tube fanatic
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With the volume half way up, under zero signal conditions it is not unusual to hear some hiss, and the "scratchy ambience" you describe may still be the pot even though you are leaving it in a fixed position (it can also be any of the switches.) It can also originate from the 12AX7 voltage amp/phase inverter, although the fact that it is the same in both channels suggests that a common element may be involved, such as the power supply. It can also originate in one channel and be coupled to the other via the power supply. How are you creating the zero signal condition? Is it by turning the function selector to an unused high level position? As an experiment, try shorting the input you have selected and note whether the hiss decreases or changes at all. Also, try setting the output of the squeezebox to maximum and see how far you need to advance the volume control of the Fisher to attain your preferred listening level. If it is far less than half way up your hiss problem may be solved by that alone.
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There's no concern about your tube amps being turned on without speakers connected as long as there's no signal input. How are you switching your sources between the amps? If you are physically disconnecting them from one amp and plugging into another, then you can certainly leave the amps plugged in if that's more convenient. Maynard
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Hey Marty! The designation "ma" stands for milliamp (thousandth of an amp), so your 200 ma fuse is actually 0.2 amps. By using a 1.5 amp fuse, you have basically eliminated the protection that the fuse offers. The best rule to follow is to always replace a fuse with the value specified in the manual or printed on the equipment. Where it gets a bit dicey is when someone else previously replaced a fuse with a value not specified for the equipment. That can at times be a dangerous assumption, depending on the situation involved. But, with the extensive online resources available, it's usually possible to research the correct value. Hope this helps in addition to Moray's info---- Maynard
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Sound and reliability I believe is more what I'm looking at. I was concerned that one of the tubes for Fisher 400 was no longer available, but hear there there is now a replacement available. Have about 1K in it and 2Kin the mc30's. Fisher seems to give mc30's a pretty good run. Like them both, just wonder how others compare in sound and reliability. Or any other opinions that anyone might like to state. Pro or con................It depends on what you mean when you say "rate." Are you talking about reliability, features, sound, etc? Just as in the past, there's great stuff available as well as junk. So, if you can be more specific, that would help. Regards! Maynard
...................just uneducated with toys................TazTony certainly hit on some brands which are known for excellence in all respects. Regarding sound though, it's too subjective to even comment on- bottom line is that if you love the sound of the Fisher and Mac then there's no need to look further. As far as reliability goes, the fundamental issue with tube amps is ventilation, and that applies to modern as well as vintage equipment (especially since many vintage amps run the tubes very hard relative to their maximum ratings.) I'm a big believer in using quiet muffin fans when amps are used in any kind of enclosed space. An open shelf is always best but even then, if the room is not air conditioned in the summer, I'd consider some kind of measure to keep the amps relatively cool (I don't have a/c and my listening room can approach 90 degrees on some days!) Last point, about tube availability for some vintage amps, in a worst case scenario it is sometimes possible to rewire to allow the use of more readily available types assuming they can be made compatible with the output transformers. Anyway, enjoy the ride! To me, this hobby is a benign form of insanity........... Maynard
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It depends on what you mean when you say "rate." Are you talking about reliability, features, sound, etc? Just as in the past, there's great stuff available as well as junk. So, if you can be more specific, that would help. Regards! Maynard
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Hi Guys, I am looking for an inexpensive tube amplifier, I don't have much money for this project. Please let me know what you have. I really appreciate it!
Where are you located, and what is your budget? There are many considerations here as far as power, type of circuit, kind of sound you're looking for, whether you want an integrated (onboard preamp) or power amp, and lots more. Maynard
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Just some questions Jay: Would you offer your infant or young child as a test subject for this vaccine? Would you allow your 12 year old child to make the decision to be given this vaccine in school without your knowledge or permission? If your child died shortly after receiving this vaccine, would you have an autopsy performed to determine the true cause of his/her death? And when proven to have been caused by the vaccine, would you just shrug your shoulders and accept it as the cost of "helping the public good?" Would you accept the decision of the vaccine compensation court (yes, a court has to approve all claims) if they refused to let you file a claim? Maynard
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Jay, the issue of vaccine safety (or lack of safety) can be debated until the cows come home. NVIC at least presents information which will never be stated by the FDA or any other government agency which is more concerned with preserving the profits of the pharmaceutical industry than anything else (do some research on Gardasil for a prime example!) The most salient point about this whole issue is that pharmaceutical companies are totally shielded from all liability in the event an adverse reaction occurs. That, more than anything else, should raise the eyebrows of any person. There's no incentive whatsoever for a manufacturer to turn out a safe product because of this. Parents of perfectly healthy children who die within hours or days of being given the anthrax vaccine are likely to be told that their child would have died regardless. Somehow, that isn't going to be comforting. Also, it's difficult to compare something like the anthrax vaccine with one for, say, polio. No point in debating this further as there's nothing the citizenry can do about it! Maynard
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I try very hard to maintain an optimistic viewpoint, but when reading stuff like this it becomes increasingly difficult!
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I wonder though how long it will be before Monsanto finds a way to force him to buy their poisoned seeds......................
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The best advice anyone can give you is to purchase equipment from a dealer who will give you a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied (check out Decware- their amps have an excellent reputation: http://www.decware.com/newsite/tubes.html.) It's quite impossible for someone to make a blanket recommendation. The only way you will be able to find what you are looking for is to actually audition the amp in your system with your music, etc. Alternatively, try to find enthusiasts in your area who are using tube equipment which they are willing to bring over for you to have a listen. In any case, with a budget of $4k your options are huge, so take your time in making a decision.
Maynard
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DeanG, I'm just curious, who would you consider a reputable source of information for this topic?
A good source for many health related issues is Joe Mercola: http://www.mercola.com/
Granted, he is a bit self serving as he sells many dietary supplements and products; but, his reporting of relevant issues is excellent and, if nothing else, give a good basis for further research. His daily e-newsletter is free as well.
Dean G.'s point about the cost of avoiding commercial foods is well taken. I'd love to go that route myself, but paying $1 for one apple is a bit much for my budget. And the sad reality, as Dean said, is that other countries will not import many food products from the US because they know that they are poison. It never ceases to amaze me that when 100 or more countries have concluded that a certain chemical, pesticide, food "additive" and so on is dangerous, and ban them as a result, we are told that these things are perfectly safe. Heck, the ADA still won't allow member dentists to tell patients that "silver" fillings are really half mercury and may pose serious health threats. My dentist of almost 40 years literally shakes in his shoes when I start bashing the ADA for making totally false claims about dental product safety. He's told me that if a "spy" from the state dental board was in the office posing as a patient, and heard him even hint about amalgam dangers, he would lose his license. And I won't even get started on the issue of the mass poisoning of people by having fluoride added to their municipal water supplies....................
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Yes, this is reminiscent of when rBGH (bovine growth hormone) was approved around 20 years ago. The government put a gag order on dairies which did not use it to prevent them from stating on their containers that their milk products didn't contain it. If I recall correctly, it was a criminal offense if they did! More recently, the initiative to force disclosure of genetically modified ingredients failed to pass in California thanks to a massive public misinformation campaign by Monsanto. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find food which is not poisoned in one way or another simply because of corporate greed.
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When the government gets to decide what we are told about the foods we consume something is very wrong!
http://www.care2.com/causes/dairy-industry-wants-to-spike-milk-with-aspartame-and-not-tell-you.html
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It might be beneficial to roll the highs off in a reproduction system to compensate for these effects, resulting in a more natural sound.
Exactly! This is, in part, why many enjoy the sound of SETs, and why many users of vintage tube amps use the treble control to roll off the highs. Some of the appeal of speakers like the AR-3, and Rectilinear III, which offered the "New England sound," was because of the somewhat softer top end as compared with other speakers.
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The site also has a forum which, unfortunately, seems to be fairly dead:
http://www.oswaldsmillaudio.com/forum2/
I'm surprised that there isn 't more activity, unless it's simply that folks don't know about it.
Maynard
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I wonder how these designs would stack up against the Heritage Series speakers:
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This debate has been raging ever since the hi-fi industry began and the answer is still not to be found. Ultimately, if something sounds good to someone, then it is good as stated above. Why do some listeners find the sound of an SET with 5% distortion to be totally captivating and the sound of a push-pull pentode amp with .05% distortion to be awful? No answer to this can be found on the test bench. A friend, and fellow amp designer, specializes in exotic designs with very low measurable distortion. Yet, he often scraps many of them in favor of others with much higher distortion because the latter just sound "right." Unfortunately, much of the public (meaning the very tiny percentage of folks who even care about good sound) still has the Stereo Review mentality when it comes to judging equipment. And these days, with the "bricks and mortar" audio dealers being essentially nonexistent, there's no way for people to even hear alternatives to mass marketed audio gear.
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the cayin looks like a very nice amp especially in my price range but i dont see that it has any adjustment for bass and treble? i see alot of the aftermarket tube amps dont have those features. my fisher x101 has the controls and it makes a big differance.
Most modern integrated tube amps also don't have a balance control. This is an even more important feature than tone controls.
Maynard
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I'm thinking of building this and modifying it to test triode and pentodes (all my amps have switches for both.
Be sure to wire both electrolytic caps on the half wave rectifier for the bias supply with the correct polarity!
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There are a few things wrong with this schematic, so I wouldn't advise anyone to try building it! As a general statement about tube matching, to do so with the tubes strapped as triodes is a waste of time. With beam power tubes like the 6L6 family there can be very large differences in screen current from one tube to the next due to normal production tolerances (at least that is the case with vintage tubes; perhaps modern ones are better, but I have never used any.) The only way to truly match tubes is to put them into the amp in which they will be used and then match them from both a DC and AC perspective. Push-pull output transformers are not necessarily balanced between the two halves, so using even "perfectly matched" tubes can still result in distortion which is higher than desired.
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A bit late regarding the recent hurricane in the NE, but worth keeping in mind for the next time.......
http://trustmeimascientist.com/2012/12/03/how-to-recover-flood-damaged-audio-gear/
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Philip's point about cables and other add-ons is particularly well taken as evidenced by the latest catalog I just received from Mapleshade Records. Even my wife, while looking through it and coming across things like trestles to raise cables off the carpet to prevent supposed sonic degradation, looked at me and said "this guy has to be joking!" I wonder how much of that kind of stuff is sold these days.
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I'd also love to see a study which analyzes the age range of the typical audiophile. My guess is that it would be at least in the 40s.
There's not many young folks who can afford $106,000 for a top end audiophile rig, or even 1/4 of that for a 2 channel stereo. I am sure that the average young person has many other things they would rather spend their money on
I'm not talking about that kind of expense, but rather a couple of grand which is all that's needed to put together a very respectable sounding system which is far from consumer grade. But, regarding young people, I agree that their priorities are very different. The "kids" in their 20s who work for the same company as my daughter think nothing of dropping $500 for a handbag, or going out for "drinks and a bite to eat" 3-4 times/week at $50-$75 each time. And then there's the cost of designer tattoos at close to $1000 or more which that age group seems to enjoy. I guess life in the city is different. Maybe that's why Sound by Singer is still in business and apparently doing well (and he does sell systems in the stratospheric price range too!) Maynard
...................just uneducated with toys................Taz
2 Channel Listening Deemed Obsolete
in 2-Channel Home Audio
Posted
Actually, such a premise isn't as far fetched as it might seem. In the 50s a very popular mode of setting up a listening room, for those who could afford it, was to use multiple speakers not only in or on the ceiling, but around the room as well. Of course, this was a mono arrangement. If properly implemented the sound was quite amazing and, in some respects, rivalled the sound of modern surround systems.