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Poll: Best Looking Stereo Integrated Amp

Which of the following amps will look best with the rest of my system?

  • Devialet Expert 400 (current amp)

    Votes: 15 14.7%
  • Luxman L509X

    Votes: 32 31.4%
  • McIntosh MA8900

    Votes: 9 8.8%
  • Technics SU R1000

    Votes: 24 23.5%
  • Yamaha AS 3200

    Votes: 22 21.6%

  • Total voters
    102
  • Poll closed .

Blumlein 88

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check this, go to 2:06...! there is a God...
best
Lorenzo
I first purchased a 2nd hand VTL just months after Manly moved from the UK to California. Mine was number 57 of their Cali production. After a couple months it went kabang!!! Not as in kabang over the speakers, but as in kabang in the amp. Two of the tubes filled with electrical arcing and then smoking and then the fuses popped. Safe since it had fuses. Well while not happy it did have a lifetime warranty.

When I called I initially talked to David himself, who apologized and said they'd fix it and cover all shipping both ways the whole works. He turns me over to someone to arrange shipping. Someone for whom English was a 2nd language and obviously a pretty new employee. We get thru that and I send it in. So taking out time needed for shipping, they got it one day and fixed it shipping it back the next.

It arrives, I open it look it over and connect it up. I hit the power switch and CRACK!!!!!!! The sound of an electrical arc. They had replaced all the tubes gratis and then this. So I'm wondering if the new tubes could be damaged etc. etc. It would crack like that each time you turned it on. I didn't know much about electronics then. I studied mechanical engineering and electrical stuff was voo doo to me.

David was very apologetic, and asked me to pull the bottom cover. I could see where the arcing was occurring. He once again had me ship it back and covered everything. Turned me over to the lady again for shipping arrangements. Her English was much better in the intervening couple of weeks. She calls me this time to remind me it would be arriving the following day, and what by now was a month she hardly had any accent at all.

A friend was over the day it arrived and I was mentioning how good her English had become in a few weeks. When I turned the amp on and everything worked perfectly my friend said, "lucky for you her ability to repair amps has gotten better too! You know that little outfit is David Manley, his son and this lady you talked to." Maybe he was right, seemed funny at the time.

It was an important event. These were all black boxes of magic to me. Having seen how little was in his amp, I decided it couldn't be too hard to learn at least a little about electronics. The following year I taught myself quite a bit. About then my employer was happy to help get me training as many of the things I was working with now had extensive electronic instrumentation and control. That is how I came to learn what I know about electronics. Sort of because my VTL amp was iffy as simple as it was. They still were/are very good amps IMO. I used them for many years after that.
 

mhardy6647

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Thread entropy.

In the absence of a defined vector, any given thread will degenerate into Brownian chaos.

And hardly any of the other ASR denizens, except me, @Frank Dernie and @BDWoody are qualified talk about the features one gives up if one moves away from the ASR-hated Devialet ;) to one of the poll winners in this thread.

Especially when it comes to cartridge loading.

@BDWoody I forget, does your model have the Core Infinity and did you get the Sweet Room (ha) PEQ upgrade?
ahh, yes, I am a big fan of entropy. in fact, I do my bit not to contribute to the heat death of the Universe, pretty much every day.

Otherwise, yeah, I got nothin'.

Drums and Space.

 
OP
watchnerd

watchnerd

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Under the influence yoga now complete.

Continuing the sounds of the 70's.

Listening to newly arrived 45 RPM of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" with the 3 day old, new to the system, VM540ML at 258 pF.

Do you really need lower than 40 Hz with this music?

Putting my hands on the subwoofers during the kick drums of "The Chain" says yes.

And then that bass groove at the end of the track that I've been practicing for a year on and off, and still can't play it as well as John Mcvie.




I'd really miss the high pass in stereo mode of the Devialet; I'm have to say the Contour 20s + 2 x 12" subs does pretty damn well on this in my room, especially since I changed the speaker and seat position following @Frank Dernie's 1/5 x 1/7 suggestion. Thanks, Frank!

I hope the forthcoming Heritage Classics Specials [I keep doing that] can do as well given they're 30% smaller.
 
Last edited:

Helicopter

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Under the influence yoga now complete.

Continuing the sounds of the 70's.

Listening to newly arrived 45 RPM of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" with the 3 day old, new to the system, VM540ML at 258 pF.

Do you really need lower than 40 Hz with this music?

Putting my hands on the subwoofers during the kick drums of "The Chain" says yes.

And then that bass groove at the end of the track that I've been practicing for a year on and off, and still can't play it as well as John Mcvie.




I'd really miss the high pass in stereo mode of the Devialet; I'm have to say the Contour 20s + 2 x 12" subs does pretty damn well on this in my room, especially since I changed the speaker and seat position following @Frank Dernie's 1/5 x 1/7 suggestion. Thanks, Frank!

I hope the forthcoming Heritage Classics can do as well given they're 30% smaller.
The classics are going to be great. Just keep the 20s. I have and love and often use 1973 Klipsch Heresy HBRs, but they just do not do what my Focal Aria 948s do. It is nice to have a stable. If you need to thin the herd, I will be there in April for a layover.
 
OP
watchnerd

watchnerd

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Do you think the Devialet would fit inside one of these?

H9e8874882f534c1e92ddfbd50c97e6a5s.jpg
 

dualazmak

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Do you think the Devialet would fit inside one of these?

H9e8874882f534c1e92ddfbd50c97e6a5s.jpg

Well, in my belief, the front panel logo design is legally and/or morally viorating the Accupahse's global IPR status, even though I do not know the details of IPR policy of Accuphase in China and other countries...
 
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watchnerd

watchnerd

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Well, in my belief, the front panel logo design is legally and/or morally viorating the Accupahse's global IPR status, even though I do not know the details of IPR policy of Accuphase in China and other countries...

Intellectual property theft of trademark and/or trade dress by something sold on Ali Express?

Shocking!
 

dualazmak

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Intellectual property theft of trademark and/or trade dress by something sold on Ali Express?
Shocking!

I believe Accuphase will pay no attention and just ignores this kind of minor low-level immitation, while at least I myself feel morally unpleasent looking at the front panel logo...
 

stevenswall

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The simpler the better, so Devialet. It looks more timeless, and I think will age better than the old looking stuff I'm seeing as alternatives.
 
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