Posted by Al Sekela on February 19, 2003 at 12:06:36:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Sound Lab A-6's posted by Lew on February 19, 2003 at 07:41:52:
is the Antique Sound Lab Hurricane, 200 watts per channel, $4400 per pair.
I heard these in the Alon room at CES, driving a pair of Lotus Elite Signatures. They sounded like utter crap. Carl Marchisotto was running the exhibit himself.
A pair of 30 watt/channel 845 SET monoblocks by deHavilland driving the same model speakers had the best sound in the show, IMHO, in the deHavilland room at T.H.E. Expo.
To be fair to the ASL amplifier, it has independent bias adjustments for each output tube, and HP's raves relate to the condition when proper and stable bias adjustment is achieved (after about a month of operation). It may be the case that the examples in the Alon room were not properly adjusted or were too new and had drifted.
Keep in mind these are transformer-coupled amps and have an ultimate limitation in sound through the design of, and compromises made in, the output transformers. Sound Lab speakers will reveal this limitation.