Shanling stp 80 valve amp.

damonster

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A couple of weeks ago I took a gamble on a vacuum tube amplifier. The first valve amp that I have ever heard. This was partly down to something Cno had replied to on one of my previous posts a good while back about tastes changing with age. Cno's quote was "As I said in another thread, I think the midrange is where the magic happens...and strongly believe, that if every demo had a Valve amp as part of it, many more people would choose one. I have lost count of the number of times on here, that someone tried a Valve Amp for the first time and were gobsmacked at the difference it made."This had niggled me ever since.
I don't quite know how Shanling amps stack up against the likes of the more common brands.
all I can say is that I'm a tube convert.
wow!
I'm gobsmacked at the difference it's made.
I have been listening to the Zutons this morning. It's like a totally different album. Everything just sounds so right and believable. horns and trumpets have a deep,detailed wrasp and richness to them. Strings on guitars just reach out, acoustic strings are organic. electric guitars sound so believable as you pick up the sound of their tube amps that the guitars are plugged into. All the ss amps I have owned never gave me that. Vocals have a whole new human emotion to them. i do think that there is a trade off from that snappy drum beat that ss amps give you.In the whole scheme of things though I believe the sacrifice well worth it.
I always envisioned warm, rich airy and dreamy with being slow and lazy sounding. this isn't the case there is still lashings of detail,speed, depth and width. When all the instruments are all playing and then suddenly stop it's not pin drop silent. You get a low ambient level noise or sense of electrical charged decay in the air of that ciese of energy, picture lightning strike and humidity that go hand in hand. Wind instruments bring out that realism as if when you were a kid and you'd get that blade of grass between the tips and Base of your thumbs. That satisfying reedy rattle.
I am not trying to gloat or put down anyone's kit or say anyone is wrong if they have heard both ss and valve and prefer ss.
I just trying to tell my findings.

And highlight the good sides of this forum for the knowledge and helpfulness of the Cno's and other regulars that post.
 

CnoEvil

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Thank you for your kind words....as it's nice to get feedback from someone who has benefitted from my ramblings.

Imo some systems allow you to listen to the Music, while others let you listen to the Recording - which are not always one and the same.

I'm glad your "Punt" has worked out.
 

damonster

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CnoEvil said:
Thank you for your kind words....as it's nice to get feedback from someone who has benefitted from my ramblings.

Imo some systems allow you to listen to the Music, while others let you listen to the Recording - which are not always one and the same.

I'm glad your "Punt" has worked out.
I think further on you said that most people who keep upgrading haven't heard a Valve amp. Which probably also rings true. Cheers Cno.
 

CnoEvil

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damonster said:
CnoEvil said:
Thank you for your kind words....as it's nice to get feedback from someone who has benefitted from my ramblings.

Imo some systems allow you to listen to the Music, while others let you listen to the Recording - which are not always one and the same.

I'm glad your "Punt" has worked out.
I think further on you said that most people who keep upgrading haven't heard a Valve amp. Which probably also rings true. Cheers Cno.
I must have been on a roll that day.

As an exasperated Lecturer once said to me when I was battling with Mechanics and Probability, "If you throw enough shyte against a wall, some of it will stick" :)
 

damonster

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Macspur said:
Any review I've read of the Shanling CDP has been glowing (no pun intended) so I'm not surprised you love the amp.

I've only ever heard an Audio Research valve amp and I really did like it... one day maybe!

Mac

www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com
I can't believe the quality of this thing. The only prices I could see when new were around $2200.considering it has just replaced my Bryston which now retails for double that. don't get me wrong the Bryston is a very talented amp. But the Shanling outshines it on everything but low end snap. I bought the Shanling as an introduction to tubes really. but it sounds that good its a full on upgrade.
 

Infiniteloop

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Welcome to the light.

Cno’s right. Everyone should audition a Valve Amp alongside whatever else they’ve shortlisted. Once you’ve heard what Valves can do, there’s often simply no going back.
 

damonster

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Infiniteloop said:
Welcome to the light.

Cno’s right. Everyone should audition a Valve Amp alongside whatever else they’ve shortlisted. Once you’ve heard what Valves can do, there’s often simply no going back. 
I totally agree. I have owned Cambridge audio, cyrus, Leema and Bryston solid states and have to massively concede that What valves have to offer are night and day. I can say i have been truly gobsmacked by some of my cds that I have heard. The intimacy the fluidity the emotional involvement and the sheer musicality just have me hooked.
 

Infiniteloop

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damonster said:
Infiniteloop said:
Welcome to the light.

Cno’s right. Everyone should audition a Valve Amp alongside whatever else they’ve shortlisted. Once you’ve heard what Valves can do, there’s often simply no going back.
I totally agree. I have owned Cambridge audio, cyrus, Leema and Bryston solid states and have to massively concede that What valves have to offer are night and day. I can say i have been truly gobsmacked by some of my cds that I have heard. The intimacy the fluidity the emotional involvement and the sheer musicality just have me hooked.

Just wait until you’ve got a few hours on those EL34’s....
 
That is a scratch I’d like to itch one day! Glad you’re impressed.

Trouble is, the technical side makes me tremble - with damping factors almost zero, distortion in whole numbers, and my paranoia thinking it’ll sound different every day, I’m not sure I could live with a tube amp.

Infinite has the answer, a spare Devialet!
 

Infiniteloop

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nopiano said:
That is a scratch I’d like to itch one day! Glad you’re impressed.

Trouble is, the technical side makes me tremble - with damping factors almost zero, distortion in whole numbers, and my paranoia thinking it’ll sound different every day, I’m not sure I could live with a tube amp.

Infinite has the answer, a spare Devialet!

It may sound different every day. But the sound will still be beautiful. Ignore the numbers. Trust your ears.
 

damonster

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nopiano said:
That is a scratch I’d like to itch one day!  Glad you’re impressed.  

Trouble is, the technical side makes me tremble - with damping factors almost zero, distortion in whole numbers, and my paranoia thinking it’ll sound different every day, I’m not sure I could live with a tube amp. 

Infinite has the answer, a spare Devialet! 

 
good thing about Shanling. The el34 tubes are self biasing. So pretty much plug and play. If diodes need replacing eventually, no big deal.i swear If you get a descent valve amp you will never go back to ss. It is astoundingly impressive.
 

Infiniteloop

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damonster said:
I have got some electro harmonix in at the moment. Canyou recommend any better?

It’s really a matter of taste. I’ve found that it’s the preamp tubes that make the most difference. Over the years I’ve built up quite a selection of New Old Stock (NOS) tubes.

Mullard are warm and detailed without being woolly, and Siemens, Telefunken and Mazda are very precise and relatively neutral with Mazda tubes giving a tighter bass. All give that beautiful liquid midband.
 

damonster

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Al ears said:
damonster said:
I have got some electro harmonix in at the moment.

Canyou recommend any better?

Probably as good as you are going to get and recommended items by Tom Evans Audio for my power amp.
Thanks Al ears.More than happy with the electro. Just seen names like gold lion and jj,mullard. Everyone claims to be the best. I would presume the vintage ones are. But have to pay a premium price for them. Good to know I have got descent ones in though. Thanks for your reply.
 

newlash09

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damonster said:
A couple of weeks ago I took a gamble on a vacuum tube amplifier. The first valve amp that I have ever heard. This was partly down to something Cno had replied to on one of my previous posts a good while back about tastes changing with age. Cno's quote was "As I said in another thread, I think the midrange is where the magic happens...and strongly believe, that if every demo had a Valve amp as part of it, many more people would choose one. I have lost count of the number of times on here, that someone tried a Valve Amp for the first time and were gobsmacked at the difference it made."This had niggled me ever since.
I don't quite know how Shanling amps stack up against the likes of the more common brands.
all I can say is that I'm a tube convert.
wow!
I'm gobsmacked at the difference it's made.
I have been listening to the Zutons this morning. It's like a totally different album. Everything just sounds so right and believable. horns and trumpets have a deep,detailed wrasp and richness to them. Strings on guitars just reach out, acoustic strings are organic. electric guitars sound so believable as you pick up the sound of their tube amps that the guitars are plugged into. All the ss amps I have owned never gave me that. Vocals have a whole new human emotion to them. i do think that there is a trade off from that snappy drum beat that ss amps give you.In the whole scheme of things though I believe the sacrifice well worth it.
I always envisioned warm, rich airy and dreamy with being slow and lazy sounding. this isn't the case there is still lashings of detail,speed, depth and width. When all the instruments are all playing and then suddenly stop it's not pin drop silent. You get a low ambient level noise or sense of electrical charged decay in the air of that ciese of energy, picture lightning strike and humidity that go hand in hand. Wind instruments bring out that realism as if when you were a kid and you'd get that blade of grass between the tips and Base of your thumbs. That satisfying reedy rattle.
I am not trying to gloat or put down anyone's kit or say anyone is wrong if they have heard both ss and valve and prefer ss.
I just trying to tell my findings.

And highlight the good sides of this forum for the knowledge and helpfulness of the Cno's and other regulars that post.

Really happy you like their sound. I heard my friends setup with a valve pre amp, and fell in love with the sound. Everything you've mentioned was there...the intimacy and the feeling of having the players in the room. I've been smitten ever since....I do have a different set of requirements. So can't have valves in my main setup. But iam planning for a second setup in my guest room with full range single drivers and valve amps for that magic :)
 
That’s interesting, infinite. The first combination I really wanted was an Audio Research valve preamp with a Krell power amp - the latter being solid state but class A.

That’s something we rarely see these days, mixing and matching pre and power.
 

damonster

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[/quote]

Really happy you like their sound. I heard my friends setup with a valve pre amp, and fell in love with the sound. Everything you've mentioned was there...the intimacy and the feeling of having the players in the room. I've been smitten ever since....I do have a different set of requirements. So can't have valves in my main setup. But iam planning for a second setup in my guest room with full range single drivers and valve amps for that magic :)
[/quote]
I would love the room for a second system. Especially when you could have the best of both worlds.
 

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