Coincident Statement Phono & Statement Line Stage

[Whart]

Love the tube porn! The Manley is good, probably better than good, it is not lush, or dramatic or anything- it works great, and its character is changed pretty dramatically (as I guess alot of preamps are) by changing the tubes. The one I have is the version they made before they added remote control, i may have my dates wrong by a year. The price charged for the NOS tubes is getting ridiculous, it is like buying vintage bottles of good wine. I just bought some ribbed plate teles for the Lamm amps- they were pretty tres cher. I also have used the CC version of the Tekefunken 6922 for the Steelhead, and just got, waiting to try, a silver shield set of Siemens EC 88? from the 70's. I also have a set of NOS Mullard gold pins for the Steelhead, and changed out the other tubes in the Steelhead as well for NOS Raytheons- 7044? All of it makes a difference.

The Steelhead works fine in the system with the Lamm stuff, which tends to sound almost soft, not quite, lot's of the texture and breadth of real music going on, but not hyperanalytic or overly lush, and you think, OK, i know the character of this thing- until some big dynamic passage occurs, and the BAM!, the line stage and amps can wallop you in a way that was unexpected with deep bass or a much bigger cresendo than you thought they were capable of, given their sort of understated character (not rounded off, exactly, or tubey sounding but a little dark and almost lean). As I write these words, I realize that the amps really don't get in the way and give me oodles of insight into what is going on in the recording without ever sounding mechanical, synthetic or like 'reproduced' music. Alot of people have commented on this almost organic quality. I wanted a phono preamp that didn't add a layer of romance on top and almost went solid state. Frankly, with the original Sovtek tubes, the Steelhead sounds more like solid state than tube, but change those tubes and man, it is a whole different story.
Overall, the Steelhead does work for me, but it was my experience, and I don't think I'm alone, that it just sounded better across the spectrum, more even if you will, without bright spots and hollows, on the MM side, not through the autoformers.
I'd also like to try to ASR Basis Exclusive, which has been around for a while. I don't think i could have gotten away with the older Aesthetix IO because i gather it is not super quiet, and on the horns i use, it would probably drive me crazy. (Though admittedly, I never had the IO in the system) I think you made a great investment in the Coincident stuff, it appears to be really nicely made, and everybody that has heard it has sung its praises. Enjoy. I'd love to know what you conclude after you play with the tubes.
PS added a signature.

[audiopoor]

Well that's good you still have it. I thought you were leading to say it's gone. It couldn't have been that bad. I have read in the past that the Steelhead can sound a bit on the dark side but I'm sure with some careful tube selections you can get it right were you want it. I hear you about NOS tube prices. I can count the hundreds in the picture. I enjoyed tube rolling with my previous tube pre-amps, the Audible Illusions Modulus M3A, Counterpoint 5.1 and McIntosh C2300 . The IO was on my radar but I was worried about the amount of tubes it uses. You would spend a considerable amount keeping it in quiet tubes. (they just don't stay that way) A friend has a Counterpoint SA9, a fabulous phono stage from the mid 90's and still sought after, would be in the same boat. I couldn't even consider it even though I admire it.
So for now I want to give the Statement Line Stage some time to break in before I start changing tubes in the phono. I feel a synergy with these two pieces so I don't consider them two separat pieces, except physically. The Statement Phono is so dead quiet and nothing gets added going through the line stage. The phono is so detailed and smooth without sounding tube like or hyper anything. The line stage just passes that on like I was still listening through the phono's passive front end, but with some balls now. But what I have said before, what I have been striving for is music that is envolving, immediate and transparent and I got it! It's just exciting to listen to! Yes I'll be shure to post when I start rolling again.
Harv

[Mysound]

Hi, thanx for the pics, I'm interested in this linestage myself, so I'm very curious to your conclusions about it's performance.

Greetings

[audiopoor]

Welcome to AA Mysound!
The CSLS has turned out to be a real joy for me. When I do find the time to slip on, even just one album, I usually come away feeling pretty good about what I've just heard. It just sounds so open and involving. While listening I'm getting more what I'll call moments with this combination. Moments where you become totally involved and lost in the music. One example of this is on the album Shine by Daniel Lanois with the track "Transmitter". It's just Daniel playing his slide guitar with minimal drums in the background. Turn it up... my amp is now his amp! He's in the room. I've never heard this phenomenal quite like this before in my system. Mysound, I don't see how you would be disappointed with it's performance.
Harv

[Masterlu]

Mysound... Welcome!

[Mysound]

Thanx for the nice welcome.(that was indeed my first post) I'm living in the Netherlands, and there's no distributer here that I know off. So every userinfo I can get is welcome, after seeing the ravereviews. I was trickered by the ' pure ' way this pre is build. I've heard other great pre's, BAT-REX, Zanden, does the CSLS magnify thing's like voices, or do they have the right proportions? Thanx for your reply.

[audiopoor]

So far as I can tell the CSLS doesn't highlight any part of the music. I listen mostly to new rock and and rock classics then jazz and audiophile must haves such as "Dead Can Dance". The very first thing I noticed when I dropped the needle down for the first time and still in the run-in groove before the music, just standing there the stereo bubble seemed wider and taller than other pre-amps I've used. This left an impression on me and has continued into the music and has me satisfied with my purchase.
If you give Israel a call, you'll find him upbeat and easy to talk to.
Harv