Ended up going with the JJ-2A3-40 and picked up a NOS Telefunken 12AT7. Looking forward to seeing how they mesh with my Orca's which have been settling in very nicely. I'm not exactly sure how many hours are on them but I feel like they now produce a more mature and controlled sound.
Tom, thanks for the impressions. As soon as I read the kinds of things you were hearing out of your Orcas as close as 6 inches away, I knew you had gone through a complete break in cycle. For those who have not tried this out yet, this really is not as crazy as it sounds. They really are that clean/composed that they work at all listening distances. They truly liquify the music.
I too have been inspired heavily by K1000's (and many other headphones) to arrive at the presentation of the Orcas. While I do most of my listening from a slouch these days, when I really want an exciting ride into the music, nearfield and ultra nearfield with speakers is still "it" for me. Its the only option that is truly "in between" speakers and headphones. Giving you the impact and holographic presentation of speakers, at the low volume/non stressed low wattage physical environment of headphones. The bass is still tunable via rear wall distance and subtle adjustments to the subwoofer. And the price of a pair of Orcas is roughly equivalent to a respectable pair of headphones. Also, listening with friends and waiting to get a moment in the sweet spot is decidedly less tedious with speakers....but still, its a little bit of apples and oranges here. Like cars versus motorcycles, an age old debate about whats the most fun to drive/comfortable over the long haul.
I still have yet to try the JJ2A3, am scrimping and saving all our extra funds to assemble a kick ass Feastrex based big rig right down to custom Bottlehead wires, power cords, and a homemade turntable plinth. Its all inspired heavily by the successful acoustic design of Doc's own big rig. More details to come soon, but suffice it to say, my Xmas present this year has been 2 sheets of 3/4 inch bamboo ply I'm picking up first thing tomorrow morning to monkey around with in the shop on Christmas day.
I've been reserving judgement until I could get it to really work, but the little T96H tweeter shown in the photo has been doing a surprisingly good job of keeping up with the main speakers and I can't wait to see what happens when we get the wiring cleaner. Call it a cheap tweeter if you like, but I've got it extremely well amplifier off of SR45's running EML globe 45's. I've actually since mounted the tweeters into solid blocks of bamboo. They do sound better than the T900A's we sent off with Terry Cain's big Double Horns, but still not as good as the T500AMKII's I've heard in other folks' systems.
Yesterday we traded Paul B. a pair of Birch Orcas to for BHQ's packing room for an upgraded method of tweeter attenuation via a Submissive (from a Quickie). And boy did this tighten things up even a bit more!
We will be working with other crossover methods for these tweeters and some others, biamped and not. But the basic ingredients of this FR/supertweeter are definitely suiting my tastes for now. Its definitely a more addictive listen with extended treble. The leading edges are better defined all around. I can see now why the larger format (well respected) FR's tend to opt for a supertweet of some sort.
Cheers,
Clark
