Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo My Best 2 Channel Amp Elevated

So, I have been basking in the glory of my favorite 2 channel music system, a 5 watt per channel Antique Sound Labs MG S1 15dt driving a pair of Axiom made (I figure enough time has passed that I can say that straight out) Michaura M66 speakers and Dahlquist 15" subwoofer. (Not the one which emitted acrid white smoke along with prodigious and glorious bass output. I wish I had used a CO2 extinguisher instead of that powder mess)

I improved the sound to a spectacular level by swapping in a pair of Tung Sol 6550s and 12ax7s.

Anyway, glorious good was not good enough. So, I called Tash Goka, from Divergent Technologies and asked him for his recommendation for best tubes for this amp. He said, words to the effect, you already have them. Call Chris VenHaus at V-Cap and get a pair of his output coupling capacitors.

Now, these caps are nose-bleed expensive, but, hey, this is a hobby.

So, I had them cobbled in (they are large) damped with some 3M double sided white foam tape, and lived with them for the past 2 months.

I auditioned them for some of our SoCal jazz audio junkies who to a man thought the amp is now mind blowingly, jaw-droppingly, excellent.

One of our minions just took delivery of a used ASL MG S1 15dt. His is already equipped with a pair of Winged C 6550s. I don't know if he is crazy enough to go with a pair of V-Caps, but it already sounds incredibly good.

We have T.H.E. Show Newport audio show going on starting today. We'll make the rounds this weekend and then compare to our gear. Will be fun.

For those of you who know that tube amps are inferior, we have a group of educated, practiced audio hobbyists, including lawyers, doctors, brokers, engineers, all in this group appreciate solid state gear, but to a man, this bunch, prefers the sound quality of excellent tube preamp and amplification.

Once the cabal is assembled, we'll drag in the M100s and see how they do with the 5 wpc tubie. Too bad, the EP600 will not be here in time for this get together.

Anyway, thank you Tash Goka and Chris VenHaus!!

AND

Oh, BTW, I'm pretty sure that Pierre Sprey's Clearview Mapleshade Double Golden Helix Plus speaker wires contribute to the awesome sound quality of this system.