I'm done doing business with TMadden, MontanaWay and Tyler Acoustics & Bob

Finished, finit.
It cannot get any better than this. MontanaWay's upgrade of Bob's M-125s and Tmadden's build of the SP-14 all hooked up to Tyler's speakers have put me in audio heaven. Pure, unadulterated bliss.
I won't go into lengthy detail because describing sound in words is like trying to tell a blind person what yellow looks like, although many profitable magazines thrive on doing just that.
Tmadden's SP-14 is a work of art. Strapped to MontanaWay's octal-driver M-125s (actually the Big Bopper v.3), volume and channel pots turned all the way up, you hear nothing, absolutely nothing, and these are 90 dB/watt speakers. The background is total silence. No tube noise or hash. No hum. No wisp of hiss. Utter blackness.
Until you turn the music on, of course. Then the room lights up like a new ride at the world's fair. The speakers seem to shoot out colours. Diana Krall was giving me a lap-dance last night.
This is as good as it gets. And I'm into the whole smash for less than the price of a used Ford Pinto, gas tank intact.
Thank-you Bob, Troy, Ty and Holger. Feel free to let me know of upgrades, but I ain't buying. You can't top perfection.

Bob, you have a point there. Thanks, Dr. Mottram.
I guess a shout-out is due all of you.
I have owned McIntosh and Marantz and Carver gear over the years, Nothing compares to what I've got now. Thank-you, all of you.

you should put up some photo's of your setup, for all to drool over! :-)

MontanaWay wrote:you should put up some photo's of your setup, for all to drool over! :-)

Sorry, too busy listening.

deepee99 wrote:

MontanaWay wrote:you should put up some photo's of your setup, for all to drool over! :-)

Sorry, too busy listening.

can't argue with that!!

And the whole smash, with my barnacle-encrusted 6550s, is only pulling about 5 amps yet the neighbours are screaming about something. I must be doing it wrong. Need 7 amps and the doors open to let the standing waves out.

Still rockin'.
The New Sensor 6SN7s are smoothing out quite nicely.
Summertime, Charlie Parker's iteration, is spinning just now. Life could be worse.

deepee99 wrote:Still rockin'.
The New Sensor 6SN7s are smoothing out quite nicely.
Summertime, Charlie Parker's iteration, is spinning just now. Life could be worse.

so I am guessing that by your continued updates that you are pleased with the new set up?? ....we are still waiting on some photo's...no excuses...make the effort sir!

So, David, how do like your system?

I'm just joshin' you guys.
I put the whole smash, Tylers and all, out on the sidewalk so the local crack-heads can steal same and save me hauling costs. The Bose wave radio arrives on Tuesday.

BS, no crackheads in Idaho, present company excluded!

deepee99 wrote:I'm just joshin' you guys.
I put the whole smash, Tylers and all, out on the sidewalk so the local crack-heads can steal same and save me hauling costs. The Bose wave radio arrives on Tuesday.

hey...i got my money for the BB's....do as you please!!!!!

MontanaWay wrote:

deepee99 wrote:I'm just joshin' you guys.
I put the whole smash, Tylers and all, out on the sidewalk so the local crack-heads can steal same and save me hauling costs. The Bose wave radio arrives on Tuesday.

hey...i got my money for the BB's....do as you please!!!!!

Gee, and I was going to ship them back to you, freight collect. Gotta make room for that Bose.
On a cereal note, anybody know the whereabouts of some decent 6SN7s?

deepee99 wrote:

MontanaWay wrote:

deepee99 wrote:I'm just joshin' you guys.
I put the whole smash, Tylers and all, out on the sidewalk so the local crack-heads can steal same and save me hauling costs. The Bose wave radio arrives on Tuesday.

hey...i got my money for the BB's....do as you please!!!!!

Gee, and I was going to ship them back to you, freight collect. Gotta make room for that Bose.
On a cereal note, anybody know the whereabouts of some decent 6SN7s?

Bob Dobush at find a tube has good prices. NOS 6SN7's $12 and used testing good $4.
That Bose radio is going to sound awesome with fresh tubes.

http://www.findatube.com/

Great to hear your success in reaching your music nirvana.
The m125's are an awesome amplifier, sensual, a warm breathe of life in my system. They ARE the constant heartbeat.

I just seen Diana Krall Friday night at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia.
Excellent show.
Great seats at a dear price however the Mrs and I do not go to many concerts b/c of her schedule. Except for the short venue Krall was in top form...great legs and a sexy voice, even when she is asking for water.

Ms. Krall is from my hometown of Nanaimo, B.C., on Vancouver Island.
Never met her or flirted with her, there being a generational difference or two, but delighted to know somebody from Nanaimo turned out OK. Glad you enjoyed the show.

Saw her when she came through Calgary a month or so ago. Great great show! Not a disappointing note.

Came home and played her live in Paris album for comparison. Good thing I dont have Tyler Accoustics--my partner wouldnt have much appreciated watching me get a Diana Krall lap dance!

So Dave, you've recently parted with some pretty exotic speakers--the Tyler's are somewhat better?

Tube Nube wrote:So Dave, you've recently parted with some pretty exotic speakers--the Tyler's are somewhat better?

The Tyler D12Xs are the best speakers I have ever owned and a steal at three times the price. (And they're the best speaks I ever will own, because at 200 lbs each there's no way I'm moving them outta here.)
The Vandersteen 5Ac Carbons are very, very good, too, but the retail on them's about $35k. I sold them because I needed the bucks and was expecting to be disappointed with a cheaper alternative. I was not.
Dick Vandersteen designs them in a way that there's a "sweet spot" where you get the full effect of his efforts. Downside is, in a small listening room of my size, the sweet spot is fixed and pretty tiny.
Tyler's Decades, at $8,800, use superb drivers. I upgraded to the Seas millenial tweets for another $500; the mids and woofers are Daytons. He uses a 1,000 watt Class D switching amp to support the lower end, with a user-adjustable crossover.
Despite being twice as tall as the Vandersteens, I think they play better at low volume and the sound isn't nearly as directional, so I can sit about anywhere in the room and get the full sound-stage. And despite their size, they are a delight to just look at. (Mine are not in the finish depicted below; I went with a dark exotic veneer -- Kewazinga, which is beautiful). The one other nod to Tylers is that they are a tad more efficient than the Vandies. I would think even an ST-70 could drive these beasties.
http://www.tyleracoustics.com/Decade%20X.html

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the report. Wow! I'm delighted that you've put some money back in your pocket, AND upgraded whilst saving big bux! I understand the Vandy's have a great reputation, so this says a lot about Tyler speakers.

Tube Nube wrote:Hi Dave,

Thanks for the report. Wow! I'm delighted that you've put some money back in your pocket, AND upgraded whilst saving big bux! I understand the Vandy's have a great reputation, so this says a lot about Tyler speakers.

Hey Noob,
Tyler doesn't advertise and doesn't sell through distributors and retailers, which really cuts his costs. I got hold of him on Bob Latino's advice. Ty hand-builds his speaks in his workshop and answers the phone himself.
I had an idea of what I wanted, so when the Vandies sold and I had some cash I called him up. What I liked right off the bat was he didn't try to up-sell me on anything. The tweeter upgrades and the finish were not suggested to me by him -- they were things I asked for.
Only criticism I had of him was that there's no owner/operator manual for the speaks, and the schematic that comes with the Class D amp is transliterated from Chinese and most unhelpful. His response was: "You don't need one. I'm your owner's manual. Just call!" Gotta like a guy like that.

Back near the start of my hi fi renovation project, Bob had recommended Tyler to me too -- spoke very highly of him and his products.

I nearly pulled the trigger on a pair of speakers, when a strange idea crept into my head: If I can build amps from kits, perhaps there are speaker kits?

So I put Tyler on hold, and I may yet get back to him, but I've really enjoyed 2 speaker build projects to date, and have just started on my third: the Double Tapered QuarterWave Tube (transmission-line?) by Troels Gravesen. One of our forum members (Alan) has a pair.

After I get 'em built, I should invite myself over to your place for a listen to your rig!

Tube Nube wrote:Back near the start of my hi fi renovation project, Bob had recommended Tyler to me too -- spoke very highly of him and his products.

I nearly pulled the trigger on a pair of speakers, when a strange idea crept into my head: If I can build amps from kits, perhaps there are speaker kits?

So I put Tyler on hold, and I may yet get back to him, but I've really enjoyed 2 speaker build projects to date, and have just started on my third: the Double Tapered QuarterWave Tube (transmission-line?) by Troels Gravesen. One of our forum members (Alan) has a pair.

After I get 'em built, I should invite myself over to your place for a listen to your rig!

Well, if that Maule hasn't mauled you yet, pop on down. I've avoided speaker kits because I'm the kind of carpenter who measures once and cuts twice. After I looked at the cost of woodworking tools and the help I'd need, the Tylers priced out better.
Ty gets most of his drivers from Madisound in Wisconsin, who have some excellent kits on their site as well and are nice folks to chat up. Ty designs his own cabinets, 2nd-order crossovers, etc. The D12Xs are basically an adaptation of the transmission-line concept, good stuff. The woof on top is a passive.
I have heard great things about Troels Gravesen -- another guy who is into the game just for the joy of it.
We'll leave the runway lights on for you down here, or double-click unicom and they'll come on for you.

I should have it the Maule back from Incident #2 this week end -- I'm looking for some companionship for my first flight or two, preferably an instructor with Maule Time.

Dog ate, or hid my passport. Once recovered or replaced, you can count on my dropping in -- looks like about a 2 hour hop (plus however much quality time with Border authorities: search and seizure, etc).