Deang

Kelly, do you know anything about that NOrh SE-9? I haven't looked on the Tube Asylum to see what's being said, but I do know I've never heard an evil word about Michael Barnes.

I'm sorry, I believe you are looking for the JBL Forum.

I usually sit on those while I'm listening. It stops me from falling asleep:) I just read the ad. "Mark IV cones are more analytical and linear in their performance than the Mark III, with an even emphasis throughout the bandwidth." This cone "sounds" different than this cone. Puhleez. "...Their effect on an audio system is nothing short of jaw-dropping..." Yeah, I can only imagine.

I will list her here for a couple of days, and then to AudiogoN she goes. Dennis Had modifed AES AE-25 triode push-pull amp. New Svetlana KT-88's from Triode Electronics installed last April, a recent rebias showed very little loss in output. Tubes are probably still good for almost 3 years depending on usage. They were $170 for the matched quad. NOS Amperex 7308 PQ USN-CEP White Labels put in over the summer. This is the dual triode version of the 6922 gold pin, hand matched to 1% tolerance. They were $210 for the pair. Just installed NOS RCA EL-84's. They were $45 for the pair. $1450 http://www.upscaleaudio.com/ae-25.htm http://www.superamp.com

For some strange reason I had this idea that you were using an older Sony CD player. That's what I meant by upgrading your SOURCE. What are you using for a CD player?

Poleelop -- you are worse than me, and that's bad. You really need to slow down and relax. A slow, good choice is better than a fast, bad one. I say STAY AWAY from that thing. This is your first tube amp and you are still learning. The seller said it's a good refurbish project, and advised someone with a background in these things buy it. The fact that your ASL deal fell through might be an omen. Remember when you saw the NOrh? You began to question your purchase of the ASL. I'm not saying the ASL isn't a great choice for the money -- buy you were doubting. Why don't you just buy the NOrh SE-9, or wait on the SE-18, and write a review for us? Michael Barnes has great reputation and following. Don't let Mobile rattle you:) He's a perfectionist in the extreme. I'm confident you would be extremely pleased with either choice. What are you using for a preamp? If you don't have one, then the ASL or the NOrh are two very good choices for you. Sure, there are other choices, but you need to go to at least $1000, and would also probably need a preamp. Have you been following the other thread entitled "recommend tube preamp & amp", right below this thread? Manuel Delaflor seems to be pretty thrilled the hybrid integrated he just got. Take a deep breath, and sleep on it.

As you well know, I'm certainly not the resident tube expert, but I do read a hell of a lot. My understanding is that the Siemens 7308 are all but gone and EXTREMELY rare. When they do pop up, they have date codes from the middle 70's to 80's, and I have been told to avoid those. I saw some at http://www.tubeman.com recently, but they did have the later date codes. The Amperex 7308 PQ USN-CEP White Labels are almost equally as rare, and my understanding is they sound every bit as good as the Siemens, although a somewhat warmer signature. You can get hand matched pairs with 1-2% tolerance from Brent Jesse at www.audiotubes.com

Just some additional thoughts here. I'm somewhat of a minimalist, and I just think the more you put between yourself and the music, the more you lose. However this thing works, it is a form of processing, and though there might be some gains in one area, there may be some loss in others. Again, you would actually have to hear it, to know whether or not you cared for it. Just to show how differently people look at things: If I were you, I would first upgrade from the Sony player you are using to one of the newer units incorporating the newest DACs. I think you would be surprised at how much smoother it would sound in the treble. You also didn't mention what kind of cables your are using. I'm not a big cable freak or anything, but you should make sure the copper is not oxidized to the core:) We don't really know anything about the room the Fortes are in, so we don't know if some of the harshness can be attributed to room acoustics. I many eventually try out the little black box myself at some point, just to see what I think -- but I think Mobile is right in that you should take a ground up approach. A little over $200 investment gets you a better player, and then if you wish -- a little further down the road you can do the black box thang. It's tough to make a good, dozen egg omalette with one rotten egg.

OTOH -- He has been exposed to plenty through the audio club he belongs too (right Max?), so it's not like the only things he's ever heard are low-end hi-fi speakers, and Heresies. I can't help but think that if he thinks they sound good -- they probably sound good. Kelly -- I certainly agree with you in principle, but I find it odd that you would base some of your opinion on these speakers from exposure to them in an awful acoustical environment, improperly placed, with crappy wire, a crappy receiver, and who knows what source (FM radio?).

Thinking about selling my AE-25 DJH SuperAmp. KT88's were bought last April, and running NOS Amperex gold pin premium 7308's and RCA 6BQ5's. Cough up $1400 and it's yours. Not a bad deal considering the 7308's ran me $210, and the KT88's were $170.

I like Ned too. He doesn't usually have alot of NOS, but it looks like he has a decent NOS offering in this rectifier right now. Kind of pricey though. http://store.yahoo.com/triodeel/5arphilecgus.html I also like www.audiotubes.com Brent is a great guy.

It seems many of the forum members are losing chromosomes. Old tubes, ancient amps, scratchy records, "obsolete" speakers -- What the hell is wrong with us?

Out of respect for Bob Gassel and Klipsch, I thinks it's best to exchange this information privately.

Thank you Leo. Very nice. BTW, you have additional mail:)

Hee hee, Justin -- I wanted the values. You know...uF, mF, etc

Does anyone know what the values of the crossover components in the RF7 are. If you do, it would be nice if you would email them to me at: dean.wescott@wpafb.af.mil

Does anyone know what the values of the crossover components in the RF7 are. If you do, it would be nice if you would email them to me at: dean.wescott@wpafb.af.mil

I have no idea how to respond to that. Completely unbelievable.

Hey Manuel, you got stock in those people:) You know, Bob Carver once made a SS amp that sounded like a tube amp:)

What "gathering", and where did you see the pics?

I now have both the stock AE-3 and the DJH version. The stock unit uses film & foil, solid state rectification, and is running a pair of Redbase 5692's. The DJH version uses the Jensen copper foil paper in oil, tube rectification, and is running a pair of Sylvania chrometops. Both of the preamps sound very good, but they do not sound like the same unit. I bring this up because it certainly seems to me that the summation of the parts used accounts for the signature of the unit. I mean, every part will make a difference, and changing them out should change the sonics to some degree. The stock AE-3 sounds great, and is a perfectly easy unit to listen to -- but the DJH version of the same unit, using the copper foil/oils has a warmer, richer tone, more "air", and the bass seems to have more authority. $80 doesn't seem like much money considering the potential improvement in sonics. In the stock AE-3, I know I would like to replace the film and foils with the oils, and the electrolytics with film and foils -- if I can ever get the DQ's back together again:) Gee, I wonder how a couple of those Jensens would sound in my RF7's:) BTW -- Check out this thread: http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/welborne/messages/1783.html

It's been very quiet here lately, and several seem to be AWOL since the new format has been implemented. Silent protests. Well, until they show up -- I'll be your friend:)

I can't possibly imagine picking a set of those up for $50 a piece, and then selling them. Craig seems almost desperate, on the verge of an emotional breakdown -- I hope he ends up with them -- I would hate to see anyone from the forum sent to the loony bin.

Yes, you are correct. I'm pathetic. In "series" is the loop bit. I'd completely forgotten about that. Yep, both my ways are in "parallel". It does save on speaker cable though:)

You should probably just throw in the towel. Cut out some carpet squares and glue them to the outside of the sub. Just think of the money you'll save not having to buy a scratching post.