Oct 12 Listening session Sunday WE 91As and RCA LC1A

sheltie dave

Addicted Member
We will have a listening session this Sunday, oct 12, from 1 to 4 pm featuring a real pair of LC1As and a replicant pair of WE 91a tube amps with 300Bs. Hear what we all have been missing for fifty years.


 
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Very few showed up to this-I was quite surprised. It's not every day one gets to hear this stuff. Kent and Steve? stopped by to visit, but I don't think they're members here.

While we didn't break out the WE 91a copies, the RCA LC-1A's magic was easily communicated being driven by a Don Allen SE 807 amp, even sitting on a floor.

Absolutely no overhang, a golden midrange, and really nice top end (though ultimate extension was limited). MUCH better subjective transient response than I expected. As a recording engineer, I don't think that I'd initially rely on them too much as monitors, until I better understood their sound-there's definitely colorations there, but from a 1948 standpoint, they'd do wonderfully, replaying far more than could be heard in all but the absolute best home setups in both frequency extension both high and low, and detail of midrange. I'd love to hear some in the variably vented Olsen cabs someday.

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We listened to It's A Beautiful Day, Norah Jones, Canadian Brass, and a demo disc I put together of music I knew well. Great stuff.

Then it was on to the main room and some pre and power amp rolling on the Klipsch RF-7's. Music was Gypsy's In The Garden (another disc which SD and I are very familiar).

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We listened to the Ming Da preamp with the EL34 and 2A3 tubes driving the Sun Audio SV-2A3 and a JuicyMusic Blueberry driving an AtmaSphere S30mk2. The 2A3 pre and power amp combo had a ton of drive, it was just too much-the romantic lushness and punch was all over everything, even when it shouldn't be, and walked all over some of the finer details in music. with Gypsy, the organ and bass were more prominent than they normally are. The system rocked, but some of the nuance was lost. Each component, individually, could do very very well in a setup that's neutral and constrained sounding across the board, provided the speakers were of adequate sensitivity.

I don't want to hate on the Ming Da or Sun Audio, the Ming Da is an amazing pre, and really allowed the most of the 1.2w or so that the Sun Audio could provide to shine. I'd love to hear each component again in a system I know well.

Going to the JuicyMusic and AtmaSphere OTL, the difference was immediate. While some of the epic "drive" was gone from the music, the subtle tempo and tonal changes in the music were back. The long-form jams Gypsy was known for became far more intricate. The great transient response was back, the original balance was back, the natural ebb and flow of the music was far better communicated, and the whole thing sounded much more accurate. Say what you will about the Klipsch RF-7, it's a very revealing speaker.

I highly encourage anyone local to come! It's worth the drive!

Gratuitous shot of a wall o' hifi:
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I would tend to say that the switching between preamps was some of the most dramatic sound signature changes I have ever heard. Anyone who believes all amps/preamps sound about the same has never heard a revealing system such as the modded RF7s provide. It was night and day between the Ming Da and the Blueberry.

Getting a double dip of 2A3 goodness, from both the pre and the amp, was almost too much of a good thing, but hearing a band that wants to revel in thick Hammond B3 goodness, coupled with a hard driving rhythm section for a solid bedrock foundation, wow! Cascading sheets of swirling organ and thundering bass runs with luxuriant open vocals firmly pinned us back in 1970 at the Fillmore.

Hearing the differences between the two tube setups, and between the RF7s and the RCA LC1As, really drove home the point that there are many ways to having a smile on ones' face.
 
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