by CJ PV5 and MV-75. I found myself listening to a sound that has long been familiar to me - a trapped and veiled midrange/bass I have heard so often in Altec's that were not done well. After a while, we moved on to an extra tonearm with Stephen's moderately low-output VAS Nova MC installed (0.8 MV, sufficient for the CJ) and things started to take a turn for the better.

Fostex + Luxman + Sun Audio Kevin has the Fostex FE168SE (Sigma series, 6") in his own DIY back-loaded horn Acousta-like cabinets. The system was probably his main system before he got the Altec's. This was now a secondary system, but all connected, ready to go. Many moons ago I had a Luxman preamp but didn't like its sluggishness (Stephen said the caps have to be changed). But this Luxman C32 sounded up to date driving the Sun Audio 2A3 (equipped with Arcturus single plates). The sound was quite wonderful, clear and sweet! Aided by a subwoofer, of course! I think we were using digital (a USB stick) as source, and the very humble Yamaha CD-S300 + TEAC UD501 combination did surprisingly well!

Altec System in Tandem with Fostex System At this point Kevin pulled off a hat trick. He blended the two systems together by manipulating the two volume controls. And it was great! Much clarity was added to the lower midrange of the Altec system. Surprisingly good! I have actually heard two-loudspeakers systems before, no less than Altec + JBL (see here!) Kevin's was in some ways potentially almost as good. Even if Andy said he heard some phase shift irregularities, and I trust his ears, I much prefer this amalgamation to the Altec's alone (with CJ, but read on...)

Altec with Sun Audio I then audaciously asked Kevin to swap the Sun Audio 2A3 into his Altec system. This turned out to be a LOT of work for him, as he had to move interconnects and speaker cables. It was finally ready, and the sound was tentative at first. While it had extra clarity, and much of the previous lower midrange mush was gone, the sound got strident when the going got rough. One factor was likely the much lower power available, but I knew I'd prefer to work with this rather than the CJ amp. As a SET amp user with several 2A3 amps, I knew the single plated 2A3's can be lean in certain systems, and likely not a match with the ruthless (I use this term in its best possible sense) Altec system. I asked Kevin whether he had double-plate 2A3's and he dug out his Chinese 2A3-C's. These are not what I expected - they are actually "bastard" 300B tubes with 2.5 instead of 5V filaments, but they have the advantage of higher outputs, 5 watts or so vs 2 watts. While I knew these are not as sweet as double plate 2A3's, we swapped them in, and after a while the sound smoothed out a little. Less strident but still not optimal. I went over to look at the TT and discovered the "VTA" to be quite off and we lowered the arm considerably after which the sound smoothed out further. At this point the ladies brought in some food. We were still very full from the epic linch, but we savored the home-made wontons and some fish balls. Kevin is not much of a drinker so James raided his collection (gifts) and we had some very expensive Napa wines and Chinese hard liquors. As we drank and ate, the sound slowly got better and better. Itzhak Perlman's style and tone in the Brahms concerto (EMI) was just as I remembered (I heard him live once) and the A7 did an incredible job at rendering tone, bowing and rhythm, even the intent of the performer; the background orchestra reasonably fleshed out too. This was at a moderate volume (there were a lot of us, remember), and I was satisfied; the cartridge and 2A3-C's were practically brand new and would need more run-in; I have confidence they will sound a lot better down the road. Andy also nodded in approval.

Some Thoughts
Although I have never personally owned any Altec loudspeakers, I have heard many A5's, A7 variations (including the -500) as well as 604/605's (largely 515 woofers with coaxially mounted small horn tweeters) systems. I have heard them sounding fantastic (occasionally), and I have heard them sounding dreadful (quite often). They are never perfect, and will never be (don't let anyone else deceive you), yet they are never dull, and they entice you to play on because their presence, evocation of the live event, is simply unrivaled. I'd gladly give them a day rather than, say, the Wilson Watt/Puppy, a minute. In HK we have a saying, they are 抵玩, meaning "bargains", not based on price only, but because they can entertain/torture you for a lifetime, I kid you not, and you would still keep them (who doesn't like a hot woman?) With these in mind, I venture a few thoughts on the evening's Altec proceedings:

• Home Use? These were theater loudspeakers designed to reproduce sound in huge spaces, driven by large amps. Theoretically, home use is a far stretch, but we have heard several successful attempts recently, haven't we? I count Andy's, Leo's and potentially even Kevin's as successes. Close to Front Wall All these people have a reasonably large space (LR or basement) and have these close to the front wall, which saves the most space. In-Room I myself believe in-room (subject to daily life constraints) yields better sound (certainly when it comes to soundstage) in smaller spaces. I place all my horn systems this way: in the US, the YL (its placement exercise briefly documented here;) in HK, the Tannoy Canterbury and TAD 3401. Note too one of the authors of the above links also have them in-room and near-field. Anyway, the most important thing is to make sure the placement has the least bass anomaly.

• Altec = Mirror Translated: Ruthless! More than most conventional loudspeakers, even those designed with skills, even modern day monitors, the Altec's never try to hide anything - the more so in our small (even large is small) rooms. Everything is reflected; even if something is just a bit off, it will be audible. This means equipment matching, including cables, to be of even more importance than usual. Tubes too - abandon the idea that what you think of as the best will sound better. Try a lot of Telefunken's and Siemens and your ears will bleed. This evening, the excellent single-plated 2A3's, which sounded quite wonderful with Fostex, did not sound so hot with the A7.

• Amplification Power and Quality With the sensitive Altec, we are talking about tube power - solid state is simply out of the question. When it comes to Tube Quality, it is usually in inverse relationship with power - the higher the power, the less pure the sound (why else are there so many SET fans?) The greatest dilemma the Altec user faces stems largely from the fact that the high frequency driver is a whole lot more efficient than the woofer, which is actually true with almost any dynamic loudspeaker designs, except that horn designs simply complain too easily: Too little power and the bass is not well controlled; too much power and the the midrange and high frequencies are less pristine. To a good extent, the evening's proceedings reflected these inescapable facts: The CJ MV75 sounded simply murky in comparison with the flea-powered Sun Audio 2A3, especially when fitted with the Chinese 2A3-C. Altec simply reflected that the Sun Audio delivered a pristine First Watt, compared to which the CJ MV75 was like grunge. Sure, one can spend over $1k to re-tube the CJ with GEC KT88's, but I doubt that will save the amp - it will improve but shall never be a Citation II nor McIntosh MC275. In any case, the excessive power is just wasted heat; note one of the authors quoted above sensibly used just a 12 wpc EL84 amp to his content. Bi-Amp This is a viable alternative. Note another of the above authors quoted used a 300B amp for the HF and a McIntosh 240 for the LF. As mentioned I have also heard a multi-amped Altec A5 to great effect. My Take I am definitely in the camp for SET (or even low powered PP amps like EL84's and 6V6's.) Personally I think some of the perception of lack of power stemmed from partnering with gear/cables that are too tight sounding. My old pair of Klipsch La Scala and current YL's do very well with BIG classical pieces on as little as 2 watts (I used 2A3 double-plates the most with my La Scala), and I expect no less, rather even more, from Altec. I am keen to re-visit Kevin, perhaps with a bunch of cables, in the future when the 2A3-C's and VAS cartridge have run in more.

• Crossover Woes? So much have been written about the poor quality of Altec crossovers, so there must be good reasons, but sometimes I have my doubts. My theory is that a lot of setup mistakes (like poor positioning and gear matching) can account for the poor sound, and it is just too easy to blame everything on the crossover. Remember I owned the La Scala - both my ferrite and alnico pairs through their original corssovers sounded excellent and played big classical pieces with aplomb. But I have heard La Scala's that puzzled me too. So much have been written on the internet about improved crossovers for Klipsch and there is a huge aftermarket - guess what, every time I heard those mods I wanted to run for the door, and this happened so many times I even wrote an article about it (here). I say, audiophilia and horns are a dangerous mix. Call me skeptical, but I have heard just too many expensive and bad sounding self-assembled horn systems (many TAD's) with DIY crossovers.

All in all, despite the weather, one fine day! Below are some Atec Brochures

Q and A:AES, Sonus faber, Clearaudio, VPI, Chinese made products

Q and A: AES, Sonus faber, Clearaudio, VPI, Chinese made products

Periodically I receive emails from readers on various topics. A few I answer right away because the questions are simple and easy. A few requests, like the circuit diagram on the extinct AES SE-1, took some time to satisfy. But there are many on which I procratinate; I hesitate not because I don't want to, but because I don't know the readers well. Many ask whether I'd prefer A to B, and these are not too easy to answer without knowing a lot about the reader. For myself, I simultaneouly enjoy many different things, though in the bottom of my heart I know my ultimate preferences. After some thought I have decided to periodically publish Q and A, of which this is the first. This is to let you know I hate to not answer mail, but sometimes it is not easy to give a conscientious answer based on the little I know of you. Now, from the newest first.

Q. on AES SE-1 (gwoods100) "...have you, by any chance, heard the standard SE-1 against the 'Signature' version? I'm contemplating doing the upgrade...do you know where I might locate a schematic for the Signature version? If there's not much involved, I might consider the upgrade and take a chance that it'll sound better.Incidentally, I have tried to contact Cary about this, but so far they've failed to respond to my emails (three so far, across ten days). Again, many thanks for the SE-1 schematic - and for other fascinating reading..."

A. No, I have never seen, let alone heard the 'Signature' version. What I have heard though, is the difference between the stock version I have now and the decked-out one (Kimber caps; upmarket diodes; better wiring etc) I previously owned. I'd say heavily modified the sound is clearer, but not necessarily musically better all-around. From my perspective, one's money would be better spent in another amp that has a completely different design, say the wonderful Elekit 2300 or 3200. Boutique parts are expensive and don't always pay dividends. YMMV. Some people build a tube recitified power supply for the thing, and I think THAT would be worthwhile, though drastic surgery.

Q. Sonus faber EAII (gysbertwillem)
"...I have had my Sonus Faber: Electa Amator 2 for years, very happy. Nad 330 to "feed" them...

I was not going to use the Nad that long anyway, however here I am now ( years later) and one speaker stopped in the low frequency! I have worked out that it is not my amp , could it be the xover, or is it the woofer it self. I have tried all the sonus faber people to advise me in this one ,simply no reply of none of them. Desperate as i am got me on to you when I found out about your web site. I know that you don't want to get back to the people who approach you, but could you please make an exception in this case of mine so I can listen to my music again. It is nearly 2months since this shit happened! Also I would like to hear your opinion about the Almarro 318 b in combo with Electa amator 2..."

I am really sorry that the second question is a lot easier to answer than the first. It depends on the music played. I think classical solo and chamber music and jazz would be OK for the Almarro 318, but big works or rock would not do for lack of power.

I have actually tried to contact also the SF HK dealer but got little. You have to make sure it's the woofer that's bad. In HK we have repairmen who can make it work, though how much up to spec's is not clear. It's too bad SF does not back up.

Q. Clearaudio and VPI (Babar)
"...I noticed your commentary on Clearaudio Concept. I just listened to this today and it sounded great even with the stock cartridge. I am considering to purchase this table, maybe with a better cartridge like Virtuoso or Maestro. I guess you still own this table so you must like it! I see you are very particular about your tables and the musicality is important to you as it is to me. I also considered Clearaudio Emotion CMB table which I have a line on for a very good price, with the Virtuoso cart. I was wondering what you thought of this table in comparison to Concept. Personally, I found it to be very present with great soundstage, but also overly bright and fatiguing (maybe was setup?). Also many people recommend me to stay away this table and instead consider Concept or others. There was something appealing about the sound but also maybe it was analytical or something bothered me as well which stopped me from buying this, as dealer was pushing me, insisting it was best value for the price ($2000.00 approx) The last one I think about is VPI Classic and would be interested to hear more what you think about this table. It is a little bit outside of my budget for purchase, however, so I am leaning towards Clearaudio (Concept most likely). How would you compare these two tables - i.e., will I be satisfied with the Concept!..."

A. Probably too little too late. Yes, I love the Concept and consider it one of Clearaudio's better efforts. To be fair, they do put effort in their lower end products, though the upgrade path is more of a pandora's box. As I alluded to in answer to another question, many times I'd prefer just playing with something else rather than upgrade. I suspect the Emotion itself, without the CMB, is probably a lesser turntable than the Concept. I am curious about the CMB myself, but the magnetic arm on the Concept is probably just as good as the one on the Emotion, and rare to boot. As for cartridges, Clearaudio would not be my first picks. Denon, Benz-Micro, not to say Ortofon, would be hard competitors. In any case I think all of them are OK. As for the VPI Classic, I think it is a bigger sounding beast, quite different and worth an audition. It too has too many upgrade paths. Too much temptation. Do let me know what you finally settled on and whether you liked it.

One thing though on the Concept: the price in HK is a bargain!

Q. China Made (Dana)
"...since you have strong Asia connections, how come you don't review more China components. It's my understanding that China high end audio components have improved dramatically in both audio and build quality. It would be most helpful to review some of these products like the DOGE 8, and maybe identify those vendors who turn out really good stuff..."

I thank reader Dana for his kind words elsewhere. As to why I don't review too many China gears, it's actually a complex question that merits an article on its own, and I am way behind. While I agree the audio and built quality have improved greatly, based on what I hear I still often have serious reservations about most of the stuff. As a rule, I generally frown on copy-cat stuff (especially cloning), and that eliminates many products (well western products too). The looks too of many of the gears put me off, neither here nor there. Most importantly, I think in general it can safely be said the Chinese designer is likely not quite mature in his MUSICAL TASTE, which makes or breaks a product. Many products do reasonably well on vocals but fail when it comes to full-bandwidth music. This is especially true of Chinese (including HK) tube audio products, of which I am not a fan. Despite claims, many of the transformers and designs just sacrifice both ends of the spectrum, to list just one of their sins. In contrast, I do think the Chinese solid state products are better than the tubes ones. As for speakers, well, they are few good ones, and most are just clones of existing big-names.

There are good manufacturers. Like YS-Audio from HK, which I plan to report more on. I also would like to write a full length reply, but no time yet.

The Yumcha Diaries 飲茶後記: 09-10-10 (HiFi 德 VPI Classic vs Aries)

The Yumcha Diaries 飲茶後記: 09-10-10

Showroom Audition: Ernest Audio HiFi 德
Talk Vinyl: VPI Classic vs Aries

A Classic is born
I was chatting one day with my friend Keung and we talked about VPI turntables. He expressed some interest in the Scoutmaster, and I was interested in the newer Classic. Spontaneously I called 阿明 of HiFi 德 and arranged an audition on this day after yumcha.

A little more on VPI and the TTs. I have not always taken to the sound of VPI. More than 10 years ago I heard a low model VPI (forgot model) with a Rega arm and did not like the rather mechanical sound (perhaps it was the setup). However, later, as heard at jeffr33's place, a Scoutmaster was lively and dynamite, and that had caused me to re-evaluate its offerings. VPI is a curious company that is highly eclectic in its multifarious approach to TT design. Many people still swear by the suspended HW-19, one of the company's huge early successes. VPI's reputation has grown in leaps and bounds in recent years coincident with the introduction of its unipivot JMW arm series.

After selling well for many years, the Scoutmaster has been eclipsed by the same company's Classic. The Classic has been in existence for a while, and had undergone small modifications, but it is quite different in design as well as appearance from the Scout and Aries series (including the similar flagship HR-X). Due to the popularity of the Classic, HiFi Duck does not even stock or demo the Scoutmaster.

One of the reason why the Classic is so hot is due to several awards in TAS, including Harry Pearson's endorsement as Editor's Choice 2010 :

"...The Classic, correctly named, has been made even better with a few quite small changes, which give it an even smoother sound. These are tiny changes, but consistent with Harry Weisfeld’s mechanical bent. The man is always on the lookout for a sonic improvement, no matter how slight. Oh yes, the changes, as told by HW himself: “I grounded the motor with an aluminum heat sink, the platter was changed to one piece of aluminum rather than two pieces, with a damping ring attached to its bottom (to make it quieter), and the arm increased by 6mm “for lower tracing error and better tracking.” And the price remains the same. You yourself can do a bit of improving if you opt to pay for the stainless-steel version of the Classic’s arm ($200), which I recommend for cleaner sound from your cartridges, and $700 for the stainless-steel record clamp that fits over the outside edges, the best way of the LP. The speed stability is so good thanks to Weisfeld’s design (based on earlier turntables, those from the golden age of same) that I think you can get by without the SDS speed control device (at $1200), which makes speed changes easier than does adjusting the Classic’s belt. A steal at $2500, this one does not suffer by comparison with the Clearaudio Statement and has prompted me to retire the much-loved Scoutmasters..." (note that in the full article, not available on the web, HP also quoted designer Harry Weisfeld's tall claim that the Classic may be his best creation regardless of price, but keep in mind HW likes to say that kind of thing). It should be noted also that HP's huge praise also elicited all kinds of comments on the net, in avguide (TAS) forum itself, including allegations of over-praise.

TAS' sister magazine HiFi+ also has a rave review from Roy Gregory, but the review I enjoy the most for its fastidiousness was from Germany (6moons).

Sibling Rivalry
So much for background. As the Scoutmaster is not available, 阿明 proposed to compare the Classic with the Aries. Based on his experience, he said that should offer some insight on how the Classic fares against its sibling. The VPI arms differed slightly in length and two different cartridges of roughly equivalent price were used. The gears are as follows:

-VPI Classic/JMW 10.5 arm(upgraded steel arm with VTA adjustment device)/Clearaudio Symphony
-VPI Aries 3/JMW 9 arm/Transfiguration Axia
-Clearaudio Reference Phono
-VTL preamp 5.5 II
-VTL power monoblocks MB-450-II
-Rockport Grand Mira II

We listened to several LPs. Heard as a whole, the system was hard to fault, no matter which turntable was in use. Matched with the excellent VTL tube products (which have a modern tube sound that I love; no soggy stuff!), the Rockport Mira's delivered superbly clean sound across the frequency spectrum. Here I must say HiFi 德 has always been very good at system setups. They have reliably provided some of the very best sounds at various hifi shows (same cannot be said of most of the majors). And this setup impressed all of us too.

Transfigured
As it was, the Classic combo was a little steadier in sound, a shade warmer and more solid. The Aires 3 combo sounded a little more extended and more refined. While part of this may be due to the difference in TT/arm, the difference in cartridge likely plays a major role too. What was definitely evident was that both setups bear similar sonic signature: supremely composed and rock solid; fast and explosive, as well as nuanced and refined, as the music demanded, all delivered with excellent rhythm and pace (PRaT). Here, I wonder whether HW's naming of his products are entirely appropriate. The Classic is mighty, as dynamic as the Aries, whereas the Aries is definitely not a brute (Aries is a Greek God of the violence and blood-lust of savage war = Mars in Roman; witness Holst's The Planets)! Suffice to say I enjoyed both setups more than a lot of hugely expensive vinyl setups I have heard:-)

Given the price advantage, for those who favor metal platters (many like whlee and me) and a classic look, the Classic indeed looks like a bargain.

A note on the Clearaudio Reference Phono. Thanks to Andy's loan, I actually got to test this at my home some time ago. While it is not a bad phonostage, to me it is not truly exceptional and lacks character (I certainly prefer tubes). Its gain is not exceptional too for such a high-priced product; I was unable to use it with my Ortofon MC-3000 (0.13V).

Knowing I was intrigued by the character of the Axia, whlee reminded me that my last experience with Transfiguration was at Lincoln's home, which had a very refined sound that I still remember. I'm sure I shall investigate this brand further.

阿明 told us just that morning An Indian customer came in to buy a small Clearaudio TT (I forgot the Emotion or the Performance) to take back to his country. But then he saw the Classic, compared the two and walked away with the much larger and heavier VPI, worrying about the over-weight charges!

阿明 also told us that the VPI Classic is selling like hotcakes in Germany (remember the 6moons review), and Germany probably produces more mid-end and hi-end turntables than anyone else. This should tell you a lot about what knowing and frugal Germans think about their own products. Personally I have always thought most of the German turntables (as well as other hifi items) underachieving and over-priced. I am glad the Germans themselves think so.

Man of Action
I would like to thank 阿明 for setting up the demo (and for finding about about the intriguing anti-skating on the Clearaudio Concept). 阿明 is superbly knowledgeable about the products he sells. For once, here's a man who is all action, not all talk. And whatever he is not sure, he immediately jumps on it and finds out, no bull-shit. I nominate him MAN OF ACTION OF THE YEAR.