Finally jumped in. Picked up Dennis' last 45 "Firebottle". Here is the email I sent back to him after some initial listening.
Dennis,
I wanted to give you a little bit of an update. I have had more time than expected to play around this week so i thought I would pass along my first thoughts.
Most listening was done with the same four tracks, all vinyl:
Lou Reed Transformer: Walk On the Wild Side-current release pressing
Nat King Cole The Very Thought of You: The Very Thought of You-45 rpm Analogue Productions reissue
My Brightest Diamond All Things Will Unwind: Be Brave-current release
Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti: Kashmir-current reissue (unfortunately I was in med school when the Classic Record reissues happened, managed to score only 3 of them scrapping pennies together)
Started with the Philco globes and RCA 5Z3,
then RCA ST's with RCA 80,
finally back to the Thoeress 845's
Turned each combo on in the morning and let them warm up all day and listened in the evening
Started with the Philco Globes figuring lets see what this Type 45 tube thing is all about. Definitely lost about 1/2 an octave on the bottom across the recordings, but as always, sins of omission are the most tolerable. Either slightly rolled at top, or more tolerable of less than perfect recordings. Wasn't expecting this given the frequent description of "transparency" with the 45s. I found myself leaving the volume up during passages I previously turned down where the treble was bothersome. However, there was a certain "rightness" to all the tracks.
Lou Reed: Nice uniform bass line, full sound with good resonance of the bass notes. Vocals spooky real. Saxophone solo had more bite to it in a good way, just like a live player digging into a few notes. Played for my father in law. Was floored at the 1.8W at work, was walking around between the speakers afterwords pointing out the apparent locations of the instruments.
Nat King Cole: Nice underhand pitch for the 45's, as expected, knocked it out of the park, Nat is just there in the room. Vocal track blended better with backing orchestral tracks than before. Less congested in midrange. Nice ambient sounds even if a studio recording.
My Brightest Diamond: Probably haven't heard this before, but nicely mixes excellent vocals with mixed acoustic instruments, both rock and classical. Really noticed missing bottom 1/2 octave, bass clarinet missing a little weight. Again vocals are relaxed and real.
Led Zeppelin: Biggest surprise of all. Have only listened to this reissue twice as I have generally found the recording poorly done and sound at times quite irritating, thin, and generally lacking drive/weight. I don't know why I grabbed it, but I did. Certainly did not fill in the sense of hollowness. But I found myself very engaged finally. The louder sections that had been bright/irritating now came across as a realistic bite instead, especially the vocals and screams. Actually had one of those hair raising moments. Now it didn't make the recording magically superb, but it pulled me into the recording far more than ever before.
Next was ST/80 combo. The difference between the Globe/5Z3 combo where subtle at best but there. In general I think it lost a little of that "45" magic. A little more weight/heft in the lower end, lower 1/2 octave still not there but a fuller presentation. Treble a hair more extended also, but creeps ever so slightly back toward the "bright" sound the Globe combo had eased/eliminated. Little more drive on the Lou Reed/Zeppelin. Again this is really splitting hairs. Certainly would not confuse the presentation for anything other than a 45 SET.
Back to the Thoeress 845's. These are much in the vein of the Cary 805's, big monoblock SET, massive custom hand wound transformer (by the designer/builder), stacks of oil caps etc. As expected there was a fuller sound from top to bottom. Bottom 1/2 octave came back as well as a general fullness to the presentation. Soundstage a little bigger and much denser. However, midrange is a little too dense and congested in comparison (speakers are probably not it there final resting place in the room which may have some effect there also).
Lou Reed: Bass now sounds like you are in the studio with the bass player, more detailed resonance of the strings, powerful. Probably more accurate, but certainly not would you would hear live in a concert setting. Vocals are great but not as spooky at 45's. Saxophone now has a little edge at the crescendo.
Nat King Cole: Vocal still great, in the room again. More apparent of 3 track recording, vocal/orchestral doesn't blend as well. however larger sound from orchestra tracks.
My Brightest Diamond: Lower octave really noticed, more drive which suits music. Clarinet takes on more presence. But again, more like being in the studio with the performers.
Led Zeppelin: As alluded too, not my favorite track with this amp. Just a too thin up top and irritating at times. Definitely more weight, drive, fuller bass but still not drawn in as much as with 45's. Biggest surprise of all!
So that's my short take. Really interested in hearing your take on the EML 45's. If they can fill in that bottom octave and give a little more weight to the over all presentation my current amps are in trouble. The combo of the Globe and EML 45 could give the 1-2 punch to cover most musical tastes. Actually have already had the thought about selling the 845's to fund a planned turntable upgrade sooner than expected.
Matt
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
); first time seeing them.
And it's really an amazing piece. I think it's about 2 watts per channel, but he's not confirmed. No problem driving Shindo speakers which are 16 ohm and 100db. An almost ethereal sound! I also have his 6v6 Inspire amp which will play a wide assortment of tubes, up through the KT150s.
