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henry4841

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Everything posted by henry4841

  1. Why be rude? My understanding is you are or have been a seller of PP tube amplifiers on this forum and your opinion and what you have to say is naturally biased because of that. SET tube amplifiers are made for efficient speakers like our horns where just a few watts are all that is needed so the measurement at 1 watt is all I cared about when running my test because for a SET's intended purpose just a few watts is sufficient. Why care what the distortion number is at a wattage number you will never reach? My experience with a PP tube amplifier is there is not a lot difference in sound from one and a good SS PP amplifier without the need to replace the output tubes every couple of years. If one is a number chaser you will also have better distortion numbers with a SS PP amplifier but it really does not matter because any number less the .5% is not going to heard by the majority of people anyway. If you do not care about what the best in audio design industry have to say that says a lot. Personally I take it serious what they say and have to contribute. I am always glad to hear and learn more from them. Facts and truths are important to me. If anyone is like me and want to learn what the best in the sound industry have to say the Burning Amp Festival videos is a good place to learn. https://burningampfestival.com/videos/ The years not posted there can be found on youtube if you search for Burning amp festival and they go back many years. People fly in from all over the world every year to hear what the best in the sound industry have to say. God bless and have a good day.
  2. You quoted me is the only reason I quoted you back. Nothing devious just posting back to you my opinion and findings over 50 years of my audio and electronic journey. I welcome a gentlemanly discussion, difference of opinion if kept civil. Also the figure of 2nd harmonic distortion you quoted is not the amount I have seen or measured with quality built single ended amps.The last SET KT88 amplifier I built had numbers of .22% on one channel and .27% distortion on the other at 1 watt predominantly 2nd harmonic. The build was documented in detail on this site a year or more ago with snapshots of distortion readings. Nelson Pass' in his SS single ended amps have 2nd harmonic numbers in the .5% range and not 5%. The number of 5% would make the music sound clownish.
  3. When a class A/B amplifier leaves class A all depends on how the designer biased the amplifier. With a diyaudio.com SS class A/B amplifier called the Honey Badger, designed by all the talented members from all over the world on that forum, I biased mine slightly higher than normal for it to never leave class A with my horns. Remarkable sounding SS class A/B amplifier by the way with multiple output stages. I will agree with our speakers, who normally never leaves the 1st watt window, most all retail class A/B amplifiers will operate in class A unless pushed very hard. Different story with conventional speakers depending on their efficiency rating. As far as single ended class A operation it is still considered the purest form of amplification due to the fact the audio signal is not manipulated in any form such as being split into with the positive side of the waveform amplified with one circuit and the negative phase amplified by another as in a push pull amplifier then joined back together to drive the speaker. SET tube amplifiers who all are operated in class A are not everyone's cup of tea for sure being sound is so subjective but the form of amplification I like best. More entertaining to me even though it does have some 2nd harmonics. Our hobby is not kidney dialysis but entertainment as Nelson Pass says. Nice to be able to choose. I have many class A/B amplifiers I switch in and out of my system for variety that I enjoy very much. It is between SE and PP amplification one can hear a distinctive difference in sound. I do enjoy them both with my preference being a SET tube amplifier. Single ended with some 2nd harmonics vs PP with a more sterile sound, cleaner as many will say, with very low distortion numbers. Nelson Pass has said he intentionally added some 2nd harmonics into some of his PP SS amplifier designs and they sold very well. As I have said before I believe every serious audiophile should have one of both. A single ended amplifier and a push pull amplifier. Both are available in SS and tube amplifiers though SE SS amplifiers are not that common. I only know of them in high end audio. Most all SS amplifiers are PP amplifiers unless you are talking class D which is going to be the amplification form for the masses in the future.
  4. DC-300 or DC 150? Just curious, I bought and used both 40 or so years ago. Actually still have both. The DC300 was a tank original made for professional use. Crown back then was known for some to the best in reel to reel players.
  5. The TPA 3255 amp boards with a switching power supply sound really good. Ebay has a number of sellers. I have two of them one with the original Texas Instruments proto board and a Chinese one both built with linear power supplies. Most use a switching supply with them and give good reviews. The TPA3255 boards are used in a number of retail amps. You can hear what they sound like for less than $200, at least that was the cost the last time I checked. Who knows what the price of anything will be these days until the day you want to buy something. I could live with one of them if had to. Tubes still rule when it comes to sound though.
  6. Good point Craig about increasing the voltage on the specific amplifier you mentioned, Dynaclones, and the filtering caps not up to the task of higher voltages. Always best to stick with what came with your amplifier and leave playing to those qualified to do so. I was speaking of my own builds going with SS over tube rectification.
  7. I personally have quit using tube rectification on the amplifiers I now build. But you do need to bias the tube circuits with less current being that the voltage will increase with SS diodes if you want to do it correctly. Many do not and get away with doing so but it will probably shorten the tube life depending on the amplifier of course and how it was biased when purchased. SS rectification is much less trouble, expense, and has a much longer life expectancy than a vacuum tube. Many say they like the sound better with a tube but that is not what it is supposed to do. A tubes job for rectification is to convert AC into DC voltage only and not to flavor the sound.
  8. It is not that it has 3rd order harmonics. I have not seen the spec's on the amp but PP amplifiers cancel out much of all the distortion delivering a very clean signal with the even and odd harmonics below the level of being noticeable or a problem. In a SET tube amplifier a 2nd order harmonic is noticeable which many consider desirable including myself. Some of the best in the sound industry like a little 2nd harmonic and a touch of 3rd in their amplifiers. Some even put some in if it is not there. It is called entertainment. Adding a simple circuit tube preamplifier will put some 2nd harmonics into the mix if you want to play.
  9. Tube Fanatic, Maynard in an email says the two input tubes are being run as a mu stage. Learn something new everyday. Here is the link he sent me. http://audio.fam-gelder.nl/index.php/alan-kimmel-artikelen/9-why-use-the-kimmel-mu-stage-2001-alan-kimmel
  10. Marvel and other electronic geeks, is the top tube on the input a CCS? Looks to me like it is since the signal is tied to the cathode of that tube. Totem pole perhaps. I am too lazy to do research hoping more talented tube guys know without doing research. Pretty sure Maynard knows as well as others.
  11. Tube fanatic shows another point of view of why tone controls. I agree they can be useful to improve the sound of a poorly produced piece of music. I know the majority of members here have and use some form of audio signal manipulation. My point was to show members there is another group of audiophiles who spend outrageous sums of money to listen to music from only the best sound engineers producing the music they prefer. Call them fanatics, eccentric, snobs or whatever but they are serious audiophiles with the money to spend for the few extra percentage points of excellence in sound reproduction on equipment with no tone controls or equalizers. Many may not be aware of this group of audiophiles. That is all I am trying to say. I am not part of their club because I have always been a blue collar worker who if I missed a couple of days of work might go to jail. I do have the God given ability to build the designs from schematics that have been published from some of the best in the audio industry enabling me hear what they are talking about. I used signal manipulation most of my audio life. It is only for the last decade or so I have not found the need to do so. There is no right or wrong when deciding to use or not use tone controls. It is an entertainment hobby.
  12. Guys I probably did not give a good explanation behind the reasoning of emitting tone controls. It was certainly not my intention to offend anyone that does have and use tone controls or an equalizer in their sound system. You do not find tone controls on SET tube amplifiers, at least those that I have seen. This is the after all the tube section.The majority of people that buy a SET will hook up the source directly to the amplifier. In my opinion using a quality SET amplifier is the purist and cheapest way to hear high end audio where the audio signal is being kept as pure as possible and just amplified to enable the driving of the speaker system. The majority of receivers, preamps and equalizers have a switch bypassing the tone controls for a reason. It is there for those that do not need and do not want the audio signal manipulated in any way. When I am talking high end audio it is those that spend $38K for a Passlabs XP-32 preamplifier. https://www.usatubeaudio.com/product/amplification/preamps/pass-labs-xs-preamp/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnfmsBhDfARIsAM7MKi2l0vTLqpjM4NO28d0C4cLn0O6Uk16oQjalyn5FzJorvQQgAecPQLMaAtK5EALw_wcB. Or even the less expensive Passlabs XP-22 preamplifier for $10K or the Passlabs XP12 preamplifier for $6K where you do not see tone controls or an equalizer. There are other makers of high end audio products just as good and many may consider better than Passlabs products as well. For instance at $19K a Mark Levinson No-52 preamplifier. Passlabs is just an example. It is in a niche of high end audio where many would not think of manipulating the audio signal in any way keeping it as pure as possible from the source being used. My apology to Mike and anyone else who may have been offended in my futile attempt in giving the reasoning behind omitting tone controls.
  13. If one likes tone controls I have no problem with them using them. Makes no difference to me I was just repeating what I have found in my lifetime when it comes to what the best in the audio field say. Passing on my limited experience while I am still around. Saying BS was rude and uncalled for in my opinion but not everyone is nice on this forum. Mike could have just said I disagree and like my tone controls and went on to explain why instead of post BS to what I have learned in my lifetime.
  14. I never said right or wrong. I said our hobby is entertainment and use whatever you like in so many words. Why get so offensive? The fact is in high end audio tone controls are a no, no. Just giving my experience of 50 or more years in this hobby for those that can accept it Mike. You are the one who got rude saying BS when what you say is BS in high end audio.
  15. I am in the camp of less is more when it comes to electronic parts in an audio component. In a piece of audio gear if a part can be taken out it should be because every part will degrade the sound to some extent. The last thing I want to do after working hard to achieve excellence in an amplifier or pre is throw in extra parts that make a circuit as tone controls do to degrade the sound. Tone controls should be left to the the sound engineer on the mixer board achieving the sound he is looking for. A lot can depend on what one can hear, or be trained to hear, and the kind of music they enjoy. But music is entertainment and if you like manipulating the audio signal the sound engineer worked hard to produce and or you have inherent problems in your system you may like or need tone controls. They were and are most always included in amplifiers for the masses. Even considered necessary. It is in high end audio where they are emitted. Nelson Pass in his designs will take out a single resistor if he can and certainly will not install an unnecessary bunch of parts to put in tone controls. Just more components to degrade the sound. But most will or cannot hear the difference. His products are for those that can. I am in his camp.
  16. If your system needs help I have no problem with using tone controls. More systems need help than those that do not. I do not want any more parts between the source and my speakers than absolutely necessary. Always has been two different point of views when talking tone controls that are used to distort the audio signal from the original source. Again not rocket science. If one likes playing with controls it is an entertainment hobby. One should use what sounds best to them and not listen to what others say. But when you call what I say bullshit you are calling a lot of talented people bullshitters. Nelson Pass for one.
  17. I quit using tone controls and or EQ decades ago. Not needed when everything right. I am referring to high end audio where one spends lots of money for a pure signal. Tone controls and EQ is for the masses and not audiophiles serious about sound reproduction. But then this hobby is entertainment and if one desires manipulated sound I say go for it. There is no right or wrong. With a trained ear one can hear a difference though. You do not find tone controls on Nelson Pass linestages, preamps, for an example. And they are not cheap.
  18. Yes but active buffer vs passive pre both no gain. Better option being active buffer because of impedance matching of components. The problem with Firstwatt B1 was price, $1K.
  19. I use a buffer pre made by Firstwatt called the B1 for volume control enabling the use of a sub because of two outputs, one for the sub and the other going to the amplifier. A buffer is an impedance matching device and has very little of any effect on the sound. I matches the source to the amp much better than the source being tied to the amp. Best of both worlds. I have not found a need for pre with gain using my speakers even though I do have many of them I have built over the years. Unfortunately the are no longer for sale and the price was high when new unless you build it yourself. Easy build with very few parts. Perhaps members know of another brand of buffer available and much cheaper. One can be built using an op-amp as I have also built in the past. I am sure there is probably a retail version by someone available.
  20. Having both many tube preamps along with SS ones I found a tube pre with a SET tube amplifier too much of a good thing. Talking 2nd harmonics. Naturally sound being subjective many do like the added 2nd harmonics a tube pre with a SET brings to the table. I prefer using SS volume control device myself with a SET and a tube pre with a SS amplifier for some added 2nd harmonics when in the mood. I am curious on your thoughts of the SET 45 tube compared to your amps. Look forward to review. Supposedly a SET 45 is a very accurate sounding amplifier. In other words a violin sounds like a true violin.
  21. My kind of guy. Great restoration.
  22. I understand things are not like they were when I first went to work in the 60's at my first job. The rule was you answered that dang phone as quickly as possible because there was a customer on the other end with money that you might get if you talk to them quickly. I do not believe that there is anyone here that would be happy buying some item and wanting info, repairs, spend money for something else, and be put on hold for 2 hours and then not talk to someone. This includes everyone that works at Klipsch. I know things have changed with the internet and internet sales and many companies only communicate through that media but if you have a direct phone service you will not have happy customers if they are put on hold for more than 20 or 30 minutes tops. You can bet on that. This is not reflection on Roy or anyone else that works at Klipsch understanding that they are just one cob in a large corporation who has a board making decisions. Klipsch is no longer a Mom and Pop company. But facts are facts. A two hour hold on a phone is and will not be acceptable for anyone on this forum and will certainly piss them off . Exceptions to every rule of course. Perhaps Travis has the correct answer, email them first if internet is available. They should say that in their warranty with the product. Email first and a person will contact them in 24 hours. Just and old man who was self employed most of his working life 2c.
  23. I would not do business with any company that put me on hold for 118 minutes, 2 hours period. Klipsch needs to address this. At least I would if my company. This is a very serious problem. I say this being a loyal Klipsch fan for near 40 years. Not what one calls good customer service. No excuse is acceptable if they want repeat customers. This was not the case 25 or 30 years ago. Excellent customer service when I used them twice back then. What I say is to alert mgmt to a problem they may not be aware of where they can address it and is not meant to be negative. Temp help is needed in times like this.
  24. I believe Schu meant compared to a horn loaded bass system like K-horn and Lascala. Reason being the big 15" speaker moves very little to make low notes when horn loaded. Less movement less distortion.
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