Weston Acoustics Owners & Discussion Thread

[jeem]

On 15/05/2020 at 10:05 AM, Smp said:

I have a pair of Klipsch RP-600Ms - great little speaker and use 18 w valve amplification - they will doubtless be quite easily driven by a Topaz. However, their advertised specs appear to be suspect at the given 96 dB. In the Stereophile review tests John Atkinson found them to be only 89.6 dB which is in significant variance to the advertised 96 dB, albeit still above average.

Hi smp,

good to know.

Fwiw the 600Ms seem to go louder than my old Heybrook HB1s with the Brio.

Just been informed by Earle he has started my Topaz build, excellent news.

Cheers

[Rakalel]

I’ve been thinking about grabbing a pre amp and the Weston’s get good praise, then noticed that the integrated amps are cheaper. Why is this? If I could get an integrated with pre out to have it run my mid/treble while my ss amp does the bass why would I buy just the pre when it costs more?

[Ittaku]

6 hours ago, Rakalel said:

I’ve been thinking about grabbing a pre amp and the Weston’s get good praise, then noticed that the integrated amps are cheaper. Why is this? If I could get an integrated with pre out to have it run my mid/treble while my ss amp does the bass why would I buy just the pre when it costs more?

You can buy a (non-Weston) integrated amp for $30. You can also buy a preamp for $250,000. Same thing: the separate preamp is higher quality than the preamp component in the integrated.

[Wayne Clements]

I've been communicating with Earle via email, I've also been communicating with Edward at Adelaide Speakers, Edward has told me that the Topaz 6CA7 should be suffice for all of his range of speakers, Earle has mentioned a pre phono stage is required for all his amps, and he can install a built in unit to the Topaz.

 

Anyone wish to chime in the pro and con of an in built phono stage or purchasing as a separate item of equipment and if so a few recommendations to look at

 

Cheers

[buddyev]

Earle has a new website

http://www.westonacoustics.com.au
 

 

[Guest dr_carl]

Hi folks,

 

I have just become owner of a pre-loved Tempest.

 

Some questions will need to be asked, so please chime in.

 

First, my DAC outputs 2.5 V and I see the Tempest spec page has sensitivity at 300mV. Will there be an issue? 

 

Second, are there any general usage issues I should be aware of? 

 

Third, does anyone have tube rolling advice in terms of matching tubes to musical genre? My tastes are eclectic so I'm thinking I might aim at having a few configurations available.

 

Thanks in advance, 

 

Carl

 

Edited July 14, 2020 by dr_carl
Literacy

[buddyev]

14 hours ago, Wayne Clements said:

I've been communicating with Earle via email, I've also been communicating with Edward at Adelaide Speakers, Edward has told me that the Topaz 6CA7 should be suffice for all of his range of speakers, Earle has mentioned a pre phono stage is required for all his amps, and he can install a built in unit to the Topaz.

 

Anyone wish to chime in the pro and con of an in built phono stage or purchasing as a separate item of equipment and if so a few recommendations to look at

 

Cheers

Are you locked into Adelaide or other similarly sensitive speakers? I tend to err on the side of more power - a Topaz KT120 will give you more flexibility with more difficult load speaker choices in the future. 

I haven't heard Earle's phonos - I'm sure they'll be good and might well be all you need. If you're prepared to spend a bit of money an external phono something like a Graham Slee Reflex M would probably be quite a bit better.

https://www.wyndhamaudio.com.au/collections/types?q=Phono Preamplifiers 

[buddyev]

2 hours ago, dr_carl said:

Hi folks,

 

I have just become owner of a pre-loved Tempest.

 

Some questions will need to be asked, so please chime in.

 

First, my DAC outputs 2.5 V and I see the Tempest spec page has sensitivity at 300mV. Will there be an issue? 

 

Second, are there any general usage issues I should be aware of? 

 

Third, does anyone have tube rolling advice in terms of matching tubes to musical genre? My tastes are eclectic so I'm thinking I might aim at having a few configurations available.

 

Thanks in advance, 

 

Carl

 

Very nice. I've had a Topaz KT120 for several years and am happy with it but in some ways wish I'd gone for a Tempest. The Topaz is an excellent match with my Proacs, but doesn't have quite enough grunt to get the best out of my B&Ws. 

Its my first tube amp but Ive never run into any peculiarities or problems with it - just plug and play.

Edited July 15, 2020 by buddyev

[Wayne Clements]

9 hours ago, buddyev said:

Are you locked into Adelaide or other similarly sensitive speakers? I tend to err on the side of more power - a Topaz KT120 will give you more flexibility with more difficult load speaker choices in the future. 

I haven't heard Earle's phonos - I'm sure they'll be good and might well be all you need. If you're prepared to spend a bit of money an external phono something like a Graham Slee Reflex M would probably be quite a bit better.

https://www.wyndhamaudio.com.au/collections/types?q=Phono Preamplifiers 

thank you, nothing locked in, your reply is pretty much bang on with the little research this novice was at

[Guest dr_carl]

Calling Tempest KT120 owners out there!

 

Has anyone tried the Psvane uk-6sn7  or Northern Electric 6sn7 tubes?

 

1 - do they fit?

2 - how about sound?

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

[Xi Jinpingers]

Absolute newbie here. I'm considering a Topaz KT120. I listen to a wide variety of music including electronic, folk, pop and rock. How are the low frequencies with this amp? Should I be considering a solid state instead or is the KT120 flexible to all types of music? I recently listened to a Electrocompaniet ECI3 with DYN Evoke 10 and thought is sounded awesome. Really conflicted as I thought I was set on a Valve amp. I really liked the energy of the Electrocompaniet. I have a Weston on current order but am open to changing. 

[buddyev]

I have a Topaz KT120 with my Proac 1sc and Proac D18. Both are quite easy to drive speakers and the match is fantastic. 
It’s not so appropriate for power hungry speakers with low impedance dips. A big SS amp worked best with my B&W 805.
The question is what speakers are you planning to use?

[Guest dr_carl]

My experience is that my amp works well with well recorded tracks, just as most amps do. Nothing will save a poor recording. As for which bits of the acoustic spectrum are there...its a combination of 4 things (at least) - the source, the tubes and the speakers and the room.

 

Tube combinations give the chance to tune the amp, and some configurations give me too much bass. I'm guessing that if you land on a combo that excites the room modes you'll change for something else tube wise.

 

Other configurations give too much treble.

 

What I have in now works a treat and I listen to anything but hip hop and its derivatives or Metal.

 

I honestly can't understand people who buy one of Earle's amps and then sell within weeks...I'll die first.

[lebowski]

I have a Weston Acoustics Topaz KT120 with WLM Diva Monitors (10” Dual Coax Drivers) and it handles any music styles I throw at. Only if you want ear bleed levels would you need more power.

 

[Xi Jinpingers]

2 hours ago, buddyev said:

I have a Topaz KT120 with my Proac 1sc and Proac D18. Both are quite easy to drive speakers and the match is fantastic. 
It’s not so appropriate for power hungry speakers with low impedance dips. A big SS amp worked best with my B&W 805.
The question is what speakers are you planning to use?

Maybe proacs, PMC, ATC or Tektons. If I go the SS route, I'd probably try the Buchardt.

 

20 minutes ago, lebowski said:

I have a Weston Acoustics Topaz KT120 with WLM Diva Monitors (10” Dual Coax Drivers) and it handles any music styles I throw at. Only if you want ear bleed levels would you need more power.

 

Thanks mate. Definitely not wanting any ear bleeds. 

[xlr8or]

I own 2 Weston Acoustics valve amps (Tweaker Mk IV and Tempest) amongst 11 other valve power/intergrated amps that I roll regularly. The quality of Eric's hand wound OPTs are outstanding and can drive most modern speakers well. The Topaz KT120 is definitely suited to your genre of music as I listen to the same type of music.

 

I would like to point out something of significance with all of Earl's KT88, KT120 and KT150 amps. If you roll the tubes to vintage Tung-Sol solid grey plate 6550's from the very early 1960's the sound is something to die for. I took my Tweaker Mk IV to Krispy for a listening session a few years ago rolled with some of my favourite vintage tubes including solid grey plates from 1962 and put it up against a Modwright KWA 150 that was on audition. We all agreed it put the KWA to shame both in tetrode and triode mode running at 5 watts and 3 watts, respectively, on the 8 ohm tap on some standard 3-way floor standers that were traded in. I can't recall the specific brand and model of speaker but they were the equivalent of 89dB 150 watters. What it did to those speakers I will never forget. Mind you my rectifier roll on the GZ34 at the time was for the f31 1958 fat base Blackburn Mullard that really fattened up the sound somewhat. If you are prepared to roll the tubes on the Topaz you can achieve a totally awesome sound to cater for your own musical tastes.

Edited July 6, 2021 by xlr8or

[Full Range]

44 minutes ago, xlr8or said:

I own 2 Weston Acoustics valve amps (Tweaker Mk IV and Tempest) amongst 11 other valve power/intergrated amps that I roll regularly. The quality of Eric's hand wound OPTs are outstanding and can drive most modern speakers well. The Topaz KT120 is definitely suited to your genre of music as I listen to the same type of music.

 

I would like to point out something of significance with all of Earl's KT88, KT120 and KT150 amps. If you roll the tubes to vintage Tung-Sol solid grey plate 6550's from the very early 1960's the sound is something to die for. I took my Tweaker Mk IV to Krispy for a listening session a few years ago rolled with some of my favourite vintage tubes including solid grey plates from 1962 and put it up against a Modwright KWA 150 that was on audition. We all agreed it put the KWA to shame both in tetrode and triode mode running at 5 watts and 3 watts, respectively, on the 8 ohm tap on some standard 3-way floor standers that were traded in. I can't recall the specific brand and model of speaker but they were the equivalent of 89dB 150 watters. What it did to those speakers I will never forget. Mind you my rectifier roll on the GZ34 at the time was for the f31 1958 fat base Blackburn Mullard that really fattened up the sound somewhat. If you are prepared to roll the tubes on the Topaz you can achieve a totally awesome sound to cater to your own musical tastes.

Hello fellow Tweaker IV owner 

Have owned it since new - Hand built by Earle  and the build was completed and signed off on the 17/03/2005 

Serial #001 

Requested it to be built with as much silver wire as possible 

 

Its a great  NO a sublime  amp when paired with good vintage tubes 

 

A few years later I received a companion pre amp 

This is not  an ordinary preamp 

Initially designed with the 6SN7 Tempest circuitry

A Philips  NOS DAC was added

Then a Headphone amplifier 

A special toggle with (I think) light display is used to select each section 

This preamp may be the only one in existence and also serial #001 

 

Think I posted photos of them on page one 

 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by Full Range

[xlr8or]

@Full Range it's great to meet another Tweaker owner.

 

What valves do you have fitted in the amp at the moment?

[Full Range]

1 hour ago, xlr8or said:

@Full Range it's great to meet another Tweaker owner.

 

What valves do you have fitted in the amp at the moment?

 

Im just trying out some Chinese Valve Art KT88 s

But have several Russian military vintage in the cupboard to try as well 

[Highwaystar]

10 hours ago, xlr8or said:

I own 2 Weston Acoustics valve amps (Tweaker Mk IV and Tempest) amongst 11 other valve power/intergrated amps that I roll regularly. The quality of Eric's hand wound OPTs are outstanding and can drive most modern speakers well. The Topaz KT120 is definitely suited to your genre of music as I listen to the same type of music.

 

I would like to point out something of significance with all of Earl's KT88, KT120 and KT150 amps. If you roll the tubes to vintage Tung-Sol solid grey plate 6550's from the very early 1960's the sound is something to die for. I took my Tweaker Mk IV to Krispy for a listening session a few years ago rolled with some of my favourite vintage tubes including solid grey plates from 1962 and put it up against a Modwright KWA 150 that was on audition. We all agreed it put the KWA to shame both in tetrode and triode mode running at 5 watts and 3 watts, respectively, on the 8 ohm tap on some standard 3-way floor standers that were traded in. I can't recall the specific brand and model of speaker but they were the equivalent of 89dB 150 watters. What it did to those speakers I will never forget. Mind you my rectifier roll on the GZ34 at the time was for the f31 1958 fat base Blackburn Mullard that really fattened up the sound somewhat. If you are prepared to roll the tubes on the Topaz you can achieve a totally awesome sound to cater for your own musical tastes.

 

Interesting to hear. With the Topaz K120, are any modifications to the amp required to swap in 6550s? Or it is just plug and play?

[Guest dr_carl]

@xlr8or Kirk, of the various amps you have, which is your favourite? What qualities does it possess that make it so?

[Xi Jinpingers]

14 hours ago, xlr8or said:

I own 2 Weston Acoustics valve amps (Tweaker Mk IV and Tempest) amongst 11 other valve power/intergrated amps that I roll regularly. The quality of Eric's hand wound OPTs are outstanding and can drive most modern speakers well. The Topaz KT120 is definitely suited to your genre of music as I listen to the same type of music.

 

I would like to point out something of significance with all of Earl's KT88, KT120 and KT150 amps. If you roll the tubes to vintage Tung-Sol solid grey plate 6550's from the very early 1960's the sound is something to die for. I took my Tweaker Mk IV to Krispy for a listening session a few years ago rolled with some of my favourite vintage tubes including solid grey plates from 1962 and put it up against a Modwright KWA 150 that was on audition. We all agreed it put the KWA to shame both in tetrode and triode mode running at 5 watts and 3 watts, respectively, on the 8 ohm tap on some standard 3-way floor standers that were traded in. I can't recall the specific brand and model of speaker but they were the equivalent of 89dB 150 watters. What it did to those speakers I will never forget. Mind you my rectifier roll on the GZ34 at the time was for the f31 1958 fat base Blackburn Mullard that really fattened up the sound somewhat. If you are prepared to roll the tubes on the Topaz you can achieve a totally awesome sound to cater for your own musical tastes.

That’s amazing feedback. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it. Let me know if you remember the speakers. 

[BLAH BLAH]

Tweaker Mk IV...?!? 

[Full Range]

6 hours ago, BLAH BLAH said:

Tweaker Mk IV...?!? 

Check my post on page #1 for photos and specs ect of the Tweaker MKIV

[xlr8or]

13 hours ago, Highwaystar said:

 

Interesting to hear. With the Topaz K120, are any modifications to the amp required to swap in 6550s? Or it is just plug and play?

 

Taken directly from the Weston Acoustics website under Topaz KT120. I believe the tubes are fixed bias and need to be adjusted.

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by xlr8or