system one - kelly holsten - mobile homeless

system

one

EICO HF-81 - 1959

Integrated Williamson 14wpc amp from the EICO company of NY based on the EL-84. I have two of these units and they are simply magical! The little EICO slays many big name "amps" and is extremely musical in presentation, sounding much more powerful and refined than the years, parts, or layout would have you believe.

Even though it is becoming more widely known, I rank it as one of the BEST underground deals in audio. The transformers with the early EICO gear were excellent! This little amp exhibits so much magic when dialed in; equipped with NOS it just has resolution and a certain articulation that reminds you of why you got into this whole mess! See EICO HF-81 Review - Info Online

ASUSA A-4 Ultralinear EL-34

An EL-34 based amp that was rated by VTV as one of the best "kit amps" on the market. Of course, they sold it at the time ... but it is a fine amp for the money with massive transformers made in the US. Really is helped by switching the 12AU7 drivers to NOS. Good sound for what it is and can be improved by adding Hovlands, Auricaps, or oils in place of stock coupling caps and going to HEXFREDS in PS (Jensen Copper Oils as coupling would REALLY improve the smoothness as well). Mine is on the chrome chassis and is factory wired. Too bad it doesn't have tube rectification, though, something I have come to appreciate more and more, Although I will say that properly implemented SS rectification with HEXFRED and Snubber is good. Ironically, the EICO HF-81 in ways has a more refined bass. Still, there is something great about a good EL-34 amp; they have a big, bluesy sound that seems to reside in the EL-34 domain. This amp gets cycled into the main system when the mood strikes. Doubles as lovely fireplace..

1977 Klipsch Cornwall AlNiCo

Well, this has been a surprise, indeed. Although I had heard so much about this classic vintage speaker that has a substantial following, I had never really given it full respect. To put it simply, this is a magical speaker that has something very rare today: SOUL. It delivers the musical goods and conveys almost all things important. No, it is not the most neutral speaker out there and surely has its faults. But at the moment, with the EICO or the Moondogs, this is one of THE most musical speakers I have ever heard. It is MADE for vinyl and tubes, without question. I could go on for far longer about this gem but will save that for a dedicated page. Christ, it's a monster though!

SCOTT 299B

this little vintage tube integrated gets a lot of praise online and most of it deserving. This particular Scott 299B above comes from Rick Warren, a tinkerer with his tube gear who loves rebuilding and modifying as a hobby. Rick did the works with this 299B installing Russian caps throughout while replacing the grid resistors and anything else out of tolerance. Gone is the original Selenium Rectifier, something that always needs replacing on these vintage Scotts. Another worthwhile mod from Rick includes FULL BIASING capability for EACH output tube. How does it sound? Compared to the EICO HF-81, I don't think the Scott quite has the top to bottom coherency - the HF-81 might also be an ever more refined amplifier. On the other hand, the Scott 299B does have a more "technicolor" reproduction with a VERY nice lower register. While the bass in the EICO might be subjectively more refined, the low end growl of the Scott is addictive. I think the Scott is a somewhat brighter amplifier but it's a VERY nice sound. This thing would simply eat up almost all the SS sub 1K counterparts. I think the Scott might win out on Rock while the EICO seems to love jazz. Both are excellent examples of the capability of the vintage tube integrated. Highly recommended. This unit might be for sale, the proceeds going to Rick's next tube foray. Please see the dedicated
SCOTT 299B ONLINE with pics

Waltham Integration P6D Tripath Digital Amplifier by Leo Keightley

What? No tubes? And it's digital on top of that! I stated that I would probably never own another solid state amplifier after selling my last sample a few years back. I just hadn't found any that I found to be musically engaging, regardless of price. Then fellow SET lover and tube compatriot, Leo Keightley, sent me a little project he had been working on based on the Tripath digital amplifier. It was a 8w prototype designed to play into high efficiency speakers with little distortion at the spot where most music is played, around 1 watt, a trait almost all solid state amplifiers lack, suffering sonically in this all important range. Leo sent along this humble, rather homely integrated, straight from his own hands with the note "see what you think - you might be surprised." Indeed I was. This little box with absolutely ZERO heat, attached to a small, almost wall wart sized outboard power supply, sounds amazingly good via my Klipsch Cornwalls. It is perhaps the smoothest, most relaxed sounding SS amplifier I have had connected to these horns. I found it does extremely well with a tube preamp leading the way. Highs are amazingly smooth considering the SS origin and the bottom is nicely defined. Even the midrange was a surprise to me, all the while conveying very nice detail and an open quality that is alluring. In short, this is a boon sonically and virtually cute as a button! Leo could plop the beast into a nifty wood chassis and mark the price up and away! Stay tuned as Leo's Waltham Integration might be coming out with a run of these P6D Tripath Digital Amplifiers in the coming months.. more

creek obh-12 passive preamp

this excellent little preamp offers amazing sonics for the money; while little more than an elaborate switching box with remote control out of signal path, the obh-12 hands over the transparency with excellent low level detail provided you have a source with adequate voltage and a robust power supply. short interconnects a must as well. but given those limitations, just about the best $150 used one can spend. does lack the dynamic richness of a fine tube preamp...but still a great little unit - Consider a transformer passive as option - highly recommended. PS - The rock is to weight the little beast down, otherwise, the IC stand it off the rack.

Cary Audio SLP-70 Preamp
See Dedicated SLP-70 Page

Had to break down and sell my second Cary Audio SLP-70 w/Phono as the equipment list was getting a bit much. You can see the details be clicking my preamp at left. This page contains some absolutely VIVID 1200 pixel views of this preamp as well as the full manual with comparison pics between modified and stock units - SOLD

ProAc Mini Towers

These very speakers, owned by Dennis Had of Cary Audio, were actually used to show the Cary 300se Monos back in 89-90 at the CES and other shows. Can be lead and sand filled and have very natural sound akin to most ProAcs. Very good bottom end extension and very smooth highs with accurate midrange. Not too many ProAcs that are bad, really. Probably one of the most all around natural makes of speaker, in my opinion, although there are better models than the Mini Tower. But I have to admit how utterly amazed I am at how well this speaker does with my Welborne Labs Moondogs! I am getting damn good volume with an extraordinary sense of ease and musicality. I did a lot of complaining at first, but after many trials and tribulations, I have found them to be wonderful, especially for normal dynamic loudspeakers. I think ProAcs are some of the most natural speakers made when set up correctly. Yet, I have to admit, they were immediately thrust to backup duty after 10 minutes with the vintage Klipsch Cornwalls!

Progressive-Engineering's "The Turntable"

I was introduced to this amazing table when asked to work on a web project for its introduction. The more I talked to people about it, and the more I worked with the site, the more intrigued I became, to the point where I wanted to have it! My Linn LP-12 is a TOTALLY different animal in almost every way so I wanted to hear what a more current approach in the top echelon could offer. The table is something I have been looking forward to for the last few months as I just now got the Incognito Wired Rega RB-300 to use. This beast is really a design tour de force. All those that have heard it have given it extremely high marks with several manufacturers placing orders after hearing at last year's VSAC and CES. Look for more comments as soon as this beauty is up and running on my new dedicated stand. POSTSCRIPT: Succinctly put, this is the most solidly engineered piece of gear I have ever had in my system. Although I know it has to go back to its owner sometime, I will rue this day since it's such an excellent piece of craftsmanship. While the Linn is a finicky soul factory, the Progressive Engineering "The Turntable" is a TURN KEY, vinyl lovers dream. Heartily recommended - full review to appear shortly. If interested, please see www.progressive-engineering.com

Rega Planet

Just one of the most musical players out there; deserves all the hype. Unfortunately, I do believe one of the problems with this player is the inordinate break-in time and the variability between models. I have had two Planets in my home for extended times and they really sounded different, even on the same system. I think this might account with some of the differing opinions on this player. Also, some people are quite used to the hyped up detail of other, lessor machines. Not quite the ultimate detail of some 24bit units but more musical than many of those machines, which have less body to my ears. I almost prefer the sound of a proper 18-20 bit machine to a cheaper 24bit. It does not always pay to upgrade.

Linn Sondek LP-12 Valhalla

This is one of my oldest pieces that I still have as it has survived the myriad of upgrade phobias that seemingly grip one before he gathers his wits. It's just a classic table with three spring suspension that gets the notes flowing with a musical quality that is not always found on tables such as Rega, VPI, and the equivalent. When it is set up right, it really has a certain magic. Of course, the trouble is that if you DON'T have it set up properly(and the springs are a pain to balance - a jig is needed ), the bass really does suffer and the whole result is rather pedestrian in nature. My LP-12 does not have all the latest mods such as the Trampoline suspension, Lingo Supply, or Cirkus bearing. But it does let go of the notes and is such a pleasure to listen to when firing on all cylinders. If only all CD players sounded this good....

EICO HFT-90 all tube FM tuner

This little wonder dating around 1954 is one of my favorite pieces. I picked it up for a song a few years back - it has a full compliment of Mullard NOS tubes and does not drift at all! Wonderful, rich, uncompressed sounding FM, especially from local public radio. It is mono, of course, but give up nothing. Late at night, listening to Coltrane or Rollins on WHQR-FM is very magical. My $700 Sumo Aurora tuner is in its box.... I listen to this piece every morning and it never fails to communicate the essence of whatever it's being fed. This is radio the way it was meant to be! See more pics HERE.

Polk RT-5 Monitor

Ok. I know what you are saying; how in the hell could anyone buy anything from that clown in the white lab coat? And for God's sake, Polk speakers are HORRIBLE! Well, I might have agreed with you. But while online, I happened upon some reviews of a small monitor called the RT5. I had my doubts, but while glancing through a Stereophile (whatever happened to that magazine? sad...), I noticed a Wes Philips review lauding the little Polks as a fine match for low watt tubes.

Then while auditioning a used Jolida 302B for a girlfriend's system, I noticed the speakers sans grill - they had a strange port configuration - the guy said, "oh...believe it or not, these are some little Polks I picked up after hearing a pair on an old Dynaco." Amazingly enough, the damn things sounded quite good. Very open, full bodied and natural with a very smooth top end that held detail but was not tipped up. Well, we left with the Jolida and I hit eBay for a pair for $150. I have to say, these are GREAT little monitors and sound very nice with my EICO HF-81. Pulled out about 3.5 feet from the rear wall and they really float an amazing soundstage, pulling ye olde disappearing act with aplomb. No longer made but a great deal on the used market. If only Matthew Polk would ditch that sorry coat....

NOTE: All gear on these pages was taken with an Olympus 2020r Digital. This is actually a full feature, manual override, digital that is excellent. Photoshop tweaking not included, however.