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Hi, For a great selection of McIntosh gear you could also have a look at: http://www.mcintoshaudio.com/ I once bought a wood cabinet for my MR-71 tuner from them...

And the finished amp looks like this..

Another Loftin-White idea that plays both 300B's and 2A3's, can be capacitor or transformer coupled and is very synergistic with KHorns...

Just go to: http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/audio/t_bas.htm Enjoy!

After many wire tests, I have discovered that the flat cables from NORDOST provide the needed upgrade (both in sonics and dependability...) and, this, without altering the speaker's sonic identity. I personally opted for the "Solar Wind" model, which is a mid-priced option. No problems, ever since... Just my 2c

Hi everybody, Latest analog toy, made in Slovenia...

Deang, You will have something between 12 and 13 AWG (i.e. equivalent wire diameter of 0.0759"). For similar problems you should visit http://www.vandenhul.com/artpap/awg.htm

Mobile, I should thank you for helping make this circuit public. It surely has proved extremely versatile as well as very good sounding. Also, rather easy to implement and bug free. From what I learned, Kurt has actually returned to the 45, running a 45 SET and a 45 PP. The SET sounds better and resides in his main system, with the PP (7W/ch) playing in a second system... Funny thing is that he tried to run 45's operating at 71A biasing and he ended in prefering them over the 71A's. Experimenters of the world unite!

Deang and Invidiosulus thanks! It looks cramped because of the DC regulated filament supplies that cater for 4 power tubes. And the weight is 88 pounds, out of which 66 relate to transformers & chokes. Poor me, if I only knew! Fortunately she sounds fantastic!

Well, the photo was taken without a flash...As a result, those filaments shine with all their glory (and with the help of the 4A they draw on their poor regulated DC supply!). You know, this amp was planned to cater for 45, VT52 and SV811 tubes (all requiring a 5k primary OPT) but, truth is, that I also rediscovered the 300B through it! Comments, photos and building history of this "little monster" (weights around 80lbs...) coming soon).

Like only (some...) DHT's can do... Until now I thought that the 211 was the only (common, that is) triode with bright filament light. Well, just have a look at those Svetlana SV811-3A's that finaly found their place on my DIY amp. Not as refined as the type 45, although they still hold their own with a powerful and rather "gutsy" presentation. Merry Christmas to us all!

Problem is we try to be "logical" with things Hi-Fi, when - according to my experience - the contrary is usually the norm. 300B amps? O.K. I have a set of SUN AUDIO 300B monoblocks which created "magic" with my previous speakers. Not with the KH's, though...Same problem with an AUDIO NOTE Meishu 300B integrated, I had personally upgraded with all the possible goodies (silver paper in oils, Black Gates, Tantalums etc) and which was sounding just perfect with these same (and other non horn...)speakers. I still own both amps and from time to time I demo them on the KH's with the same - mediocre - results. And these are good components, believe me... Result: I have built another set of 300B amps which do the job without ifs or buts. How did I know these will work? Well, I didn't. I just was lucky... That's why I use the term "synergy" which - by the way - has nothing to do with amplifier quality or technology. It's just like human relations: Either there is the right "chemistry" and they work, either they don't. And you can always try to explain why...

Problem is, I believe, that most people think: "Horn speaker = sensitive speaker = "easy" speaker". They are wrong, of course... A horn can do wonders either with 0.5W/ch or 100W/ch amps but those components must be carefully chosen, so as to be synergistic, i.e. to "sing" with this kind of speaker. For example, no amplifier that likes to "drive" and - at the same time - "be driven" (via EMF) has normally any luck with horns. Then, even in the company of synergistic components horns are much more prone to fine tuning, than other loudspeakers. People in this forum know perfectly well those things. Outsiders - especially those who only know horns as part of badly set-up P.A. systems don't, hence the bad reputation of horns in Hi-Fi circles.

Max, You can find cheap, dependable and nice sounding sino 300B's (rarely the case!) at http://www.diyparadiso.com. Enjoy,

Max, Only thing that saves your post is that you might (and will as, I believe, you are an honest person) contradict it tomorrow! Now, let's be fair and admit that in the rather short time you have been with us you met people (me, among others...) who not only did not even think of you as a "low end" person, but tried to help as much as they could regarding your upgrading plans. At least, you should recognize that your rediscovery of vinyl (which seems to give you so much joy!) started as a result of our meetings. People will always be humans and you are surely aware, as well as I, that in every club, party or whichever collective scheme, you cannot say everybody is to your exact liking. The contrary would be a world first and that's why we all have to make choices. Deciding to leave is O.K. with me and you don't even have to state, here, the real reason. It's rather your generalisations that fueled this reply...

---------------- On 11/17/2002 1:00:47 AM justin_tx_16 wrote: Well I too see your point. How about they get one thread and each week or month or whatever it is the Athen's Audio Addicts (clever eh?...) can just make a new post. That would keep things tidy would'nt you say? I get tired of people making multiple posts for a single product like... RF-7 Tweeter, what kind? Do I need a sub for my RF-7's? What kind of amp for new RF-7 Spikes? How? What color are your RF-7's Finally got RF-7's! That is what irks me. And when all people do is ask for help but never contribute... Or CONSTANTLY make up threads that are TOTALLY off topic. Like... "Look at this funny page"... Or constant barraging of BOSE flaming. Yes, we all hate BOSE, get over it. Ok. Off my soap box... or was I ever on it?... hrmmm ---------------- Yep! I tend to agree with most of your points, Justin, but - alas - this is not a perfect world...As a result, you will always have people posting on irrelevant subjects (that's a point for the moderators), or people who genuinely need help but feel uncomfortable to contribute, either because they believe they do not have the necessary knowledge or, for that matter, feel intimidated by the "know it all" posters. Just to mention two classic cases. What I believe in fact, is that the Hi-Fi hobby is a lot about sharing and that's exactly what Skaloumbakas is doing: Once a month he is telling the world what 50 audio buffs are doing in their (limited, believe me...) free time. No more and no less. Now, if this must/has to be seen through other perspectives or "filters", well it's open to debate.

---------------- On 11/8/2002 1:38:58 PM deang wrote: What do I look for Aristidis? How do I find it? ---------------- Well, I don't believe there could be a bad contact due to oxydation (everything is possible though...). I would just turn the preamp upside down and test mechanically the contacts of the octal socket, by moving them back and forth (beware of short circuits!) with a pair of fine pliers. If the problem goes away, then the socket is the culprit and you should rather change it than mend it. AES or Angela Instruments sell some excellent NOS items from Amphenol and other manufacturers which, by the way, are not very expensive and of far better quality than the chinese ones found in most of today's equipement.

The NEW a-20 is a sweet little amp which, unlike the SM-70, is no longer made. Another nice low power (18W/ch) class A design which can also be bought in kit form, is the A-18 by Hawk Audio (www.audio.nl). You can find a test with listening impressions by visiting: http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/hawk_a18_e.html

By the way, has anyone listened to the MA-230 integrated, which also uses 7591's (but can be very easily modified to use EL34 or 6L6's)? Any comments wellcome...

If you mean the amplifier output taps, you can run it wherever the sound seems better to you. No technical or other problems here!

Dean, In my experience, if a tube is sensitive to movement it might also be because of a bad contact in the tube socket. This happened to me quite a few times with UX4 sockets (the ones for 300B's etc) but never with octals (as used by 6SN7's). You might want to check it, though, before sending the preamp back to Cary...

The rating of a speaker, also called impedance, is (can be...) a rather complex load which varies with frequency. To measure it, you will need an impedance meter and a signal generator. Now, what you read in spec sheets are sheer approximations. For example an 8 Ohm speaker should not go - by convention - lower than 6 Ohm, although in some parts of the spectrum its impedance might reach 30 Ohm or even more... I could be more precise, if you explain why you want to proceed to this measure

I have had listening experience at home with most of their models... One common characteristic: They are a bit "extravagant" and, as such, they need a very neutral, musical amp, if one has to make the most of their qualities (already described in previous posts...). Amps made by YBA or Nelson Pass would fit this bill nicely, I think.

Welcome to the club, Dean! 18-20W of SET power is a nice place to start, as you will very probably enjoy the long joyride down to the 1.5W of a Type 45. Happy ascension(?!) to micro power (as the guys of the Oregon Triode Society would say...).

Craig, Very happy to hear you mention Vibroworld...as I was about to write a post wondering why in all the cap replacement proposals out there, nobody mentions the replacement of the multi-section PS cap... Well, last year I ordered such a cap from the said company to replace the NOS cap in my MR-71 tuner. Construction is more than O.K., although different than the original. Did the sound improove? Not by much, but now I have peace of mind!