mark evans
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Levinson 333 and Wilson Sophia 1's
Freako
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Sounds like a system I'd love to listen to

mark evans
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Quote:
Sounds like a system I'd love to listen to

Yeah, I think I will be able to say the same thing if I get to make the upgrade. I know that there are alot of die hard tube fans out there, so hopefully it just a biased (no pun intended)opinion on thier part.

I have driven some 4 ohm speakers in the past with the ML, so I really don't think it will be an issue. On a side note, the new Sophia 3 is sporting the Danish ScanSpeak woofer, and that makes me kinda want to wait until I can afford the 3 just for that reason.

Mark

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Sounds ok to me. Scanspeak has a great reputation, formerly known as ViFa loudspeakers. Norwegian speakers are superb too.

I have always wished to own a Levinson or Madrigal amp BTW

mrlowry
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Mark, why in the world did you put this in the entry level forum? Nothing that Levinson or Wilson has ever made could be considered entry level. Oh, and Levinson and Wilson are a good match.

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I had the same dilemma with Devialet, where else to put it?
I prefer here to open bar thats usually anything but audio, or the general rants section where again does not fit IMO.

Maybe this section should be renamed.

Thanks
Orb

mark evans
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Quote:
Mark, why in the world did you put this in the entry level forum? Nothing that Levinson or Wilson has ever made could be considered entry level. Oh, and Levinson and Wilson are a good match.

Your right. I should have put this in the loudspeaker section of the forum.

And thanks for the input on the ML and Wilson matchup.

Orb
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Bah I doubt most forum members scroll that far down
But I could be very surprised.
Cheers
Orb

struts
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Quote:
Bah I doubt most forum members scroll that far down


Of course there are some that rarely scroll this far up

Referring to the OP's question I would personally recommend a good SS amp over a good tube amp for any speakers with a challenging impedance characteristic. Tubes are good at supplying voltage but not good at supplying current - that's why high-powered tube amps need so many damn tubes! The possible exception here is electrostatics which need voltage. If you really can't live without that tube 'sound' then IMHO a tube preamp is the way to go.

I was shocked, shocked! at the improvement in sound quality I enjoyed when I switched from tube to SS with my Verity Parsifals, which I never though of as particularly hard to drive. Now clearly this is an apples-to-oranges comparison since these are two completely different amps, however the tube amp was a highly respected model that was actually recommended by the speaker's designer as being the best match. I feel sorry for anyone who owns these beautiful speakers but has never heard them driven properly by a really meaty SS amp.

I have never really been a fan of Wilson speakers but I do recall they were actually being driven by Levinson amps the first time I heard them. I have no doubt it is an excellent match.

Good luck!

Orb
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Haha so true
Somehow I forgot about all those actual audio threads until now because they became buried amongst the issue threads, last time I looked was quite awhile ago doh!
I think you may had been lucky with the SS as they do have their limitations/compromises until usually hitting the low high end where specs/design/implementation is better (quick example Ayra/Pass Labs/Moon/Etc.
Same can be said about tubes I guess with different compromises.
I do hope one day someone at Stereophile shows an interest in the latest anniversary McIntosh tube combination that have IMO state of the art tube performance.

To SM; maybe the structure/layout can be reconsidered as I am sure there are many missing either this thread or like me forget about all those audio threads way down and unfortunately not logically placed due to being in between Volume 31 and Volume 32.

Thanks
Orb

struts
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Quote:
Haha so true
I think you may had been lucky with the SS as they do have their limitations/compromises until usually hitting the low high end where specs/design/implementation is better (quick example Ayra/Pass Labs/Moon/Etc.
Same can be said about tubes I guess with different compromises.


I don't think I was lucky Orb. My comments applied to the "highest high end" and I now realize that without that qualifier they probably appeared completely meaningelss.

Of course as price and therefore component quality and design sophistication increase so does the potential for sound quality. What I meant to say was that without caveats of price SS outperforms tube for most "high end" (i.e. hard to drive) 'speakers. Once again, this is a general assertion, and there are probably many exceptions, but I have personally seen (heard) enough evidence to be convinced.

Orb
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Thanks for the clarification and yeah that makes sense

Cheers
Orb

mark evans
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Quote:

Quote:
Bah I doubt most forum members scroll that far down


Of course there are some that rarely scroll this far up

Referring to the OP's question I would personally recommend a good SS amp over a good tube amp for any speakers with a challenging impedance characteristic. Tubes are good at supplying voltage but not good at supplying current - that's why high-powered tube amps need so many damn tubes! The possible exception here is electrostatics which need voltage. If you really can't live without that tube 'sound' then IMHO a tube preamp is the way to go.

I was shocked, shocked! at the improvement in sound quality I enjoyed when I switched from tube to SS with my Verity Parsifals, which I never though of as particularly hard to drive. Now clearly this is an apples-to-oranges comparison since these are two completely different amps, however the tube amp was a highly respected model that was actually recommended by the speaker's designer as being the best match. I feel sorry for anyone who owns these beautiful speakers but has never heard them driven properly by a really meaty SS amp.

I have never really been a fan of Wilson speakers but I do recall they were actually being driven by Levinson amps the first time I heard them. I have no doubt it is an excellent match.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for the information. That's good to know.

Mark

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