kevinmi

after we figure out why caps sound different, can we move on to tubes?

I'll probably get flack for saying this, but I don't care--the Latino ST-120 sounds every bit as good as the McIntosh 275, at a fraction of the price.

I was 15 in 71, and got thrown out of school for having long hair. True story.

Dave, I've asked you various questions a couple of times in the past, and you were always patient with any questions I had. The Forum will miss you and your knowledge.

I have a few different tube amps, one of which is a Latino ST-120. If you use your solid state Marantz pre section to drive the tube amp, I doubt you will hear much difference. I found that to get the warm tube sound everyone seems to talk about, the only way to go is tube pre and amp. I think a single ended tube amp sounds better than a push-pull, or ultralinear, like the ST-120. Everybodys system sounds differently, these are just my observations.

I enclosed my backs about ten years ago. It gives me the freedom of not having to worry about sealing the cabinets in the corners. Bass always sounds good, even when toed in or out.

Sorry to hear this. As a teen growing up in the Greater Detroit area in the 60's and 70's, there was plenty of opportunities to see Bob and the band play. Always enjoyed Alto's sax playing.

Just because it's an expensive tube amp doesn't mean it will sound the best on all systems. I find that a single ended tube amp putting out 8 watts sounds the best on my K-horns.

I replaced Sonicaps with those in a universal type build, and I think they sound much better. Of course, everybody's system and ears are different, so what works for me might not for you.

I doubt it. The only difference is the 12ax7 is a little more powerful than the at7, meaning it plays a little louder, and draws a little more current, but not enough to cause problems. Besides, you would know if you fried something!

I think you may have your tubes in wrong. I think the 12ax7 should be in the 2 inner spots, and the 12at7 in the outer spots. I could be wrong, but I looked at some pics on the Jolida site, and thats what it looked like. Also, all tube amps I've owned are set up that way also. Check your owners manual for me

Tubes have heaters in them, that's the glow you see. A tube functions better after it's warmed up. 5 minutes or so is all it takes, though many people say tubes sound better after an hour of playing. I think that way also, but I wonder if it's just my brain getting used to the tubes sound. Every amp is a little different, and you'll soon discover what warm up period your amp likes.

John, where about do you live? I only ask because there may be someone close by that would lend you an amp to try out. Most people on this forum are real nice and don't mind helping a fellow forum member out. I've loaned out equipment several times. It's a lot cheaper than buying one of everything and seeing what you like best.

I built a Latino ST-120 about 10 years ago and it is still running strong.Bob Latino is a great guy, and will answer any and all questions you may have. His amps are top notch, and a real value.

Push pull amps usually have more wattage, therefore play louder. This is important if you have less efficient speakers. A single ended amp may sound weak and thin when trying to power inefficient speakers, where as an ultralinear, or push pull will sound much more dynamic. I would say that a push pull amp does sound closer to a solid state amp then a set amp, but tubes will still have their own signature sound. Now, if you really want to get confused, we can talk about how different tubes sound different from each other. An EL-84 tube amp will have a different sound than an EL-34 tube amp. A KT-88 amp will have its own signature. Then there's the new manufactured tubes vs the vintage tube sound. One advantage (or disadvantage) of having tube amps is you can tailor the sound to your liking by trying different tubes. This can get very expensive in a hurry, especially if you have an amp with lots of tubes!

Now don't be mixing up digital vs analog sound with tube sound. You can play digital music through a tube setup and still benefit from the tubes. As a matter of fact, I have a cd player that has tubes in the output stage. There are some of us that prefer all analog over digital music. You will start a heated argument every time you bring it up. It only matters to you, and what you like. I prefer all analog, but I still own a thousand cd's and several expensive players.

Are those zip ties I see on L1 and L2? Asking for an EE friend.

If you are going to use a receiver preamp section to drive an ultralinear tube amp, you're not going to get the whole "tube " experience. I'm not saying it will sound bad, but it may not sound much different than your Parasound setup. To experience a tube setup at it's best, you need a tube preamp and amp (or an integrated tube amp). You can run a tube preamp with a solid state amp, or a solid state preamp with a tube amp, and they may all sound good. Then there's the whole single ended tube amp vs the push-pull, or ultralinear tube amp. I have all the above, and most serious tube amp fans will say that a single ended tube system sounds the best, or at least, has the sound most people associate with the tube sound.

I have a pair of the kit form of those amps. They only put out about 1.8 watts per channel. You can buy 2 and bridge them mono for about 5.5 watts/channel. Great sounding little amps, but you won't be able to crank up the volume too loud. Plenty loud on my modded K-Horns, though. You'll need 2 EL-84 tubes and 1 6922 type tube,

It's a home made wooden tractrix horn, roughly 13"x 26" with a 2" throat.

I was curious about whether a low pass was actually needed in a K-Horn bass bin. I'm not going to yank one out of a perfectly good crossover to find out though.

That's the million dollar question! I currently have the BMS 4592 drivers, and I have a pair of Selenium d-405 drivers, and I have a pair of B&C DCM50's on their way. I only run about 10 w/channel into the K-Horns, so I would play it safe. I'm not sure I'll actually do this, I'm just curious at this point.

Dean, I was more interested in how the K-Horn bass bin would sound crossed that low. I've read different things from time to time that people have tried this and liked it. I'm just curious, I guess. It would probably be easier to try an active setup for a temporary trial run than to build a whole new set of passive crossovers. My midhorn Fc is 210 hz.

I've had my ST-120 for 10 years now and still sounding as good as the day I built it. I've had a couple problems with it, but they were all my fault and easily corrected.

I currently have a couple pair of universal type crossovers, one build by DeanG, that crosses over at 400 and 6000, and one I built that crosses over at 400 and 4500. I would like to build a universal that crosses over at 300 and 4500. Can somebody either tell me the values I will need for the woofer inductor and the mid cap, or point me in the direction of some software that I can use to calculate the values? Thanks in advance.