By Juan C. Ayllon For some years, I volunteered as a sound engineer at church, where I was trained to adjust numerous settings, gain, and sliders to avoid clipping and yield a mix that best served our worship experience. Although one volunteer who'd toured with bands professionally preferred harder-edged mixes, for most working the sound board, the more natural sounding, the better. We often made EQ adjustments at various frequencies--attenuating this and enhancing that--to achieve that desired result, often ferreting out unexpected distortions on the fly. The crisp impact on the snare drum, the full-bodied thump of the toms, the rich timbre of the vocals, a full lower end, and the strummed acoustic guitar and their levels relative to one another were often key points of interest. With lead singers, we boosted effects, adding the warmth and resonance of a large cathedral, but muted them during spoken passages. "Give me more sauce!" Carlos, a worship leader, often said during rehearsals (he really liked his effects extra thick). Without them, vocals lacked luster -- like eating a hotdog at Wrigley Field sans mustard and condiments. Vacuum tubes can have that same impact on presentation, adding a sheen and glow to music and shaving off some of the harsh edges associated with digital recordings. No doubt, this factored in something an audio store owner told me several years ago. He offered that as we age, we naturally prefer the sound of vacuum tubes. Now, maybe he was trying to pitch me on one of his tube amps, but having fallen in love with their glowing sound in my tube preamp and DAC, I agreed; I imagined spending my golden years tinkering, trading tubes and tickling my ears with their aural magic. But now on the cusp of my sixties, why am I switching back to solid state?
The short answer boils down to two words: Pass Labs. About six months ago, I jumped at the opportunity to review their X250.8 amp (you can read that review HERE) and XP-12 preamplifier, and as part of a package deal, I was also shipped out their XP-17 phono preamplifier to evaluate. I was very impressed, but what really did it for me was comparing my beloved PrimaLuna Prologue 3 preamplifier with the Pass Labs XP-12 (coincidentally, PrimaLuna's U.S. importer Kevin Deal was right when he said the Prologue would fare well against preamps costing many times over in blind A/B tests at AXPONA 2019). Up until then, with the tubes I'd rotated in, I considered its presentation both linear and organic, while enhancing vocals and instruments like adding a touch of effects on the mixing board. However, when I compared passages from an HD movie and, later, on music tracks, it became apparent that in imparting its valve magic on the signal, it glossed over bits of detail that the XP-12 delivered and, contrary to what I'd imagined, the heightened clarity was not strident or sibilant, but precious information that I really wanted to hear. I asked my wife, Belle, what she thought and she agreed. And, like that, I decided that at some point, I would love to own the XP-12 and a Pass Labs amp (the X250.8 is too large to squeeze into our media stand and sitting out front, our toddler grandson finds it's the perfect height for a heated seat and hand warmer, but the Pass Labs X150.8 will fit nicely on the bottom shelf, where it's less accessible). However, Pass Labs equipment, even at review sample prices, are not cheap, making it necessary for me to sell some gear to save up the necessary funds. Another thing: vacuum tubes have a tendency to wear out and, as fun as it is to swap out and compare the effects of various makes on the presentation, it can get costly. And as retirement approaches, I want my costs to go down, not up. And I would prefer to simplify, not increase my inventory. And like the young sound engineer at church who likely grew up listening to iPods and, hence, preferred more digital glare in his mixes, in our quest for comfort, we are drawn to the familiar: from early on up until the last six years, I've listened to solid state. And with the Pass Lab gear, It's just so good, and you know what? It feels like home. Thus, the gradual sell-off of non-essential gear has begun.
7 Comments
Michael Pearson
2/24/2021 07:33:47 pm
Good article Juan. I have the same Usher mini dancer II speakers as you and use Marantz SM & SC solid state amps. Interested if your speakers have the diamond or byrellium tweeters? I also use a Wharfedale SPC 12 sub woofer just for bass extension.
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2/25/2021 04:34:22 am
Thanks, Michael. My Mini Dancer 2s have the DMD tweeters, as well as Soundocity outriggers. Funny, I use the Hsu Research ULS-15 Mk2 subwoofer to boost the lower end. Guess great minds think alike, eh? :-)
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Twisted D’zyne
3/18/2021 08:37:20 am
How do u like your mini dancer 2? I’m about to acquire a pair. I’m just really afraid they are so large I will barely be able to give a foot from the back wall. Specs say 19.5” deep. 😕. Mainly for theater use with music occasionally.
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Juan C Ayllon
3/18/2021 11:01:21 am
Hi Twisted D'zyne,
Jeff
2/28/2021 09:26:29 am
Juan, Another well written column. Agree completely with your observations.I’ve got a box Of various tubes and nothing to plug them into. Been there done that and moved on.
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3/1/2021 03:52:09 am
Thanks, Jeff! Yeah, I still have the pair of Shuguang 300B-98B tubes from my Lampizator Big 7 DAC that I sold (the buyer had much more expensive tubes to use and wanted to buy it sans these at a minor discount). Ditto for some other various tubes. Oh, well. Cheers and happy listening!
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Stuart A. Mccreary
3/9/2021 06:42:48 pm
Hi Juan, wondering about the outriggers on the Usher mini-2. Did you feel they were necessary for greater stability--to avoid toppling from the accidental bump, or was the choice made for other reasons? It's more than a passing curiosity, since I have a pair on the way from Fred. By the way, I should introduce myself properly to you. I've been legal counsel and a senior assoc. editor for PF since 1992 and have recently returned to writing and reviewing after an extended hiatus.
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Juan C. AyllonA writer, artist, educator and owner of Prairie Audio Man Cave, he lives with his wife, Isabel (AKA Belle), and their Goldendoodle, Liam, enjoys listening to high fidelity music and all things hi-fi at their home in the greater Chicagoland area.. Archives
March 2024
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