I thought I was the only one but I find musicians always more interesting as others, I think it's because I have no talent to became a musican but as a music lover admire the things they do.
Another great video. Thanks to David for keeping us updated on his audio journey. I love seeing other people's systems . Also looking forward to seeing the little bbc monitor review. :-)
suggestion for david. before you buy the new phono pre-amp, i would recommend routing the phono preamp you are using now through the willsenton and then to the speakers. you can do this by going out of the tape monitor on the musical fidelity amp and then into the willsenton. this will give you a better idea of what to expect with a different preamp and leave the difference between the power amps out of the comparison. btw, the musical fidelity looks like a nice piece of kit (as the brits say). a class "a" amp is a wonderful thing! your system sounds great even on my crappy earbuds on the other side of the pond!
Very nice review. Glad that David has found the hiss problem. Maybe the Wilsenton amplifier, is too sensitive for the schiit mani, so to much amplification occurs in the phono chain...Nice audio setup in Davids home, and very nice from him, to share this with us. Class A amplifiers can indeed sound very, very nice. Always problem with heat dissipation with class a design, and relative low power on the output. I had back in the days, a chinese class a tube amp, with 2 845 tubes (milk bottles:-), and was putting out 18watts/channel. very nice sounding, but the thing runs very hot within 1 hour. For long time radio listening, not the perfect amplifiers.😁 I don't no why, but when i see the vids on this channel, i strongly need a cup of coffee. Kitchen, here i come.😋
Those LS3/5A’s really sounded quite good being driven by the Willemston, especially while playing female vocals. They’re supposedly known for their ability to reproduce vocals well, and they’re certainly not disappointing there. That’s a great little combo right there.
I have the Sound Artist LS/35a and couldn’t be happier. R8 also Also against a wall the bass is exceptional from these speakers and I can hear it throughout the house.
Mijn eerste goede versterker was een nad 302. Ik had hem nooit weg moeten doen. Blij dat het probleem voor David opgelost is zijn set ziet er zeer mooi uit. Ik ben benieuwd naar je volgende video ivar. Ik wens je een heel fijn weekend. Gr André de vries.
My Father has the Musical Fidelity Pre and mono blocks of the same vintage. Lovely warm sound. I have the mani and it sounds pretty great to me. I also have the Bluesound Node2i it has been the best value piece of equipment I’ve ever bought (when coupled to a monthly subscription to a music service like Tidal). Good luck with your swaps!
Nice one, enjoyed it a lot, as always! To David: Have you tried experimenting with the placement of your speakers? They might benefit from a bit more air behind them, even though they are front ported. Best regards, Yuri.
(A1) To say it clear: Quality of Hi-Fi didn‘t increase for the last 30 years, only the quality of electrolytic capacitors increased a bit. An well maintained A1 (my brother reworked hundreds of them as a professional, because the A1 has great wearout (heat) and a major design problem with DC on the volume pot resulting in higher distortion) is still a Best Buy up to at least 1000£\€. Get it reworked, it‘s worth!
I have one in my basement storage. Haven't used it for about 30 years, then it had one dead channel. It started with an intermittent cut out of that channel. I will fix it some day. 👍
Il nuovo modello MF. A1 è stato rivisitato al meglio aumentando la dimensione complessiva per smaltire meglio il calore aumentando la superfice di dissipazione con griglia migliorata, con accorgimenti ++ moderni di nuove componentistiche migliorative, questo lo rende a tutti gli effetti Migliore del predecessore Vintage, mi dispiace per i nostalgici, ma il tutto è migliorato a favore della Musica. un saluto
@@perherbert Get it fixed. Because of the heat, in addition to the dead channel every - EVERY - single electrolytic cap has to be replaced by new quality caps. The power amp section is marvelous. Really great. The preamp section is a problem because of killing DC to the volume potentiometer and a highly distorting behavior. Find someone/ information dealing with this and you get a high class amp which can compete with 5k€ amps easily. I know some conasseures preferring it from other 200w/5k€ amps by its clean, real, honest sound.
Update. Rolled the tubes of the Willsenton completely. Now you hear the weaknesses of the LS3/5. Just can say they are no real LS3/5. LS 3/5 is very accurate in voice reproduction, more midrange for instruments etc. But they are still a lot of fun. Can't wait to hear what you thing about them.
if i may be so bold as to offer coffee advice to a dutch barista ;) have you ever tried cold brew in your french press? put some ground coffee in the carafe, stir thoroughly and put in the fridge overnight. press in the morning and voila!
@@daviddarley4749 I think you made the right call. I had a Mani, and for $150 its nice, but at $275, it's not worth it. For about $60, the ART DJ pro sounds just as good if you add a $10 DC power supply. At $180, the Hagerman Bugle 3 Sounds better than the Mani. Just my thoughts.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Thank you, and yes, it did have a great headphone output. McIntosh basically attenuated signal from the speaker output to make the headphone out. That first solid state effort from McIntosh, with the right pair of speakers, could image outstandingly well. The problem with it was that it used these not so nice early generation germanium transistors which imparted a harsh edge to the music when played loud. This was really obvious when played next to a more modern MOSFET-based solid state amp like the B&K ST140. Anyway, have loved McIntosh amps, especially the vintage gear, ever since.
I had an uncle that had 60s Macintosh preamp amp and l think tuner. I just ordered my first Mac 7200 should come in in about two weeks looking forward to it. I still listen to a lot of FM radio
@@terrywho22 I like the idea that it has AM FM in a integrated amp. Tekton double impact SE. They're coming in about 6 weeks. That's great your first stereo was a McIntosh
Hello barista, waiting for your review of the SA LS3/5A, I received them a month ago and I am using them in desktop nearfield set up with a Yamaha RN803D and the result is absolutely fantastic.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 make sure you test them in desktop nearfield set up, for normal listening with the Willsenton R8 I was less impressed as they felt a bit small
Try Zen Isi phono i think is pretty good for 200euros in my opinion is better that build in phono in my technics su g700 mk2. Maybe not that sillent but very good
Ah, nice to see my equipment 😁 and i hope, the combination of R8 "The Willi" and the Soundartist LS3/5 will enjoy someone like you also. I have received something that might be interesting for you. A "cheap" 720,- Euro Amari Turntable (price incl. even Taxes etc)
Hi Marc. I am having a lot of fun at the moment 😉 Do you have a link for your new turnntable? I did not know the brand but their equipment looks very nice.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Links don't work here !? Easy. Shop is run by Thorsten who is german, started long time ago to develope and import stuff, now he lives in China. Shop is Destiny Audio dot com. There are AMARI turntables. I have bought the cheapest, the 007 😎
Hi, I have no experience with the Elac (it looks very interesting) but looking at the specs (87dB, 4 Ohm) I probably would prefer a bit more power. Are you looking at the original A1 or the new one?
I think it’s fantastic, I got in early and only paid @550 euros + shipping. Not sure there would be valve amp anywhere near it for that money. I may do a review video shortly. I’d like to compare the ‘beast from the east’ with my class D XTZ
I have the A1 too. The sound is good, but i need a Equalizer because there is actually no bass. Thats the Problem with Class a Amps. Simply of that i don’t use them.
The Audiophile Barista Yeah, but if i would have speakers with very much ground bass, then it would be great. But with my smaller speakers the bass can’t be so great. But thanks for your answer to my previous comment!
The Audiophile Barista A lot Vintage speakers. Universum Led 1800. Onkyo Sc 60 Mkii. wharfedale Laser range 60. Yamaha Model ns 144. The Mids and highs were great. But The Bass was nothing, because there is no Bass Control on that amp.
I had a chance to play with a Pass Labs Aleph 3 about 10 years ago and didn't noticed any bass issues. Actually, it was probably the best stereo solid-state power amp I had ever heard at the time. Could it be that you just like the sound to be tilted towards the bass?
I am still working on the review but if rock and metal is your main choice this is not the LS for you. - It can handle it, but it is not why this LS exists.
that is huge! no wonder it looked quite big. I could not see your listening sofa at the back but I guess the room extends further than whats shown in this video. by the way , how does your ls3/5a sounds with your monoblock tube amp at the back?
Sad to see the Chinese made vac valve amp which wouldn’t be a patch even on an old Leak let alone a Quad or Vintage Macintosh or Carver Gish just about ANY non Chinese vintage vac valve amp which wasn’t made with CCP money!
