Valve power amps with solid tuneful bass?

Yes, I know it's not violent at the end of Saturn - that's not what I was getting at at all. I was just trying to make the point that the organ part is considerably lower again than the kinds of bass pitch normally considered 'palpable' - ie. even if you can 'feel' the organ pedal etc. at the end of Saturn you might still conceivably be missing out on an entire octave (not saying that's the case with your Quads BTW). Anyway, move back a few numbers to the big organ entry near the end of Mars and tell me that's not supposed to wobble your belly!

titian, I think I've got a reasonably good idea of what orchestral music sounds like live.

 

Pete,

I feel not, you must go visit Titain for the 'Full Ensomble', else your just playing in the dirt

 

Well I suppose I'll have to make do with 'playing in the dirt' at the meantime then. This currently means the Royal Albert Hall BTW

 

MY point exactly, why have cotton when you can have silk The last 3 concerts I've been to there (non classical) where average, another over-rated item in this so called great Briton of ours

 

No, I'm not talking at all about my system (which could be completely rubbish). I'm talking about how low frequencies are felt in live performance played in concert halls but especially in churches (organ music).
I had the opportunity to listen to several organ concerts live lately and I never had the feeling of belly wobbling even if I have a lot of fat in that region.
It could also be that I'm getting too old for listening to music.
What I feel especially at organ concerts in churches isn't an earthquake impression where everything vibrates including the belly. I get more the impression that with very low frequencies the vibrations are deep inside the body but in a restricted region. (as if it was done by a laser beam)
In concert halls there is a bit more of a wobbling feeling but I suppose this is because of the acoustic where lots of objects vibrating 'colours' the original sound. A wobbling effect I get rather when higher frequencies are played (80-150Hz ?). On the frequency range I am just guessing...

 

I'm talking more about grandiose orchestral and/or choral music where the organ is used as an additional source of power, weight and bass extension over and above what the orchestra can provide, such as The Planets as discussed above. In King's chapel in Cambridge a month or two back they were doing the Rutter Gloria at the KCMS summer concert, and when the organ really let rip everything was shaking. It was pretty cool

 

Alan -

Congratulations on your new purchase!

A fine choice sir.

It appears we share a taste in amplifiers.

 

Taken the plunge and glad I did.

Ok folks - from the Buy and Sell section you'll see my Lavardin is up for sale.

I bought a Graaf 50/50 power amp off ebay on Monday, it arrived on Wednesday, pristine condition. Plugged it in....... pretty happy.
Lovely big romantic sound with incredible depth, sounds freer, less restrained than I've heard before. I have not been able to find much info on the amp, other than positive mentions in reviews and forums but I do not think it is OTL

I've tried 2 different configurations, driving it direct from the Shanling CDP using its volume control, and through Sugden Headmaster as pre-amp.... possibly slightly more bloom when going direct but as I may want to add another source (a dac - that's another story!) I'll be using the pre-amp.

The amp sits in the bottom of my enclosed rack with plenty of space above it -but it does get quite hot. Generally it will not be switched on until after my nipper has gone to bed and my listening sessions rarely last longer than 2 hours due to family pressures so I don't think its going to be a problem. I can leave the rack open as long as the kid is not around.

I have also got hold of a PS Audio HCA-2 power amp, hybrid class A solid state (I think its some kind of digital amp thingy)..... it is also very good. I am very surprised how liquid it sounds, but the Graaf just shades it for depth and spaciousness. The PS Audio definitely sounds better through the pre-amp rather than direct, when it was a bit cold and sterile sounding. Also seems to have a lot more gain than the Graaf, so wondering if playing the CDP at a lower volume into the PS Audio is not working too well.

Currently scores are 45-55 in favour of Graaf.... but may hold onto the PS Audio for future use and experimentation.

 

BTW - have been thinking of the possibility of some kind of silent electrical fan placed in my rack blowing over the amp. Anyone seen anything like this or even tried it?

The T+A amp I tried had a fan in the bottom and it was completley silent.

 

Alan,

Just to bring to your attention there is a brand new unused T+A V10 integrated at Central Audio up for £2595.

Cheers, Robbo