At one point or another, I've been fortunate to own or at least hear under controlled conditions most of the just under/just over $1000 tube amp contenders. And in my mind, this is where things start to really separate. IMO this is what guys expect, but don't always get, in an American made tube amp... truly clever design, top-flight parts, build quality that would lead you to think it could be a much more expensive amp, and super compelling sound in an absolutely bullet proof product.For any who might not remember, the Rocket's reason for being was the total elimination of the pre-gain stage, resulting in an amplifier with just a driver/phase inverter stage and the output tubes. Commenting on it, Dennis Had concluded that "after years of designing and listening, more gain stages = less transparency. Every time I eliminated a pre-gain stage on the Rocket 88 prototype, the sound improved vastly. I mean, the difference was not subtle. The amp had more control of the loudspeakers and the depth of field went through the back wall. I also noticed a dramatic difference in various recordings. Each CD or record had a character of its own. Far more prevalent than in the past with amplifiers incorporating numerous gain stages and local feedback circuitry." But that's nowhere even close to everything that distinguishes the Rocket:
* Operates in push-pull triode connected Class A (20 watts/chan) as well as ultra-linear Class A/B (40 watts/chan) * Output stage KT88s biased with a negative fixed bias voltage for low distortion and maximum output.
* all point-to-point wiring
* EL84 based current source for driver/phase inverter stage replaces conventional dropping resistor network
* Interleaved bi-filar wound output transformer with E/I silicone impregnated hipersil steel laminated core.
* Power supply designed to operate at 200% duty cycle
* output KT88 high voltage power supply is a full wave center tap configuration (vs. cheap voltage doubler used in many amps), to a dual PI network with two filter chokes
* additional choke, filter network serves as the power supply for 6922 driver/phase inverter tubes
* power transformer, power supply regulation and output transformer design all concentrated on FAST overload recovery. If the 390V high voltage rail were monitored from soft to loud music, no more than a volt or so change would be measured!
* unconditionally stable, including being operated with no load, without damage to amp, transformer, or tubes No Cary product I've experienced is just about a bunch of parts and features though. It's all the expression of an underlying design philosophy on what makes great music. Here's what Positive Feedback had to say... "This amps sings. This amp makes music in the best ways one could want. The flow of music was simply superb, with pace and timing absolutely spot on. KT-88s are generally great bass tubes, and this holds true with the Rocket 88. They control the bottom end of the speakers, depth, power, impact and tonality, better than anything I've tried except for the much more expensive 47 Labs Gaincard. However, I don't think the Gaincard has the harmonic richness of the Cary, nor does it match the Cary for the sense of placing bass notes out in the room, as if from real players. This is one of those amps that, in spite of its moderate power rating, sounds far more powerful than it really is. Forty watts per channel wpc may seem low to some of you, but heck, I live every day with just fifteen watts, and may drop down to 3 to 8 watts if I switch to more efficient speakers. Forty watts is plenty of power. Maybe effortless is a better term. There is a sense of the music just effortlessly flowing out and engulfing me that I just love. If you've read any of my previous articles, you're probably expecting me to say some deprecating remarks regarding soundstaging and imaging at this point. Well, surprise, I have nice things to say about this. The Cary Rocket 88 sets up a soundstage as big and well defined as I've heard from any system. Although I personally don't put much effort into setting up specifically for soundstaging, recent changes in my equipment (the Dynavector cartridge and the Marantz SACD player for the most part) have improved my system's ability to portray a proper soundstage (as has the ASL amp). As good as that has become, using the Cary amps (both pre and power together) is a whole new world of soundstage presentation for me and my system. For those who put more stock in this characteristic than I do, I think you will be very impressed by this combination. Actually, throughout the whole sonic spectrum, the Rocket 88 amp does pretty much everything really well. There are no significant tonal aberrations or timing issues or anything to detract from the music. Comparing it directly to my ASL amp, they initially sound very similar. But after just a few minutes you begin to hear the Cary sounding just a little more tonally rich, a pinch more detailed in complex musical passages, a smidgen airier in the high frequencies. Although taken as individual things, the differences seem slight, taken together, the Cary does seem worth the extra price over the $750 ASL. It doesn't make me want to sell my ASL or anything, but I certainly appreciate how nice this amp is." - Steve Lefkowicz, Positive Feedback With the exception of some mild discoloration on the short aluminum front panel of the deck, that you can just make out in the picture, this 88 is in stellar 9/10 physical condition (I'd downgrade it to an 8/10 overall for that) and perfect functional condition. It also has a newer matched quad of Ruby KT88s. I do have a copy of the owner's manual. I do not have the original box, though I've got deep experience in packing fragile electronics for safe shipping. Asking $1400 + shipping/PayPal (if applicable) or willing to meet within a ~90 minute radius of Columbus to transact. Local buyers welcome to see/hear first, with appropriate virus precautions. Note; while I haven't listed a lot here in awhile, I do have extensive feedback on USAM (same User ID), Audiogon (User ID Markraile) and Ebay (User ID Mfectd_2007)
Audio research, audiophile, high end, amplifier, vacuum tube, conrad johnson, counterpoint, manley, quicksilver, rogue, sonic frontiers, vtl, marantz, McIntosh,
|