Black Shadow 2 mkII Wired 845 monoblocks by Audion ....

joeinid

joeinid

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Wow! This seems like a thing of beauty. Anyone hear one?

http://www.ambienceaudio.com/product.htm?id=ubbmuhuh#prettyPhoto
 
Thanks Keith,

I guess I am SET obsessed now. I replaced some of the stock tubes on the LM-219IA and now it's even better. SET has that full, creamy, holographic 3D sound that I've been craving all this time. Not sure what took me so long to come back around. I am hooked, so much so that it's all I've been looking at since first listen to the LM amp. Thank goodness the Strads are mostly SET friendly that I don't feel the need to look elsewhere. The 24 wpc of the LM amp seems MORE than enough.

It's definitely time to thin the heard and focus on maximizing what I love about my system.

KeithR said:
Many times- what do you want to know? Could be the best 845 for sane money.

Very simple design with excellent transformers.
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Joe- sounds like youre having fun! I love high efficiency speakers precisely for this reason.

if you love SET, i would probably try a more SET- friendly speaker and hear the difference. IMO a 4 ohm speaker like the Strads is leaving stuff on the table. Although certainly monoblocks will be beneficial.
 
Joe - on mine, the only stock tubes I left are the 310a's. Believe it or not, I bought some WE 310a's and the stock tubes were better. Other than that, no stock tubes being used.


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Joe

Will the 40.1's (should they appear) even work with a SET amp? If not you might want to look at the model Lumina below Mike's. I was looking at it, but he raised all his Lumina prices almost 30% the day we all started talking about Mike's Statements and 40% on them.
 
KeithR said:
Joe- sounds like you're having fun! I love high efficiency speakers precisely for this reason.

if you love SET, i would probably try a more SET- friendly speaker and hear the difference. IMO a 4 ohm speaker like the Strads is leaving stuff on the table. Although certainly monoblocks will be beneficial.
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Keith,

I absolutely am having a blast. What's your top few SET friendly speakers for fun. I'm curious.

Would something like this help?

Autoformers

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Mike said:
Joe - on mine, the only stock tubes I left are the 310a's. Believe it or not, I bought some WE 310a's and the stock tubes were better. Other than that, no stock tubes being used.
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Mike,

Boy were you right about this amp. :)
 
Hi Jack,

Bruce and I heard the 40.1's with a Melody 2A3 integrated amp. I forget what model number and if it's even still available. That amp was 18 wpc and it sounded glorious. Never felt it was lacking but the choice of music we heard definitely played to its strengths. I expect as long as the power is above that, I should be fine. I don't play loud. Harbeth may not be efficient but the load is relatively easy. I should see them mid November.

Jack said:
Joe

Will the 40.1's (should they appear) even work with a SET amp? If not you might want to look at the model Lumina below Mike's. I was looking at it, but he raised all his Lumina prices almost 30% the day we all started talking about Mike's Statements and 40% on them.
Click to expand...
 
If the Melody worked the LM should be plenty at the volumes you play and a good bit above. Glad they are finally going to show and hope they are worth the wait.
 
joeinid said:
Keith,

I absolutely am having a blast. What's your top few SET friendly speakers for fun. I'm curious.

Would something like this help?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure on the autoformer side of the equation- you might speak to Ralph Karsten on the subject as his amps frequently require them. My guess is they are an ok, but not ideal situation. When you kick the impedance and efficiency up, you'll really open up the SET sound and play to its strengths. Its not as much about volume but head room that provides the effortless sound as SET distortion increases with power used (unlike other amps). I'd love to hear Cyril's opinion on this as well.

SET speakers-

Reference 3A Grand Veena
Zu Druid/Definition
Voxativ Ampeggio
Devore Fidelity O96

I'm a biased Zu owner of course as I feel they provide the best value for the $ :) If you are going to RMAF, several of these should be there. Since you are a Harbeth fan, the Devore might be of interest to you. I had an 2-hour "audition" last weekend; feel free to PM me for my thoughts. The Voxativ isn't cheap, but is a very good speaker and its Schimmel piano finish is wonderful looking. With KR amps, man what sound!

I'd like to hear the Spatials as well, although typically I haven't been a dipole fan in the past- perhaps they will be at Newport.

KeithR
 
Hi Jack,

Yes, I think the LM will be perfect for my 40.1's. I am anxious to get them and I DO think it will be worth the wait.


Jack said:
If the Melody worked the LM should be plenty at the volumes you play and a good bit above. Glad they are finally going to show and hope they are worth the wait.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Keith. I have a good amount of toys to keep me busy. Zu and LM/Melody are often mentioned in the same breath. I'm sure the Strads and not the "ideal" match for the lower powered SET type amps, but I ABSOLUTELY love what I am hearing and that's what counts.
 
Yes, you definitely have a thinning of the herd to occur at some point :)

Which do you prefer between Pass and Hegel amps? I'd really like to hear those amps against my DarTZeel. But if I was going to try another amp, it would most likely be Melody AN845 to have both a tube and ss option.
 
The one other thing about Black Shadows- they are cheap under todays audiophile standards :)

I like Sophia 845 amps quite a bit too, but their prices have gone insane. That's why Melody is such value (retubed)
 
Kev,

Those look awesome! but WAY too big for me. :(
 
Ha!

I know but what I have now is soooo hard to give up.

If someone makes me choose between the Pass and Hegel, it would be very tough because they are different but I'd give the edge to Pass for my listening preferences. The Hegel beats the Pass on open, 3D, height and width but the Pass has the warmth and sweetness that I crave. Both different but EXCELLENT amps. I would take the Hegel H30 over almost anything Burmester and even Dartzeel to a certain extent. I have not heard the big mono blocks, nor the upcoming 108 mark II.


KeithR said:
Yes, you definitely have a thinning of the herd to occur at some point :)

Which do you prefer between Pass and Hegel amps? I'd really like to hear those amps against my DarTZeel. But if I was going to try another amp, it would most likely be Melody AN845 to have both a tube and ss option.
Click to expand...
 
Agreed.

I read a review where the LM-219IA edged out the Melody amp. I forget what model. I think the reason given was the LM was a touch sweeter.

KeithR said:
The one other thing about Black Shadows- they are cheap under todays audiophile standards :)

I like Sophia 845 amps quite a bit too, but their prices have gone insane. That's why Melody is such value (retubed)
Click to expand...
 
joeinid said:
Agreed.

I read a review where the LM-219IA edged out the Melody amp. I forget what model. I think the reason given was the LM was a touch sweeter.
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It was probably Richard Austin's on Dagogo. LM and Melody have a bit different house sound. LM more vintage, Melody more modern. Each are excellent products, just depends which way you lean.

Thanks for the SS comments- I wasn't terribly impressed with the 30.5, but it wasn't in my system. Hegel is probably the other SS amp I'd try unless Nelson comes up with a PSET SIT amplifier. I must say Dart works exceedingly well with higher efficiency/impedance speakers- as the odd harmonic picket fence doesn't show up.
 
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