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Beauty and the Beast: ESL amps

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  • #1

    Beauty and the Beast: ESL amps

    With a little talk of vintage systems and ESLs lately, I wanted to show what my favourite modern amp is for the ESLs

    The Wyetech Topaz with GE 211s a Tungsol Round plate 6SN7 driver and the 6BX7 phase splitter. Very simple circuit but the execution of the power supply with oil and film caps makes this 125lb beast a real eye opener . With about 18wpc and tons of drive it is totally illuminating on the refurbed PK ESLs .. I have even driven the panels only with the Bev's with this amp and it doesn't dissapoint.

    The Quad IIs are no embarrassment but when you hear this beast of a SET on the ESL well...........It's hard to capture the diminutive nature of the Quad II versus the beastly Topaz.



    Click image for larger version Name: IMG_2713.JPG Views: 1 Size: 109.8 KB ID: 59234

    Phono: Aesthetix Io Eclipse with 2 Power Supplies and Volume controls
    Brinkmann Balance & RonT Tube Power supply with Kuzma 4-point ,FR64S, Brinkmann 12.1 , .Koetsu Jade Platinum,Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, Lyra Atlas Lamda, Lyra Etna SL Goldfinger Statement, KLAUDIO RCM, HRSM3X
    Amps: Custom Direct Drive, Wyetech Topaz, Futterman H3 Quad II,Citation II, Marantz 8b, 5 ,2. Bedini 25/25
    Pre-Amps:Marantz 7, Marantz Model 1 Consolette Pair
    Speakers: Beveridge Model 3 Direct Drive amps, REL S/2 x 2, Quad ESL pair
    Otari 5050BXII, DeHavilland 222
    Tags: None
    • 4 likes
  • #2
    Wow! Thats awesome. I would love to hear those by comparison.
    Speakers/Amps: Genesis G2.2 Jr with Powered Servo-Sub Bass, Genesis GR1440 Mono Amps, 5,000 watts total power
    Preamp: SMc Audio VRE-1C Preamp (fully balanced inputs and output)
    Analog 1: VPI Signature 21 Belt-Drive Turntable w/ 10” 3D Printed Fatboy Gimbal Arm and Ortofon MC Windfeld Ti Phono Cartridge driving Lehmann Silver Cube Phono Preamp
    Analog 2: VPI HW-40 Direct-Drive Turntable w/ 12” 3D Printed Fatboy Gimbal Arm and Ortofon MC Anna Diamond Phono Cartridge driving Genesis Gold Phono Preamp
    Analog 3: Studer A810 R2R tape w/ Bridge Console. Using built-in tape preamp
    Digital: Lumin Network Player with Lumin NAS
    Cables: Genesis Advanced Technologies/Absolute Fidelity Interface Interconnects, Speaker, Phono and Power
    A/C Power: Extensive System Upgrades, Sub-panel w/hard-wired power cables, and IsoTek Super Titan Passive Power Conditioning for Amplifiers
    Accessories: Custom Acrylic Equipment Stands, Klaudio Ultrasonic RCM

    Comment

    • #3
      No Futterman?

      Comment

      • #4
        Originally posted by Rob View Post
        No Futterman?
        Sure, Futterman and Bedini are great too as well as............. I need to clean house...

        Click image for larger version Name: IMG_1802.JPG Views: 174 Size: 106.4 KB ID: 59250Click image for larger version Name: DSCN4530.JPG Views: 120 Size: 2.39 MB ID: 59251
        Phono: Aesthetix Io Eclipse with 2 Power Supplies and Volume controls
        Brinkmann Balance & RonT Tube Power supply with Kuzma 4-point ,FR64S, Brinkmann 12.1 , .Koetsu Jade Platinum,Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, Lyra Atlas Lamda, Lyra Etna SL Goldfinger Statement, KLAUDIO RCM, HRSM3X
        Amps: Custom Direct Drive, Wyetech Topaz, Futterman H3 Quad II,Citation II, Marantz 8b, 5 ,2. Bedini 25/25
        Pre-Amps:Marantz 7, Marantz Model 1 Consolette Pair
        Speakers: Beveridge Model 3 Direct Drive amps, REL S/2 x 2, Quad ESL pair
        Otari 5050BXII, DeHavilland 222
        • 1 like

        Comment

        • #5
          The Wytech gear always seemed to fly under the radar (at least to me)- I know the preamps or line stages were highly regarded. This looks like it may have been directly competitive with the Lamm ML2. I wonder how they compare? Your photo comparing it to the Quad II is funny- talk about "diminutive" -- i had forgotten how small they were when mine came back from the shop recently.
          I thought SETs and Quads didn't mix too well, but maybe that's fake news. I'm a "go large" kinda guy in some things- that Wytech is a beauty.

          Comment

          • #6
            Originally posted by Bill Hart View Post
            The Wytech gear always seemed to fly under the radar (at least to me)- I know the preamps or line stages were highly regarded. This looks like it may have been directly competitive with the Lamm ML2. I wonder how they compare? Your photo comparing it to the Quad II is funny- talk about "diminutive" -- i had forgotten how small they were when mine came back from the shop recently.
            I thought SETs and Quads didn't mix too well, but maybe that's fake news. I'm a "go large" kinda guy in some things- that Wytech is a beauty.
            Roger Hebert, the principal at Wyetech has a very prescribed view of what is correct and that may not come off well with distributors and the like. He has mostly gone manufacturer direct throughout the life of the company. A real shame more folks have not heard these designs. He really does bring some good things to the table with his approach.

            With the Canadian dollarette being what is.. the Wyetech was in fact my alternative to the Lamm. I actually liked some things about the Topaz better- its always about trade offs and flavours at this level.

            The ESLs don't ordinarily like SETs ,however, this one works well.
            Phono: Aesthetix Io Eclipse with 2 Power Supplies and Volume controls
            Brinkmann Balance & RonT Tube Power supply with Kuzma 4-point ,FR64S, Brinkmann 12.1 , .Koetsu Jade Platinum,Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, Lyra Atlas Lamda, Lyra Etna SL Goldfinger Statement, KLAUDIO RCM, HRSM3X
            Amps: Custom Direct Drive, Wyetech Topaz, Futterman H3 Quad II,Citation II, Marantz 8b, 5 ,2. Bedini 25/25
            Pre-Amps:Marantz 7, Marantz Model 1 Consolette Pair
            Speakers: Beveridge Model 3 Direct Drive amps, REL S/2 x 2, Quad ESL pair
            Otari 5050BXII, DeHavilland 222

            Comment

            • #7
              Your Berning reminds me of the car amps I had way back in the 90's before switching out to a pair of custom VTL 30's that I could run off the battery, loved that car & loved that sound !

              david

              Originally posted by kcin View Post

              Sure, Futterman and Bedini are great too as well as............. I need to clean house...

              Click image for larger version Name: IMG_1802.JPG Views: 2 Size: 106.4 KB ID: 59250Click image for larger version Name: DSCN4530.JPG Views: 1 Size: 2.39 MB ID: 59251
              Manufacturer: American Sound Turntables and The Nothing Rack
              Distribution: NEODIO
              Special Sales: van den Hul
              Industry Representation: Lamm, Kharma OLS Speakers, Ortofon, ZYX, Keith Monks, Audio Desk, Jensen Transformer, Venta Airwasher
              Unique Items: Vintage Horn Speakers
              http://www.audionirvana.org/forum/ti...stening-room-1
              http://www.audionirvana.org/forum/ti...earfield-setup

              Comment

              • #8
                Originally posted by david k View Post
                Your Berning reminds me of the car amps I had way back in the 90's before switching out to a pair of custom VTL 30's that I could run off the battery, loved that car & loved that sound !

                david
                Wow VTLs in a car.. crazy... I remember those Berning designed car amps... Milbert.. My buddy had one very nice.
                Phono: Aesthetix Io Eclipse with 2 Power Supplies and Volume controls
                Brinkmann Balance & RonT Tube Power supply with Kuzma 4-point ,FR64S, Brinkmann 12.1 , .Koetsu Jade Platinum,Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, Lyra Atlas Lamda, Lyra Etna SL Goldfinger Statement, KLAUDIO RCM, HRSM3X
                Amps: Custom Direct Drive, Wyetech Topaz, Futterman H3 Quad II,Citation II, Marantz 8b, 5 ,2. Bedini 25/25
                Pre-Amps:Marantz 7, Marantz Model 1 Consolette Pair
                Speakers: Beveridge Model 3 Direct Drive amps, REL S/2 x 2, Quad ESL pair
                Otari 5050BXII, DeHavilland 222

                Comment

                • #9
                  Originally posted by kcin View Post
                  Wow VTLs in a car.. crazy... I remember those Berning designed car amps... Milbert.. My buddy had one very nice.
                  They took up most of the trunk space but they worked great!

                  david
                  Manufacturer: American Sound Turntables and The Nothing Rack
                  Distribution: NEODIO
                  Special Sales: van den Hul
                  Industry Representation: Lamm, Kharma OLS Speakers, Ortofon, ZYX, Keith Monks, Audio Desk, Jensen Transformer, Venta Airwasher
                  Unique Items: Vintage Horn Speakers
                  http://www.audionirvana.org/forum/ti...stening-room-1
                  http://www.audionirvana.org/forum/ti...earfield-setup

                  Comment

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