If you have very efficient speakers, 2a3 are even better 
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Nope, 91 / 92 dB 
First time I’ve had a listen to this in a few days due to work reasons so a couple of thoughts on it.
It is without doubt an upgrade on the Luxman. The sound really is sublime it has such presence and clearly brings out the best of the Direkts - in a larger room it would be a really sensational combo.
However, I don’t think I’d ever need to listen at more than quarter volume which is probably like always driving a porche in first gear.
It seems a bit of a waste as the room is not large and I listen quite near field. Mmmm more listening required.
No, you’re hearing it as it should be with the qualities you like being evident most of the way to full output. You may only be using half to one Watt but it’s the quality of that Watt that matters & you won’t find it easy to replicate with any other kind of amplifier on those speakers.
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Thanks Guy that gives me a much better frame of reference.
Just listening to Nico’s Chelsea Girl just now and it sounds fabulous even at a low volume.
I recall going round various shops with Direkts when they first came out & quickly realised that some well regarded solid state amps sounded utterly terrible trying to play at 1/4 or 1/2 W output. Gritty & tonally all over the place. I realised I had to have something half decent with me always just to show that the speakers weren’t the issue. A little class A EL84 amp was enough. It would play at low levels without sounding horrible.
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They must rank as one of the best hi-fi bargains of all time - the sound for pound is mental.
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I’m looking forward to your impressions of the new versions.
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I think you’re just hearing and enjoying a better sound that is more natural and convincing, no matter the volume.
Do Porsche drivers only get enjoyment when driving full pelt, top speed? How often do they get the chance to actually do that? Or do they enjoy the car no matter what speed they’re driving?
Do it. YOLO
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Probably not the best analogy but you’re right Wayne.
There is the saying that a 300B SET is a 1W amp with 6.5W of headroom, so you are probably running it at its optimal level. In any case volume position is a function of gain rather than maximum power so unless you can’t get it low enough or get channel imbalance I wouldn’t worry.
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A few changes
Owing to a friend upgrading to a new esoteric DAC / pre, I decided to buy his current Auralic Vega G2 for a bargain price.
At the same time, elite audio had an Aries G2 going for an absolute song. So I decided to go for the “stack”. They work super seamlessly together, the Aries via L link takes total control of the DAC / pre and accesses volume and control info.
The Aries also allows you to connect a CD rom to enable its use as a CD player, avoiding the need for costly transports, as it buffers all the data way in advance of playback.
I’m pleased with the setup given its original price point vs what I paid for it!
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Speakers have long since been the limiting factor…. Perhaps next year will invest the time and effort into trying a few things. I’d like to give big tannoys another go
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What speaks are you using just now?
The one on the left causes the problem on the right
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A pair of old Rogers LS6A I got on gumtree for £200 with stands lol.
They sound utterly outstanding for what they are, how old they are and how cheap they were. But there’s no getting past the fact they’re a huge limitation.
Ha. I have a pair of LS6 (pre A) in my tv system and I agree, better than they have any right to be. Also agree that there comes a point where they will be the (mostly benign) bottleneck.
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They’re closer to my old harbeth SHL5+ than they have any right to be. But in a system with £12k of digital and £14k of amps….. we should be using better speakers!
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One of my first pairs of speakers were ls6. Probably the reason I’m still into Hifi as they were the first thing that “hooked” me. Just really nice pleasant things to listen to. Can get a bit messy with complex pieces but that could’ve been the stuff I was using them with.
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