What the Onix SP3 Tube Amp will do for me!
Dear Onix Folks,
What the Onix SP3 will do for me is to liberate me from the mass market sound that I have been living with for more than 7 years. After moving back to Southern California from Cincinnati Ohio I decided I was going to treat myself to a high end system. I wanted to increase my musical enjoyment while also having home theatre capabilities. I did not realize it, but I made a very big mistake when I went out and bought a highly touted Home Theater receiver. By looking at the specs, I thought I had it all. 5 channels X 140 watts of power with built in DACs and Dolby and DTS decoding. On top of it, it was a demo model that they were selling as the new model was coming out and I got what I thought was the deal of a lifetime, a $2,900 receiver for $1,200. At the time even $1,000 was too much money, but how could I pass it up, as I would never have to upgrade from such a monster reciever. I convinced my wife that this would make me happy forever and I could get off the constant stereo upgrade path, she said OK and I bought it. But a funny thing happened on the way to "Audio Nirvana". When I got it home, it sounded kind of thin and tinny. After days of critical listening I became very disappointed and I took it back to the store and had them hook it up to the speakers that were playing when I bought it. It seemed to sound ok in the store's demo speaker room, but again when I took it home, it just didn't sound like the music I used to get from my JVC turntable and Technics receiver as a kid. Something was missing. I ended up having to turn the bass up almost all the way at low volume to get a decent sound. Even though I tried to tell myself, I was happy, as time went on, I realized I wasn't really enjoying the music. This went on for 6 years until I recently got a tube headphone amplifier as a gift from my wife, what a doll she is, as she let me pick out my own birthday gift. After a bit of tube rolling, I found that sound that I had been searching for (and all analog lovers can describe). The music was more full and just sounded right. I could listen for hours with my Sennheiser 580's, but not through my speakers. (I foolishly thought that an upgrade in speakers would eventually help, but the Dynaudio 50's still sounded tinny compared to my old Polk Model 10's). I basically gave up on my stereo system as I could not ask my wife to shell out another $1,000 for me to "finally be happy" again. But ever since my headphone purchase I have been googling for integrated tube amps. I knew deep down in my soul that tubes were the only thing that could give me back the analog sound that I loved in my youth. I have been looking and searching for the perfect integrated tube amp that would even be close to what I could budget in the future. One day I saw and read about the Onix SP3 in a review (on 6 moons I think) and ever since I have lusted for this amp. But, I do not have the money yet to take the plunge and I do not see it happening any time soon. So in closing, the Onix SP3 would give me a "get out of digital jail free card". I never enter contests, but this one would truly make a difference in the quality of my life as I miss listening to CD's through my speakers. I just know that the sound the Onix would produce would get me off the search for the perfect sound and finally give me some real musical satisfaction.
Take Care, Kevin
