Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:01 am by tinpan
Dan
I love to help you out, but that would be real hard to do as i sold my set of Cherry 260's in March to Tinpan
to help pay for my China trip.
I have to give it to Brian for trying those KT 120's out. Since I am running the Cherry 260's on a pair of Klipsch CF-3's I thought I would pull the 120's and go back to KT88's. My reasoning was these amps at 180 watts would be more than enough to run the CF3's and might sound better.
Once I hooked them up I spent about a month comparing them to the Audio Note set up. It's a difficult comparison to make because the systems are so different. Push pull vs SET, KT120's vs 300b etc. The DAC's and Preamp are similar though, all tubed Audio Note, though different models.
The one thing the AN setup does better than the Carver is the mid range. I have my Lowthers back on the AN set up and listening to acoustic oriented music, the mid range is so intoxicating you can overlook the weak bass. I am also using a Rythmik Sub on this system and it does well filling in the low end, but then purists will question whether this is a true full range set up. I have to be kind of picky with the music I play on this system, most rock and roll sound ok but not great on this system, I don't know if it's because the original music is compressed when the burned it to CD or what, but it usually lacks the warmth and richness I like.
The Carvers on the other had, especially with the KY120's slay the AN set up in terms of breadth of range. The bass is stunning with these tubes. I really don't see a need for a sub woofer with this set up. While the mid range isn't as warm as the AN set up it is still very detailed. Overall I think most folks would prefer this sound because it handles a wider range of sound, I think the highs are better and the low end will move you off your seat. I don't know if it's a function of push pull tubes vs SET or what but this system sounds great with rock and roll.
I
Tinpan
HT - Sunfire TG IV, Sunfire Cinema Grand Sig. 400 x 5, Oppo 93, Klipsch LaScala (3), Cornwalls (2), SW-12, Sony 60" LCD
2 channel - AN L2 Pre-amp, Carver Cherry 260's, AN 2.1 DAC, Oppo DV-981HD, Klipsch Epic CF3
2 channel - AN Interstage Mono Blocks 300b PSE, AN Sig. DAC 3.1 , AN Sig. Phono Stage, Sota Comet TT, Lowther Medallion Speakers PM5a driver, Rythmik F15 Sub
2 channel - Carverfest Mono Blocks, Grant Fidelity DAC, Klipschorns
2 channel - Audio Note Kit 1 300b SET, Audio Note DAC 2.1, Lowther Allerions DX-65 drivers
I think those would sound incredible on my Chorus II's... some day soon. 