Wayne - Thanks for the response. I had heard Sandy uses a SET amp personally. My questions then are:

1) You said he uses it on a Triton 2 - do you think it would work as well on a One?

2) Do you know if he uses 1 of these or does he use two of them in series to up the power? They can be hooked in series or parallel - if two are hooked up in series they give out 6 times more power.

3) Does he really appreciate the SET or is he using it as a sales gimmick? (Probably not going to answer that one!)

Even if one has the money to spend on expensive equipment, it is not good stewardship to spend just to show off. I am not one who thinks spending 10s of thousands of dollars to get 10% better sound is good judgement. If the SET is good enough, I would be happy to use it - I have no more than 2 sources to connect to it - it could work. However I have no problem buying something that cost some more and receive the benefit of not having to spend money upgrading later - having something that will last/be satisfying a long time. The Marantz sounds like it would fill that order. Do you know which integrated you guys use?

Thanks Carl

I have had the Triton ones since August and have experimented with many pre / amps combos.

My favorite is Rogue Sphinx integrated or Peachtree Nova Pre / 220 (level two modified) amp.

Either set up is crazy good for the price, and sounds (to my ears) bettan than the other amps I tried such as Emotiva XPA 2 and 3, Rega Brio, Jolida hybrid, and as good as the Ayre and Bryston (for WAyyyy less money)

good luck !!

anthem wrote: Did Sandy get a decware zen torii mk4 ...if so, is he impressed?

I will ask him the model, but he wouldn't use it if he didn't like it.

Anthem D2 Statement / Cinenova Grande Amp / PS Audio DS Directstream DAC - Everything sounds great!

May need to consider the Marantz av8802 when that comes out for the purpose of Atmos...

Mark

Dilettante wrote: I am in the process of buying the Triton Ones. I would like those that have them to please list your preamp (if one) and amp you are using and what you think of them. I now have an OPPO 105 and using Emotiva XPL 1L mono blocks - but am open to change the amps if need be to better suit the Ones once they arrive. Also any employees at Golden Ear want to tell what they are using to drive the Ones. This will be for my stereo system only - my theater room is already set up with Def Teck gear (sorry about that!). I need some help - need some input. Thanks in advance!!!

I should definitely chime in since I had some of the same equipment. I have the oppo 105 and I had the 1Ls. I had this setup paired with the Parasound P5 preamp. The difference being I have the triton 2s. This was a massive stepup over a Marantz AVR doing pre and power, as anyone would expect. I think you will be very happy with the sound you get out of the 1L's, but I opted to go the tube route and I'm very happy with my choice. I should say that I have tinnitus and the the 1Ls induced listening fatigue for me. If you have perfectly healthy ears it might not matter to you as much, but I felt there was a SQ upgrade as well as the essential reduced/zero listening fatigue, which in my case made the choice easy.
I went with a PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium integrated with kt120s for power tubes and never looked back. This set me back $3,300, but after returning the P5 and the 1Ls the price difference is small. In terms of efficiency, the towers, 1 or 2 are not power hungry. So that won't be an issue for you no matter your decision. I've also heard great things about the Rouge, but I've never heard one personally. Best of luck!

I'll audition the T1s tomorrow in store to compare them to my 2s

UUUMMMMMM TOOOOOOBS!!!!!
Great response Ransom.
I love the sound of music with good tube equipment. But it's gotta be good quality.
AND
I keep saying this, but let me just repeat my warning again (sorry to those who have read before):
Try to keep any tube equipment up high and away from being next to the Tritons' side radiating bass, look at where Bro Anthem has his tube amp.
I tried my tube amp with the Triton 3s (before I moved in the T 2s which would really have been bad) in the only position I could put it, not far (enough) from my left front speaker and the bass rattled the tubes, produced definite microphonics that were not pretty. I had no choice but go with amps where (what few tubes they have) were protected by case walls.
Hope this helps somebody. I was fortunate to be able to move my tube amp to another system where I play it with Triton 7s without any problem at all. Sweet as can be.
God Bless,
Wayne