I always get happy seeing Tekton Design’s principal Eric Alexander. I’ve reviewed two of his speakers (the Pendragon and the Impact Monitors), and I am a fan of Eric’s "tweeter arrays;” they deliver a precise and seamless midband that must be heard to be appreciated. It's not that looks don't matter—they do—but visual tastes are personal, and sound matters more.
At CAF, I got to hear Eric’s latest: the $4500/pair Moab, which, powered by the attention-grabbing McGary Audio SA-2 stereo tube amplifier, made smooth, vivid sound.
I admit to being distracted by the beauty and features (and the $7985 price tag) of the red SA-2. The red and silver McGary is handmaid in Gainesville, Virginia. It is all hand-wired, point to point, and, is supposedly filled with fancy parts. The McGary website says the SA-2 puts out 80Wpc, but it does not mention tube type. The amp I saw appeared to be sporting KT-88s. The amp I saw also had this big beautiful knob which the user can use to adjust the amount of global negative feedback applied to the circuit. This feedback-adjusting knob is right upfront - not hiding on the back. To me this is a big deal because most audiophiles do not understand what feedback actually does (both positively and negatively) to the sound of a power amplifier. Most audiophiles have no idea what flower-like beauties are often sacrificed at the altar of low THD specs. Therefore, I wish more amps came with a knob like this.
The McGary SA-2 comes with a lifetime warranty, excluding vacuum tubes of course; those are warrantied for 90-days.
I wish more amps looked this stylish and came with a big knob and a warranty like this.
The SA-2 received it analogue signal from a $3500 Exogal Comet DAC and a loom of Anticables.
When the McGary amp was out of the system, the Tekton Moabs were powered by the Exogal Ion Power DAC.
