DizRotus

What speakers are you using with these amplifiers? A pair of these,as described back at page 1. I've also used them on La Scalas briefly, but the comparisons are made using the single drivers.

< Dave- That would have been great to test your system against the expert ears of Max, the chinchilla. I strongly suspect he would have been fooled by the recording of the case opening. I'm less certain about the recorded trombone. We'll never know. I expect to get one of the QD-1s now on eBay. Watch this thread for the results. EDIT @ 13:17 EDT I "won" a QD-1 on eBay for $48, including shipping.

This photo gives a better idea of the cage and the tube leading to the cooler/sleeping quarters from which Max would emerge at the sound of the trombone. Do you know how many chinchillas it takes to make a coat? Three hundred . . . . . because their hands are so small.

Dave, I've read your blog about "Virtual Presence" and find it fascinating. Your repeated references to your cat not being fooled by even the best TV remind me of our late chinchilla, Max. Max lived for 15 years in a large three level cage I built He was wild for live trombone music. When our son practiced the trombone, Max would rush out of the cooler in which he slept during the day (nocturnal) through the PVC tube (intended to minimize light and sound from entering the cooler) and cram his little face as close to the sound as possible. Only live trombone music produced the result. Recorded trombone music did nothing. A chinchilla, like your cat, could not be fooled. It was the sure way to get Max to make an appearance for visiting children who always wanted to see him. It got so merely the sound of opening the case would produce a Pavlovian response and Max's appearance. Nevertheless, if live trombone music didn't immediately follow, he would go back into the tube to the cooler, presumably to sulk. Live saxophone did nothing for Max. It had to be LIVE trombone.

I miss that sound. I no longer have any of my single driver speakers, like the Tekton. The last BR boxes I had (4.5" Tekton) were just barrels of fun. I contacted Tekton two weeks ago and never got a response. Not sure if he is OOB or just on vacay. Did you describe how you built your boxes in a thread somewhere? RS = Radio Shack? Mark- Not to hi-jack Dave's thread, but the thread at http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/56563.aspx describes the build. Yes RS stands for Radio Shack. Those drivers were, apparently, built by Fostex to be sold by Radio Shack. BTW I've discovered that Mozilla allows links, where Chrome did not and I was unable to login on IE. I guess I'll be accessing the Klipsch forum via Mozilla for the forseeable future.

One (two drivers) is an iPod Dock on steroids (see "Bluetooth iPod Dock on Steroids at http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/175146.aspx). No way to use a QD-1 with this, but the 4 matching speakers should be interesting. Now I just need to locate a serviceable QD-1.

Dave and Mark- I plan to use the 4 identical single driver BR speakers (see "Single Driver Experimets" at http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/56563.aspx and a chip amp (see "Chip Amps" at http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/174973.aspx) to experiment with a QD-1 I hope to acquire soon. Dave- When I first saw this thread, I was excited, thinking the QD-1 was being sold new again. Alas, it was not to be, but I'm eager to try this just the same. Mark- You posted in the Single Driver thread some time ago that I would prefer the BR enclosure to the rear horn. Have you seen the thread lately? You were right. The BR enclosures are so sweet, I dismantled the rear horns and took 3 pair of RS 40-1197 drivers and built 5 BR enclosures. Four are alike and will be used in the QD-1 experiments. Of course, when I find a QD-1, I'll need to open it up, clean it and refresh some of the parts.

Dave- I look forward to getting and auditioning a Quadaptor. You can bet I'll share my impressions. The QD-1 is one of the few Dynaco products I've never built or owned. Sadly, most (tube and solid state) are long gone, but I still have an SCA-35 and an FM-5. I miss Dynaco. Can you believe it was owned by Tyco during it's dying days? Best,

Dave- The pdf W55 referred to is attached. He was kind enough to promptly reply to an email with the pdf attached. Thanks to your post, I'm trying to get a Dynaco Quadaptor. If anyone here has one to spare, please send an email.

W55- I sent you an email. Please let me know if you don't get it. Have you tried attaching the PDF to a post? It's the same as attaching a photo, except it won't appear in the post. It must be clicked upon to be viewed or downloaded. See the attached pdf of a Quadaptor manual. Thanks,

Look into "Forward Air." That was the least expensive way to ship the Cornwall vault between airports.

Rich- The SA-50 just arrived and I've not listened carefully fo any extended time. These almost Medicare eligible ears think they both sound very good. That doesn't mean there isn't a sound quality difference or that they won't get tweaked. Please share your results. I'll keep haunting DIY forums for possible tweaks.

I'm enjoying the newly arrived SMSL SA-50. So far it sounds good. I've not noticed a difference from the SA-S1 in quality. On the other hand, I replaced the Lepai TA2020 with the SA-S1 in the boombox and noticed a large difference. The Lepai plays much louder than the SA-S1 from the same sources. The sound quality of the SA-S1 is better than the Lepai, but it runs out of gas a bit soon. The SA-50 also plays considerably louder than the SA-S1 in the same system. Now that I have 2 TA202s, a SA-S1 and a SA-50, I'll start tinkering. First to go under the soldering iron will be one of the Lepais.

Jeff, The comments from Bruce, Dee and others in support of good hospice care are consistent with what I've seen personally. Unfortunately, if I understand your situation, those assurances don't solve, or even ease, your dilemma. Your mother, although in frail health, is "of sound mind." She seems to understand that hospice care, irrespective of how well delivered, is the beginning of the end, an end she chooses to not embrace. Were it my decision, I'd argue for hospice. Ultimately, you can't accommodate her desire to keep death at bay. You can make decisions regarding her care and comfort until the inevitable takes place. I was never in your situation, as both parents went quickly. My father-n-law went to hospice briefly, but he was not lucid by that time. I empathize with your dilemma. Best wishes,

Thanks. I'll do that and report back after the smoke clears.

I, and possibly others, would be interested in photos and details regarding the modifications described above. I plan to purchase an SMSL SA-50 as soon as SMSL-China send the "all clear."

I'm sure you're correct about those being capacitors. What is the larger component near the power switch in your amp and missing from these? Would it make any sense to install the deleted components? I suspect the SMSL-China sales department misunderstood the engineering department when they sent the following: "Dear dizrotus, Engineering Department has just answered me: This is the four auxiliary resistors. They just only for aesthetic add. AMP no any impact for structure and quality. I intend to suspend sale S1. Until update photos (as your photo). To avoid future similar questions. R & D department have interpreted power. But we not, for customers. - smsl-china"

View from underneath.

Same blank spaces on the board.

I continue to enjoy the sound of the replacement amp. SMSL-China's service is beyond reproach. In the photos attached to this post and the posts that follow, the defective amp is #1 on the left; the replacement amp is #2 on the right. The new amp looks like #1, they do not look like the photos in the eBay listing (see pdf attached several posts back). It's missing the same 4 resistors between the input and output terminals and the air core inductors as #1. It's also missing the larger blue resistor near the power switch and the Rubycon can cap shown in the photos in the eBay listing. While it sounds fine, I must admit I'd feel more comfortable without the blank spaces on the board. It would be more reassuring if it looked like the amp shown in the eBay listing. SMSL-China should understand the market for these amps is do it yourself (DIY) audio hobbyists. Most will open their amps and be unpleasantly surprised if they lack parts shown in the eBay listings. I welcome explanations from those more knowledgeable regarding chip amps than yours truly (which excludes almost no one) about the missing parts and the effect that has on performance. I'm also interested in suggestions and guidance regarding modifications to this and/or the Lepai TA2020.

Back to China for #1.

View from below.

The only observable external difference pertains to the 8 screws holding the cases together. Amp #1 has hex bolts on the front and torx on the rear. Amp #2 has hex bolts front and rear, although the rears require a smaller Allen wrench.

The amps appear to be the same.

I continue to enjoy the sound of the replacement amp. SMSL-China's service is beyond reproach. In the photos attached to this post and the post that follow, the defective amp is #1 on the left; the replacement amp is #2 on the right. The new amp looks like #1, they do not look like the photos in the eBay listing (see pdf attached several posts back). It's missing the same 4 resistors between the input and output terminals and the air core inductors as #1. It's also missing the larger blue resistor near the power switch and the Rubycon can cap shown in the photos in the eBay listing. While it sounds fine, I must admit I'd feel more comfortable without the blank spaces on the board. It would be more reassuring if it looked like the amp shown in the eBay listing. SMSL-China should understand the market for these amps is do it yourself (DIY) audio hobbyists. Most will open their amps and be unpleasantly surprised if they lack parts shown in the eBay listings. I welcome explanations from those more knowledgeable regarding chip amps than yours truly (which excludes almost no one) about the missing parts and the effect that has on performance. I'm also interested in suggestions and guidance regarding modifications to this and the Lepai TA2020.