Manley Snappers get new "real" EL34 tubes !

[joeinid]

Thanks Jeff. I appreciate all the info.

[esteban]

Jérôme, my Prima Luna DiaLogue One integrated amp originally came with EL34's. I fell head over heels for it after I got used to the resulting change compared to my previous amplifier (a Marantz receiver, actually) and absolutely loved the purity, warmth and romanticism of its sound, specially with vocals, as you pointed out, and strings. I never heard a cello more beautifully reproduced.

Unfortunately, my speakers are not the most sensitive, and I had issues with clipping during some very complex and highly dynamic passages. I needed just a little bit more grunt and bite, and switched to Gold Lions KT88's, which provided that in spades, and then some. A profound change indeed, and the synergy in my system appears to be optimal now. However, from time to time, I do miss that "glow" and lustful midrange that the EL34's gave me... It seems that in our hobby you can rarely have it all!

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by joeinid

Yes. I do not think you should/could switch it on the fly. But you have a choice of Ultra Linear and Triode for 100 watts/ch or 50 watts/ch. I hope they still offer it.

Manley Snapper®

Look at the picture of the rear of the Snapper on their website.

Do you have the switches on the back?

Hi Joe,
Thanks a lot !
Unfortunately, there is only one switch on the back of my Snappers, which is a selector for balanced / unbalanced input.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Jérôme.......I found this graph interesting. It appears the EL34 is slightly flatter at the 20kHz line than the 6CA7.

Thanks Dan !
Well, the difference seems very very light but I guess that the sound can be pretty different even though the measures are quite the same.

[Jerome W]

Jeff,
Thanks for the infos.
The problem is that the author does not cover the differences in sound between 6CA7 and EL34. He seems to consider that they sound the same.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by esteban

Jérôme, my Prima Luna DiaLogue One integrated amp originally came with EL34's. I fell head over heels for it after I got used to the resulting change compared to my previous amplifier (a Marantz receiver, actually) and absolutely loved the purity, warmth and romanticism of its sound, specially with vocals, as you pointed out, and strings. I never heard a cello more beautifully reproduced.

Unfortunately, my speakers are not the most sensitive, and I had issues with clipping during some very complex and highly dynamic passages. I needed just a little bit more grunt and bite, and switched to Gold Lions KT88's, which provided that in spades, and then some. A profound change indeed, and the synergy in my system appears to be optimal now. However, from time to time, I do miss that "glow" and lustful midrange that the EL34's gave me... It seems that in our hobby you can rarely have it all!

Esteban,
Yes, I'm lucky that my speakers are not a tough load for the Snappers. 100 W is ok for them. If I want to play at real volumes and need more headroom, of course, then my 2301's are the way to go.
Overall, the 2301's KT88 are better than the Snappers, but the mids are not so incredibly sweet. So I have both options depending on my mood.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by JohnThomas

Hi Jérôme,

It's good to hear you are enjoying the Snappers. That's great that you can add a switch to the Manley's. I wish a lot more companies offered that option.

John,
I don't have the switch but that's no big deal. More sweet than what I get now will be too much of a good thing.....maybe !

[joeinid]

Jérôme,

In case you missed it above, Manley told me it would cost $250 to install the Triode/Ultra Linear switch on the Snappers. Obviously shipping would be the problem.

Joe

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by joeinid

Jérôme,

In case you missed it above, Manley told me it would cost $250 to install the Triode/Ultra Linear switch on the Snappers. Obviously shipping would be the problem.

Joe

Joe,
Sorry I misunderstood you. I thought that only units with 2 switches could have that.
I'm quite sure that the French chief technician of the Manley importer will be able to do it !
I will ask him this week.
BTW, I wonder where is EveAnna.
She told me that she applied to join AA and was waiting for approval.

[joeinid]

Originally Posted by C220MC275

Joe,
Sorry I misunderstood you. I thought that only units with 2 switches could have that.
I'm quite sure that the French chief technician of the Manley importer will be able to do it !
I will ask him this week.
BTW, I wonder where is EveAnna.
She told me that she applied to join AA and was waiting for approval.

waiting for approval?

Who do I have to talk to around here to get her in? No approval necessary, she's in