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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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In Reply to: New Blue Circle Integrated: the Truth vs SET posted by Frihed89 on November 14, 2018 at 02:00:45:
Like @Frihed89, I have been a Blue Circle user for a number of years, starting out with a BC21/BC22/BC23 combo in 1997. I live in reasonable proximity to the Blue Circle Factory, so I get to hear a lot of the new toys, particularly since I became a dealer in 2001.
And there it is out in the open - I AM A DEALER OF BLUE CIRCLE ELECTRONICS!!! Be forewarned! I was a longtime hobbyist before I took that step, and I try very hard to maintain the hobbyist perspective while maintaining a commercial enterprise. It is a balancing act at times...
...sort of like the tube vs. solid state discussion we are now having. I'm not sure that I would agree that a solid state presentation is more "truthful" than a tube presentation, neither would I claim that the reverse is true. Each has it's own perspective - solid state equipment has snap, drive, and punch, while tube gear seems to deliver the warmth and extended overtones ours ears love, especially with acoustic instruments and voice.
The fact of the matter is, "truth" ends right at the start of the recording chain. So I think what we are (or at least I am) really looking for is that which pleases our ears and engages our brain, and helps us enjoy a musical experience within a set of given constraints - our own ears, our own room, our own speakers, own our own concept of what "real music" is, and of course our individual budgets. Music is a very personal thing, audio is a very personal thing, and the two combine to create incredibly passionate arguments over the interwebz.
Having "lived the Blue Circle life" for just over two decades, I have to say that I have always found my greatest enjoyment of Gilbert's equipment when the equipment is in a hybrid form - so, tubes and solid state working in tandem. When Blue Circle came out with its BC307 preamp (adjustable SS, 6922, and 6SN7 stages) I was knocked out. Here's where my opinion differs slightly from Bob Neill's opinion...
What the BC307 offered then, and what the NSI-G offers now, is control. I can have as much or as little SS vs. Tube as I want. I like the option, and frankly I use the adjustable controls to tune speakers to a room. I believe the tube control is more capable, flexible, and useful than to merely "save old recordings". To me as an end user, the ability to craft the sound for my ears/my room/my speakers is critical. In fairly extensive use of both the BC307 and the NSI-G, I found that I was able to dial in both a musical and accurate sound with a number of pairs of speakers in three distinctly different rooms.
Again, audio is a personal thing. We all have our opinions and they are correct for our ears and our tastes. When it comes to the Tube/SS thing, I say why not use both for their advantages, especially if you can adjust to taste.
Just my $.02... which I think is worth about $47.95 Canadian at the moment :(
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Follow Ups
- RE: New Blue Circle Integrated: the Truth vs SET - entracteaudio 11/14/1812:42:20 11/14/18 (1)
- RE: New Blue Circle Integrated: the Truth vs SET - Bob Neill 13:57:31 11/14/18 (0)
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