organ
08-15-2003, 06:16 PM
I've had this pre-amp for about a month now and it should be fully broken in. This review will be divided into two sections. I tried the ASL with two different amps, one SS and the other tube.
The ASL AQ-2004DT is a pure Class A tube pre-amp. It uses three tubes, a single 12AX7(ECC83) and a pair of 12AU7(ECC82). For a tube pre-amp, this is as simple as it gets! It retails for for $299USD and I think this is THE pre-amp to match with any SS or tube power amps. I know you're wondering how the hell a $299 pre-amp can sound good? First of all, it doesn't have a phono section. Adding a decent phono section could increase te price by $50-$100 depending on the quality. #2 It doesn't have any bass/treble/balance conrol. #3 Only has three inputs. #4 Class A tube designs are much simpler than a Class A SS. Now you can see why I think this pre is the best bang for your hard earned cash.
Build quality: This pre-amp has a very nice "audiophile look". It has a classy and simple look, much better than the pictures around the net. The chassis is all metal and painted black, with the brand name written in gold under a red LED. A single transformer is located behind the three tubes and all inputs and output connections is gold plated.
ASL with NAD C270: At the time I received the ASL, I wasn't using my Dynaco because the quad cap was leaking. A replacement cap arrived a week later.
I ordered the ASL from www.audioweb.com. My mother woke me up early in the morning and gave me the box. I can see that audioweb took good care to make sure it arrives in one piece because the box had a paper labeled "Live Animal" on it. Anyways, I opened it up and installed the tubes that came with it. The tubes ASL shipped with ther pre was JJ/Tesla tubes made in Slovakia. I plugged everyting in and hooked it up to my NAD C270. I let the tubes heat up for a bit and then I put in my Opera CD. The frst track was "Habanera" from Carmen, performed by Victoria de Los Angeles. The tube sound was there loud and clear. The orchestra's sound had a lot of weight and sounded very rich with much better soundstaging than my previous SS pre-amp. Vocals sounded extremely smooth and voluptuous in an erotic kind of way. It sounds so good that even today, I still get butterflies in my tummy when listening to a good recording! Ever since my Dynaco's capacitor went bad, I was dying to get the tube sound back and that's why I got the ASL. Now I was very happy. I had no idea my NAD C270 could sound so sweet. IMO, SS stuff will sound lifeless and dull without tubes somewhere in the component chain. Or maybe my NAD pre amp isn't very good. But I have to agree with what I've read around the net that "SS have no soul". Tubes really bring out the emotions and atmosphere in music. I never got butterflies in my tummy while listening to an all SS system.
Next CD was Immortal (Sons of Northern Darkness). This Norweigan band recorded ther album in the famous "Studio Abyss" in Sweden. The recording is top notch for black metal. I was lucky enough to see Immortal perform in April and still remember how they sound live. The opening track "One by One" is just pure chaos. Very fast drumming, crazy guitars and a "lizard like" vocals. Everything sounded awesome and was a big improvement over the NAD C160 pre. With the tube pre-amp, everything sounded less "metallic" and more organic. The biggest improvement was slam and dynamics. I had no idea my NAD power amp can hit so hard. My LSi9's also played deeper than ever before. I couldn't believe the difference, especially in bass. The bass was tighter, punchier, and deeper with great control. Bass drums and bass guitars was very easy to tell apart from eachother. I was extremely happy with the sound.
After a week my quad capacitor finally came in.
ASL with Dynakit ST-70 tube amp: After a few hours with a soldering iron installing the new quad cap and bias replacement, I was ready to hear the ASL with a tube amp. The Dynakit ST-70 is a Class A push-pull tube amp. Power rating is 35w/ch. It sounds low but let's not forget that tube watts is actually much more than SS watts. The ST-70 is currently uaing a quad(4) of Electro Harmonix EL-34 tubes, a Sovtek 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier tube, and a pair of 7199 GE from te 70's which sounded better than Sovtek's 7199. The Dynaco is a vintage amp and I have changed the inputs to gold plated and soldred binding posts directly to the 4-ohms tap from the output transformer.
About two months ago I had a post about the ST-70 not having enough juice to power the LSi9's. After a post on the Dynaco-doctor.com forum, I was informed that a leaky quad cap will make the amp sound weak and anemic. It was also producing a loud hum. After I replaced the quad cap, the hum went away and the amp was much more powerful. Now it powers the LSi9's with ease.
The sound of the ASL and Dynaco combo is the best I have heard, especially the mid-range and highs. The mids is so open, full bodied, and clear. I can finally hear the throats of the perfomers, lips smacking and breaths being taen between lines. Everything sounds so real. The top end just shimmers especially with cymbals. About a week ago, I changed the tubes in the pre. I got a pair of Electro Harmonix 12AU7 and an Ei 12AX7. The sound is much better than the stock Tesla tubes. There's another great thing about tube equipmets, is being able to change the sound by tryin out different tubes.
I don't know if it's the euphonic sound tubes produce but when I close my eyes, it feels like I'm in a very peaceful and relaxing dream. I always get a picture in my heard of watching swans just gliding over a waveless lake in the late afternoon with some nice trees in the background. I swear this is not a lie. I've never felt like this with any SS equipments.
Because of this, I went to my CD collection and grabbed some CD's I listened to three years ago, in the winter to be precise. Durin that time, I was havig such a blast. I wasn't working and didn't have to much worries and stress. I put the CD on, closed my eyes and I swear it was like de ja vu. I had the same feelings inside of me and it almost brought me into tears. It felt like it was winter outside even though it's summer and all these emotions I was feeling at the time just came back out. Now, when I do this stuff with SS equipments, it works but I only get a fraction of what I got with tubes. With SS, I'd sit there and say to myself "yeah, it sounds a lot better than 3 years ago" and "yeah, I remember doing this and that and feeling good". But SS never hits me as hard emotionally as tubes. SS makes you remember the feelings and emotions you were going through, but the tubes just bring them out. It's almost like a drug or an outer body experience. If you don't believe me, find someone who has a tube set-up, bring some older and new CD's, tell him to dim the lights, then tell him to leave you alone, then close your eyes and you'll see.
Notice that the second part of the review doesn't really focus on sound quality but rather it focuses on emotions? this is exactly what tubes do best. When listening to tubes, you're not going to sit there and say to yourself, the bass is nice, mids is sweet, etc. Instead you'll get lost in the music. You'll feel the emotions the artist intended to give you, and it brings back feelings and memories you thought had escaped from your brain. Having a tube pre-amp and a SS amp will get you half way there, but going all tubes is the best. Instead of focusing on the sound, you'll be focusing on your emotional level and isn't that what we're always trying so hard to achieve?
Thanks for reading my review guys.
Maurice
The ASL AQ-2004DT is a pure Class A tube pre-amp. It uses three tubes, a single 12AX7(ECC83) and a pair of 12AU7(ECC82). For a tube pre-amp, this is as simple as it gets! It retails for for $299USD and I think this is THE pre-amp to match with any SS or tube power amps. I know you're wondering how the hell a $299 pre-amp can sound good? First of all, it doesn't have a phono section. Adding a decent phono section could increase te price by $50-$100 depending on the quality. #2 It doesn't have any bass/treble/balance conrol. #3 Only has three inputs. #4 Class A tube designs are much simpler than a Class A SS. Now you can see why I think this pre is the best bang for your hard earned cash.
Build quality: This pre-amp has a very nice "audiophile look". It has a classy and simple look, much better than the pictures around the net. The chassis is all metal and painted black, with the brand name written in gold under a red LED. A single transformer is located behind the three tubes and all inputs and output connections is gold plated.
ASL with NAD C270: At the time I received the ASL, I wasn't using my Dynaco because the quad cap was leaking. A replacement cap arrived a week later.
I ordered the ASL from www.audioweb.com. My mother woke me up early in the morning and gave me the box. I can see that audioweb took good care to make sure it arrives in one piece because the box had a paper labeled "Live Animal" on it. Anyways, I opened it up and installed the tubes that came with it. The tubes ASL shipped with ther pre was JJ/Tesla tubes made in Slovakia. I plugged everyting in and hooked it up to my NAD C270. I let the tubes heat up for a bit and then I put in my Opera CD. The frst track was "Habanera" from Carmen, performed by Victoria de Los Angeles. The tube sound was there loud and clear. The orchestra's sound had a lot of weight and sounded very rich with much better soundstaging than my previous SS pre-amp. Vocals sounded extremely smooth and voluptuous in an erotic kind of way. It sounds so good that even today, I still get butterflies in my tummy when listening to a good recording! Ever since my Dynaco's capacitor went bad, I was dying to get the tube sound back and that's why I got the ASL. Now I was very happy. I had no idea my NAD C270 could sound so sweet. IMO, SS stuff will sound lifeless and dull without tubes somewhere in the component chain. Or maybe my NAD pre amp isn't very good. But I have to agree with what I've read around the net that "SS have no soul". Tubes really bring out the emotions and atmosphere in music. I never got butterflies in my tummy while listening to an all SS system.
Next CD was Immortal (Sons of Northern Darkness). This Norweigan band recorded ther album in the famous "Studio Abyss" in Sweden. The recording is top notch for black metal. I was lucky enough to see Immortal perform in April and still remember how they sound live. The opening track "One by One" is just pure chaos. Very fast drumming, crazy guitars and a "lizard like" vocals. Everything sounded awesome and was a big improvement over the NAD C160 pre. With the tube pre-amp, everything sounded less "metallic" and more organic. The biggest improvement was slam and dynamics. I had no idea my NAD power amp can hit so hard. My LSi9's also played deeper than ever before. I couldn't believe the difference, especially in bass. The bass was tighter, punchier, and deeper with great control. Bass drums and bass guitars was very easy to tell apart from eachother. I was extremely happy with the sound.
After a week my quad capacitor finally came in.
ASL with Dynakit ST-70 tube amp: After a few hours with a soldering iron installing the new quad cap and bias replacement, I was ready to hear the ASL with a tube amp. The Dynakit ST-70 is a Class A push-pull tube amp. Power rating is 35w/ch. It sounds low but let's not forget that tube watts is actually much more than SS watts. The ST-70 is currently uaing a quad(4) of Electro Harmonix EL-34 tubes, a Sovtek 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier tube, and a pair of 7199 GE from te 70's which sounded better than Sovtek's 7199. The Dynaco is a vintage amp and I have changed the inputs to gold plated and soldred binding posts directly to the 4-ohms tap from the output transformer.
About two months ago I had a post about the ST-70 not having enough juice to power the LSi9's. After a post on the Dynaco-doctor.com forum, I was informed that a leaky quad cap will make the amp sound weak and anemic. It was also producing a loud hum. After I replaced the quad cap, the hum went away and the amp was much more powerful. Now it powers the LSi9's with ease.
The sound of the ASL and Dynaco combo is the best I have heard, especially the mid-range and highs. The mids is so open, full bodied, and clear. I can finally hear the throats of the perfomers, lips smacking and breaths being taen between lines. Everything sounds so real. The top end just shimmers especially with cymbals. About a week ago, I changed the tubes in the pre. I got a pair of Electro Harmonix 12AU7 and an Ei 12AX7. The sound is much better than the stock Tesla tubes. There's another great thing about tube equipmets, is being able to change the sound by tryin out different tubes.
I don't know if it's the euphonic sound tubes produce but when I close my eyes, it feels like I'm in a very peaceful and relaxing dream. I always get a picture in my heard of watching swans just gliding over a waveless lake in the late afternoon with some nice trees in the background. I swear this is not a lie. I've never felt like this with any SS equipments.
Because of this, I went to my CD collection and grabbed some CD's I listened to three years ago, in the winter to be precise. Durin that time, I was havig such a blast. I wasn't working and didn't have to much worries and stress. I put the CD on, closed my eyes and I swear it was like de ja vu. I had the same feelings inside of me and it almost brought me into tears. It felt like it was winter outside even though it's summer and all these emotions I was feeling at the time just came back out. Now, when I do this stuff with SS equipments, it works but I only get a fraction of what I got with tubes. With SS, I'd sit there and say to myself "yeah, it sounds a lot better than 3 years ago" and "yeah, I remember doing this and that and feeling good". But SS never hits me as hard emotionally as tubes. SS makes you remember the feelings and emotions you were going through, but the tubes just bring them out. It's almost like a drug or an outer body experience. If you don't believe me, find someone who has a tube set-up, bring some older and new CD's, tell him to dim the lights, then tell him to leave you alone, then close your eyes and you'll see.
Notice that the second part of the review doesn't really focus on sound quality but rather it focuses on emotions? this is exactly what tubes do best. When listening to tubes, you're not going to sit there and say to yourself, the bass is nice, mids is sweet, etc. Instead you'll get lost in the music. You'll feel the emotions the artist intended to give you, and it brings back feelings and memories you thought had escaped from your brain. Having a tube pre-amp and a SS amp will get you half way there, but going all tubes is the best. Instead of focusing on the sound, you'll be focusing on your emotional level and isn't that what we're always trying so hard to achieve?
Thanks for reading my review guys.
Maurice