Archive through June 24, 2006

Gold Member

Username: Kegger

Warren, MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2716
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 06:01 pm:

I didn't meen to make it sound that 450 was max on the new 350B tube, I meant to
say that 450 is suppose to be a safe voltage for them to run at, I run 440 just fine.

But no biggie I doubt your looking to replace your outputs anyways. There are a
few guys over on AK running them in some mac amps and say they enjoy them. FWTIW

Like I said I was just talking about them because I'm running them and wanted
to share the specs and my impressions of there performance with others.

It's all good!

Relevant Product Info

Gold Member

Username: Kegger

Warren, MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2717
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 06:09 pm:

Hey Bill one thing to keep in mind is that not all of the newer tube amps have
multiple output taps to where you can choose 4, 8, 16 or whatever and with your
speakers you my be better suited for the 4ohm tap, so just keep that in mind.

I have a tube buffer, tried it in the tape loop and it really didn't do much, but
when conected to my cd-player then into the preamp works great, that's how I use it. YMMV

Bill Collins

Silver Member

Username: Bcollins

Rockport, MA
United States

Post Number: 104
Registered: Nov-05

Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 07:24 pm:

Jan & Kegger,

Thank you for all of your help. You've given me some things to think about. I may look into a tube buffer as a temporary solution to my present situation until I finally make a decision regarding an amp. I hope to borrow the Cary from my dealer for a home trial soon. The others I am interested in unfortunately are not availible in my area for audition. This makes your feedback and advise even more valuable. Thanks again,
-Bill

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2596
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 11:10 pm:

What kind of leaway can I expect from 4 or 8 ohm taps?
Are the taps meant more for the benefit of the amp or for speaker selection?

Gold Member

Username: Kegger

Warren, MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2719
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 11:55 pm:

Basically one side of the output transformer is matched to the output tubes impedance
then the other side is matched to the speakers impedance, so goes the freq response.

So you won't hurt the amp or the speakers by using different taps on different loads.
But you may get better frequency response from your speakers by using the right tap.

Personally I'd want to have an amp that at least has 4 and 8ohm taps to experiment.

That's the quick and dirty of it that should give you the idea. With Bills speakers
if I had to guess which tap would work best for his speakers it would be the 4ohm tap
but it's still very possable the 8ohm tap may sound the best with them on a certain amp.

So I wouldn't be hesitant at all to put Bills speakers on the 8ohm tap or use them
with an amp that only had 8ohm taps but I'd hate to be limited or be stuck on one.

Gold Member

Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 8474
Registered: May-04

Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 12:25 am:

There are a few amplifiers available today with a transformer tapped for only one impedance load. On these amplifiers, you can typically specify from the manufacturer/dealer which impedance tap you want the outputs set to. But, changing taps by simply disconnecting the speaker cables isn't possible.

Any transformer coupled amplifier can benefit from experimentation with the outputs and the speaker connection. Obviously the tap determines the output impedance of the amplifier and mismatching the ouptut impedance of the amplifier to the impedance curve of the speaker will result in several variations in signal quality. The most important item to acknowledge here is the curve of the speaker's impedance load. A four Ohm speaker is unlikely to remain at four Ohms over most of its operating range.

Experimenting with which tap to use will give different results with each amplifier/speaker combination and with each listener's preferences. The most obvious change will be, as Kegger suggests, a frequency response variation away from flat response. The higher the output impedance of the amplifier vs. the actual impedance and electrical phase angle of the speaker, the more apparent the changes will become. In a typical push pull amplifier the negative feedback circuit will be connected to the highest impedance tap. If you have a NFB circuit connected to the 16 Ohm tap and you connect you speakers to the 4 Ohm tap, you are drastically altering the parameters and transfer function of the feedback circuit. You will usually find the control at bass frequencies changes quite audibly. With the best combinations of mixing taps to speakers, you can get results which seem to combine the best of both solid state control in the lowest frequencies with tube's more typical openness in the mids and high end. Or, when done poorly, you can send the amplifier into oscillation. We seem to have largely removed ourselves from the time when "hot-rodding" an amplifier meant removing all traces of protection circuits, but there are still amplifiers which eschew any additional circuitry and can easily be destroyed, along with the speakers, by uninformed but well intentioned attempts to change the sound of an amplifier.

The flexibility of tubes offers many opportunities for tailoring a system to your tastes and situation. Depending on your preference you can bring the amplifier's response much closer to neutral or you can "create" a sound to suit your ideas of what you like.

Gold Member

Username: Kegger

Warren, MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2720
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 12:50 am:

Interesting you mention the NFB usually being on the 16ohm tap.

The original ST-70 was there also, I had read something online that had said
the second generation of ST-70's used the 80hm tap which gave less feedback
and sounded better. I did this on my ST-70 and use the 8ohm tap with my ADS
speakers which are a pretty solid 8ohm load and it does sound better, TO ME.

Just FYI.

Gold Member

Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 8477
Registered: May-04

Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 01:03 am:

For those who haven't gone back to read the archived posts in this thread, I suppose I should also mention that changing taps will change the power output of the amplifier along with both the distortion product and the manner in which the amplifier clips.

The advantage of a transformer coupled amplifier in relation to power output is the consistency of the amplifier. When you are using a nominal eight ohm speaker on the eight Ohm tap, the transfer functions of the amplifier work, more or less, the way the designer intended. This is, of cource, relative to where the NFB circuit is connected and will vary from amplifier to amplifier. If the NFB is connected to the sixteen Ohm tap and you are using a nominal sixteen Ohm speaker load, you should have the amount of power the circuit can develop under best conditions and the distortion product should remain as low as possible. If the NFB is connected to sixteen Ohm tap and you are using an eight Ohm speaker load, you will get slightly less power and slightly higher distortion than you would with the more proper sixteen Ohm load. In a well designed amplifier, the differences should be minimal at this point but this is largely dependent upon the amount of global NFB used in the amplifier as it will determine gain from the circuit. Logically, if you have the NFB connected at the sixteen Ohm tap and you use the four Ohm tap for your speaker connection, you've placed the point where the speaker's back EMF enters the amplifier as far away as possible from where the NFB circuit takes its cue. The result will be less gain in the amplifier and higher distortion product. So do experiment with the various taps on your amplifier to find which produces the best sound quality, but keep in mind you can easily turn your forty watt amplifier into a twenty watt amplifier with high THD by severly mismatching the amplifier's output impedance to the actual speaker load.

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2606
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:02 am:

Those values are valid in reference to the way the amp clips, Jan, but what about playing well under clipping values?
Oh course halving the output of the amp is not necessarily desirable, but may add some gain to guitars that sound pretty good.
Of course this is guitar 101.

Gold Member

Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 8479
Registered: May-04

Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 01:54 pm:

THD, Nuck, THD. Not to mention IM, TIM, ringing, poor damping and so forth.

Guitar 201b says THD, et al, should be applied judiciously and, most importantly, must be controllable. But then I listen to Les Paul and you to Nirvana. By moving the speaker connection as far away as possible from the NFB connection, the feedback circuit is less able to "see" the effect of the speaker's back EMF. The speakers begin to drive the amplifier, albeit they are actually "driving" the transformers which are connected to the output tubes.

Well, the speakers are connected to the outputs,
The outputs connected to the feedback,
The feedback connected to the 'formers,
The 'formers connected to the tubes,
And the tubes are connected to the drivers.
All doing the work of the Lord!

'Dem amps, 'dem amps, 'dem dry amps ...

This is where oscillation can begin. Whether you're playing at one watt or clipping, the feedback loop is essentially out of the circuit. That might once again sound good on the surface, but not if the amplifier is designed to run with some amount of feedback as would be the case with any push-pull amplifier not running triodes. The ringing might not develop into full blown oscillation but the effects of the poor match between amplifier outputs and speakers will be heard as rining, poor dynamics and a hardness that comes from the distortion product. Admittedly, this is a severe mismatch I'm describing and I don't want to discourage anyone from experimenting. Just giving a bit of information about what you might hear.

Kegger - You are beyond my abilites to truly describe what happens when you change where the feedback circuit is connected. When you say "second generation" I assume you are talking about the ST70 re-do which was built in the mid 1990's; as I know of no major alterations to the design of the ST70 while under the original Dynaco banner. (Admittedly my knowledge of the ST70 over its twenty years plus of production by Dynaco is limited and I constantly find out something new about that amplifier.) If we are talking original vs. 1990's ST70, however, I think you find several changes to the original's circuitry were incorporated into the "new" ST70. These changes would also be taken into account when the feedback connection was changed. It is rather uncommon to find a tube amplifier today with a sixteen Ohm tap; and those that do have this provision often still make the feedback connection at the eight Ohm tap. This is mostly a matter of convention since most speakers on the market today represent an eight Ohm or lower load. This wisely places the feedback connection at the point where it will do the most good with contemporary speakers. Not so when the original ST70 was designed. Same for my Macs and I suspect Dak's Fischer has a sixteen Ohm tap. By changing the feedback connection on the orignal ST70 to the eight Ohm tap you might have improved the sound when using the ADS speakers. But, you have altered the original circuit and, as I said, I can't really tell you what the effects would be and definitely not with other speakers which might be a more difficult load. I would guess you've altered the gain of the amplifier somewhat though probably not severely. And, this isn't that important as long as you can drive the amp to clipping with your input. But, I would also think you've changed the damping ability and the distortion product of the amplifier. How would be dependent upon the speaker load and I don't know that this is easily predicted. Did you check the amplifier with a dummy load for output power and distortion when you made the switch or did you just do it and listen for what you heard?

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2619
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 08:52 pm:

Nice little rhyme there Jan.
I put it to a Bo Diddly beat.

In fact, I am as likely to listen to Les or BB or T-Bone Burnett as anyone else.
And not Nirvana(gag) but Van Halen(you gag).

I get the point.
The oscillation and rapid increase to tube/circuit over-run I understand.
The THD factor is something to be massaged, IMHO, and Global feedback is essential.

Gold Member

Username: Kegger

Warren, MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2721
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 11:05 pm:

Yes it was a version II that came out in the nineties.

The 3 main differences were, the front end used a tube with more gain, it
was solid state rectified and the feedback was moved to the 8ohm tap.

They could move the feeback to the 8 ohm tap because the input stage had more
gain. Was done this way to move the feedback closer to todays speakers. (Like you said)

The board that I run has even more gain then the gen2 and I could run feedback from the
4ohm tap, but since I'm presently running 8ohm speakers and like the sound, the 8 it is.

I know the board designer, he's a friend of a friend and after contacting him about
moving the feedback to the 8ohm tap like I had wanted and felt it would be a good
thing he agreed and suggested I even try the 4ohm tap as he's tested and it's fine.

After all of the mods I've done I took the amp to a local tube amp builder friend of
mine to run it on his test bench, we got less then 1% distortion at 40wpc and even
better yet we got a frequencey response of 7hz-30khz with 3db or less of variance.

Most tube amps ecspecially push pull types need very little NFB to achieve a fairly flat
response while having distortion measurements that are well within an acceptable range.

A little bit of NFB is good, to much sucks the life out of the amp and kills transients.

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2630
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 08:29 am:

Great numbers, Kegger!
Was the 40wpc very near clipping?

Gold Member

Username: Kegger

Warren, MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2723
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 01:07 pm:

YEP!

Gold Member

Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 8493
Registered: May-04

Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 01:17 pm:

Kegger - Had you tested the amplifier before you made any changes but with new tubes?

Gold Member

Username: Kegger

Warren, MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2724
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 01:33 pm:

NOPE.
.
.
.
.
.
Unforuntaly, other then it worked and sounded good but a bit wooly sounding.

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2643
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 04:13 pm:

But not Baaaaaaaad.
Sorry, the wine while making stew.

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2661
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 09:50 am:

The thread has been quiet for a bit, so I don't feel guilty about chang the subject a tad.
I have been looking at toobs for a while, and have decided to take some of my own advice as to what type of tube setup to persue.

I have looked at Rogue as well as PL, and have considered a custom set-up (with all the help I would need from y'all), but given my limited time at home and the weather, that would have to wait until winter.

I have decided to look into McIntosh, and the 275 is right there.
However, the Mac mono's are lovely and can be had rather comfortably, along with the visual impact of singles.

Please bear in mind that this aquisition will be for a lifetime(gee I hope THATS a while).
Also please consider the following.

I will only consider a product capable of heating a room with awe-inducing, retina-seperating levels of power.
If only opened up once a year, I would be remiss to ignore that requirement.

I am going to shell out high 5 figures for the equipment of a lifetime, the speakers will follow.

I am not going to buy kief, I have enough mid-fi as it is.

Any opinions on the matter would be appreciated, suggestions welcomed and experience required.

I would not bring this up anywhere else.

Thank-you in advance.

p.s. Should anyone forward their phone# I would welcome the opportunity.

Kegger, I am very close to Port Huron, if you feel that a visit would be appropriate, I bring beer.

Gold Member

Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 8500
Registered: May-04

Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 12:40 pm:

Buying McIntosh? Do you really think I would discourage that? If you wish to own the large Mac monos, be my guest. I will have meter envy.

However, as I've said on the forum many times (at least six or seven), Mac is Mac and whether you buy the 275's or the mono amps, is merely a matter of choice and what you intend to drive in the way of speakers. Keep in mind you get your volume from the speaker, not the amplifier. And the 275's can be strapped into a mono amp with 150 watts rated output. I repeat, rated output. How much louder will you need?

Other than that, I happen to think the 275's retro look is quite appealling.

I would, however, look at the Mac integrated which combines the basic C-22 and MC275 circuitry on one chassis.

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2663
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 01:13 pm:

Thanks, Jan.
Blue eyes are hard to ignore.

I repeat, this is a once in a lifetime proposition, and bearing in mind my listening(although blues and others will come as I get more mature), I must have the highest quality that fits.

The i'c's will be handmade from rollstock.
The power cables will be hardwired to the mains.
The cabinet will be lexan with an electric cooler.(or Vortec).
I need to do it on Nuck-bucks, but 5 large for the power.

Everyone please chip in.

Gold Member

Username: Kegger

Warren, MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2725
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 - 01:42 pm:

Well Nuck I need to know the rest of your system and what you prefer to hear in your system.

More importantly the speakers you will use.
And what room they will be in.

How do you listen to music?, the more in depth the better.

I would never knock anyone for wanting or owning a great piece of Mac gear.

And by all means you and anyone else are welcome to come by my place, anytime!

Bvan

Silver Member

Username: Bvan

Cape Town, Copenhagen,...

Post Number: 213
Registered: Jun-05

Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 06:55 am:

nuck you lucky man!

i cant offer any advice being the tuboneophyte, but i can suggest what i might do for amplification if i had to spend 5k.

2x prima luna 3
2x prima lune 5

i'd run biamped, and once a week or so i'd bring the second preamp into play for a 4-channel sacd session. though i might wait for the new prima luna DiaLogue with remote so's not to have to balance front and rear speakers each time i touch the volume(which aint actually very often.)

take that very unlikely suggestion for what its worth :-)

enjoy the hunt.

b.

Ravinder Bains

Bronze Member

Username: Ravbains

Melbourne
Australia

Post Number: 82
Registered: Mar-06

Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 08:14 am:

Hi Nuck,

just noticed that you have decided to perhaps "shop the Mac".......

Way to go dude..........

I am not a tube junky, so I cannot advise. The only tube amps I am familiar with is Musical Fidelity's Nu-Vista, Tri-Vista and Mu-Vista series of integrated amps. These are hybrids, with tubes providing voltage gain, and solid state final output stage. These are nice, but later I heard Gryphon amps (all solid state), and I like those even more than the hybrids I heard.

I cannot advise at all, it is you and your ears all the way.

But can I ask another separate question whilst I have your attention.

How are you going with your Alegria Lings, and what are you amplifying them with?

Is there somewhere else in this forum where I can read in detail about this stuff.

Jan's eloquent posts and reviews on the T-amps, have got me interested in T-amps and SDFR stuff. I guess at heart I like simplicity.

cheers
Rav

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2665
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - 10:17 pm:

Thanks fo your interest, folks.

Kegger, my present music selection is classic rock, although blues and 50's stuff is gaining more interest.
I will not listen to classical or opera.
Presently, i use Psb Stratus Silver with upgraded XO's and a changeout of tweets, metal and soft dome. These are replaceable.

I have looked at Stats, Martin Logan included, with subs.

The present room is quite awful, but non-changeable. Long and thin, 12x35 ft, but seperated at about 22' of length, the drum studio is in the small end, with the mic amps and recording stuff.

Thanks, Bvan, the input is great, since the Nuck curse has again raised it's ugly head.
As soon as I am ready to make a move, the spending serpent raises it's ugly head.

This time it is A/C in the Dodge, and in the house as well.
Rats.(sigh).
The big move might take until fall, but is still on the front burner, and a further consideration of speakers is in order.
A bad time to exhibit my impulsiveness, I suppose.

Hi Ravi.

At present, I have run the Lings with, in order, the T-Amp. Pure stock form, laptop cd, had to max the sources for volume. No surprise, as the Lings are a bit shy, known well in advance.
2; The lings with the Rotel 1072 and H/K AVR55.
I was not disappointed with the combo at all.I listened to 50'srock and Gospal in this config, with and without subs.Better with.

Ling's using 1072 and Rotel 985 amp. Paydirt!
The speakers really lit up nicely, under more balanced power.
Tim runs a pair with 35w of tubes, I think I fed about 25wpc, again, the Sun Studio cd was the choice.
My Lings are pre-re-do, Tim has addressed some issues that he had perceived.
I have no issues, however, the nature of the beast is such that I buffer the input power a bit.
The Lings at close listening range is a real treat with the T-amp.
If you are willing to pay a lot more money, there is a lot more to the chip amp.
More money puts you in a different caregory,as well.

Greetings from Winnepeg.

Ravinder Bains

Bronze Member

Username: Ravbains

Melbourne
Australia

Post Number: 84
Registered: Mar-06

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 01:31 am:

Hi Nuck,

so your in Winnepeg, good to know.

I love Canada, have lots of family in TO (I am Indian so no surprises). So I have been to TO many times for family stuff, weddings etc etc. Don't know anyone in BC though or the rest of west.

I spent an entire winter once in Ottawa was quite interesting. I like skiing so we did some trips into Quebec.

Thanks for the comments on the Lings. I am interested in the T-amp down the track, but work is killing me at the moment, and I have lots of other projects in the pipeline (speaker mods, and my old JVC for which I am slowly collecting parts for mod work (I will do this one myself)). I finished some mods on my old A60 amp, results were superb (beautiful airy transparent mids and highs, lean taut nimble bass. But the old girl does not get any air time, since the A60 cannot match the Avi for bass slam.

all best wishes -Rav

Art Kyle

Gold Member

Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon
USA

Post Number: 3300
Registered: Feb-05

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 07:05 am:

Nuck lives in Ontario. With "Greetings form Winnepeg" he's telling us that he is currently working there.

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2671
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 07:20 am:

Thank-you, Art, I should have skipped the Greetings line, anyhow.
As usual I follow the forum from a hotel room somewhere.

What did you do on the A60, Rav?

Art Kyle

Gold Member

Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon
USA

Post Number: 3301
Registered: Feb-05

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 07:39 am:

I like the greetings line. It's kind of fun to see where you are working.

Ravinder Bains

Bronze Member

Username: Ravbains

Melbourne
Australia

Post Number: 85
Registered: Mar-06

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 07:40 am:

Hi Nuck,

on the A60, since I originally bought this amp back in 1987 I did a kind of restoration / update project.

o Replace all electrolytic caps with Nichicon Muse Kz series, and some Black Gates (dependant on stock availability).
o Upgrade Iq pots with multi-turn cermet types.
o Reset quiescent current to run at a higher level, than specified in the manufacturers service handbook.
o Replace stock diodes in the PSU, with high speed soft switching types.
o Replace stock LM317, LM337 regulators in pre-amp section with uprated regulators.
o Re-place mains wiring with a shielded mains flex.
o Remove loudspeaker fuses, replace with solid links (amp is very stable never had any issues, not even during student parties!!!).
o Replace main reservoir caps with low-ESR Panasonic parts. And also fit non-polar bypass caps across main reservoir.
o Replace internal weedy wiring to loudpspeaker posts with Supra Rondo stranded wire.
o I stuffed up on the phono stage, I replaced the stock NE5534 op-amps with AD811 -doh. I did not realise that AD811 is a current feedback amp. Silly me! I am gonna fix this up sometime later.
o Lastly as a final flourish I replaced the red LED power indicator with nice twinkly Agilent blue LED. This indicates that this amp is the ultra-rare Rav Bains signature edition.
o Also cleaned the fuses with Caig De-oxit, and cleaned the pots and did the full sweep thing.

It sounds very nice, but the A60 always was a very sweet amp.

I need to go back into this amp to fix my AD811 error, at the same time there is a mod to the biasing for the amp, known as the amplified diode mod, I will implement this also when I get time.

cheers
Rav

Gold Member

Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 8536
Registered: May-04

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 01:01 pm:

"Amplified diode"? An oxymoron to be sure.

Dan

Bronze Member

Username: Daniel_canada

Canada

Post Number: 42
Registered: May-06

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 02:33 pm:

Winnepeg? It's Winnipeg! I should know, I live there! or here? How ever it should be said. :-)

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2673
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 04:40 pm:

Drinking in the bar at the Greenwood Hotel by the airport tonight.

Dan

Bronze Member

Username: Daniel_canada

Canada

Post Number: 44
Registered: May-06

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 04:55 pm:

Nuck, if you have time check out Creative Audio.
http://www.creativeaudio.ca/

214 Osborne Street South
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3L 1Z3

Tel.: 204 452.5921
Fax: 204 452.5950

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2683
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 05:53 pm:

I will so, Dan, thanks.
I check out audio shops in various places I go, but usually online only, as a curiosity.
I cant really buy anything and ship it(hassle), and my days usually run too long.
And I never know where the heck I am in so many cities.
It is kinda fun, however to be in a town where another member is from, and get store names.

Cheers!

Stu Pitt

Gold Member

Username: Stu_pitt

Irvington, New York
USA

Post Number: 1320
Registered: May-05

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 06:28 pm:

Wouldn't it be more fun to get the names of Bars?

Out of curiousity Nucko, what do you do for a living?

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2687
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - 08:02 pm:

Field service technician, packaging equipment and combination weighers.
Service across North America and some Mexican adventures.
Service, support and training.

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2693
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 - 04:28 pm:

Uhh, was that offensive?

Dakulis

Silver Member

Username: Dakulis

Spokane, Washington
United States

Post Number: 952
Registered: May-05

Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 - 09:31 pm:

Must have been, you left everyone speechless. LOL

Now, you tell us you're backing off the tubes, NNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

John A.

Gold Member

Username: John_a

London
U.K.

Post Number: 4204
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 03:53 am:

Nuck;-

Not offensive. Puzzling.

Beatles DTS 5.1 fraud on ebay... "Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 - 11:44 pm: I'm a lawyer!"

I guess one or the other is a joke. Or you are moonlighting!

After much soul searching.

...?

Gold Member

Username: Nuck

Post Number: 2707
Registered: Dec-04

Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 07:49 am:

Oh John, the lawyer line was indeed a toss-in!
I am too thick to try argueing any point.
My service description is accurate.

The other post reflects the affirmation of my musical preferences. You see, When I purchased the Rotel amp, I had compared to a Nad amp in the same store. Both played through B&W speakers, they may have been 602's.
The Nad sounded nice and full, kind of happy happy.
The Rotel sounded forward, accurate and fast, with higher highs and lower lows.
I decided that the Rotel amp(and subsequently Rotel 1072 cdp)were far more to my liking.

Therefore, although I have been impressed with the toob forum, and have been considering a toob set-up, I have deciced that the presentatin of tubes is likely more suitable for Tchaikovsy than T-Rex.(Thats oversimplified, but quick).
My musical tastes are evolving, but not to the point of great classical appreciation, as most of you folks here do have, and share a great deal with everyone.
Gotta be a rebel in the crowd, I guess thats me.

I will, however consider a small tube kit for the Lings for upstairs.

John A.

Gold Member

Username: John_a

London
U.K.

Post Number: 4207
Registered: Dec-03

Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006 - 05:21 am:

Thanks, Nuck. Give me a field service technician over a l*wyer any time.

On the other thread someone suggested Musical Fidelity might be up your street.

I used to worry about power, after I blew up my cherished 40 W per channel solid-state Armstrong amp (playing Mozart Mass in C minor, BTW). After home demoing a budget audiophile integrated which clipped, I decided on a Sony ES for "Quality brand" (I think it was, back then) plus high W/�. It never clipped and sounded OK; it is still in service in my little office at work where I go and shake the windows sometimes when no-one else is in.

But for real listening, at home, prizing detail and wanting "the closest approach to the original sound", I now like my 40 W Prima Luna PL2 with Quad ESL speakers, which are low efficiency (86 dB/m/W I think). Even with that combo I have to take care the neighbours are out before running it at satisfying volumes.

Bvan

Silver Member

Username: Bvan

Cape Town, Copenhagen,...

Post Number: 221
Registered: Jun-05

Posted on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 01:19 pm:

art, as i remember you saying you might get some pearl tube coolers in the future, i thought i'd report on mine that arrived today.

they fit with a squeeze but there is not enough room to accomodate the rubber rings which are designed to hold the cooler to the tube.

the coolers fit fairly tightly without the rubber rings, and pearl say in this situation it is fine not to use the rings. but, there is an pdf article on the pearl website in which the author is very emphatic about not using the coolers without the rubber bands. recons they are then prone to picking up vibrations.

i'm undecided about whether to use mine.

b.