© Xavier Gispert. 2003

I don't remember the day I decided to buy the George 50/50. I only know that as a result of my choice I have found a hobby that could give many satisfactions, if you can control your pocket ! When I was a child I had a turntable with a built-in tube integrated amplifier. I remember, clearly, the warm sound of the unit, although then, the hi-fi concept was the something unknown to me. I have always liked to listen to the music, but I have always used conventional hifi systems. I haven't worried about hi-fi for many years. But in the last six months I have had a sudden interest in hifi, and so, now I own a tube amplifier. This has been my audiophile journey to the George 50/50 (KT66 version).

I have always liked the products with that special touch that make them different from the mainstream. The George has two of this touches: it is a tube amplifier, and that is different from conventional amplifier that are been sold in audio shops, and also it is completely hand made, and that means a special cared product made by persons who care about what they do. I also considered another important point from the George. It can be easily upgraded in a future with better components thanks to its point-to-point wiring, and that's means that this amplifier can last for years. I prefer things that last for years and, now that I own the George, I can say that I will not change it for many years. It's true that the tubes in this kind of amplifiers have to be checked, that some components change its working parameters with the passing years, but this only happens after many hours of use and many years. And as I said before, in an amplifier like this, when you take the amp to the technician you can always do some upgrades in the circuit, something almost impossible in solid state designs. I like this idea of evolution. So looking to all this advantages I have found more and more reasons to buy this amplifier. Another important point is that I think that the components that last more are the amplifier and the speakers. Digital sources as CD, DVD-A, SACD, change rapidly and that means that maybe is better to spend less money on them.

I have learnt a lot of things since I started to read about hi-fi. First, it is difficult and hard to earn money and I want to spend it in the most rational way and so I have to be careful when spending money in hi-fi (knowing that the best hi-fi system can't win a life concert). I hadn't nobody to ask any question about hifi. I work for a TV channel and there work many sound technicians and, so, I asked them about hi-fi. But professionals have a very different criteria about musical reproduction. A professional is focused in questions that are very different to the audiophiles' problems. So I forgot the idea.

My last chance was the internet. So I turned on my computer and I tried with Google searching by "tube amplifiers". Many pages appeared and I browsed almost all of them. I realised that I needed to learn some basic technical concepts that would help me to undestand in depth the world of tube audio amplification, the differences and details of all the equipment I was seeing. I began to read opinions and comments of tube lovers and I realised that in this hobby there' re the same "problems" as in other fields (high prices, people against some brands or people defending other brands,etc). I tougth : "I know this song". I came for the photography world and there, there're the same problems. So, I contacted some internet forums about electronics and there I learnt many things about tube electronics. After that, I contacted also hi-fi forums and there I found many people that shared my love for hi-fi. In these forums you can find audiophiles without comercial interests and always ready to help. You may or may not agree with the comments they do, but it's a very useful resource to have in mind.

I realised that there're many hifi manufacturers that were almost unkonwn to me. I thougth that the best method was to be open minded and ready to explore the market to find what I wanted. I have one clear idea: the most important thing is not the name of a product, or aesthetics but its building quality.

After intensive searching I decided to buy the George and I went to Amptek to get in touch with the people who builds this amplifier. The Amptek is made on-demand so after ordering it I waited four months for the amplifier. During these four months I bougth the components I needed to complete my hifi system: speakers, CD player and cables. I tried to find the best matching equipment for the George. Components with a good relation betwen its quality and price.

Finally I decide to buy a pair of Klipchs speakers, a NAD 541i CD player, JPS Labs speaker cables and Van den Hul interconnects. So with all the components at home I only missed one thing: the amplifier. It was terrible to see the CD, the speakers waiting for its partner. But at least, it came...

One day I received a phone call from Jorge Bueno, the man at Amptek. Jorge told me that the amp was ready, but that I have to wait one more day because they wanted to test it . After four months, one more day was nothing. So I waited and finally I went to Amptek take the amp with me. I put the amp in my car and I drove carefully to my house.

I arrived at home but I have to wait again one more day because I hadn't the bananas to connect the speaker cables to the amplifier. I was really excited but I could wait one more day, because I have learnt to control myself after waiting four months for the amp.

The next day was the D day. The day when I connected all the equipment and began listening to them for the first time. I connected everything, I put a CD into the CD player, I push the play button and...the MUSIC!!.

I wasn't worried about sound quality. I was only concerned about if all the stuff would work. And It did! After the first minutes listening to the system and checking it , I tried with some of my favourite tracks. The behaviour of the system was almost perfect for my taste. And I say almost perfect because the acoustical conditions of my room are not the best (I have to seat too close to the speakers). I know that problem and in a future I plan to change my system to another room. While listening I could see that the system was very good reproducing rapid musical changes. I hadn't listened to anything like this before. Also I realized that in some songs the treble was a little bit forward and I remembered what I read in some articles about the burn-in period of a hifi system. So I decided to let the system playing loud alone for som edays and after that I began to see how the sound was getting sweeter.

After some days of listening pleasure, I tried to find some problems to the system. It couldn't be pefect. I find that the bass was not as deep as I expected or at least as deep as I would like. I think that this is because my speakers only go to 52 Hz, and so I'm thinking in buying a subwoofer. With mids and highs the system sounded superb. Human voices very natural, with crystal clear highs. I was surprised with the amp because the noise it makes with the volume at full is negligible, almost complete silence.

Now I can say that I have a very special amplifier, different from the rest. I know that maybe it is not the best amplifier, but it is a different thing. Now I only want to enjoy listening to the music, what it's really important. I have found my philosophers' stone . But I'm still ready to see new things and to improve what is needed. My contact with hi-fi has began in a travel to a perfection that won't be reached.

Do you like poetry? Read "Itaca" by Constantin P. Cavafis. There you will see what I have felt in my journey to my Itaca, the high fidelity.

Xavier Gispert xavi.gispert@menta.net.