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Question in March 2008 = Just as always there are people who just want to shout the opposite of
what is commonly regarded as 'good'.   You're just like one to me.
I'm a happy owner of the LS3/5a... indeed not a full range speaker but the
sound stage and midrange is one of the things I rarely heard in a better quality.

Answer = Many dealer selling used BBC LS3/5a have written nonsensical claims about BBC LS3/5a
to sell BBC LS3/5a to trusting Hi Fi enthusiasts
.
BBC LS3/5a is good speaker FOR THE SMALL SIZE.
If you want a TINY 5 inch speaker.  BBC LS3/5a is very good.

But if you want a SERIOUS HIgh FIdelity speaker with good loud bass
and can go loud
and has good midrange EVEN WHEN THERE IS A LOUD BASS DRUM,
then the tiny BBC LS3/5a is not suitable.

I am not the only person saying that the legendary BBC LS3/5a is o.k. but not fantastic.

Please read page 64 and page 65 of Hi Fi Choice number 31 magazine that tested many dozens of speakers.

1983 Hi Fi Choice say ......
the bass lacked extension and sounded boomy in the upper bass register,
while the mid had a noticeably hard , nasal quality and
the treble seemed forward with a grainy. 'zitty' effect at the extreme top end.
Some tubby, wooden and boxy coloration were also evident, 
while its only moderate rendition of stereo depth was apparent.

1983 Hi Fi choice also say ....
At the risk of offending the BBC, I feel that the LS3/5a is due for a revision........

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping cost. equipment returned during 1 month home trial) that
our GBP £950 to GBP £2500 speaker with Cheery wood veneer + expensive piano finish
+ 2 pieces of 8 inch bass speaker with HUGE MAGNETS
+ 4 inch or 5 inch superb coated paper cone (seldom overload, because bass is diverted to 8 inch woofer)
+ 1 inch dome tweeter + sophisticated crossover
looks and sound 3 times to 100 better (depending on how fussy you are)
for bass + more realistic human voice + much much more realistic clearer human voice even when there is loud bass drum.

HUGE 22 inch bass drum will easily overload the SMALL 5 inch speaker of BBC LS3/5a
and once the SMALL 5 inch speaker is overloaded,
human voice became blur and congested as though the singer has a bad cold and a blocked up nose.
Turn up the volume louder, and the 'blocked up nose' effect gets so bad that you cannot understand the words of the song.

How can you say that the BBC LS3/5a has got good midrange
when you cannot even understand the words of the song, 
when HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum has overloaded the SMALL 5 inch speaker.

How can you say that that 
sound stage and midrange is one of the things I rarely heard in a better quality
when 1983 Hi Fi choice say
'while its only moderate rendition of stereo depth was apparent.'

Why is your word so different to 1983 Hi Fi Choice words ?
Are you a dealer trying to sell a few pairs of LS3/5a
that you bought from an old studio ?

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Even MODERN speaker designer do not like Bextrene cone of BBC LS3/5a
Please read 
http://www.nutshellhifi.com/library/speaker-design2.html
for the section on 'Bextrene Mid bass'
which say 
Bextrene Mid bass
........ is typically damped by a layer of doping material on the front of the cone
to control the strong first resonance it displays around 1.5 kHz.
(Affordable Valve company say that this is true, )
(because there is a huge about 6 decibels peak in the frequency response curve at about 1.2 kHz for LS3/5a)
(in 1983 Hi Fi Choice.  This is about the most sensitive part of your hearing range, so it is bad. )

The BBC derived designs always employed notch filter equalization to flatten the Bextrene driver in the mid band;
the most famous (or infamous, depending on whether you were the listener or the designer) driver was the KEF B110
used in the BBC LS 3/5a mini monitor. 
Not everyone knows that this speaker, which is legendary for its sweet midrange,
employs a deep notch filter with 6 dB of attenuation at 1.5 kHz to correct the B110.
(Affordable Valve company say that there is still a huge about 6 decibels peak)
(in the frequency response curve at about 1.2 kHz for LS3/5a in 1983 Hi Fi Choice.)
(This is about the most sensitive part of your hearing range. So, it is bad. )

Over time, Bextrene has been replaced by BBC developed polypropylene, which gives much flatter response,
does not require a layer of doping material, and provides a 3-4 dB increase in efficiency due to the decrease in cone mass. 
Bextrene is now considered an obsolete material by nearly all speaker designers.

Strengths are: Consistent batch to batch, excellent potential imaging (by mid Seventies standards).
Inner resolution higher than many paper cones.

Weaknesses are: Very low efficiency (82-84 dB at 1 meter), requires a strong notch filter in the mid band,
a "quacky" coloration by modern standards, sudden, unpleasant onset of breakup at not so high levels
, and numerous resonances at the top of the working band.

Best Examples are: None. Modern designers are not willing to tolerate the low efficiency
and the complex notching and shelving equalization required to make these drivers acceptable.
Although some traditionalists revere the KEF B110 used in the Rogers LS 3/5a,
the uneven response of this driver requires the LS 3/5a crossover to be very complex.
Having worked with the B110 for many years, I feel the modern Vifa P13WH-00-08 is superior in every way.
 

 
 
Question from eBay member on 21 March 2008 =

have very large living room 48 ft buy 19 ft have a old set of gemini 5
speakers the subs in them run of a separate amp i run a cord at the top end
but was thinking of upgrading to audio research vt 200 second hand but
after reading your add would like to try yours do u think it would be a
better move thanks tony
 
 

 

 
Question in March 2008 = I am looking to buy a valve amp but am concerned at the correct 
loud speakers to match the amp. I built a World Audio Design kit amplifier a few years ago and 
constructed , at great time and expense, a pair of speakers using very sensitive Lowther drive units.
When I paired these to the amplifier the results were very bad, I got white noise at all times 
and this was due to the sensitivity of the speakers. I contacted the WAD help line and they suggested
some 100K resistors to reduce the gain of the amp.. this worked well and I had the
most wonderful hi fi experience which lasted until the amp failed and I could not repair it.
So . I am interested to know if your amps are likely to give the same problem, and what is the solution.
Answer = I knew that some of WAD (World Audio Design sold in Hi Fi World magazines)
DIY (Do It Yourself) home made valve amplifier
had problems with hum (even though modern inefficient speakers.)
For example, the construction article for WAD 300B Single Ended valve amplifier said that
their WAD (World Audio Design sold in Hi Fi World magazines) had a hum,
and you could use some negative feedback to reduce (but not cure) the hum.
(Our eBay shop listing of ALL 3 model of our 300B valve amplifiers do NOT hum,
(because of we have fitted a choke./ inductor in power supply , Big capacitors in the power supply,)
(DC heating , humdinger to earth the heater of the 300B valve at ABOUT the 'centre point'.
We refused to sell the original Chinese 300B amplifier because it hummed,
so LIM AIK LEONG (beware of fakes) helped the Chinese designer to cure the hum problem,
before we sold the 300B amplifier. If our valve amplifier hum or hissed,
customer will return  our amplifier during the 1 month home trail,
so we are VERY FUSSY about any minor problems AND QUALITY OF SOUND.)
But I did not know that (World Audio Design sold in Hi Fi World magazines)
home made valve amplifier also had a hiss.
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trial) that
ALL of our valve amplifier , even our 300B Single End amplifiers,  do NOT hum or hiss,
at normal listening distance,
through efficient speakers like Lowther.
If you are listening late at night, when everything is quiet, and there are no road noise or children,
and you put your ears 6 inches (150 millimeters) from the the speaker or amplifier,
you can hear a TINY hum or TINY hiss.
If you are sitting 6 feet (2 metres) from the speaker and amplifier,
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAR ANY HUM OR HISS EVEN WITH EFFICIENT HORN SPEAKER
OR MONEY REFUNDED (less shipping cost. equipment returned during 1 month home trial.)
WE CAN GUARANTEE THIS BECAUSE
WE HAVE  A CUSTOMER WHO USES LOWTHER WITH TWO DRIVE UNITS.
I think that 1 lowther drive unit faces forward,
but the OTHER lowther drive unit faces towards the ceiling. or something like that.
SOME OF OUR COMPETITORS AMPLIFIER HAVE HUM OR HISS
SO YOU MUST HAVE 1 MONTH HOME TRIAL
AND LISTEN LATE AT NIGHT, WHEN EVERYTHING IS QUIET.
IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR 'HIGH END' VALVE AMPLIFIERS TO BE FREE FROM HUM AND HISS BECAUSE ..........
In addition to WELL DESIGNED (that need not be insanely expensive) valve amplifier
producing sweeter , nicer treble WITHOUT LOSING THE DETAILS
and less sibilance (when a woman say 'his' , it sound like 'hissssssk')
and SLIGHTLY more bass (if you have huge output transformer + push pull + fixed / adjustable bias, better than the 'automatic bias')
you also get another important improvement
if you have WELL DESIGN (that need not be insanely expensive) speaker with HUGE MAGNETS that 'start and stop' quickLY,
and does not boom and boom.
This other important improvement is you hear
a musical note that QUICKLY dies away,
so you get an INKY BLACK SILENCE,
BEFORE the next musical note starts.
Because you get this INKY BLACK SILENCE (if you have WELL DESIGNED speaker with HUGE MAGNETS, etc),
soft echoes / reverberation become BLATANTLY OBVIOUS (because it is not hidden / masked by 'Class B crossover distortion')
.
You will also heard that some recording engineer will do silly things,
like adding echo (echo chamber) to enhance the singers voice.
So, it sound as though you and the singer are sitting in an 'echo y' bathroom.
But these echo are NOT invented by our Affordable Valve Company valve / tube amplifier or speakers.
You get these 'echo y' effect on about 20 percent to 40 percent of singers in a STUDIO RECORDING (NOT a 'live' recording)
and VERY occasionally on the drums in a STUDIO RECORDING (NOT a 'live' recording).
but you seldom get echo on other musical instruments in a STUDIO RECORDING (NOT a 'live' recording)
If these echoes were invented by Affordable Valve Company valve / tube amplifier or speakers,
you should get echoes on EVERYTHING,
but you only get echo on 20 percent to 40 percent of singer in a STUDIO RECORDING (NOT a 'live' recording)
and VERY occasionally on the drums in a STUDIO RECORDING (NOT a 'live' recording).
So, these echo are the fault of the Studio engineer,
who was trying to improve the singers voice by artificial means.
The fact that Recording Engineer do not notice these BLATANTLY OBVIOUS echo effect only proves that
how lousy many studio monitors and studio transistor amplifiers are,
(Yeah, studio monitors can go loud,)
(but using 12 inch woofers to reproduce half or most of the human voice is a bad idea.)
or the Recording Engineer has PERMANENTLY damaged their hearing,
by listening at insanely loud levels, for many months / years.
You do NOT notice these BLATANTLY OBVIOUS echoes with 'Class B' transistor amplifiers,
because 'Class B crossover distortion' is VERY HIGH at low volumes
(Please ask the manufacturer for a graph of distortion going from 1 thousandth of a watt to 1 watt.)
(It is so bad, that the transistor amplifier manufacturer will NOT reply)
You will NOT notice these BLATANTLY OBVIOUS echoes with many speaker with small to medium size magnet,
because the sound do NOT start and stop VERY quickly.
(Please look at the size of the HUGE magnets on our eBay listing of GBP £750 to GBP £2500 speakers 
with 2 pieces of 8 inch woofer bass speaker + 5 inch midrange + 1 inch tweeter
+ sophisticated crossover, unlike the simple compact crossover of most 'High End' speakers)
At this stage, you might be thinking, if you should replace 
your WAD (World Audio Design sold in Hi Fi World magazines) valve /amplifier
with another WAD (World Audio Design) valve amplifier
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trial) that
our eBay shop listing for Triode Connected 'Chinatown' or 'Lim Aik Leong Signature' valve amplifier will 

sound 50 percent to 10 times better than any
WAD (World Audio Design) valve amplifier because ......
1. Our amplifiers do not hum or hiss at a listening distance of 6 feet or more.
    hum or hiss affect the 'inky black silence between the musical notes' and mask / hide the echoes, quiet notes, etc.
2. Fixed / Adjustable Bias will produce more bass power and better bass than 'Automatic Bias'
    Our Fixed / Adjustable bias will produce more bass power and better bass than
    WAD (World Audio Design) very unusual (I do not think that any other valve expert does this) bias
    of half 'automatic bias' and half 'fixed / adjustable bias'
3. Triode valve or 'Triode Connected' valves will produce less distortion and sound better than
    the pentode valve (input / driver) used in some WAD (World Audio Design) valve amplifier like their 300B Triode valve amplifiers.
    Most manufacturers producing 300B triode valve amplifier uses triode valve for the (input/driver) valve,
    because most people agree that triode valve or 'triode connected' valve sound better than the pentode valves. .
4. Our transformers are better. For example, you MUST have an 'air gap' in the output transformers for Single Ended amplifiers.
    Once the 'air gap' has been set in output transformer, you must NOT loosen the bolts,
    to mount the output transformer on the chassis of WAD (Word Audio Design) amplifier
5. Affordable Valve Company 'Chinatown' and 'Lim Aik Leong Signature' valve amplifier usually have more 'ultrasonic filter'
    than WAD (World Audio Design) valve amplifiers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

However, I know that some ?valve? experts? (who have not heard MODERN SERIOUS speakers)
go on and on about Horn speaker,
but please ignore the nonsensical hype about horn speakers.
First of all, in order to get good quality bass to 20 Hertz, with low coloration,
you need a horn with a mouth of 37 FEET IN DIAMETER !
(37 feet is two third of 54 feet wavelength of 20 Hertz sound wave)
The typical 1 foot mouth of the typical horn
is 37 TIMES TOO SMALL !
So, the bass from the 'typical' horn speaker is lousy !

One way of getting around this is to use a 'corner horn' (the size of a fridge),
that is designed to be put in a corner of the room.
So the walls of the room became part of the horn.
Although this will improve the bass,
the reflection of the rear wall, side wall
will affect the midrange and human voices badly.
Try putting your loudspeaker in the corner of the room.
You should hear more bass (but the quality of the bass might be uneven).
But the human voice, and midrange instrument become very 'blur'
and is no longer clear / clarity / transparency
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges. equipment return during 1 month home trial)
that our eBay shop listing for Affordable Valve Company GBP £950 to GBP £2500 speakers with
2 pieces of 8 inch woofer bass speaker
+ 5 inch or 4 inch midrange + 1 inch tweeter
+ sophisticated crossover, unlike the simple compact crossover of most 'High End' speakers)
will produce 3 times to 100 time better bass (depending on how fussy you are)
that Lowther (or any other brand) horn speakers, with 1 foot or 2 feet horn mouth.
5 time to 100 times better treble (depending on how fussy you are)
Hi Fi New magazines published a frequency response of a very expensive horn speaker using a new - ish Lowther drive unit,
and the treble response was very bad, when compared to a WELL DESIGNED (that need not be expensive) modern 1 inch dome tweeter.
There is a difference between
treble is not irritating because there is no treble
versus
treble is not irritating because the frequency response and waterfall curves are very good,
and the tweeter had sophisticated crossover to prevent human voices overloading the tweeter.
Please buy our eBay shop listing of a test CD to check the frequency response of your Lowther horn speakers
or any other 'Single Driver' speaker (which usually have poor treble and / or poor bass ).
will produce 3 times to 100 time (depending on how fussy you are)
more realistic human voices, and will trick you into believing that you favorite singer is in your living room
for almost all 'live' recording' + about 70 percent of studio recording
when using any of our Triode Connected amplifiers + hilarious price GBP £200 Sony CD player with 300 CD jukebox,
when voice is at a realistic
(The most important sound on the recording of your favorite singer is the voice of your favorite singer)
Reply from customer = Thank very much for the very detailed technical reply to my query regarding
matching of loud speakers to one of your valve amps. I must stress that when I used to have a
fully functional WAD amplifier, the performance of my full range Lowther drive units in compact
cabinets was absolutely superb, even though the bass would probably be considered  inadequate by
anyone looking for quantity above quality .... anyway I thought the level of bass was perfect for the
type of music which I listen to. Please find below my postal address for delivery of one of your
brochures
Answer = Please let me explain that we have a huge range to speakers to make sure that our amplifier work well with almost any speakers.
Our speaker range from the legendary Yamaha NS-1000M sealed box with 12 inch woofer + exotic 3 and half in exotic BERYLLIUM METAL DOME MIDRANGE + exotic BERYLLIUM METAL DOME TWEETER (look at GBP £10000 to GBP £20000 speaker if you want BERYLLIUM DOMES)
and
12 inch woofer in huge well dampen (no boom) transmission lines
and
IMF TLS50 with tweeter + midrange + 8 inch woofer in transmission line (modified with extra sound absorbent to to 100 percent boom free)
and
KEF concerto bass reflex with 13 inch by 9 inch woofer (superb bass, no boom) + 5 inch bextrene cone + 1 inch tweeter
and
Quad Electrostatic ESL 57 (bass is boom free, but severely lacking in loud deep bass) (very good human voice) (treble is not irritating, because there is no treble ! Please look at the frequency response of 'typical' quad electrostatic and NOT a specially select sample for review sent to Studio Sound many years ago !)
I am very fussy about the quality and quantity of bass.
Please can I explain that our 2 pieces of 8 inch woofer with huge magnet in Lim Aik Leong (beware of fakes) designed / tuned  bass reflex cabinets
will easily easily out class the Lowther for bass both in quality and quality by 3 times to 100 times (depending on how fussy you are)..
You need very long horns with huge 37 feet diameter mouth to get quantity AND quality.
If the horn is too short with too small a mouth you get huge amount of resonance / coloration and the frequency response ha huge peak and huge dips because of the resonance of small horns.
Please can I also explain that our superb 1 inch dome tweeter will produce 5 times to 100 times better treble (depending on how fussy you are)
that the huge whizzer cone.
(Please look at any frequency response graph of any Lowther drive unit.)
Please can I also explain that our superb 'High End' 5 inch coated paper cone with huge magnet,
with low crossover point of about 200 Hertz, will slightly beat (or match) human voices from our best Quad electrostatic speaker
(not enough bass, when compared to BIG modern 'high end' speaker)
and
will produce 3 time to 100 time more realistic human voice (depending on how fussy you are) and will trick you into believing that your favorite singer is in your living room for almost all live recording and about 70 percent of studio recording, if you are using our 'triode connection' amplifier + GBP £200 SOny CD player with jukebox for 300 CD.
The reason is the 'whizzer cone' of the Lowther and any other brand is a bad idea, and introduce a huge amount of resonance and coloration.
Please let me try to explain that the some 'single driver speaker' ?expert? will come up with all sort of 
fancy explanation that the 'whizzer cone' de couple itself from the main cone at high frequency.
This fancy explanation might impress the 'typical' Hi Fi enthusiast,
but it is a 'poisoned chalice' explanation for an audio engineer.
The fancy explanation is saying that the main cone is bending VIOLENTLY at high frequency.
Audio engineer call this the dreaded 'cone breakup'
that speaker cone designer try to prevent / reduce / control / dampen.
The cone breakup of the main cone adds resonance / coloration and colors the human voice,
and human voice do NOT sound real. (I have heard one of the new - ish Lowther drive units drive by 300 SIngle Ended valve amplifier)
and human voice was blue / congested , like the singer got a cold and blocked up nose.) 
So, my recommendation is to buy one of our cheaper valve amplifier (preferablly Triode Connection)
and use the money you save, to buy our GBP £950 speaker which will sound 3 times to 100 times better than any Lowther or any Fostex single driver or any Jordan Single driver speaker or MONEY REFUNDED (less shipping cost. equipment returned during 1 month home trial.)
Before anybody tells me that the frequency response of the Jordan 4 inch or 5 inch single driver is fantaistic,
please look the frequency response curve of 'Arousal' speaker using Jordan single driver speaker,
and the TREBLE frequency response was very bad (and TREBLE should sound awful)
and VERY DIFFERENT to the frequency response curve on Jordan website.
Needless to say, the Hi Fi reviewer wanted better bass.

 
 
 
 
My speakers are Snell Acoustics Type J mark. II (from '88 I think) - efficiency 91 or 92 dB, so not that hard to drive.
Room size is 5 m x 4 m and I sit about 2,5 m - 3 m from the speakers.
I listen to a great deal of acoustic music (bluegrass and blues), "semi "acoustic (blues again), some electric blues and the occasional pop - record (mostly of '60's origin).
Thanks for quick response!

Please can I explain that many producers of 'acoustic' folk type music, want the singers voice to be clearly heard.
The trick to do this is to try and use musical instruments that has a DIFFERENT frequency to the singers voice.
So, you have the singers voices 
+ cymbals (very high frequency) (that does not hide/ interfere) with the singers voice.
+ LOUD deep bass (very low frequency) (that will not hide/ interfere) with the singer voice,
to provide the 'beat / rhythm'
Of course, you also have SOFT guitar or SOFT violin, which is too soft to drown out the singers voice.

You will notice that the 2 loudest sound on many 'acoustic' folk type music is the singers voice.
+ LOUD deep bass (very low frequency) (that will not hide/ interfer) with the singer voice
and will provide the 'beat / rhythm'

Many people who own small 6 inch inch speaker will say 
What LOUD DEEP bass is Lim talking about ?

If you have WELL DESIGNED , MODERN , HUGE 'High End' HIgh FIdelity speaker
with 10 inch woofer or 2 pieces of MODERN 8 inch woofer in BIG cabinets + WELL DESIGNED BIG bass reflex ports,
you will be shocked to hear the huge huge huge amount of bass in Irish folk singer Mary Black CD,
or American James Taylor or Irish band Dubliners (when they use the floor boas as a bass instrument, by stomping on the floorboards. just like Queen's 'We will rock you')
or 'semi acoustic' music like like Eric Clayton.

One of the problem with almost all 300B valve single ended amplifier WITHOUT FEEDBACK
is they have lousy bass.
There is not enough bass, for a SERIOUS HIgh FIdelity system.

bottombottom
 

Question from Denmark on 25 February 2008=
I want to buy the 300B Triode Parallel Single Ended Amp WITHOUT negative
feedback, but it doesn't appear on eBay Store. How do I order and pay?

We can list the 300B Triode amplifier in our eBay shop.
You can pay by PayPal or Danish Credit Card.

Please can I explain that
we sell 3 different version of 300B Triode valve amplifiers
in our eBay shop.

Our eBay shop sells 3 different version of 300B amplifiers, which are
GBP £       300B Triode Parallel Single Ended amplifier WITHOUT FEEDBACK
GBP £       300B Triode Parallel Single Ended amplifier WITH FEEDBACK
GBP £       300B Triode Push Pull amplifier
( All the 300B amplifiers are the same price )

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please can I explain that many of our competitors 300B Triode Single ended valve amplifier
have humming sound, which is bad for a prestigious amplifier.
. 
Our 300B Triode Single Ended valve amplifier do NOT have hum ,
because we have help the Chinese amplifier designer solve the hum problem

Our 300B Triode SIngle Ended valve amplifier do NOT have hum ,
because we have choke / inductor in the power supply , big capacitors in the power supply ,
DC heating of the 300B triode , humdinger to split the DC heating to the 300B valve.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please can I explain that many of our competitors 300B Single Ended amplifiers only 
have 90 days guarantee for the 300B valves / tube.

Please ask our competitors to give you a better guarantee for their 300B valves / tube.

We have 2 years guarantee on our superior reliable Chinese 300B valves tube,
because we have improved the reliability of the amplifier with 7 pieces of Ultrasonic filters.
(There is only 1 year guarantee on our spare replacement valves)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please can I explain that
ALL of our competitors and us have problems
getting  bass (for bass drums or bass guitar or double bass)
from 300B Triode or 845 Triode or 211 Triode or KT88 Single Ended amplifiers WITHOUT FEEDBACK.

If you want GOOD BASS and good realistic human voices,
please can I recommend our ebay shop selling

GBP £1200 300B Triode Parallel Single Ended amplifier WITH FEEDBACK 
( MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG with 7 ultrasonic filters for better sound and improved reliability. Beware of fakes.)

GBP £1200 300B Triode Push Pull amplifier
( MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG With 7 ultrasonic filters for better sound and improved reliability. Beware of fakes.)

GBP £1400 KT88 Triode Connection Push Pull amplifier
( MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG with 16 ultrasonic filters for better sound and improved reliability. Beware of fakes.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the output transformer (the black lump of metal at the left rear and right rear) are VERY BIG,
Human voices in 300B Triode Single Ended amplifiers WITHOUT FEEDBACK can be very good
( if LOUD BASS DRUM do not overload the BIG output transformers )
and will be much much much better than 'ULTRA LINEAR' Push Pull amplifiers.

Human voices in our 300B Triode Single Ended amplifiers WITHOUT FEEDBACK is better
than
Human voices in our 300B Triode Single Ended amplifiers WITH FEEDBACK

Human voices in our 300B Triode Single Ended amplifiers WITH FEEDBACK is very very good.
and much much much better than most 'Ultra Linear' Push Pull amplifiers.

But, to be frank,
a good design of 300B TRIODE (better than ULTRA LINEAR) Push Pull amplifier (with BIG output transformers + ultrasonic filters + fixed / adjustable bias (better than automatic bias))
and
a good design of KT88 TRIODE CONNECTION (better than ULTRA LINEAR) Push Pull amplifier (with BIG output transformer + ultrasonic filter + fixed / adjustable bias (better than automatic bias)
have better human voices than
300B Triode Parallel Single Ended amplifier WITHOUT FEEDBACK
( 5 watts of loud bass drum will easily overload the output transformer of many of our competitors 300B Single Ended Valve / Triode amplifier )
( Once the output transformer is overload, you get a lot of distortion on human voices. )
( This distortion is not rattling or something bad like that. )
( This distortion makes the human voice sound 'blur' as though the singer has a cold and a 'blocked up nose',)
( and is talking in a bathroom with echo. )
( You will hear this problem if you have WELL DESIGNED powerful '3 way' speaker.)
( Most 6 inch speaker will overload with 5 watts of DEEP bass,    )
( so you do not know if the 'blur' problem was caused by the speaker or amplifier)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want 300B Triode Single Ended amplifiers,
it much be better for you to buy the version WITH FEEDBACK
(MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG with 7 ultrasonic filters for better sound and improved reliability. Beware of fakes..
You lose a bit of quality for the human voice,
but our HUGE output transformer + a bit of FEEDBACK makes the bass about 10 times better
than 300B Single Ended amplifiers WITHOUT FEEDBACK
or 845 Single Ended amplifiers WITHOUT FEEDBACK
or famous USD 120000 Japanese 211 Single Ended amplifiers WITHOUT FEEDBACK

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want 300B amplifiers,
and you do not care if you buy Single Ended or push pull,
please buy our GBP £      300B Push Pull from our our eBay shop
(MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG with 7 ultrasonic filters for better sound and improved reliability. Beware of fakes.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can hear the difference in all of the 3 amplifiers listed below,
but nobody can say which amplifier is better.
(It is like asking, which is better ? A big Mercedes car, a big BMW car , a big Jaguar car or a big Saab car. )
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trail) that all 3 of the amplifier listed below
will EASILY EASILY EASILY beat GBP £3000 American valve / tube amplifiers to GBP £60000 (about 120,000 American dollars) Japanese Audio Ongaku 211 Triode SIngle Ended amplifier (Where is the bass ?)
 

GBP £       300B Triode Parallel Single Ended amplifier  from our our eBay shop
(MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG with 7 ultrasonic filters for better sound and improved reliability. Beware of fakes.)

GBP £        300B Triode Push Pull from our our eBay shop
(MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG with 7 ultrasonic filters for better sound and improved reliability. Beware of fakes.)

GBP £1400 'Ultra High End' KT88 Triode Connection - Lim Aik Leong Signature Push Pull amplifier in our eBay shop
(MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG with 16 ultrasonic filters for better sound and improved reliability. Beware of fakes.)

-------------------

Please could you tell me 

What speakers do you have ?

How big is your room ?

How far do you sit from the speakers ?

What type of music you listen to ?  Classical Music or pop , rock music

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For people who do not like reading my long boring explanations .......................
Money back guarantee (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trial) that
Affordable Valve Company GBP £950 speaker with cherry wood veneer + piano finish + 2 pieces of 'High End' 8 inch woofer + 'High End' 5 inch coated paper midrange + 1 inch dome tweeter with LIM AIK LEONG MODIFICATION (beware of fakes)
driven by Affordable Valve Company GBP £750 'EL34 Triode Connection'  Chinatown valve amplifier with LIM AIK LEONG MODIFICATION (beware of fakes)
will sound 
100 times better for bass and human voices than GBP £1000 PMC GB-1 transmission line with 5 inch speaker
driven by GBP £300 to GBP £10000 300B Single Ended valve / tube amplifier without feedback or with feedback 
or GBP £60000 Japanese Audionote Ongaku 211 SIngle Ended valve amplifier valve 
in 20 feet room,
playing music with loud bass drums or loud bass instrument
or MONEY REFUNDED (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trial)
because HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum and HUGE 32 inch kettle drum will EASILY overload the SMALL 5 inch speaker.
Once the SMALL 5 inch speaker is overloaded, human voice will become blur , congested (as though the singer got a bad cold, and a blocked up nose)
Turn up the volume even louder, and the 'singers blocked up nose' becomes so bad,
that you cannot even understand the lyrics of the song.
If you cannot even understand the words that your favorite singer is singing,
you might as well turn off your ?HIgh?FIdelity? system and watch television !
The most important sound on the recording of your favorite singer
is the voice of your favorite singer !

For people who do not like reading my long boring explanations .......................
Money back guarantee (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trial) that
Affordable Valve Company GBP £950 speaker with cherry wood veneer + piano finish + 2 pieces of 'High End' 8 inch woofer + 'High End' 5 inch coated paper midrange + 1 inch dome tweeter with LIM AIK LEONG MODIFICATION (beware of fakes)
driven by Affordable Valve Company GBP £750 'EL34 Triode Connection'  Chinatown valve amplifier with LIM AIK LEONG MODIFICATION (beware of fakes)
will sound 
10 times better for bass and human voices than GBP £1600 Spendor S8e speaker with 8 inch speaker, with soft plastic cone,
driven by GBP £300 to GBP £10000 300B Single Ended valve / tube amplifier without feedback or with feedback 
or GBP £60000 Japanese Audionote Ongaku 211 Single Ended valve amplifier valve 
in 20 feet room,
playing music with loud bass drums or loud bass instrument
or MONEY REFUNDED (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trial)
 
 
 

TERMINOLOGY = A 'typical' 6 inch speaker has an Xmax of +- 3 millimeters.

This means that the speaker cone can move forward or backward by 3 millimeters,
before distorting badly.










About 3 years ago, I had a customer (with the same name as you) who was using
GBP £1500 SMALL 6 inch B&W Nautilus 805 in a HUGE 20 feet room.
I told the customer for weeks and weeks that 6 inch loudspeaker (with the 'typical' Xmax of + - 3 millimeters) 
are USELESS for 20 feet room UNLESS YOU SIT 6 FEET FROM THE SMALL 6 INCH SPEAKER 

It does NOT matter if you paid GBP £300 or GBP £1500 or GBP £4000 or GBP £60000
for speakers with 1 or 2 pieces of SMALL 6 inch speaker.
6 inch speaker (with the 'typical' Xmax of + - 3 millimeters) 
are USELESS for 20 feet room UNLESS YOU SIT 6 FEET FROM THE SMALL 6 INCH SPEAKER 

3 years later, somebody with the same name is asking 
'How do I improve the sound of my even smaller 5 inch speaker called PMC GB-1' 
that uses a transmission line that is too short
(less than 14 feet, which is the quarter wave length of a 20 Hertz sound wave) 
with insufficient stuffing / sound absorbent to properly dampen the speaker resonance
(Please look at the impedance curve at ...................)
( The impedance curve of the PMC GB-1 look like a 'Bass Reflex' )
( What is the difference between a 'Transmission Line' and a 'Bass Reflex' cabinet )
( Can you call a 'Bass Reflex' cabinet with a 2 feet long bass reflex port, )
( a transmission line speaker ?  )
( Can you call a 'Bass Reflex' cabinet with a 6 feet long bass reflex port, )
( a transmission line speaker ?  )
(Well dampened transmission line, with low resonance will have the a SMALL peak at the speaker resonance)
(Please see Figure ... in Chapter 6 of the .. edition of Mr Dickason excellent book 'Loudspeaker Cookbook')

I can only repeat my previous advice for small speakers .......
It does NOT matter if you paid GBP £180 or GBP £1000 or GBP £2500 or GBP £60000
for speakers with 1 or 2 pieces of SMALL 5 inch speaker.
6 inch speaker (with the 'typical' Xmax of + - 2 millimetres or + - 3 millimetres) 
are EVEN MORE USELESS for 20 feet room
UNLESS YOU SIT 4 FEET FROM THE SMALL 5 INCH SPEAKER 

I built my own transmission line speaker about 30 years ago,
and I own SERIOUS transmission line speaker like 
TLS-50 Mark II with 8 inch soft plastic woofer + midrange + tweeter 
('Transmission line' modified with extra sound absorbent to stop 'transmission line boomy bass', when there is not enough sound absorbent)
(that will EASILY EASILY EASILY outclass GBP £1000 PMC GB-1 with small 5 inch speaker
and GBP £1400 PMC FB-1 with small 6 inch speaker
and GBP £2000 PMC with small 6 inch speaker)
(There is a limit to what you can do with small 5 inch and small 6 inch speaker.)
(Some people think that shoving a small 5 inch or small 6 inch speaker into a 'transmission line')
(will MAGICALLY transform the small 5 inch or small 6 inch speaker into a huge 12 inch woofer !)
(This MAGIC does NOT happen, 
(that is why PMC produce GBP £7500 '3 way' MB-2 with huge 12 inch woofer + 3 inch dome midrange + tweeter !)
and my own
SERIOUS 'STATE OF THE ART' transmission line speaker of  my own design 
with 12 inch woofer + 3 and half inch exotic 'STATE OF THE ART' BERYLLIUM METAL DOMES 
+ 1 inch exotic 'STATE OF THE ART' BERYLLIUM METAL DOMES
that will EASILY outclassing GBP £7500 PMC MB-2 with smaller cheaper 3 inch soft dome midrange.
 
 
 
 

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Brand of valves

I agree that putting in different brand of valves makes a SMALL difference to the sound.

Unfortunately, this has been blown up to silly hysterical proportions.

Some Hi Fi enthusiast have had their 'head messed with' so badly
that they WRONGLY think that
if you shove in a 'hyped up' brand of unreliable valve (with a disappointing 90 days guarantee)
into a mediocre valve / tube amplifier,
the mediocre valve / tube amplifier MAGICALLY become a superb amplifier.

This does NOT happen.

The mediocre valve / tube amplifier is still a mediocre valve / tube amplifier !
 

different

Hi Fi Enthusiast have their 'heads messed with' so badly that been so 
But .................
 

this has been blown up to silly hysterical proportions.

................

Many people seem to think that 
 

 
 
A customer had a rasher unusual requirement.
The customer had a pair of tall PMC FB-1 floor standing speaker,
which was too big for his new house.
As a temporary solution,
he wanted to buy tiny PMC DB1 stand mount speaker to mount on wall brackets.
When the customer has built an extension to his house,
then he will use his tall PMC FB-1 floor stander.

Needless to say, I was shocked at this suggestion !
Why spend GBP £700 on PMC DB1 speakers
when he already has GBP £1400 FB-1 speaker.
(My brain is stuck in the 1970 ,  with 1970 prices)
(and GBP £700 for a 'temporary' speaker is a lot of money !)

I was also shocked because a Hi Fi dealer told him that
GBP £700 PMC DB-1 sound like GBP £1400 PMC FB-1 speaker 

I asked the customer to think about what the other Hi Fi dealer had said,
and think about
'If  GBP £700 PMC DB1 sound like GBP £1400 PMC FB-1,
why is the PMC FB-1 twice the price of PMC DB-1'

At this point, the customer mind suddenly clicked that
the other Hi Fi dealer might be lying !

The customer said
'The young man in the shop was so convinced of what he was saying, 
so I believed him !'
              ------------------------------------

Fortunately, I managed to convince him that
spending GBP £700 for a temporary speaker,
which will sound worst that his GBP £1400 speaker,
was a bad idea.

What he sound do was to add more sound absorbent to his 
 

                 ----------------------------------
 

If you put too much sound absorbent in transmission Line speakers,
the bass will disappear, and there is not enough bass.

If there is not enough sound absorbent in transmission Line speaker,
you will get a lot of bass, but it will be boomy and poorly controlled.

Make sure that you have about 3 inch or 4 inch of 'free air'
around the 6 inch speaker of PMC FB-1 
to allow the 6 inch speaker to 'breath'

The 1 inch dome tweeter does NOT need to 'breathe,
so you can fill up the space behind the 1 inch dome tweeter

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OK, but it is confusing to see such a high buy it now price. I have had one
of your amplifiers for years and am very happy with it. The only thing I
miss is the facility to record from the amp. I have to use another system
for that. I was looking to see if you have introduced this facility, but
the information is not clear. Also what is all this about fraud. How can I
know my purchase is genuine?

Our eBay Buy Now price of GBP £60,000 was because,
I was trying to make the point that our 'KT88 Triode Connected' or 'EL34 Triode Connected' valve amplifiers
will EASILY EASILY beat (or match) any amplifiers from GBP £100 
to GBP £3000 300B SIngle Ended amplifier WITHOUT FEEDBACK (with lousy bass)
GBP £60,000 Audionote Ongaku 211 SIngle Ended Valve amplifier (with lousy bass)


Question  = Also what is all this about fraud. How can I know my purchase is genuine?

I have had some strange phone calls,
like somebody who CLAIMS to have one of our amplifier
with a DANGEROUS SWITCH that changes from 'Ultra Linear' to 'Triode Connection'.

I said that most switch are rated at around 250 volts,
and I am not reckless enough to use 250 volt switches to switch 400 volts.
(Please ask 'Icon Audio' how many volts are their swatch rated at.)

It is a bad idea to have a switch from 'Ultra Linear' to Triode Connection'
because ALL text books for valves / tubes or TRANSISTORS or INTEGRATED CIRCUIT
always say 'Keep the connections / wires / PCB copper tracks as short as possible'
To have all the extra LONG wire from the valves
to the switch from 'Ultra Linear' to 'Triode Connection'
is just asking for problems.
LONG wires + feedback can lead to ultrasonic resonance , poor stability , lousy reliability !

There are some dubious dealers who WRONGLY claim that
£750 TAC 34 valve amplifier is the same as our GBP £750 'EL34 Triode Connected' Chinatown
This is NOT true.
£750 TAC 34 valve amplifier is the same as our eBay listing of GBP £450 Audio Institute VR-110

If you like the sound of £750 TAC 34 valve amplifiers,
please buy our eBay listing of GBP £450 Audio Institute VR-110
and save GBP £300

The reason why the TAC 34 is so expensive is because
the German importer of TAC 34 makes some profit,
the British importer of TAC 34 makes some profit
the British shop selling TAC 34 makes some profit,
so a GBP £450 valve amplifier becomes a GBP £750 valve amplifier !

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Question =  Hi What would be the best way to buy one of your fine products, I live in Sydney, Australia? 

You can buy it from eBay,
and we will send from England to Australia.

UPS couriers have already delivered a few of our valve amplifiers to Australia.  Fully insured.

All amplifiers sent to Australia works perfectly, reliably, absolutely no problems.

We even supply the correct mains cable with correct Australian mains plugs !

bottombottom

 
Question from eBay customer in January 2008 = Hi, I need to know how much it will cost you to send this item to me in Australia.
I imagine it will be a fair bit but I am happy to pay as long as it is reasonable.
I have had quotes on mailing before from "dodgy" sellers who make their money by charging exorbitant mailing charges.
Hoping you are not one of these, I look forward to your reply. Cheers, Tim
Answer = Shipping to Australia is slightly cheaper nowadays,
because there is a price war amongst the couriers,
which is SLOWLY bringing the prices down.
We have sold a few amplifier to Australia,
but this is the first time that
we have used eBay to sell an amplifier to Australia.
This is a good omen for us !
We definitely want your business and your money !
We do not want to lose
our first eBay sale to Australia
with an argument over shipping cost.
Please could you suggest a REASONABLE shipping cost (for a big heavy box)
that you think is FAIR TO YOU AND US,
and we will try our best to 'match the price'
Please do not say 1 Australia dollar !
     :-) internet symbol for smiling face
I apologise for the big heavy box.
SERIOUS 'High End' valve / tube amplifiers MUST be HEAVY !
You need BIG heavy transformers (the 3 black lump of metal, at the rear of amplifier)
to produce LOUD DEEP BASS !
Lightweight valve / tube amplifiers with SMALL transformer (especially Single Ended amplifier WITHOUT FEEDBACK)
have lousy bass !
( This is a 'Law of Physic' )
( No amount of lies in 'dodgy' Hi Fi Reviews can change the 'Law of Physic' )

 
 
Question from eBay member in January 2008 = Hi, I live in Australia and am very interested in buying a valve amp. 
I would be grateful if you could advise me on which model to buy. I do not need deafening sound. Currently I use
Jamo speakers CD60 I think they're called. Bought them in 1988 and still sound very good
Answer = I cannot find any information about your Jamo speaker
British reviewer like Jamo Concert 8 and Jamo Concert 11.
I STRONGLY recommend 
a WELL DESIGNED (that need not be insanely expensive) valve / tube amplifier that does NOT sound bright
for the metal cones in the James Concert 8 and Jamo Concert 11.
Unfortunately, the reputation of many of the Jamo speaker are not very good.
I agree that Jamo speaker are usually 'good value for money'.
My 'general' advice for the 'general' Jamo speaker is
our starter amplifier GBP £450 Audio Institute VR-110
   with BIG output transformer
        + superior Fixed / Adjustable Bias (much better than automatic bias for bass)
will be MORE THAN ADEQUATE
and will EASILY , CONCLUSIVELY , BLATANTLY out class 
GBP £100 to GBP £60000 transistor amplifiers ,
MOSFET amplifiers , Class B amplifiers , Class A amplifiers , Class D amplifiers , Digital amplifiers
or MONEY REFUNDED (less shipping charges, equipment returned during 1 month home trail)
My 'general' advice for the 'general' Jamo speaker is
our starter amplifier GBP £450 Audio Institute VR-110 with BIG output transformer
  + superior Fixed / Adjustable Bias (much better than automatic bias for bass)
will be MORE THAN ADEQUATE 
and sound better than GBP £3000 Audio Research VS-55 valve /tube amplifier,
(this sound unbelievable until you read Hi Fi Choice review,)
( which describe the Audio Research VS-55 as slightly bright and best used with a slight warm sounding speaker.)
( How much do the distributor of Audio Research valve / tube amplifier pay Hi Fi Choice for advertising ? )
and 
might be more reliable than GBP £4000 Audio Research VS-110 valve / tube amplifier
which Stereophile said had an ultrasonic 'ring' on square testing with 'analogue' oscilloscope.
( Too high frequency for many 'digital' oscilloscope )
( I disagree with Hi Fi reviewer comment in Stereophile that )
( 'dismiss' audible problems with ultrasonic ringing in square wave.)
(I can EASILY hear any BIG improvement in 10 kiloHertz square wave)
(and I am the person who say that expensive cable are a waste of money)
Many electronic text books on valves / tubes , transistors ESPECIALLY MOSFET ,
warn about the dangers of 
ultrasonic resonance and 'ringing on square wave testing' affecting reliability.
If you do not believe me, please read the text book for valve or Transistors ! 
or MONEY REFUNDED (less shipping charges, equipment returned during 1 month home trail)
If possible, please pay an extra £50 (AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE)
for 2 pieces of Silver Mica Capacitor ULTRASONIC FILTERS.
2 pieces of Silver Mica Capacitor ULTRASONIC FILTERS
makes a HUGE improvement in the 10 kilohertz square wave performance,
and make the treble even sweeter
+ reduce the sibilance (when a woman say 'his' it sounds like 'hissssssk') even more than the basic GBP £450 model.
Before the DIY (do it yourself) valve enthusiast moan about the GBP £50 price,
please can I say that British labour is absurdly expensive,
and
somebody have got to pay for the 'Research and Development' time to find
the CORRECT VALUE of the silver Mica capacitors
and the CORRECT POSITION for the silver Mica capacitors.
If you do not want to pay GBP £50,
you can buy the GBP £450 amplifier
+ Oscilloscope
+ Signal Generator
+ 10 different valves of Silver Mica capacitors
and try to find the
CORRECT VALUE of the SIlver Mica Capacitor Ultrasonic Filter
and the
CORRECT POSITION for the the SIlver Mica Capacitor Ultrasonic Filter
This is a LIM AIK LEONG (ENGLAND) modification,
and it really does make a worthwhile difference 
(even sweeter treble and even less sibilance, when a woman say 'his' it sounds like 'hissssssk')
unlike some of our competitors EXPENSIVE 'waste of time and money' modification of
changing a plastic film capacitor IN GOOD WORKING ORDER to another plastic film capacitor of the SAME VALVE
(waste of time and money)
changing copper wire to silver wire (waste of time and money)
changing a volume control IN GOOD WORKING ORDER to another volume control of the SAME VALUE (waste of time and money)
hiring a naked virgin (male unfortunately) to sprinkling holy water on the amplifier (waste of time)
If we can agree a REASONABLE charge for shipping to Australia,
I will include the GBP £50 modification for FREE.

Also what makes your KT88 push pull design
> different from Icon Audio KT88 push Pull?

BETTER AMPLIFIER DESIGNERS !

The COMBINED KNOWLEDGE of the Chinese designers (Living in China) and Lim AIk Leong (living in England)
is probably the best in the world.
Just look at the square wave performance of GBP £3000 Conrad John CAV-50 in Stereophile review
and GBP £4000 Audio Research VS-110

Better output transformers (no problem with bass or treble) !

Better ultrasonic filters (no problem with treble) for MODIFIED IN ENGLAND VERSIONS !

Please ask Icon Audio designers a few complicated questions,
and you will will find out exactly what
Icon Audio know (or do not know) about valve / tube amplifiers

If Hi Fi World is complaining about Icon Audio best , most prestigious 300B valve ./ tube amplifier 
has problems with 'frequency extreme",
meaning
listen to the bass and treble of Icon Audio 300B valve / tube amplifier BEFORE YOU BUY !

Is there any reason, why do you think that
Icon Audio KT88 valve / tube amplifier will be any better
than Icon Audio best , most prestigious 300B valve tube amplifier ?

If Icon Audio cannot design
their best , most prestigious 300B valve tube amplifier to sound superb, flawless, without any irritating points,
how can Icon Audio design a better amplifier using cheaper KT88 valves/ tubes
(KT88 can matches 300B valves / tubes, when Triode Connected in a WELL DESIGNED amplifier)
(When using 'Ultra High End' BIG '3 way' speakers)
(It is BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that)
(our 300B Triode amplifiers with HUGE POTTED transformer,)
(our KT88 Triode Connected amplifier with HUGE POTTED output transformer,)
(our EL34 Triode Connected amplifier with HUGE POTTED output transformer,)
(sound different o one another.)
(BUT ... NOBODY CAN SAY WHICH ONE IS BETTER. )
(IT IS A MATTER OF PERSONAL TASTE)
(But I can tell you that out HUGE potted transformer will sound MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER)
(than Icon audio smaller transformer in their GBP £900 amplifiers,)
(that looks very similar to Mingda / MeiXing GBP £300 valve / tube amplifier)

There has been some Icon Audio dealers (pretending to be innocent members of the public) 
making absurd nonsensical claims that Icon Audio amplifier sound better,
but this is a joke.
Most of our customers who auditioned the Icon Audio amplifier 
versus Affordable Valve Company valve / tube amplifier,
said that Affordable Valve Company Valve amplifiers were much better (and cheaper) !
Some of these customer are very fussy,
so they would not mind paying an extra few hundred pounds for better sound !
Please look at Icon Audio GBP £900 versus MingDa GBP £300 valve tube amplifier,
and ask yourself, why is Icon Audio amplifier is 3 time more expensive ?

 

 
 
        Question =

 I am interested in trying one of your 300B push pull or KT88 push pull
amplifiers, or even the Parallel single end version?

I will use it to drive a pair of Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo Three
speakers, cheap I know but a stunning little '3 way' speaker in my
opinion.

What are the characteristics of the 2 valves & the difference in sound
to a push pull & single end amplifier.

I listen to a wide variety of music types but a lot of large scale
orchestra & rock so assumed the push pulls would be better suited to
this? or maybe I am wrong in that?

Sorry for all the Q's but this will be my last amplifier upgrade for a
while so want to get it right..

Many Thanks,

-----------------------
Room is 
Approx. 4 Meter by 3 Meter.

Also as the world of valve amplifiers is completely new to me, do you
have an opinion on speaker wire?

For valve amplifiers capable of the current delivery yours are would you
recommend good old chunky multi strand or solid core?

      Answer = 

Whoa ! stop ! YOU ARE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.

For 40 years, the Hi Fi Industry, which include many Hi Fi magazines
(which rely on millions of pounds of advertising revenue from their masters, the big Hi Fi companies)
have been 'messing with the head' of Hi Fi enthusiast.

After 40 years of 'messing with the head' of Hi Fi Enthusiast,
many Hi Fi enthusiast and many HI FI REVIEWERS (especially the younger Hi Fi reviewers)
do NOT have clue about what is important,
and what are a CHEAP GIMMICKS  , SOLD AT ABSURD HIGH PRICES !

-----------------------------------------------------

You are wasting your time, asking question about 
the NEGLIGIBLE DIFFERENCE in sound
and SMALL TINY DIFFERENCE in sound,
but
you are ignoring the important things that causes HUGE HUGE HUGE DIFFERENCE in sound !

YOU HAVE BEEN CONNED BY THE HI FI INDUSTRY
WHICH INCLUDES MANY HI FI MAGAZINES.
(which rely on millions of pounds of advertising revenue from their masters, the big Hi Fi companies)

YOU ARE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.

It might be a coincidence, but there was somebody with the same name as you,
who was brainwashed by Hi Fi magazines,
and will NOT listen to anything that I say, for 3 years !

He was using SMALL 6 inch B&W Nautilus 805 in HUGE 20 feet room.
Hi Fi magazines have been hyping up £1600 B&W Nautilus 805 like crazy.
B&W must pay Hi Fi magazines thousand of pounds every month,
for B&W full page advertisement, usually on the back page, or inside the front or rear cover
which are the 3 most expensive place to put an advertisement.

I keep telling him that 
SMALL 6 inch speaker CANNOT imitate / reproduce HUGE 22 inch Kick Bass drum

or HUGE 32 inch Kettle drum
but he will NOT listen to my sensible advice.

Just because he paid GBP £1600 for a SMALL 6 inch speaker
that is about the size of GBP £300 SMALL 6 inch speaker
he think that his GBP £1600 SMALL 6 inch speaker can MAGICALLY imitate / reproduce 
HUGE 22 inch Kick Bass drum !

I keep telling him that 
Once HUGE 22 inch Kick Bass drum overload the SMALL 6 inch speaker,
human voice will become very blur , congested ,
as though the the singer got a bad cold and a blocked up nose.
Turn up the volume even louder, and the 'block up nose' gets worst,
and you cannot even understand the lyrics of the song.

If you cannot understand the words that your favorite singer is singing,
you might as well turn off your HIgh FIdelity set (or LOW FIdelity) set
and watch television.

It does not matter,
if you pay GBP £300 or GBP £1600 or GBP £4000 for SMALL 6 inch speaker,
YOU STILL GET THESE PROBLEMS.



GBP £250 to GBP £350 AE EVO 3 are very good speaker FOR THEIR SMALL 6 INCH SIZE.

If you MUST have a SMALL 6 INCH speaker for HUGE 20 feet room,
then GBP £250 to GBP £350 AE EVO 3
will EASILY EASILY EASILY beat GBP £1600 B&W Nautilus 805,
for clarity (less blocked up nose) of human voices,
when there is a HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum.

GBP £250 to GBP £350 AE EVO 3 have 
6 inch bass + 5 inch midrange + 1 inch tweeter.

About half the human voice will go to the 5 inch midrange.
Most of the bass drums are kept away from the 5 inch midranges,
so 5 inch midrange is NOT overloaded by HUGE 22 inch bass drums.
So, half of the human voice coming through the 5 inch midrange 
will remain crystal clear EVEN WHEN THERE IS A LOUD BASS DRUM

Unfortunately, 
About half the human voice will go to the 6 inch bass speaker.
HUGE 22 inch Kick Bass drum will easily OVERLOAD the small 6 inch speaker.
Once the SMALL 6 inch speaker is overloaded,
half the human voice (that comes out of the 6 inch speaker) 
will become blur , congested (like the singer has a bad cold, and a blocked up nose)

Acoustic Energy AE EVO 3 '3 way' speakers
only have half the problems of 
of the 'typical' small 6 inch speaker !

Not perfect ,
but what more can you ask for
for an affordable GBP £250 to £350 ?

You have to solve this
HUGE PROBLEM OF OVERLOADING SMALL 6 INCH SPEAKER
before you have a SERIOUS Hi Fi set !

Stranded wire or solid core wires CANNOT stop
SMALL 6 inch speaker being overload by HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum

You can connect 1 pair or wire or 2 pair of wire (bi wire) or 100 pairs of wire to the speaker,
and you still cannot stop
SMALL 6 inch speaker being overload by HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum

You can connect 1 amplifier or 2 amplifiers (bi amp) or 100 amplifier to the speaker,
and you still cannot stop
SMALL 6 inch speaker being overload by HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum

You can connect 500 watt transistor amplifiers to the speaker,
and you still cannot stop
SMALL 6 inch speaker being overload by HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum

You can put the speaker on VERY heavy rigid Partington Speaker Stands stands,
blue tack the speaker , black tack the speaker , glue the speaker to the stands,
spike the stands , use GBP £1000 Kimber cables , silver wires , 
ask a virgin to sprinkle holy water on the speaker on a full moon night
and you still cannot stop
SMALL 6 inch speaker being overload by HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum !

What is the solution to
prevent SMALL 6 inch speaker being overload by HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum ?
It is certainly NOT the CHEAP GIMMICKS
(like bi wiring with a cheap pieces of wire sold at silly price or cheap blue tack or cheap black tack)
recommended by most of the HI FI magazines
(which depends on millions of pounds of advertisement from their masters, the big Hi Fi companies)

What is the solution to
prevent SMALL 6 inch speaker being overload by HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum ?
The answer is very simple (but cost more money).
Use bigger speakers !
Use 10 inch woofer / bass speaker (with Xmax of about 5 millimetres or more) 
or 12 inch woofer / bass speaker (with Xmax of about 5 millimetres or more) 
or 2 pieces of 8 inch woofer / speaker (with Xmax of about 5 millimetres or more) 
 



Question = Please can you explain what makes a "HUGE" difference?  (part 1)

Please go and listen to a REAL 22 inch Kick bass drum or HUGE 32 inch Kettle drum.
You might find some 'live' music in some pubs / night clubs
or local orchestra (look at notice board in your local library)
and you will find that

The bass from ALL 6 inch speaker is terrible,
and does NOT sound anything like a REAL HUGE 22 inch or 32 inch bass drum !

Please do NOT believe the 'spiced up' reviews in Hi Fi magazines that
some insanely expensive SMALL 6 inch speaker sounds
like HUGE 22 inch or HUGH 32 inch KETTLE drum

It is NOT possible.
You have been conned by some irresponsible Hi Fi magazines,
praising the speaker sold by their masters ,
big Hi Fi companies, who pay Hi Fi magazines millions of pound for advertising.

Before anybody argue. GO AND LISTEN TO A REAL BASS DRUM !

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trail)
that our GBP £850 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Upgradeable + tuned for extra bass' 
or GBP £1500 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Chinatown'
or GBP £2500 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Lim Aik Leong Signature'
with 2 pieces of 'Ultra High End' 8 inch woofers (with Xmax of about 5 millimetres) with
HUGE MAGNETS, big enough for 10 inch or even 12 inch woofers
will 
produce 3 times to 100 times better (depending on how fussy you are)
HUGE 22 inch Kick bass drums or HUGE 32 inch Kettle drum or HUGE Double Bass
or DEEP DEEP fundamental note (about 30 Hertz) of a Concert Grand
that is BLATANTLY OBVIOUSLY missing from small 6 inch toy speakers !

Reviewers who makes misleading absurd claims that SMALL 6 inch speaker
can imitate / reproduce Concert Grand Piano properly,
should go to the music department of a large departmental store,
slip the salesman a 20 pound note,
and ask the sales man to play the deepest bass notes on the Concert Grand,
and concentrate on the 'rumbling body' of the note, the menacing bass rumble will
'put the fear of god in you' (not as frightening as a Church Organ !)
caused by the  DEEP DEEP fundamental note (about 30 Hertz) of a Concert Grand

This DEEP DEEP deepest bass is NEVER heard in 6 inch speaker ( in smallish cabinets ).

6 inch speaker in HUGE cabinets might produce a SOFT 30 Hertz note but ..........
Turn up the volume, and 6 inch speaker will
NOT produce a LOUD 30 Hertz note.
You get HUGE amount of distortion (old timers call this bass doubling. Frequency doubling)
and you will get a SOFT 30 hertz
                       + LOUD 60 Hertz (2nd harmonic distortion)
                       + LOUD 90 Hertz (3rd Harmonic distortion) , etc
Some inexperience Hi Fi Reviewer / enthusiast will then WRONGLY CLAIM 
that his 6 inch speaker can produce 30 Hertz notes !

Just look at the size of a Concert Grand (that has extra keys that are 1 bass octave lower than an ordinary piano)
and ask yourself. How can a a SMALL 6 inch toy speaker
imitate / reproduce the DEEP DEEP fundamental note (about 30 Hertz) of a HUGE Concert Grand ?

Question = Please can you explain what makes a "HUGE" difference?  (part 2)

The most important sound on the recording of your favorite singer
is the voice of your favorite singer.

As I have explained above.
HUGE 22 inch Kick bass drum will easily overload small 6 inch speaker.
Once that happen, human voice becomes bur, congested, as though the singer got a blocked up nose.
Turn up the volume and it gets so bad that you cannot understand the lyrics of the song.

If you cannot understand the words that your favorite singer is singing,
you might as well turn off your HIgh FIdelity set (or LOW FIdelity) set
and watch television.
This is a serious problem with the
typical '2 way' speaker with 1 pieces of 6 inch speaker
or 
typical '2 and half way' speaker with 2 pieces of 6 inch speaker

Acoustic Energy '3 way' speaker has bass + half the midrange coming out of the small 6 inch speaker.
Acoustic Energy '3 way' speaker only have half this problem of congested singers, with blocked up nose.

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trail)
that our GBP £850 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Upgradeable + tuned for extra bass' 
or GBP £1500 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Chinatown'
or GBP £2500 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Lim Aik Leong Signature'
with 2 pieces of 'Ultra High End' 8 inch woofers (with Xmax of about 5 millimetres) with
HUGE MAGNETS, big enough for 10 inch or even 12 inch woofers
will 
produce 5 times to 100 times better (depending on how fussy you are)
more realistic human voice,
when there is a 
LOUD HUGE 22 inch Kick bass drums or LOUD HUGE 32 inch Kettle drum 
 


 

Question = Please can you explain what makes a "HUGE" difference?  (part 3)

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trail)
that our GBP £850 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Upgradeable + tuned for extra bass' 
or GBP £1500 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Chinatown'
or GBP £2500 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Lim Aik Leong Signature'
with superb 'High End' 5 inch or 4 inch coated paper cones WITH HUGE MAGNETS
with a low crossover frequency of about 200 Hertz
will
produce 2 times to 100 times better (depending on how fussy you are)
more realistic human voice,
even when you play SOFT music !
because WELL DESIGNED (that need not be insanely expensive) coated paper cones
will always be much better than most metal cones, most Kevlar cones, most glass fibre cones,
most carbon fibre cones
that crossover around 400 Hertz to the woofer. bass speaker).

How is this possible ?
When you crossover at 400 Hertz,
about half the human voice comes out of the 12 inch woofer of GBP £700 PMC MB-2
or 9 inch woofer of GBP £8000 ATC

What is the point of having an expensive 3 inch dome midrange,
if you are going to use the 12 inch woofer as an '2nd grade' midrange
to produce half the human voice ?
 

------------------------------------

How is this possible ?
WELL DESIGNED (that need not be insanely expensive) Paper cones are much much stronger
than aluminum, titanium, copper, iron, steel, etc FOR THE SAME WEIGHT
Exotic Beryllium metal , used in our Yamaha NS1000M are stronger than paper FOR THE SAME WEIGHT

WELL DESIGNED (that need not be insanely expensive) paper cones have much better 'mechanical loss' / damping
than Beryllium,  aluminum, titanium, copper, iron, steel, Kevlar, carbon fibre, glass fibre, etc

Tap your finger on an empty aluminum can, and it will 'ring' / resonate  for some time.
make a cone out of aluminum, and the cone will 'ring' resonate for some time (once there is any cone break up)
This might cause HUGE peaks in the frequency response.
Please look at Stereophile measurement of Monitor Audio Studio ...
that shows a HUGE peak (that must surely be audible !)

Tap your finger on a piece of cardboard, and all you get a is a dull thud, that dies away quickly,

Why do people make cones out of aluminum, kevlar, Bextrene, polypropylene, etc ?
To be frank, they are either illogical to choose weaker, less rigid material
or they do not know enough physic to realise that
the strength / rigidity of a flat piece of material depends on the CUBE of the thickness / density !
If you compare the rigidity (Young's modulus) with the CUBE of the density,
you will find the strongest material FOR THE SAME WEIGHT is beryllium followed by paper. 
Everything else is far behind 
(ignoring complicated 'sandwich' structures,)
(where LIGHTWEIGHT WEAK material is sandwiched)
(between 2 layers of HEAVIER  STRONG MATERIAL)
(e.g. lightweight polystyrene FOAM sandwich between aluminum foil STRONGLY GLUES ON)
(is VERY VERY VERY STRONG ! )
(Most Kevlar cones + carbon fibre cones + glass fibre cones is weak FOR THE WEIGHT,)
(because they have done the 'sandwiching, the wrong way around !)

Many people forget the CUBE of the thickness.

This is why you can use 18 millimetres thick chipboard or MDF for making a floor.
but 12 millimetres chipboard or MDF is useless for making a floor.

18 millimetres chipboard or MDF
is 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 = 3.375 times 
stronger / more rigid 
than 12 millimetres chipboard or MDF

Question = Please can you explain what makes a "HUGE" difference?  (part 4)
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges. equipment returned during 1 month home trail)
that our GBP £850 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Upgradeable + tuned for extra bass' 
or GBP £1500 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Chinatown'
or GBP £2500 '8 inch + 8 inch + 5 inch + 1 inch - Lim Aik Leong Signature'
with superb 'High End' 5 inch or 4 inch coated paper cones WITH HUGE MAGNETS
+ any one of our Triode Connected amplifier from GBP £650 and upwards
+ Hilariously price GBP £200 Sony CDP-CX355 CD player will
produce human voice so realistic,
that it will trick you into believing that 
your favorite singer is in your room for
ALMOST ALL 'live' recording
+ about 50 percent to 80 percent of 'studio recordings'
(Adjust volume for Human voice at 'realistic life size volume')
(If your favorite singer is 5 times louder than a real human being,)
(your brains will know that it is too loud to be real.)
(Eyes closed, you hear 5 times better with your eyes closed.)

CONCLUSION 

There is a limit to what you can do with
GBP £250 to GBP £350 Acoustic Energy AE Evo 3,
even if you use GBP £60000 amplifiers

Instead of spending GBP £1400 on of our best amplifiers,
you will be much better off buying
our MUCH better speaker (as low as GBP £850)
+ any one of our Triode Connected amplifier from GBP £650 and upwards
+ Hilariously price GBP £200 Sony CDP-CX355 CD player will
 

bottombottom

 
Question from eBay member on 16 January 2008 = 
Hi, I've been thinking about changing to Valve amps for a while,
but don't know much about them. I bought a valve headphone
amp this year and I'm very happy with it. Anyway, I only heard
about your amps today for the first time when I saw this ebay
listing. Can you confirm that it's an integrated amp?
I own Ruark Equinox speakers. I am very happy with
them, but I wonder if you know how well they might pair up to this amp?
Lastly, I'd just like to comment on your listing format. It's been a
very interesting read, but never in my life have a came across
such a messy and hard to read, digest and basically negotiate
page in my whole life! For example, I looked at what else you
had, and there were 2 listings for 4300 pounds. One said
speakers and the other said speakers + amp. I scanned the
listings and I couldn't actually find out what amp
you were selling. No picture either! I think you need a re-design
with links to pics, testimonials & advice.
Answer = All of our MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG valve amplifiers
GREATLY improve the sound of GBP £2000 Ruark Equinox
and any 6 inch "2 way" or "2 and half way" loudspeakers (from GBP £200 to GBP £11000)
Our GBP £1400 KT88 Triode Connection - Lim AIk Leong Signature
UPGRADED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG
WITH 18 PIECES OF ULTRASONIC FILTER OF SILVER MICA CAPACITORS, FERRITE BLOCK, ETC
+ modification to improve the balance between the 'Push and Pull' to reduce distortion WITHOUT INCREASING FEEDBACK
will make your 6 inch speaker sound MUCH MUCH BETTER
but the 6 inch speaker of GBP £2000 Ruark Equinox has some weakness
(please see review in Stereophile magazines + the bottom of this answer for more details).

On the left is GBP £2000 Ruark Equinox
with small 6 inch speaker + 1 inch tweeter.
On the right is
Affordable Valve Company 'Ultra High End' SERIOUS speakers on the right, with
           expensive Cherry Wood Veneer
        + expensive PIANO FINISH
        + 2 pieces of big 8 inch woofer / bass speaker 
        + 5 inch midrange
        + 1 inch tweeter.
Which do you think is the more powerful speaker ?
Which do you think is better at producing
LOUD PARTY MUSIC in HUGE 20 feet rooms ?
Which do you think will do a better job of
imitating  / reproducing HUGE 22 inch Kick Bass drums and HUGE 32 inch Kettle drum ?
Instead of spending GBP £1400 on one of our best valve amplifier,
you will be better buying our cheaper range of valve / tube amplifiers,
and using the rest of your budget to buy
our eBay listings of our 'Ultra High End' GBP £850 speaker 'Upgradeable + slightly less treble' (beware of fakes)
or our eBay listings of our 'Ultra High End' GBP £1500 speaker 'Chinatown + tuned for extra bass' (beware of fakes)
or our eBay listings of our 'Ultra High End' GBP £2500 speaker 'Lim AIk Leong Signature' (beware of fakes)
(that will EASILY EASILY EASILY beat (or match) GBP £6000 to GBP £10000000 speakers,)
(except bigger woofer in bigger cabinets should produce better bass).
This sound unbelievable until I explain that our 'Ultra High End' speakers has
                  EXPENSIVE real cheery wood veneer
             + EXPENSIVE PIANO FINISH
             + 2 pieces of 'High End' 8 inch woofers with HUGE EXPENSIVE MAGNETS
             + 5 inch 'High End' coated paper midrange with HUGE EXPENSIVE MAGNET
             + 1 inch 'High End' tweeter with 'hollowed out' magnet pole piece with HUGE EXPENSIVE MAGNETS
             + sophisticated 'high end' crossover with HUGE EXPENSIVE inductor
            + HUGE EXPENSIVE plastic film capacitors (except for 1 big electrolytic capacitor)
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges.  Equipment returned during one month home trial)
that our cheaper range like our eBay listings for our
GBP £450 audio institute VR-110 + GBP £50 UPGRADE IN ENGLAND with 2 pieces of silver mica capacitors ultrasonic filters
or our eBay listing for our
GBP 750 EL34 Triode Connection - Chinatown (beware of fakes) UPGRADED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG
WITH 8 PIECES OF ULTRASONIC FILTER OF SILVER MICA CAPACITORS, FERRITE BLOCK, ETC
or our eBay listing for our
GBP 888 KT88 Triode Connection - Chinatown (beware of fakes) UPGRADED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG
WITH 16 PIECES OF ULTRASONIC FILTER OF SILVER MICA CAPACITORS, FERRITE BLOCK, ETC
will be in MORE THAN ADEQUATE for any six inch two way or 2 1/2 way speakers
and 
will make your 6 inch speaker sound
50 percent to 100 times better (depending on how fussy you are) than
any 'Class B' transistor amplifiers, MOSFET, class D, digital amplifiers from GBP £100 to GBP £60000
30 percent to 50 times better (depending on how fussy you are) than 
any 'Class A' transistor amplifiers, MOSFET from GBP £100 to GBP £60000
30 percent to 10 times better (depending on how fussy you are) than
GBP £700 to GBP £3000 valve amplifiers sold in high street shops
(please compare BIG EXPENSIVE output transformers )
(the black lump of metals at the left and right rear of amplifiers )
(with the SMALL output transformers of most of our competitors)
30 percent to 10 times better (depending on how fussy you are) than 
similar looking valve amplifiers sold in high street shops for GBP £750 or 1000 Euro
Since we sell valve amplifiers on 1 month home trial,
we ask customers to have reasonable expectation of small 6 in loudspeakers,
and remember that
1.  It is impossible for 1 or 2 pieces of SMALL 6 in loudspeakers
     to imitate / reproduce HUGE 22 inches kick bass drum or HUGE 32 inches kettle drum
EVEN IF YOU USE 500 WATT TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIERS.
       Please go to a pub / bar or nightclub that has real live bands, and you will find that
       SMALL 6 inch speakers do NOT sound anything like REAL HUGE 22 inch kick bass drums !
        Please ignore nonsensical 'spiced up' hi-fi reviews that makes unbelievable claims that
        SMALL 6 inch loudspeakers sound anything like REAL HUGE 22 inch kick bass drums !
2.   Once the HUGE 22 inch kick bass drum overloads the SMALL 6 inch loudspeaker,
      human voice will sound very blur, congested, (as though the singer has a bad cold and blocked up nose)
      Turn up the volume even louder, and the human voice gets so bad, 
      that you cannot even understand the lyrics of the song.
The most important sound on the recording of your favorite singer 
is the voice of your favorite singer.
If you cannot understand the words that 
your favorite singer is singing,
you might as well switch off the HIgh FIdelity (or LOW FIdelity) set
and watch television !
3.  It is impossible for 1 or 2 pieces of small six inch loudspeaker, to fill huge 20 foot room with loud party music,
EVEN IF YOU USE 500 WATT TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIERS.
      Please ignore nonsensical 'spiced up' hi-fi reviews that makes unbelievable claims that
      SMALL 6 inch speakers can fill huge 20 foot room with loud party music.
      If SMALL 6 inch loudspeakers can fill HUGE 20 foot room with LOUD PARTY MUSIC,
      why do many 'High End' famous loudspeaker manufacturers produce
      GBP £6000 to GBP £20000 HUGE HUGE HUGE superior '3 way' speakers
      with BIG 10 inch woofers or BIG 12 inch woofer or 2 pieces of BIG - ISH 8 inch woofers / bass speakers ?
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges.  equipment returned during one month home trial) that
our eBay listing for
our GBP £450 to GBP £1400 valve/tube amplifiers MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG (beware of fakes)
driving
our eBay listing for 'Ultra high end' GBP £750 or GBP £1500 or GBP £2500 '3 way' speakers with
         expensive real cherry wood veneer
     + expensive piano finish
     + 2 pieces of expensive Ultra high end BIG - ISH 8 inch woofers/bass speakers with HUGE EXPENSIVE magnets
     + 5 inch ' high end'  or four inch ' Ultra high end' coated paper mid range with HUGE EXPENSIVE magnet
     + 1 inch ' Ultra high end' tweeter
will produce
1.  3 times to 100 times better (depending on how fussy you are)
     much more realistic bass drums and bass instruments
     then 1 piece of small 6 inch speakers
        2 times to 20 times better (depending on how fussy you are)
        much more realistic bass drums and bass instruments
        then 2 pieces of small 6 inch speakers
2.  3 times to 100 times better (depending on how fussy you are)
     much more realistic, clearer human voices WITHOUT HARSHNESS,
     when there are loud bass drums and bass instruments
3.  5 times to 100 times better (depending on how fussy you are)
     LOUD LOUD LOUD PARTY MUSIC in HUGE 20 foot rooms
We will not offer you our MONEY BACK GUARANTEE, if we are talking nonsense,
because we would end up with a lot of second hand equipment, that will lose us a lot of money.
Since we sell valve amplifiers on one month home trial,
we ask customers to have reasonable expectation of small 6 inch speakers in GBP £2000 Ruark Equinox,
which has some weakness.
Please read
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/297ruark/
(The Hi Fi reviewer fairly wrote)
        Though the Equinox offered these particularly dynamic events with satisfying impact and weight,
        in the same movement orchestral chords of similar loudness suffered from a tonal shift that
        I attributed to a subtle but significant lack of power in the not - so - extreme bass.
        It's as if the rug had been pulled out from under the music.
        The low brass should shudder, warning of the great, brooding evil to come.
        With the Equinox, I could hear all the notes, but the villains no longer menaced.
(The Hi Fi reviewer fairly wrote)
        Although physically small, the Equinox is a big speaker in almost every other way.....
        I have some reservation about their compatibility with my taste in large - scale music.
Please read
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/297ruark/index2.html
(Affordable Valve Company helpful advice on frequency response is ...)
( If you have a speaker has 3 decibel NARROW peak or dip in the frequency response, )
( the speaker might get away with it, )
( and you might not notice 3 decibel NARROW peaks or dips. )
The frequency response in figure 2 shows
5 decibel BROAD PEAK from about 400 hertz to about 1500 hertz (which is a sizeable 2 octave),
which will be VERY NOTICEABLE.
(The Hi Fi reviewer fairly wrote)
        This type of curve always results in some added nasality to a speaker's balance;
        though I note that KR was bothered by a "caw" coloration
The frequency response in figure 3 shows
3 decibel BROAD PEAK from about 50 hertz to 200 hertz (which is a sizeable 2 octave) (which will be quite NOTICEABLE),
falling down to about 400 hertz.
A bigger, more expensive magnet for the six inch speakers 
and / or large cabinet should cure this  problem,
and improve the damping factor Q, with 'tighter bass' / better bass control 
If possible, I will be extremely grateful if you could change your expensive Ruark Equinox
for our eBay listings of our GBP £750 or GBP £1500 or GBP £2500 speakers, which does not have this problems
Please ignore the nonsensical advice in many hifi magazines and many Internet forums
about cables, bi wiring, bi amping, spikes, heavy stands, blue tac, black tac,
holy water sprinkled on the Hi Fi set on a full moon night by a naked virgin (male unfortunately), etc. 
Lim Aik Leong simple advice is
WELL DESIGNED (that need not be insanely expensive)
HUGE '3 way' speakers
and
WELL DESIGNED (that need not be insanely expensive)
valve / tube amplifiers with HUGE OUTPUT TRANSFORMERS
makes the BIGGEST DIFFERENCE TO THE SOUND !
CHEAP GIMMICKS like
bi wiring (wow ! the speaker manufacturer  gives you 2 loudspeaker terminal , worth about GBP £1
+ an extra 12 inch inches of wire , worth about £0.50 or 50 pence )
GBP £500 speaker cables that cost the manufacturer GBP £20 
Please could somebody explain English Proverb of
'Money for old rope / wire' to this China man.
GBP £100 to GBP £500 speaker stands that cost the manufacturer GBP £10  to GBP £50
Please could somebody explain 'Absurd profit margin' to this China man.
Please look at the low low low prices of 'High End' cables on eBay,
and laugh at the absurd prices charged in High Street shops !
'Active crossover' with a 'heart' of cheap GBP £0.30 (30 pence) 'Op Amp' IC (integrated circuits) made in China , Korea, etc
driving
cheap 'Class B' or Digital amplifiers with a 'heart' of cheap GBP £2 power transistors made in China , Korea, Taiwan, etc
are CHEAP GIMMICKS
and is 100 times LESS important than
our eBay listing of our GBP £850 or GBP £1500 or GBP £2500 
BIG EXPENSIVE SPEAKERS IN BIG CABINETS 
and our eBay listing of our GBP £450 to GBP £1400 valve amplifiers
with BIG EXPENSIVE OUTPUT TRANSFORMERS

 
 
 
Question from eBay member on 19 January 2008 = Do you sell any amplifiers that 
I can use for a record deck / turntable WITHOUT the need for a pre-amplifier as well ??
Answer = Most  modern amplifiers do NOT have any connections for vinyl records deck/turntable.
Most modern preamplifiers NOT have any connections for vinyl records deck/turntable.
The reason for this are ....
1  Most 'record shops' sells CD and DVD,
    but most 'record shops' do not sell records !
    Maybe we should change the name of 'record shop' to 'CD shop' ?
2. From a serious audiophile viewpoint,
    connecting vinyl records deck/turntable to an amplifier
    spoils the sound
    because HUGE voltage and HUGE current in the amplifer will interfere / contaminate
    the TINY TINY TINY voltage from the vinyl records deck / turntable
The cheap simple solution is .....
please buy our eBay shop listing of
GBP £55 SMALL , HIGH QUALITY , SUPERBLY MADE phono stage
           ( Some people call 'Phono Stage' a 'Phono Preamplifier' ) .
It is only a SMALL box, about the size of 2 big cups.
You plug your vinyl record deck/turntable into the GBP 55 SMALL phono stage.
You plug is GBP £55 SMALL phono stage into our valve amplifier
You plug the mains adapter into the GBP £55 SMALL phono stage.
IT IS SLIGHTLY MORE INCONVENIENT,
BUT YOU GET BETTER SOUND QUALITY
for only GBP £55 from our eBay listing.
However, please could I remind Hi Fi Enthusiast that
40 year old worn out vinyl records,
that have been played 2000 times,
have lost A LOT OF HIGH FREQUENCY,
because the stylus grinds away the high frequency, again and again and again , for 2000 times !
There is a difference between
Vinyl Records do not have irritating treble,
because the cartridge has a flat frequency response,
without the typical peak around 18,000 Hertz or 40,000 Hertz , etc
caused by the stylus 'typical' resonance at around 18000 Hertz (for Moving Magnet)
                                  or 40000 Hertz (for moving coil)
and
correctly loaded by the correct amount of 100 pico Farad , 200 pico Farad , etc capacitor
( Insufficient capacitance can cause HUGE peaks in the frequency response, for some Moving Coil Cartridges )
versus
40 year old worn out Vinyl Records do not have irritating treble,
because after 2000 playing ,
the needle / stylus has ground away the hugh frequency,
so there is NO HIGH FREQUENCY !
Please buy a NEW UNPLAYED record,
to replace your favourite 40 year old record,
and you will be
SHOCKED AT HOW MUCH IRRITATING TREBLE
THE NEW UNPLAYED VINYL RECORD HAS !
TONALLY, NEW UNPLAYED RECORD SOUND MORE LIKE A CD,
THAN 40 YEAR OLD WORN OUT RECORDS !
This effect is 100 times more blatantly obvious
than the fancy prose about timing, speed, imaging, depth, etc

 
 

Question from eBay member on 8 January 2008 = Hello. Do you make stand mount speakers?

Yes, we will be listing 'High End' stand mount speaker on eBay, with 
EXPENSIVE REAL Cheery wood veneer or EXPENSIVE REAL Maple wood veneer
+ EXPENSIVE PIANO FINISH (look  like old fashion French Polish)
+ 'High End' 6 inch paper (modified with wool) cone 
+ "High End' 1 inch dome tweeter.
+ 'High End' crossover using EXPENSIVE Plastic Film capacitors (not cheap electrolytic)
+ 'High End' sophisticated 3 rd order 18 decibel per octave crossover,
   which need 3 times more components than 
    cheap 1 st order 6 decibel per octave filters used in many stand mount speakers,
    to save money, whist 'bluffing' the Hi Fi Enthusiast that
    cheap 1st order 6 decibel crossover are good !

The original Chinese version is only GBP £350 but
that the original GBP £350 version has too much treble for British taste.

At the moment you have to buy the MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG
(Beware of fakes) for GBP £650

In the long term the Chinese factory MIGHT (or might not)
modify the speaker to Lim Aik Leong specifications,
to suit British taste,
and we can lower the price to £ ..?....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please note that almost ALL small speaker with 1 pieces of SMALL 6 inch speaker,
selling for GBP £300 to GBP £5000 are NOT suitable HUGE 20 feet room,
unless you sit 6 feet from the small speakers.

How big is your room ?

If you have HUGE 20 feet room, buy our eBay listing 
of our speaker with 2 pieces of 8 inch woofer + 5 inch midrange + 1 inch dome tweeter
for as little as GBP £750
 

For our 'High End' stand mount speaker,
please look at our eBay listing at

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Affordable-Valve-Company-6-inch-1-inch-speaker_W0QQitemZ120209877113QQihZ002QQcategoryZ14991QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 

 
 
Question by email in January 2008 =  I have for many years been using Leak Stereo 30 valve amps re-configured as monoblocks and been delighted with the sound. I have not used a pre-amp but had a small volume control and selector unit made.
The latter has now packed up - apart from a slight hum the valve monoblocks are fine.
Should I in your view, buy a pre-amp, replace the volume and switching unit or go for something new like the EL34?
Obviously you have a vested interest in saying the latter but from your info and reputation I think I'll get some straight advice! 
Many thanks, Martin

Affordable Valve Company asked for clarification = Leak Stereo 30 are transistor amplifiers. Are you using Leak Stereo 20 ?
What speaker are you using ? How big is your room ? Thank you.

Sorry, yes, you are right... Leak Stereo 20s, Epos speakers and the stereo
is in a mezzanine about 15 ft by 15 ft. The amps certainly have enough
power...

I am currently working in Malaysia but this is for my apartment in England.

many thanks,
 
Answer = Sorry for the delay in replying.  Busy like crazy.
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (less shipping charges., equipment returned during 1 month home trails)
that our cheaper range of valve / tube amplifer from GBP £500 to GBP £750
MODIFIED IN ENGLAND BY LIM AIK LEONG (BEWARE OF FAKES)
will sound 20 percent to 100 times better (depending on how fussy you are)
than your Leak Stereo 20 because ..............
1. All valve or transistor amplifer, CD players, tuners, etc
    that are more than 20 years old need to be be FULLY REFURBISHED,
     because electrolytic capacitor have limited life.
     Even older equipment (transistor or valves) will also need the old fashion 'carbon resistors' replaced because ...
     The old fashioned 'carbon resistor' (even the CLAIMED ?stable? versions)
     can EASILY DOUBLE or HALF in value, over many years !
     I have personal experience of this with my old Leak Stereo 20, that is broken.
     You cannot expect 50 year old car or 50 year old washing machine or 50 year old amplifiers or 50 year old man to be reliable.
      (At this point, you will hear a chorus