My Modded Tube Monos: 1st Impressions
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Early B.
Posts: 7,900
As y'all know, I purchased a pair of Rogue Audio M-120 tube monoblocks a few weeks ago. As usual, my first inclination is to modify my gear. I popped the hood and decided to switch out 4 Wima Caps and 4 Dale resistors in each amp. Bought some Mundorf Sumpreme caps and Mills resistors, and enlisted Ben to help perform the mods. Glad I did 'cause he knew what the hell he was doing and I didn't. (Thanks again, Ben.) Here's a couple of pics of one of the amps Ben completed:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72179
Got the amps home today and cranked them up. Of course, it's gonna take a while for those big **** caps to break in, but I wanted to provide you guys with an initial impression, so here it is...
GV#27 asked me a good question before I began this process. He asked, "What are you hoping to achieve?" I said I wanted a bit more tone and detail. I had a feeling these amps could give me what I wanted with a few better parts.
So what did I hear? Well, let me first say that the changes I'm describing are subtle, as expected. However, it's the subtle sounds that I was trying to achieve. Let's talk tone - got it. OK, how about detail? Check. Got 'em both, and I was very pleased. But let's not stop there. What I didn't expect was what I describe as more musicality because I don't know any other term to describe it. Prior to the mods, the sound was a bit piecemeal. It didn't gel quite like I wanted it to. Some songs didn't exactly sound natural.
Here's a better explanation: After the 6-hour listening session, I asked my wife if she noticed any difference in the sound of the modded amps and she replied, "It doesn't sound as scattered." Once I heard that, I couldn't wipe the big **** grin off my face for fifteen minutes. I didn't expect her to notice anything at all.
The mods also provided more of what I really like about these amps -- they sound more like actual music (instead of a recording of music), or better yet, like the music is supposed to sound, whether it was produced in the studio or recorded live.
As a side note, don't let anyone tell you that tubes are bass shy. I've got the best bass I've ever heard on my system. Not only is the bass just as deep as the Emotiva 250 wpc SS amp these monos replaced, but it's much more accurate. I can honestly say that I haven't heard bass like this before. Again, it's very hard to describe, but the lower notes have a lot more "information." These amps just don't produce a deep thud that most of us are familiar with. Instead, the bass has air around it, like in a concert hall. It's eerie, man. At times I thought sounds were coming from outside my home or from other parts of the house, but it was the 3-dimensional bass all over the place. I had to get accustomed to it. It's very cool.
I have one more minor tweak to perform, probably next week. Gonna roll the power tubes -- change out the EH's with some TungSols. A couple of years back, Madmax raved about Tungsols in his Jolida, so I'm hoping to peel back another layer of wonderful sound.
Stay tuned....
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72179
Got the amps home today and cranked them up. Of course, it's gonna take a while for those big **** caps to break in, but I wanted to provide you guys with an initial impression, so here it is...
GV#27 asked me a good question before I began this process. He asked, "What are you hoping to achieve?" I said I wanted a bit more tone and detail. I had a feeling these amps could give me what I wanted with a few better parts.
So what did I hear? Well, let me first say that the changes I'm describing are subtle, as expected. However, it's the subtle sounds that I was trying to achieve. Let's talk tone - got it. OK, how about detail? Check. Got 'em both, and I was very pleased. But let's not stop there. What I didn't expect was what I describe as more musicality because I don't know any other term to describe it. Prior to the mods, the sound was a bit piecemeal. It didn't gel quite like I wanted it to. Some songs didn't exactly sound natural.
Here's a better explanation: After the 6-hour listening session, I asked my wife if she noticed any difference in the sound of the modded amps and she replied, "It doesn't sound as scattered." Once I heard that, I couldn't wipe the big **** grin off my face for fifteen minutes. I didn't expect her to notice anything at all.
The mods also provided more of what I really like about these amps -- they sound more like actual music (instead of a recording of music), or better yet, like the music is supposed to sound, whether it was produced in the studio or recorded live.
As a side note, don't let anyone tell you that tubes are bass shy. I've got the best bass I've ever heard on my system. Not only is the bass just as deep as the Emotiva 250 wpc SS amp these monos replaced, but it's much more accurate. I can honestly say that I haven't heard bass like this before. Again, it's very hard to describe, but the lower notes have a lot more "information." These amps just don't produce a deep thud that most of us are familiar with. Instead, the bass has air around it, like in a concert hall. It's eerie, man. At times I thought sounds were coming from outside my home or from other parts of the house, but it was the 3-dimensional bass all over the place. I had to get accustomed to it. It's very cool.
I have one more minor tweak to perform, probably next week. Gonna roll the power tubes -- change out the EH's with some TungSols. A couple of years back, Madmax raved about Tungsols in his Jolida, so I'm hoping to peel back another layer of wonderful sound.
Stay tuned....
HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50 LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub
"God grooves with tubes."
"God grooves with tubes."
Post edited by Early B. on
Comments
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Glad to lend a hand. I can't wait to hear what you say after a little more time:)
BenPlease. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
Thanks
Ben
