Ken Ealey Audio -- Guestbook

Ken Ealey Audio

An audio amplifier rebuild, mod, & upgrading center
Acoustat Acurus Martin Logan SAE Threshold

Date	Name	Location	Comment
Guestbook 23 entries, Last made on 11/15/2011 2:44:10 PM
11/15/2011 2:44:10 PM	JE	NH	Hoping you will have time to work on my b&K M200, let me know.
11/13/2011 1:11:24 PM	Roger Morris	Illinois	Wow , I never believe all i read about stereo reviews but the comments left here i have say are REAL . I want to report i ran The Acurus against Belles best and gave the Belles 2 days of good listening and well here i am back reporting when i changed back to the modded acurus well all i can say is what was i thinking. I added a new prototype Rogue audio phono and that fixed the weakness i commented on the vinyl side of the Acurus. SO I CAN SAY MAYBE IT WAS NOT A WEAKNESS. I am going to look for a l-10 pre and have Ken mate it with a acurus phono for me . Thanks Ken i am picky and it took me a while to get used to the added detail especially on the vinyl side. Roger
11/4/2011 9:14:49 PM	Roger Morris	Hanna City Illinois	Ken , Thanks for the upgrade on the R-11 preamp. Like i said i was using a very mellow preamp Belles linestage when i put the modded acurus in its place. I was at first taken by the brightness of the preamp. I feel that after allowing the caps etc to burn in it just got better and Better. I am using horn three way speakers and an electronic xover and had to adjust all for the r-11 and its added detail.I think it shines most on CD's and digital sources . Phono would have to be its weakness but the digital side makes up for all that.I am going to soon put it through its best test as i acquired the Best Pre that Belles has ever produced and want to try a head to head comparison. Ken is a great guy and answered all my questions about why the Acurus does not have a ground lug for the Phono connection I think at one point i was becoming a pest and he still shined through all my questions. This Guys work is A-1 and all my contacts were handled with no complaints . Great Upgrade, Thanks
9/7/2011 8:05:09 AM	Rick S	Phoenix	Ken makes some big claims on his web site and TRULY delivers on his promises. I had a rebuild of a TNT 200/ Acurus L10 combo and the results are simply magical. While I continue to "play" with different speakers and source equipment the amp/pre will remain a constant. In this age of audiophile where prices are sometimes measured in the tens of thousands, I can think of no better value than some quality gear that has been re-worked by Ken. Throughout the process he was eminently patient with my questions and requests. I will definitely be a repeat customer as I add gear to other rooms in the house.
6/15/2011 12:13:13 PM	JE	NH	Hoping you will have time to work on my b&K M200, let me know.
3/6/2011 10:17:43 PM	Travis Huntley	Clarksville, IN	Mr.Ealey, First of all I want to say I'm sorry for taking so long to thank you for the wonderful work you did on my Acurus RL 11. It sounds wonderful! You also were a joy to deal with. Thanks also for all the input on other audio gear questions I had that did not even apply to the work on my preamp. I'm sure not many people in todays fast paced world would have taken the time to e-mail me just to chat about advice on a good CD player. Anyway just wanted to let you know that I would recommend you to anybody that needed honest and professional work done on their gear. Also I look foward to a future upgrade on my A150 amp!!
1/21/2011 6:40:30 PM	Dan Osborn	Irvine, CA	Thanks for your help in getting my ML CLS's sorted out. The upgrade you did for the transducers is great. The first thing I noticed was spoken words seem clearer. The guitar and stringed instruments sound warmer. The upper range for chimes and cymbals stands out more than before. I recommend Ken's upgrade package for CLS speakers. It is money well spent.
9/13/2010 10:23:59 AM	Al	Los Angeles	I've been listening quite a lot to the amp (Acurus A250), and wanted to drop you a line to offer my impression of the significant improvement to the sound quality. It's tough to describe some of the changes without resorting to metaphors and similes, but I can certainly hear that the amp is far more dynamic, the bass is more free, and the mid and high end are more open and detailed. I was pretty surprised to hear some harmonics and resonance in the stand-up bass I've never heard before. Basically your modifications opened up the soundstage, dynamics, and detail tremendously. I know electronic audio is made to simulate live music, but as a musician I've even found myself attempting to blow my horn differently (more free and more focused) to try to mimic the changes in the the sounds I'm hearing. Pretty cool. Thanks (and you may be seeing an L10 preamp soon)!
6/30/2010 2:41:07 PM	Dennis Smith	Georgia	Acurus RL-11 Preamp. This modification is every bit as good as Ken said it would be. Thanks Ken for a great job. This exceeded my expectations!
4/29/2010 5:54:44 AM	Joe Ventimiglio	Summerville, SC	I have a 20+ year old Acoustat TNT 200 that I sent to Ken for a rebuild. All I can say is WOW!! After getting it back, it is dead silent, has tremendous slam and bass control, smooth liquid mid, and extended and smooth highs. The difference was incredible - it sounds new again, even BETTER. Turn around time was fast, and communication was excellent. Anyone who has one of these amps OWES it to themselves to have Ken rebuild it - highly recommended.
3/24/2010 1:58:35 PM	Mike Harlow	Edmonton, Alberta	Just aquired a TNT200 along with my Perraux5450 and Technics SE-A3 it was just oddball enough... I have the matching tnp pre as well so my question is could both amp and pre be "freshend up" and if so what would be the damage? Thanks, Mike
2/15/2010 1:43:07 PM	Tom F	Vermont	Ken did a beautiful job rebuilding my Acoustat servo amps. He really cares about his work and is meticulous in his workmanship. Due to work done by others, my old servo's were a challenge and he made sure they performed up to his high standards before he signed off on them. I was so pleased I'm planning on sending him my preamp next. He's a heck of a good guy too!
1/25/2010 12:15:48 PM	Tim W	Washimgton State	Ken rebuilt my SAE 2200 amp to better than original. I bought the system new in the early 1980's. Ken found items that were wrong from the factory and then went on to mod and upgrade the amp, it has more power and clarity now. He also inspected and repaired my SAE 2900 pre amp.My amp sat for ten years after I had a major problem, I would recommend his work to anyone. I listen to the system every day and i'm still amazed how well it sounds.
10/26/2009 4:51:20 PM	Sam Gonshor	Toronto	Let me state that I have absolutely no affiliation whatsoever with Ken. I stumbled upon Ken's site while Googling one night and clicked and read all of the site's tabbed subjects. The tab entitled "About My Work" is one of the most coherent, logical and intuitive essays I have read from an Audio Engineer. This prompted me to actually go on Ebay and buy an Acurus R-11 preamp and send it directly to Ken. Funny thing was, that I had actually owned the same preamp in the early 1990's but never thought it was a real gem. It was okay, but not top drawer. Well, I have been using the Ealey modded unit for almost a year and I can say without reservation that it is the most musical preamp that I have ever owned. I have had some real Audiophile beauties in my system over the years; mostly tubes, but none of them hold a candle to the transparency of this unit. Last week a good friend of mine, who owns a very Highend audio store in Toronto, came over to install a new cartridge. After he finished the install, we both sat down to listen for awhile and the sound emenating from my system absolutely floored him. He couldn't believe that I was getting this Nirvana from a solid-state Acurus!! After all, he sells tube Preamps in his shop that sell for $10k. Just to convince myself that I wasn't nuts, I replaced the Acurus with a well-known tube preamp that I own and the music just went flat! I highly endorse Ken's work and know-how. So much so that I am sending him my phono preamp!!
8/31/2009 2:07:58 PM	Greg	Acoustat Fan	Ken, Just wondering if this you are still in business? Your e-mail does not work. I'd really like to have my TNT 200 worked on.
10/25/2008 3:16:46 PM	Dave King	New Jersey	It was quite interesting to replace an excellent tube pre with your modified Acurus RL-11. My tube pre is one that got raves in the Absolute Sound, and I can attest it is probably the best pre I have used in overall terms. Vivid, dynamic as all hell, but still linear and smooth, with bass one usually associates with solid state. When I put your pre in I knew immediately it had better resolution of inner detail and transparency, with no �added� tube coloration. The question I had was how would it wear over time. I prefer to live with a promising new component for some time to judge the overall effect on the system's musicality and accuracy (they are not mutually exclusive qualities! :) Here is my take after living with your pre � I can't �hear� it! The tubes �added� something, I was afraid your pre might �take something away�, but it does not. I cannot hear it set one foot wrong. It may be the closest thing in my experience to a completely transparent component. It's always going to be apples and oranges comparing solid state and tube,with tubes sounding a bit "juicy". But here is the bottom line for me - Your pre is more "involving" on a deeper, less superficial level, the "sublimity" of the composition, playing, and recorded event are conveyed more completely. I will be keeping your pre-amp in my system. Thank you! Now, what of those amplifier mods you are developing?
10/12/2008 1:24:59 PM	Jared Young	Orange, CA	Dollar for dollar, this is by far the greatest sonic upgrade to my system I probably will ever make. Ken modded my acoustat TNT 200, and the difference it made in my system was literally jaw-dropping. For the price that some people charge for snake-oil power cords or a meter pair of "Audiophile" interconnects that may make .0001 percent of a difference Ken took my already decent set up and dropped the missing piece of the puzzle snugly into place. The main diffrence it made to my system (Yamaha px3/dynavector 10x5, Acoustat TNP pre, Hafler 9300, Acoustat spectra 33) was that the soundstage went from being neatly presented in front of me to total immersion, and resolution extended thru the full dynamic range rather than fuzzing out on the extreme lower/upper frequencies. I really can't say enough good things about the change that this modded amp made in my setup. If you are on the fence about wether to tweak your stock amp (or pre for that matter) rest assured that Ken doesnt just "talk the talk" he has the chops to back his claims, and I will go one further to say that he understates his work by quite a large margin. If you are serious about making a real, palpable sonic improvement to your setup, you found your man. Thanks again Ken!
7/21/2008 9:44:49 AM	Dana	Grand Rapids	Ken worked on a Acoustat TNT and Acurus Preamp for me and they are better than ever. Thanks for all your work, Ken - I will be sending you more components in the future.
2/8/2008 10:58:21 PM	Bill H.	Henderson, NV	Ken, I'm happy to add my name to the satisfied audiophile list that has used your update services. The Acurus RL-11 preamp is now everything I had hoped for and I must give you the credit for making it useful in my stereo system. Your professional skills and prompt attention were highly appreciated. Thank you, Bill.
1/26/2008 6:33:55 AM	John Ringdahl	Tampa Florida	Ken updated the RL11. I tested the system prior to modifications with various audiophile test cds and also after the modification. The results are extremely good - wide dynamics and no distortion noticeable, crisp with great presence and separation, and imperceptable noise floor. Ken provided excellent dialog thruout the process. Thanks
12/13/2007 9:42:15 AM	Adam N.	Martinez, CA	Ken, Just a quick note to let you know that my Acurus RL-11 preamp is sounding better than ever after your recently installed modifications. Most notable is the tighter, more solid bass, thought the mids and highs are also outstanding. Thanks for another professional and courteous transaction.
11/3/2007 6:01:02 PM	Larry Strickland	Palatine IL	If you are looking for professional service/restoration of your audio product,I would highly recommend Ken. My SAE MKIIIA was restored to better than new condition. His knowledge of components and circuitry is astounding and allowed him to make the amp better in spite of the fact that it had been used, abused and modded as a PA amp! I was kept aware of any decisions I needed to make and where the process was at at all times. The end result is a totally quiet, very powerful reliable amp that exceeds the performance of a stock unit by far. Ken will be my go to guy for any audio needs in the future!
9/29/2007 12:44:41 PM	Adam N.	Martinez, CA	Ken, I want to thank you for your professional and courteous service as rendered during the recent restoration/modification of my TNT-200 amplifier. In an age where most companies don�t even respond to email, you kept me apprised of every phase of the process via email and I appreciated that greatly. My TNT-200 -- after sitting in storage for nearly 25-years with its previous owner -- is sounding absolutely fantastic in my system driving my 2+2 speakers. It's so good that I just sold my McIntosh MC7300 amplifier; the amp that I was sure I'd never part with. In listening tests it was immediately apparent that the TNT-200 was superior to the Mac in terms of exposing detail and driving the 2+2�s to output proper bass. Upon receiving the amp back from you it wasn't long before I got curious and pulled off the lid to get a peek at your handiwork. Very impressive indeed! Neat as a pin, perfect soldering, and the new parts are so well integrated that most would surely think the amp was still stock. You've now got me seriously thinking about having you mod my Acurus preamp.