Consonance (Opera Audio) Owners Thread

[graham121]

I cannot compare directly to any other phono stages, tube or otherwise, as this is the only phono stage I have used with my current amp and speakers and cartridge. 

 

However, what I can say is the soundstage is massive, both wide and deep. Lower frequencies, be they from double bass, drums, or keyboards are all present and correct, as is everything else across the frequency spectrum, and both instruments and vocals appear out of nowhere in their own defined spaces. 
 

But, I cannot say how much of that is influenced by the phono stage or by the rest of the components as music from other sources also have similar characteristics.

 

When I back to back’ the same track on vinyl vs a digital source in my system, I would say that both renditions have a similar sonic character, with the vinyl having more emotion and feeling to it, and the digital a bit more detail, but only a bit.

 

 

 

[lemarquis]

8 hours ago, graham121 said:

with the vinyl having more emotion and feeling to it, and the digital a bit more detail, but only a bit.

This you can't deny. Even though I gave up vinyl due to OCD  

[craka]

On 31/01/2021 at 8:00 PM, graham121 said:

So I am at about the 3 month stage now and everything is well and truly run in. And a little tube rolling has occurred too, courtesy of the the classifieds here.

First up was the 12AX7/ECC83 with the stock JJ  ECC83S  being replaced by a Brimar 12AX7  long black plate and this immediately gave the impression a veil had been lifted from in front of the speakers.

And just this week the supplied Electro Harmonix 12AU7’s made way to a pair of mid sixties Mullards. Wow! There is now a level of detail, crispness, subtle nuances in voices and instruments that has blown me away. Not to mention the increase in soundstage and placement of everything within.

Now to go back and replay everything I listened to on the original tube.... and rediscover my music collection for a second time!

Hi Graham

Hows that Brimar ecc83 going?

Ive purchased a 2nd hand 880i and looking at ideas for that tube upgrade.

I had a spare gold lion 12ax7 which Im using and it sounds better than the the Electro harmonic that was in it.

Have you tried any other ecc83,s?

Craig

[graham121]

1 hour ago, craka said:

Hi Graham

Hows that Brimar ecc83 going?

Ive purchased a 2nd hand 880i and looking at ideas for that tube upgrade.

I had a spare gold lion 12ax7 which Im using and it sounds better than the the Electro harmonic that was in it.

Have you tried any other ecc83,s?

Craig

Hi Craig,

 

It is going very well thanks and so well that I have not been tempted to try any others. I have rolled the other input tubes below is from another post in this thread and so far have not been tempted to change anything else.

 

And here we have the Amperex E80CC's in the middle positions replacing the Mullard 12AU7/ECC82's, with the Miniwatt 12BH7's back in place in the rear positions. The Brimar is still in the front 12ax7/ECC83 position.

 

Thrown all number of my reference tracks at this combo today and gotta say I really do like what I am hearing - now I think I might be at my tube rolling destination with this amp. At least I don't have to think about rolling the KT150's.

 

 

[craka]

22 minutes ago, graham121 said:

Hi Craig,

 

It is going very well thanks and so well that I have not been tempted to try any others. I have rolled the other input tubes below is from another post in this thread and so far have not been tempted to change anything else.

 

 

And here we have the Amperex E80CC's in the middle positions replacing the Mullard 12AU7/ECC82's, with the Miniwatt 12BH7's back in place in the rear positions. The Brimar is still in the front 12ax7/ECC83 position.

 

Thrown all number of my reference tracks at this combo today and gotta say I really do like what I am hearing - now I think I might be at my tube rolling destination with this amp. At least I don't have to think about rolling the KT150's.

 

 

Glad to hear that mate.I have to say what Im hearing from this amp is bloody good.

I replaced the original 12au7,s with Nos Mullards .When I power on I get a flash from 1 and not the other. I read thats normal for a old mullard,if so than 1 is different ?(anyone please comment)

craka

 

 

[graham121]

12 minutes ago, craka said:

Glad to hear that mate.I have to say what Im hearing from this amp is bloody good.

I replaced the original 12au7,s with Nos Mullards .When I power on I get a flash from 1 and not the other. I read thats normal for a old mullard,if so than 1 is different ?(anyone please comment)

craka

 

 

My vintage Mullard 12AU7’s both flashed when I was using them - and I loved them   too but the Amperex E80CC’s are just sooooo much better in that position.

Edited August 29, 2021 by graham121

[craka]

E80CC,s ,Ill check em out.

[Willmax]

On 29/08/2021 at 2:17 PM, craka said:

Hi Graham

Hows that Brimar ecc83 going?

Ive purchased a 2nd hand 880i and looking at ideas for that tube upgrade.

I had a spare gold lion 12ax7 which Im using and it sounds better than the the Electro harmonic that was in it.

Have you tried any other ecc83,s?

Craig

Hey @craka congratulations on the 880i purchase, which power tubes are you using and which speakers are you driving with it?

By the way, am sure we all would love to see a picture of your new amp if you can oblige? 

[craka]

Hi,

The Amp uses KT150 Power tubes.Driving Osborn Epitome Reference Towers Mk 3 in Babinga.Ive tried to catch the quality and look of the Babinga but pics dont do it justice.

The amp  has oodles of power which I think translates to a great depth in sound and nice grip through out.It throws a huge soundstage with very good seperation between each intsrument.

Edited September 1, 2021 by craka

[Willmax]

12 hours ago, craka said:

Hi,

The Amp uses KT150 Power tubes.Driving Osborn Epitome Reference Towers Mk 3 in Babinga.Ive tried to catch the quality and look of the Babinga but pics dont do it justice.

The amp  has oodles of power which I think translates to a great depth in sound and nice grip through out.It throws a huge soundstage with very good seperation between each intsrument.

Wow your setup looks fantastic, I can only imagine the kind of sound you must be getting from that combination. The fact that you've got the KT150 version of the Cyber 880i is the icing on the cake, congrats and well done Sir! 

Edited September 1, 2021 by Willmax

[craka]

19 hours ago, Willmax said:

Wow your setup looks fantastic, I can only imagine the kind of sound you must be getting from that combination. The fact that you've got the KT150 version of the Cyber 880i is the icing on the cake, congrats and well done Sir! 

Thanks Willmax,

My system has naturally morphed over the years into something similar to what I read  Greg Osborn might use to showcase some of his gear.

Each time I added one of his products the sound improved.As you said , the amp with the 150,s is certainly the icing on the cake.

Edited September 2, 2021 by craka

[Jehuty]

On 01/09/2021 at 10:50 AM, craka said:

Hi,

The Amp uses KT150 Power tubes.Driving Osborn Epitome Reference Towers Mk 3 in Babinga.Ive tried to catch the quality and look of the Babinga but pics dont do it justice.

The amp  has oodles of power which I think translates to a great depth in sound and nice grip through out.It throws a huge soundstage with very good seperation between each intsrument.

Great looking setup. Greg is probably one of the best resellers in Australia who doesn't charge hyper inflated price. We need more like him. 

[craka]

6 minutes ago, Jehuty said:

Great looking setup. Greg is probably one of the best resellers in Australia who doesn't charge hyper inflated price. We need more like him. 

Thanks Jehunty,

Greg certainly builds great speakers and sells some very nice electronics.You get a lot of value for your money.

[graham121]

On 01/09/2021 at 10:50 AM, craka said:

Hi,

The Amp uses KT150 Power tubes.Driving Osborn Epitome Reference Towers Mk 3 in Babinga.Ive tried to catch the quality and look of the Babinga but pics dont do it justice.

The amp  has oodles of power which I think translates to a great depth in sound and nice grip through out.It throws a huge soundstage with very good seperation between each intsrument.

 

Well given how full deep and wide  the 880i sounds with my Osborn Titans ( which are basically the centre 1/3's of your Epitomes) I can only listen to mine and sit in wonder and awe at what the extra 4 drivers and cabinet space add to the experience. Sublime would come to mind.

Edited September 4, 2021 by graham121

[dannyngx]

46 minutes ago, graham121 said:

 

Well given how full deep and wide  the 880i sounds with my Osborn Titans ( which are basically the centre 1/3's of your Epitomes) I can only listen to mine and sit in wonder and awe at what the extra 4 drivers and cabinet space add to the experience. Sublime would come to mind.

 

I remember demo'ing the Titans vs Eclipse (standard) version, and the Titans had better details/transparency and treble thanks to the higher end twitter, but the Eclipse had scale & authority just from sheer size. Greg said to get the best of both I'd need to go to Elite version. Can only imagine what it's like. 

[craka]

1 hour ago, graham121 said:

 

Well given how full deep and wide  the 880i sounds with my Osborn Titans ( which are basically the centre 1/3's of your Epitomes) I can only listen to mine and sit in wonder and awe at what the extra 4 drivers and cabinet space add to the experience. Sublime would come to mind.

All i can say is they sound great with this 880i and a lot better than my previous speakers which were some of Gregs Epitomes with kevlar drivers and standard tweeter of the day with the separate bass bins from around 2014.And I thought they sounded fantastic. I never had a chance to try them with this amp. It does make me wonder just how much better can the cyber 800 mono,s be than the 880i?This amp is ticking all the boxes and I haven't really started rolling tubes.

 

[lenticularis]

On 01/09/2021 at 10:50 AM, craka said:

Hi,

The Amp uses KT150 Power tubes.Driving Osborn Epitome Reference Towers Mk 3 in Babinga.

Your amp and speakers both look fantastic and your description of their SQ is alluring. I note that you also chose the same doorstop as I did recently!

I’ve been a happy solid-state amp user from my earliest days in hi-fi (dual-mono Gamut D200 MkIII with a single MOSFET per channel). 
I’m shortly going to have delivered a KT150 SET. Aesthetically it doesn’t come close to your Consonance, however I’m looking forward to the discovery, having heard a 300B SET in my system.

Edited September 4, 2021 by lenticularis
Typo

[m-roks]

On 07/07/2021 at 8:45 AM, m-roks said:

Thanks, I thought that was the case. better safe than sorry. For sure I will let you guys know how they sound with my kit. This whole exercise is reminding me the reason why I bought the M100s in the first place. I got too occupied with trying out other (mainly solid state) amps since and got distracted. I think I am back on track.

'Finally received the KenRad 12ax7's and plugged them in on the M100s. I have been listening for the last two weeks and the overall impression was very positive. Where before I can sense I was listening to a valve amp, now with the vintage tubes I find myself focusing on the music - a good sign. I am hearing additional resolution as the perception of depth was enhanced and the positioning of instruments in the soundstage was more defined. Piano sound has weight and I can hear emotions from vocals. Across the board the sound is more appealing and satisfying. It seems the KenRads allowed me to get more out of the 300B's. 'Will look at replacing the Shuguang  300Bs with Gold Lions next. Many thanks to you guys for the comments and recommendation. @xlr8or, I can't thank you enough.

[craka]

Has anyone tried a 5751 in the 12ax7 position on the 880i?

Ive been reading this.Its a very interesting read. Check it out.

https://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq/joes-tubes.html#12AX7

 

[graham121]

7 hours ago, craka said:

Has anyone tried a 5751 in the 12ax7 position on the 880i?

Ive been reading this.Its a very interesting read. Check it out.

https://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq/joes-tubes.html#12AX7

 

A very good question and one that I would like to know the answer to as well.

 

On another note, and as if the 880i t have enough power, I came across this picture on t'net today!!!  

Edited September 18, 2021 by graham121

[nil]

Is that a bomb?

[mrbugeyes]

French Tube amp company Jadis are using the new KT170 valve in their up market amps.  Cheers M.

[Willmax]

Hello all, I'm thinking about parting with my Cyber 800 monoblocks so I thought I'd give you a heads up here before listing them in the classifieds. Please send me PM if you have any questions. I'll leave you some pics of these bad boys in action. Cheers

 

 

 

 

[muon*]

On 29/08/2021 at 4:57 PM, craka said:

Glad to hear that mate.I have to say what Im hearing from this amp is bloody good.

I replaced the original 12au7,s with Nos Mullards .When I power on I get a flash from 1 and not the other. I read thats normal for a old mullard,if so than 1 is different ?(anyone please comment)

craka

 

 

I had this behavior from my Mullards 12AX7's in the 220v Chinese pre I use, now after dropping the heater voltage after consideration to the 220v mains transformer using 1ohm resistors they behave normally.

Edited September 19, 2021 by muon*

[craka]

1 minute ago, muon* said:

I had this behavior from my Mullards 12AX7's in the 220v Chinese pre I use, now after dropping the heater voltage after consideration to the 220v mains transformer using 1ohm resistors they behave normally.

You mean one flashing and one not or both flashing muon*?