The Really Tasty Gear Thread - With Pictures!

[Dreamer]

You mean made in the USA?

No, I think he means that the chassis of that DIY amp is a teflon-coated cake pan. Actually baking tins are a pretty standard chassis for budget DIY electronics--they offer decent shielding, are easy to drill, and cost about 1/20th what an OEM blank chassis would run. I've seen several such components on some of the more popular DIY sites...

 

[TrumpetDoug]

Baking tins

Missed that one.

Doug - out

 

[User211]

Well, I nearly bought a pair of Amphitryons from an engineer who works for the company that makes 'em in Greece, but have you seen the size of them? Sanity prevailed - even on his insistence that 50 Watts of tube power would drive them. It was a good deal, but with the top of the panel nearly touching the roof of my listening room, I thought not.

The reason he wanted to sell? Well, he was upgrading of course, to a full Orion system as depicted below.

Cool.:devil:

And thanks for the offer, unnamed Grecian! Hope those Orions rock:rocker:

 

[Dreamer]

Has anyone seen the turntables from the new company Angelis Labor from Italy? Their "Gabriel" TT is simply stunning. And Ferrari-milled visuals aside, this thing has a magnetic-levitation thrust bearing, and provisions for FOUR tonearms. The Gabriel tonearms have no provision for anti-skating adjustment--they too ride on mag-lev bearings, and they say they don't need such primitive controls...

Most of the metal bits of these new TTs tonearm are machined in the same factory in Modena that mills parts for Ferrari, and it shows.

One can only hope that this TT has a longer service life between failures (or at least major overhauls) than the typical Ferrari though--especially considering they are likely to cost nearly what a low-end Ferrari goes for... (price not yet released)

 

[User211]

Well, here's the amp that brought the 211 back into the limelight.

Lots of Lbs of Kondo goodness, the original Ongaku, and NOT the British Audionote effort.

Respect, Mr Kondo. A damn fine valve/tube it is too! But then, I would say that...

Fabulous. And insanely expensive. Heard one years ago. Very good indeed.

Actually, this looks like a later model of the original... if you know what I mean.

 

[Bernard]

This is not gear, but music-related: an acrylic sculpture by artist Frederick Hart, who died a few years ago, in honour of Beethoven's "Appassionata" sonata. I have seen it for real, and it is truly amazing! Wish I could afford to buy it - U.S. $10,000!

 

[User211]

So you thought the German Transrotors and Clearaudios were pretty cool, hey?

Well, they don't stop there. Check this out. Even the most pro-digital guy on earth would probably want to own one of these.

"features a parallel tracking arm that floats in water, a syringe is supplied in order to adjust VTA, naturally. Other features include shields to deflect air movement and nylon thread drive via pulleys too numerous to count."

Being cruel, I am NOT going to say what it actually is!

Tasty, though. Very tasty. And somewhat absurd! Actually is it s bit ridiculous - maybe my "ownership" assertion is misguided. Don't fancy dusting it much, either

 

[jfm]

Looks interesting. What brand of, er, turntable?

And from which end do the chocolates come out?

 

[User211]

That TT is just a little something I made over the Xmas period Actually, it's a Baasner.

Anyway, I'd wager the below hooked up to a pair of Summits/Spires would sound beyond superb... has anyone ever tried it? Lots of very nice glassware. Possibly even better than my own 211 based amps... if that were possible (it'd be some achievement:!):rocker::rocker:

 

[wink]

Well, I nearly bought a pair of Amphitryons from an engineer who works for the company that makes 'em in Greece, but have you seen the size of them? Sanity prevailed - even on his insistence that 50 Watts of tube power would drive them. It was a good deal, but with the top of the panel nearly touching the roof of my listening room, I thought not.

The reason he wanted to sell? Well, he was upgrading of course, to a full Orion system as depicted below.

Cool.:devil:

And thanks for the offer, unnamed Grecian! Hope those Orions rock:rocker:

Did they purchase Apogee Acoustics? They look identical..

 

[User211]

Nope, they did not...

Sometimes you have to wonder... which country makes the tastiest gear overall? You know, I think it could be zee Germans... this is a bit glam, but it is tasty...

The Acapella Sphäron. For when I grow rich.

 

[MiTT]

Of all the big Horns out there, the Acapella's are my favorites. They really don't sound like horns, they just sound like music.

Those ion tweeters give me audio wood!

 

[User211]

Well, the Acapella's are very nice, but so are the Avantgardes. Last time I heard a pair of Duos was some time ago, but they don't sound much like some horns I have heard. They actually sound reasonably accurate and really reather good.

I have to say, they blow MLs away for looks IMHO.

Check out the full set of bass horns in this pic. Then follow the link (this is a MUST view) for loads of other Avantgarde systems around the world. There are some very nice pictures of very tasty gear in superb rooms there, so do it!

http://www.avantgarde-acoustic.de/galerie_ansehen.php?ausgabe_start=0

 

[Bernard]

Check out the full set of bass horns in this pic. Then follow the link (this is a MUST view) for loads of other Avantgarde systems around the world. There are some very nice pictures of very tasty gear in superb rooms there, so do it!

I don't see any room treatments in the pictures.

 

[tonepub]

Here's one of my favorites....

Just arrived yesterday, the Harbeth 40.1. My favorite "un-panel"
speakers!

 

[Cherian]

I just love the look.

 

[MickeyVee]

Just a couple of pics I found from the 2006 Montreal Audio Show..

 

[User211]

Apparently you CAN tube roll a 6C33C used by BAT, LAMM etc... the 6C18C. Unfortunately:

"The 6C33C has only one equivalent: 6C18C. The 6C18C is an early version of 6C33C, might be used as drop-in replacement. The 6C18C is very good tube, in some instances is better sounding then 6C33C but in may experience the 6C18C has a large percentage of faulty tubes. Among fifteen new 6C18C that I used 5 of them were discarded immediately due to the pins shortage, 2 of the “good” tubes failed a few hours after they were heated and one of the surviving failed in a few month when it was subjected to shaking. In contrary the 6C33C is very reliable; among 60-70 tubes that I have burned I had only one that was defective."

Anyway, it's the ones without the nipples in the shot below. Also, a "lit up" shot. That tube glows hard! Tasty.

Navison make 150 Watt OTL monos using this tube http://www.navisonaudio.com/product_detail.php?pid=21. I would just love to hear a pair.

Calm down Tim!

 

[User211]

Just had to post the Navison is case you miss the fact the the website has nice big pics too...

Awesome, or just freakin' ridiculous heat output - which ever way you wish to look at it

 

[MiTT]

OMG, those are awesome! I need to do some exploration on those bad boys.

I really like the look on electronics when there is some wood incorporated. Pathos does it, so does Lyra. Same with Tenor - and Oh Look! More of those juicy fat 6C33C globes-o-joy!