tube fanatic

I do the deoxit and a brass wire brush on the tube pins every so often......but as far as the sockets go, is it ok to just shoot the deoxit directly into it? I've never done it, didn't want to get too carried away but I'm assuming that if I did that I would let it sit for a considerable amount of time before powering it back up? ...still a tube newbie. The propellant in the aerosol deoxit evaporates rather quickly. However, using that method isn't suitable for the sockets as it's impossible to get only a minimal amount in there. You don't want to saturate the socket pins as it can drip through the bottom and make things a bit messy underneath. Applying a thin coating of deoxit to the tube pins using the deoxit wipes is the best method. Alternatively, you can get the deoxit in a bottle with an applicator brush and simply brush on a tiny amount. A slight coating is all that is needed to improve the metal to metal contact.

Check out this site---- http://www.needledoctor.com/ Among others, they sell Music Hall turntables which have gained very good acceptance. Roy Hall, Music Hall's owner, has a reputation for offering very good value for the dollar. Also, Rega turntables have a good reputation. You should be able to find something, with a cartridge, in the $500 range. It's probably worth giving them a call and discussing your needs.

Regarding the turntable, it might make more sense to buy a new turntable many of which also offer a built-in preamp (allowing connection to a high-level input, rather than requiring a phono input), and even a USB interface in case he wants to burn some CDs of his records. Thorens, Dual, and other companies made some wonderful turntables; but, the sound is going to be influenced by the cartridge more than anything else. I'd be careful about buying a used unit, unless you know the seller's reliability and honesty. The stylus in the cartridge may be worn or damaged and replacements (if still available) can be costly. Your M-501 only needs 1 volt to deliver full output. So, as I mentioned in my previous answer to your post, consider going with a passive line stage instead (if you are handy with a drill and soldering iron, you can make your own for about $20 or less). A preamp can have a profound effect on the sound, so buying a used unit may lead to disappointment. Much better to buy a new one, if you decide to go that way, from a dealer which allows a 30 or 45 day return privilege so you don't get stuck with something which isn't pleasing.

Which amp did you buy? If it doesn't need much drive voltage for full output (many amps only need around 1 volt +/- for full output), you may want to consider a passive line stage instead of an active preamp. The clarity afforded by such a device really has to be heard to be believed- it will simply act as a gate between your CD player and the amp. By eliminating the active circuitry in a preamp, noise/hiss/hum (and possible microphonics in the case of a tube preamp) and other artifacts are reduced to what the amp and CD player produce. The best part is that they are not very costly at all.

Send me an e-mail with all of the particulars, and I'll see what I can do--- maynard

"Not abused" can mean almost anything, so you need to ask the seller what they mean. If you play music so loudly that the amplifier or receiver produces high distortion levels from being underpowered for the job (clipping), there's the potential to damage the speakers (tweeters in particular). To use your car analogy, it's equivalent to allowing the engine to go beyond redline before you shift. So, the best way to make a judgment is to simply use your ears. If all sounds well at the volume levels you enjoy, everything should be fine.

If they sell used CDs, Fanfare for the Common Man on Telarc's Appalachian Spring CD (CD-80078) if you can find one (amazing bass drum); Telarc's 1812 Overture (CD-80041) if you can find that (actual cannon shots!); the title track from John Adorney's Waiting for the Moon CD; and Madonna's Something to Remember CD. All of these will give the bottom end a workout that you won't believe!

Since audio quality is totally subjective, the only way to make that determination is with your own ears. And if you have the opportunity to audition multiple receivers/amps with the same speakers, etc, be sure that the listening levels are matched extremely closely. Failure to do that will result in the slightly louder sound being perceived as "better."

The speaker placement looks fine from a bass standpoint. Do you know if these speakers have been modified, or worked on, by anyone? If they have, you could try reversing the polarity of just one speaker to see if the bass improves (I've seen many modified speakers over the years which were not rewired correctly). Can you tell if the woofers are working by placing your ear against the grill overlying them while playing some bass heavy music (iirc, one of the bass drivers is passive, so be certain to listen to the correct one!)? It would be unlikely that you could have 2 non-functioning woofers, but anything is possible. Where are you located? Perhaps there's a forum participant nearby who could come over to help you check things out.

Phasing refers to connecting the + terminals of the receiver speaker connectors to the + terminals of the speakers (generally these are red in color). If you were to connect one speaker correctly, and the other opposite (i.e. the + terminal of the speaker to the (-) terminal of the receiver or amp), you would get a cancellation effect since the speaker cones would be moving in opposite directions. With the speakers being so close to the back wall you should get some degree of bass enhancement, so I am somewhat at a loss to explain what is going on. Can you post a picture of the room showing the speakers in relation to the furniture and listening position? Is the lack of bass noticeable regardless of how far from the speakers you listen? Does the receiver provide good bass with other speakers? There's no definite "formula" for speaker placement as every room is different. Keeping them close to walls usually increases bass (Klipsch generally recommends corner placement). I haven't listened to KG4s for too many years to recall their sonic characteristics, so perhaps some others can make recommendations. The Music Streamer should work for you since it can be connected to the CD or other high level input of the receiver.

It's not likely your receiver which is causing the weak bass output. Before you spend money on something new, experiment with speaker placement and your listening position (also, verify that the speakers are phased properly. If wired out of phase with each other, the bass can decrease markedly). A detailed description of your listening room would be helpful. Often, moving the speakers only a few inches can hugely increase bass response. Sound quality is another issue, but I'd work on the bottom end before anything else.

Definitely go with the wide braid or strap. Both will be easier to install than a round cable, and if you go with the 1" wide size or wider, the voltage drop should be minimal. The nice thing about the copper strap, in particular, is that you can mount a lug on any wire needing connection to it, and mechanically bond the lug (rather than soldering the wire) to the strap with a large machine screw/lockwasher/nut making disassembly easy at a later date if desired. If you put some copper conductive paste between the lug and the strap you won't have to be concerned about any resistance related losses there. I used a similar technique when working for an industrial power supply manufacturer years ago- there, of course, when dealing with a few hundred volts at a few hundred amps, we had to use very large, thick, copper blocks and strips; but the idea is the same- minimal or no voltage drop and a secure electrical bond.

Nope. They don't have it. This is not for speaker wire. I need it for a long bus wire that will have many feeder wires soldered to it. Removing the insulation from the wire for many feeders while under the table/benchwork after it is installed will be a pain. I don't want any voltage drop. Stranded wire has much more surface area and as we all know electrons tend to "flow" more across the surface of the wire than through it. What exactly are you trying to accomplish with this, and why are you concerned about voltage drop and skin effect? More information about this would be helpful in finding a suitable solution.

Nope. They don't have it. This is not for speaker wire. I need it for a long bus wire that will have many feeder wires soldered to it. Removing the insulation from the wire for many feeders while under the table/benchwork after it is installed will be a pain. I don't want any voltage drop. Stranded wire has much more surface area and as we all know electrons tend to "flow" more across the surface of the wire than through it. The best thing to use for a bus is copper braid, or copper strap. They are available in different widths. I've typically used 3/4" or 1" wide braid for RF grounding purposes with excellent results. Copper strapping is available from companies like Polyphaser. I've used their 3" wide strap for grounding RF entrance panels in transmitting applications as well as for bonding rooftop air terminals (for lightning protection) to the ground system.

Does the receiver work with other speakers, or does it do the same thing? If it does work with other speakers, take a close look at the speaker terminals of the CWs to see if there is a strand of wire that's shorting the 2 connections. From your description, it sounds like the protective circuitry is activating.

As mentioned above, these are tube shields which are used to reduce hum in high level circuits (such as phono stages). They definitely make a difference in some, but not all situations. If the shields are spring loaded, they may help to reduce microphonics to some degree. Since they are used with tubes which only generate heat from the filament (which isn't much), tube life isn't affected to any great degree when they are used. The shields also affect inter-electrode capacitance to a slight degree which theoretically can influence the highs, but I've never been able to hear any difference.

The popping can be caused by a slight arc within the power switch which is then transmitted through the power transformer to the circuitry. It's very easy to remedy if you're capable with a soldering iron. Email me if you want/need details.

Don, I've never encountered skin effect when dealing with a non-rf, audio situation. Can you cite references for this?

Have a friend come over to do a blind listening test (i.e. you won't know which cables you are listening to) and see if you can still tell a difference between them. Usually, obvious differences in the sound of shielded cables can be traced to the capacitance of the cables. However, in my experience with hundreds of blind listening tests, very few people can tell any difference unless the cable capacitances are hugely different. In the shop, when such differences were found, we could duplicate the sound of the higher capacitance cable by simply adding the needed capacitance to the input of the amp or preamp.

It would be quite difficult, if not impossible, to totally isolate the windings of the two channels to prevent crosstalk which would reduce channel separation. In addition, it would also be difficult or impossible to get the windings for each channel to be "exactly" matched. No amplifier, whether tube or solid state, can claim totally matched identical performance of each channel. It's possible to get close, but that's all. In addition, it's impossible to "exactly" match tubes, resistors, capacitors, and other components.

You will need to get the service manual for the tuner which will include alignment instructions. To set this up correctly, an FM signal generator will be needed at the very least. It might be easier to locate an authorized Sansui service center and get an estimate from them.

While playing a recording which is not sounding as you believe it should try moving closer to, or farther from, the speakers and note if there is a change. Sometimes, a difference of only a few inches can be dramatic. If possible, pull the speakers a bit farther into the room as well to decrease some of the bass coupling with the back wall.

How far apart are the speakers, and how far from the speakers is your listening position? How far behind the listening position is the wall? Are there any objects behind or to the sides of the speakers, and what kind of amplifier are you using?

Exactly! A tube's operating characteristics simply can't be predicted in advance, making a blanket "burn-in" time moot. And if a tube sounds best to you after, say, 100 hours use it doesn't mean that another tube from the same production lot is going to behave the same- it may sound best when first installed, never to sound that wonderful again. Even matched tubes in a push-pull circuit will age differently and cause variations in sound. The only way to truly maintain optimal sound quality is to measure the exact operating parameters at the time you believe that the sound just couldn't be any better, and recheck the parameters every 100 hours or so. Most amps cannot be adjusted so that all the operating parameters can be maintained at the desired level, so the issue of tube break-in becomes academic (imho). And in an all tube amp, since all the tubes are working synergistically, any variations in any of them will affect the ultimate sound. Apologies for taking this in the direction you wished to avoid (I would have said this in my original post, but didn't want to be the "bad guy")!

The unknown here is whether simply powering a tube causes changes which can result in a sonic difference, or whether it's the varying signal from your source which causes some kind of change. Also, one must consider the class of operation of the output tubes- if running class A, the tubes are going to be at their highest plate dissipation under zero signal conditions. This may not be a problem if they are not being pushed to the limits; but, if they are, tube longevity may be affected (particularly if the amp isn't adequately ventilated). Glad you started the thread as you did as I have some very definite opinions on this subject after 51 years in the field!