What's The Verdict Matt (Paden501) ?

[icravcarver]

paden501 - I know it is a tough decision.  I don't blame you for not wanting to change your CDP.  The Jolida is a nice unit.  As far as you SDA's, I'm running my 1C's with a TFM-55.  Seems to give the deep end you like, and the highs aren't too bad.  Of course you go to Tom's shop and you have a plethera of equipment to sample from.  I think the 55 does a good job, but mostly because it has the headroom to push your speakers to their limits.  And not bat an eyelash doing it!!!

You may want to try that Sound Valves tube set up Tom has in the shop.  That seemed to be quite a nice smooth sounding unit, and it packed a pretty good punch!

Keep playing.  You are lucky enough to be close to the shop to audition the stuff.  I, on the other hand, am too far away to have that luxury.

Neil

[paden501]

Yeah Tom's setup is what got me thinking about the ST-70.  His Sound Valves VTA-70 is basically a driver-board modded ST-70 +- a few other mods.

I was extremely impressed at how that little tube amp of his handles those Energy speakers.

[icravcarver]

Yeah, that is what I heard.  He had the Mirage's hooked up when I heard them, and I have to say, I was pretty impressed.  Knowing Tom and the time it took him to get the Energy's back to form, I'm sure he'll have them around the shop for a while, so it will only be a matter of time before I get to hear them.

[OCCD]

Neil, next time you are down, they will be back in service. I am gonna give the para digms another week or two of abuse. You will like the sound they spew.

[icravcarver]

Yeah,  the para digm's weren't bad.  The velodyne subs made them sound even better.  If I have a bigger car next time, maybe I'll bring down my digm's (floor standers) to compare.

[MasterBlaster]

Neil, come down in the spring/summer. We'll have a blast!

[icravcarver]

Most likely it will be in April sometime.  Maybe sneak another visit in March, but we'll have to see how busy it gets.  I would come down once a month if I could

[OCCD]

The warmer the better... to smoke cigars.

[MasterBlaster]

You betcha' 

[BB3]

Well the 1.0T is out for sure because of the non-common ground issue. 

As far as changing the CD player goes, I get where you're going. Synergy is important in a system, and too many 'warm' components can muddy the sound overall.  I could be hearing some of the 'rolled off' affect coming from my Jolida player.  It is noted to be more of a 'warm' player than a 'detailed' player, as are the Carver amps.  So I could have a synergy issue.

However, I really like my Jolida player, so I'd rather find an amp that plays well with it than change my CDP to match the amp.

Like I said.  NONE of these are bad options.  If I had to rank them, I'd rank them so far in this order:
M1.0T (even though I can't use it)
TFM-25
Hafler DH220
TFM-35x

But the truth is I like them all.  I just need to decide what direction that I want to go in.

Matt, that is exactly what I was getting at and I certainly wouldn't want to see you get rid of that Jolida player...... We both know that it is an excellent player. However, what harm would there be in owning another type of CD Player for maybe different types of music listening ?

You being a friend Matt, you do know that I would never tell what to do, right ? If I were you though, I would have Tom give you a package deal on the TFM-25 and that Denon DCD-1520 or 1610 of his and call it a day. I think that combination, along with your existing components will just flat out rule.......

All The Best Matt.------BILL(BB3)

[paden501]

Bill I don't doubt that you've got my best interests at heart here.  I do consider you a friend and I trust your judgement and experience on these matters.  I don't want you to think that I'm blowing off your suggestions or anything.  With that said, I really do want to try a tube amp in my system before I decide what to do with all of this.  I've always been intrigued by tubes and I feel like I owe it to myself to see what a decent tube amp sounds like.  I just need to bide my time until I can get ahold of one to audition.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[BB3]

^^^^^^^^
Anytime Matt And I Thank You Sir For The Kind Remarks. Very Much Appreciated Matt.

Please Be Rest Assured That I Will Never Ever Feel That You Are "Blowing Me Off" Matt. I'm Just Not Made That Way In Case You Didn't Already Know.

You Know Something Else ? I Want To Apologize To You Matt For Maybe Going Off On Tangents With All Of This. I Just Want To See Not Only You, But Everyone Else For That Matter To Be Able To Get What They Want, And Most Importantly What Is Going To Make You / Them The Absolute Happiest.

Soooo, If It's Tubes That You Want, Then By All Means Please Do. You Know That's What I Want For You First And Foremost. Because It's What You Want, Period.


I'm Sorry But That's Just My Thought Process Matt.

Sincerely, BILL(BB3)

[paden501]

Well I finally made a decision on which amp I'm sticking with:


And the winner is......



A TFM-24!


All in all, I probably liked the m1.0T the best, but since I can't really use it with my SDA's it's pretty-much out.  The TFM-25 was my next choice, however it wouldn't fit behind the glass in my entertainment unit because the meter dimmer pot sticks out too far. 

So I went with a TFM-24, which is the same exact amp but without the meters, so it fits nicely in my setup.


Thanks for the help everybody! 

And of course thanks again for the great service Tom!

[OCCD]

 

[BB3]

Awesome News Matt. You Know I Don't Need To Tell You How Happy I Am For You....

Happy Listening Matt............BILL(BB3)