tube fanatic
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Posts posted by tube fanatic
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(although as someone above said, drilling steel isn't fun!)
My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools
Ah, now I can relate, having spent a huge portion of my life doing that myself! Learn everything you can from him as the practical knowledge acquired from doing that kind of work every day often surpasses what you can get from a book!!!
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Now I see how you want to do this. Yes, the best arrangement is for the phono and line stages to share the same chassis, with the power supply on it's own chassis. I would not be overly concerned about whether it's steel or aluminum (although as someone above said, drilling steel isn't fun!)
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If you go with a separate power supply, are you going to supply everything with it, or just the phono board? In either case, a couple of feet of #20 should be just fine. Verify that the voltage rating of the insulation exceeds whatever B+ voltage is on the tubes (tightly twist the filament leads here also.) Set up a plug/socket arrangement so that it is not possible to accidentally come into contact with the B+ (i.e. socket on the power supply and plug on the leads coming from the preamp/phono preamp). A nice way to do this is with an octal socket and plug, or Cinch Jones sockets/plugs with the required number of pins.
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Marvel, Cask,
Maybe this would help, project is a tube preamp. So should I stay away from steel, from the sounds of things that is what you are saying. Is there a product that can line a steel chassis that would help with magnetic fields. Somes times the technical stuff gets tuff to understand.
Thanks guys.
Use an aluminum chassis and either use tubes which are self shielding (such as metal jacket 6J5s, 6SJ7s, etc.) or use shielded sockets if you're going to use anything in the 12AX7 family. If the power transformer (and choke if you use one) is enclosed (as opposed to open frame), in combination with the tubes being shielded, hum should not be an issue from magnetic field saturation. It's imperative that you keep filament and AC wiring as far away from the input circuitry of the preamp as possible (or even build the power supply on a separate chassis and strap it over via a relatively short interconnect), very tightly twist the filament leads, adequately bypass the cathode resistor(s), and use star grounding (use a ground buss which connects to the chassis at only one point- the ground lug on the input jack is often a good spot.)
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It's no surprise that you had such a "jaw dropping" experience! I frequently encounter the same thing when demonstrating varioius SEP or SET amps for people who are accustomed to solid state amplification. Now that you have experienced the difference, try a pair of mono SET amps if you have the opportunity. By eliminating the crosstalk inherent in any stereo unit sharing a common power supply between the 2 channels, you will take listening to the next dimension- i.e. a wider, higher, deeper sound stage. Then you will truly be at the point of no return!!! I'm sure that members of the high power crowd will differ with this point of view, but that's what makes being an audiophile so interesting.
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For Job Growth here folks need to start thinking about getting into Healthcare/Medical field, imo.
Yes, I agree that as our health declines due to eating food with decreasing amounts of nutrients, increasing amounts of harmful pesticides/herbicides/antibiotics/growth hormones, genetic modification, etc, the need for "health" care will increase and along with it the need for workers. But, with insurance companies having a total stranglehold on reimbursements (which are continually decreasing), and the skyrocketing malpractice premiums which doctors are paying, being a healthcare worker may not be all that worthwhile. Salaries for ancillary workers in many areas of the medical field are quite low, and will only get lower as doctors have to control overhead. On the other side of the coin, the pharmaceutical companies are gaining even more control over the medical system. The worst abuse of that is the total liability shield for manufacturers of the vaccines which are forced on our children/grandchildren. Basically, if a required vaccine causes harm, disability, or even death, they cannot be sued (and neither can the doctor or nurse who administered it.) California even passed a law which allows Gardasil (which has been proven to be quite unsafe for many) to be given to kids in school without parental notification or consent!!! Sorry to get off the track a bit, but all of this is tied together imo.
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The idea is for the US government to utilize this domain name to encourage domestic manufacturing and maintain a trusted source for shoppers who which to shop in a patriotic way. The website does not work cause there isn't one.
Somehow I'm not convinced that the gov't. has any interest in promoting domestic manufacturing. As an example, consider GE's move of their x-ray division from Wisconsin to China where they are expected to invest 2 billion dollars (and GE's CEO is one of the "job czars"):
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-- you two decide to poke him in the eye with a stick. I didn't see a blanket statement by Craig asserting that all other technicians are incompetent (at least not in this thread), but what is true is that we've had "competant technicians" here in the past and at least one is out of business for defrauding customers. It is also true that testing a tube and finding out whether it is good or bad is of relative small value when dealing with the reality of the condition of a 50 year old piece of equipment.
It's nice to get advice from peers, but it's better to get advice from professionals. Most of the professionals have either left the forum or don't post anymore. I wonder why.
No, in this discussion Craig did not assert that all other technicians are incompetent (that occurred in another thread in which he stated that he has seen the rotten work of so many "local technicians" that he can easily state that there just aren't any who are competent, other than himself.) I certainly am not trying to "poke him in the eye with a stick" (that would be too painful!) Rather, I'm trying (apparently unsuccessfully) to make the point that he isn't the only one who can do truly professional quality work on electronic equipment; and because one "competent technician" was guilty of fraud, does that make all equally culpable? I think not!!! Regarding the testing of tubes, even a lowly emissions tester can provide information of potential use when diagnosing an ailing piece of equipment (it brings to mind an amp which I worked on many years ago which performed perfectly most of the time, but in periods of extremely hot weather acted up in spite of being cooled with a fan- turned out that the powerline voltage in this person's house dropped to around 105 when air conditioning was in heavy use around the neighborhood. One of the output tubes, in response to the drop in filament voltage which accompanied the line voltage drop, had insufficient emission to maintain the needed electron flow. Easily confirmed with an emissions tester!) As to the professionals who have left the forum or no longer post, perhaps it's because they got tired of being insulted. I'm mostly "retired" from the industry, so I persist- besides, I don't get insulted. To me, these discussions are fun!!!!!
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****what dean and josh said****
This is his way of helping and nobody else here comes close.
Forgive my asking Gary, but how can constantly insulting the skills and knowledge of people one doesn't know be a way of helping? I'm sure Craig does a fine job, and is meticulous in his work; but, there are countless others who are capable of doing the same thing, and in many cases even better. There's an extremely well respected gentleman who is involved with the forum and has a business involving Heritage series speakers (I'm sure I need not mention his name.) Yet he has never, to my knowledge, made any disparaging remarks about others who provide a similar service and does not insult people who provide forum advice which he doesn't quite agree with. That is the hallmark of one who truly wants to help others. It's called having manners. Would you go to a doctor who says that only he/she is competent and that all other doctors in the entire country are incompetent? Heck, I'd run in the other direction....................
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LMFAO!!!!!
Wait a minute! Your amp was built by one of those "incompetent local techs!!!" How can it possibly sound as good as everyone says it does? Can it be a mass illusion?????
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Sent reply to your email. Will check mail again in a few hours--- Maynard
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You're making this more complicated than is necessary. Drop me an email if you want to discuss alternative ways of doing this. Maynard
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So I need to find a pair of waterproof potentiometers that I can use. I am guessing that step 1 is to contact the supplier for the specs of the potentiometer. What do I need to ask?
This should cover the bases nicely! http://www.vishay.com/company/press/releases/2011/110718potentiometers/
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Before making a decision, check with all of your doctors to see which plans they participate in and whether they are planning to cancel their participation in the near future. That will help you narrow your choices a bit. Be prepared though that even if you are offered an attractive premium initially, it's likely to go way up when renewal time comes. Health insurance providers are notorious for offering very low initial premiums, and then ask for huge increases afterwards.
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It's not likely that you will find unplated steel lugs which will deteriorate if exposed to the normal moisture levels in the home. As you said, the De-Oxit should take care of any concerns in that department regardless. I've used it on coax connectors which are exposed to all kinds of weather, and it seems to prevent any problems from developing even after many years. Having gold plating is fine too, but whether it's worth the cost difference is debatable.
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You will not hear a difference between gold plated vs any other type of lug. It's always best to solder the leads to the lugs, however, as relying on any kind of mechanical connection is likely to cause problems in the long term. I'd also coat the lugs with a little De-Oxit before installation to get a really good, low resistance connection.
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Show me where I ever in the last maybe 6 to 8 years solicit anyone on this or any forum to send me work?
I can diagnose problems with tube amps over the internet with my eyes closed and sleeping better then you could with my help.
I was going to stay out of this, but being a crabby old Irishman................ Craig, your blanket condemnation of the work of any tech other than yourself is a solicitation of business. Otherwise, why would you be extolling your virtues at the expense of others? Your use of your business name as your forum name is a solicitation of business. And as to your ability to diagnose problems with tube amps over the internet, once again you are soliciting business. If you offer assistance to someone and it doesn't work out, obviously you expect them to send you the amp for repair. Heaven forbid they decide to take it to their "incompetent local tech" instead. Perhaps if you showed some modesty, and had some respect for the countless other people who are far more highly skilled than yourself, your statements would be more valid.
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Second Question,
Is my music room too small for La Scalas...the distance between speakers will be 10'
and I sit approximately 9' from each speaker.
Thank you for plodding through this post, I look forward to the response.
Cheers.Actually, what you are describing is an almost ideal near field listening arrangement. It should provide a truly amazing experience in terms of sound stage size and imaging. Also, that arrangement will allow you to use extremely low power amps (such as SETs) if desired. How large is the room itself?
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This may help you locate him: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1264880213
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The amp section of the SX-34 is good and, once restored, can provide lots of listening enjoyment. The question is whether it's worth the expense of having it done since you may not recover it when it's time to sell. A better avenue, if you don't listen at extremely loud levels (you will need an outboard phono preamp though), is one of Decware's modestly priced amps. They sound good, are reliable, and have an unbeatable guarantee: http://www.decware.com/newsite/tubes.html
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We are not a store ( when was the last time you saw a store that only sold tubes? probably 1950)
JS
Greetings! You obviously didn't hang out in the Rockaways around 1965. Crestlynn Sales Co. on B. 116th Street was a tube only vendor!!! They sold to the public, many of the local TV repair guys (of which I was one!!!), and also serviced the huge "drug store" tube tester market. Maynard
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There was no smoke, no arcing and the filament is not lighting up.
I assume that the other filaments are lighting (if not, of course check the fuse)? If that's the case try a new rectifier, but as SF mentioned, use a variac to start out with a lower than usual line voltage (say 95-100) until you have an idea about what the bias is doing. As I recall, the LK-72 does not have any way to adjust the bias as it was generated at a fixed value by the DC supply for the front end filament string, so I assume that you installed bias adjustment pots. I'll be glad to talk you through the whole troubleshooting process if you send me an email. Regards-- Maynard
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if you have a rectifier tube...have it tested....I usally variac amp up that needs bias adjust due to tube replacement to make sure the tubes get no time in an over bias'ed condition. Once the bias is known to be below range then I bring it up to power.
Good advice. The hum was probably from the power transformer in response to excessive current draw. Is the filament of the rectifier tube still lighting and did you note any arcing within the tube when you first powered up the amp with the new tubes?
Forte I/Decware SE 84 C-S - Magic!
in 2-Channel Home Audio
Posted
Dave, I didn't know that discussions about audio equipment had to first consider a person's monetary status (if that were the case, the forum would need warnings for people not to read the thread unless they can afford K-horns, or other equipment of a particular cost.) Haven't you ever listened to equipment, or test driven a car, that you couldn't possibly afford just to experience the sheer joy of what technology has to offer? If not, I politely suggest that you give that a try yourself! Remember, these threads are also read by people who can afford to spend more on their equipment. Why should they be deprived of advice which may open them up to a new, and more enjoyable, listening experience? Concerning soundstaging, some equipment does indeed provide greater height than other equipment. In any event, if you don't find monoblocs to be advantageous, so be it. And what's "wafflemammer."