henry4841

I ran a few test of this Sweetie yesterday and found 8.64W and 8.62W dissipation on the 6Y6 tubes. Well below the 12.5W max. Should give long tube life running at these numbers. Output to the speakers was over 1W. My new generator did not give enough output V to check the wattage out at clipping. Ordered another generator. Way it goes sometime. The one I ordered this time is this one. Should be adequate for some distortion analysis using Arta as well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PQ9R131/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This video pretty much answered my question. Still would like to hear more from the Chief. I am sure there is more to talk about.

I noticed in one of the video's he asked Guttenberg why he wanted to interview him. Could it be he does not want to bring attention to himself on this forum? I think it would be great if he did more than just be a police man here. Be good for him, good for Klipsch. I am glad he is trying to whip this forum into shape where we all can be friends, help each other, and talk more about Klipsch and their products and his design team. No one wants to visit a site where there is constant verbal fights.

😃

That tells you a lot about what goes into one of Pass Labs amplifiers. Should work as intended for decades before needing a freshening up.

There is a lot happening on the paper, or whatever, cone of a conventional speaker when the motor part called voice coil tries to move the cone. I have seen graphs of the waves happening on the cone trying to reproduce the sound wave and it is not pretty. Naturally the larger the cone the more happening. Even the 15" speaker in the K-horn and LaScala moves much, much less than the cone in a conventional speaker trying to reproduce the low notes.

It is about the tiny movement of the diaphragm in a driver vs the force required to move a conventional much larger speaker. A tiny movement of a driver along with the acoustic amplification of the horn minimizes distortion and is much quicker with much more detail in the music.

Would you call it more live sounding with excellent dynamics and detail in the music? You should love the sound of that Pass Labs integrated with those new CW's. Pass Labs are known for their quality sound in a quality product. Tube sound in a SS amplifier. The other thing you have said about listening to equipment is the trap audiophiles fall into. Listening to equipment instead of listening to music. You now have the horn sound from one of the best in the business when it comes to horn speakers. Enjoy the music. Spend your money there. By the way your handle does not seem to be correct. You sound like you are very knowledgeable on the subject of equipment and sound.

This build went together much smoother than the previous one. The previous one was with a 2 or more year absents from building a tube amplifier. That is not to say it did not have a few issues to deal with after first completing the project but nothing that took a lot of time. Mostly joining together a few ground issues eliminating a tiny bit of hum. Dead silent now like my other Sweetie builds. Listened for a few more hours last night. Wonderful sounding SET amplifier with some better looks and parts than the previous Sweeties I have built. In my book Maynard hit a home run designing this amplifier. There has always been a lot of back and forth discussions on capacitors on the site. Being a relatively new member to this site I just tried to ignore all this audiophile talk not wanting to get involved in such things. Electronic engineers and just plain electronic geeks such as myself do not get caught up in such foolish conversations about the different sound of different brands of capacitors. Sure they sound different from each other but that can be said about any component in an amplifier if one has good enough hearing to hear the differences. At least to a certain degree. Called spitting frog hairs with a razor blade down here in the south. A cap is supposed to stop DC and let audio AC signals through. That is it's job period. Most all the film caps at Mouser will do this job without a hiccup. This kind of talk is audiophile language. Electronics is an entirely different language one must learn. The language of electronics. That is what a teacher at an electronic tech college I am currently watching calls the class of electronics. Learning a new language. I have been watching his class on youtube. Just passing the time. Electronic guys speak this language, some better than others and to an outsider it may as well be Greek. I am just now, after 10 years or more since being retired studying the electronics, able to follow along with what sound engineers are saying on some of their videos. But remember I am now 73 years old and some new subject does not come easy at my age. The thing I like about electronics is there is always more to be learned. Always changing and advancing. On this build I ordered the film caps that are made with polypropylene but the input polypropylene cap I ordered was one of those ones made to be placed on a circuit board. Short leads. It's value is .1uf and it is a common cap used in audio repairs of which I keep a number of them in stock. I have a number of .1uf caps bought at Mouser made by Panasonic with the dielectric film of polyester. Spec sheet says it does a great job as a film cap and it is an axial cap made just for a point to point build. I used it for my input cap. Sounds great, no problem. This talk of capacitors has caused a lot of friction on this site from what little I have seen the last couple of years I have been a member. I think it is about time Roy put an end to it and now with Klipsch making and marketing their own film caps for crossover networks we have a Klipsch authorized capacitor picked by their audio engineers to bring ones crossovers back to the sound Klipsch thinks one should hear from their old speakers. I am curious about the sound of of their capacitor they have chosen. Certainly an audio engineer should know more about picking a capacitor than a layman without any formal training in the field of electronics. Us good old boys down here where I live would want an original part for their Harley and not some after market brand. They would probably save their money and buy a stripped down Harley and every time they saved enough money they would go back to the Harley dealer and buy an authorized Harley part. Much the same with your new GM vehicle. If you keep it long enough to need repairs the part you will want is an original GM part to replace the one that went bad if given the choice. Makes sense does it not. Klipsch owners should want the same thing with their Klipsch speakers. Enough rambling this morning. Your thoughts are welcome.

You are absolutely correct. Brazing is more like soldering. I was just trying to make the point that you want the parts you want to join together hot enough to melt the solder instead of the other way around.

Thanks

I believe this is the guy I was thinking of when I first read this thread. Electra-Print Audio. He has a couple of DRD amplifier designs on his site. He also builds and sell what he calls the 45 Silver Stereo Amp for $2900. Not DRD but I bet he will build a DRD 2A3 or DRD 45 amp as well. He is known for winding some of the best transformers one can buy. https://www.electra-print.com/45silver.php

Received my LP's from BullTrax records a few days ago. I would buy from them again. Satisfied with what they described and sent. https://bulltraxrecords.com/

There is another horn design that has been popular with diy'ers the last decade or so. Will not mention it's name being this forum is all about Klipsch but it would not surprise me if it is not a clone of the Tractrix horn designed and developed by the engineers at Klipsch. One thing I would like to see offered by Klipsch is a mid driver with a phenolic diaphragm and possible an after market polyamide diaphragm tweeter for the older Heritage speakers using the AA network. Should not be hard to do for the audio guys at Klipsch. Nothing wrong with the drivers in my 86' LaScala's it's just I like the newer plastic diaphragms better. Smoother sounding to me. I do have another speaker system with a larger mid horn and a phenolic diaphragm and it does have a better sound stage. When it comes to horns bigger is better. Most will agree with that statement. But the stock LaScala's have plenty enough sound stage with the correct amplifier. Be nice if Roy would tell us more about the horn design called Tractrix. I would love to hear more from the sound engineers at Klipsch on this website. Also more about the other speakers they sell other than the Heritage line. What you get with the Heritage line is a mid horn. Nothing like the sound of horns.

Thanks

And here are some pictures of the finished amplifier. Sounds great, good solid, quick bass. Possible has to do with the larger Hammond OPT's used in this build. Comparing the differences between Edcor or Hammond OPT's is just a mute point. Both build good transformers. Hammond just has been the standard for many years and I can see why now. No wait for them to be built as Edcor's are as well. I just finished wrapping it up this morning so no extended listening has been done yet. Neither have I compared it to my Sweetie I have had for years. Right now I am just enjoying listening to my new tube SET amplifier.

While the website was down I finished the Premium Sweetie build. Here are some pictures of my work. Maynard thinks I used too much solder and he is probably right for a point to point build of a tube amplifier but for the PCB board builds and repairs I do it is what the solder joint is supposed to look like. Trust me I always flow my solder and look for a little whiff of smoke telling me the flux has burned off. Maynard was taught the 3 second rule of soldering. Finish the solder joint then hold an additional 3 seconds. Excellent advice. If you watch some of the professional repairers of SS gear it will shock you how much heat and for how long they hold the iron to the parts they are soldering together. That and the amount of solder added. With a tube build such as this there is a mechanical attachment of all the connections whereas in a board build the only thing holding the part in place is the amount of solder one uses. Many problems can be solved in those old 70's receivers by reflowing the solder joints and adding more solder. Especially pay attention to those big parts on the board that get warm or hot. The steady expansion and contraction of the component leads will crack the solder and will prevent a good connection. Fixed by re-soldering the connection.

Enough for one day. One circuit done, two more to go.

Thanks, need to let some of that soak in. In Roy's talk with Steve he mentioned some work done on the Tractrix horn but no specifics.

I think it is going to be OK as long as they are called what they are, mods and not upgrades or improvements. Klipsch designed and used components are already good, just do not start hollering good'er at the top of your lungs. As far as for profit mods, you do not let your dog crap in someone else's yard.

I think the big boss man just wants to put this forum back on the right track, Klipsch talk. Can you blame him? If this were your web page wouldn't you feel the same way? And believe me this is not our forum, it is the big boss' forum. Cross him and you will quickly find out who it belongs to. 🙂

No comments or answers to my question of the Tractrix horn vs old speaker horns? Nobody knows or deep secured Klipsch top secret?

Because he is sorta hiding here. 🙂 Just kidding, I know you know who he is.

I probably did not word my post correctly. Sorry. I took it as you asking me and I just thought it best for Dean to explain. Jimbo and jjptkd just gave a good explanation.

I am building this one a little different from my previous builds. Paying more attention to layout of parts by putting the big components in first. Putting them in the center under the PS transformers and putting the input and output signals on both of the sides keeping them as far away from the AC lines as possible. I actually did a little more yesterday afternoon, maybe 45 minutes. I like the way it is progressing along. This build is following the original schematic Maynard posted and not the one he make for me using a stereo PS. I saw where Area51 posted he had the economy version of the Sweetie. It got me to thinking, all my previous builds were built pretty much the same as his amplifier. All the 22 or 23 ones I now have and probably 10 or more of the other ones I have built the last 10 years. I guess you could say all my amplifiers were economy builds. What can I say. I am a cheap diy'er. Mind you with quality parts from the likes of Mouser or Digi Key but generally the lowest priced parts available from them. Unless one wants to spend hours or days researching those data sheets you have to trust the electronic supply house that supports the electronic industry has only good parts, or at least they are tested to meet the data sheet before they handle them. On the online electronic course I took one lesson was devoted on how to pick parts on Mouser. Their site can be intimidating for someone not experienced in electronics. I find the part I am looking for and then see the options for the ones starting with the lowest cost graduating to the most expensive. Then I look to see if there is a name brand I know with the price in the low range. That is the way I have picked all the parts for all my builds. This build is different in that I am choosing parts from what I have learned over the last 10 years as being a somewhat better quality part. Not so much in an audio way but in a quality way. Such as 105C capacitors instead of my usually 85C ones I have used in the past. In the audio circuits I have chosen Nichicon audio grade 105C electrolytic capacitors and in the PS section Nichicon 105C electrolytic capacitors. There are two .22uf caps in this build. One the input and I am going to use a Jantzen Crosscap there and for the coupling cap my standard orange drops I have found I like on my other builds. I did order some extra Jantzen with the thought of possible using them for the coupling caps as well but have not decided if I want to experiment with a different coupling cap on this build or not. Later if I feel like playing I may change back and forth, the coupling caps, for my impression. I expect both to sound good but different. Some people have good enough hearing to tell when a resistor has been taken out of circuit. Nelson has done blind experiments with his favorite listener of his builds to verify this. His listener could tell the difference. Me, my ear is not trained for such experiments. For the volume pot I have chose the Alps brand. Expensive for me but considered better by many on the net. Personally I have not found anything wrong with the Alfa pots I have always used. Well this is some of the changes in parts I have chosen. Not expecting anything earth shattering different in the sound though. Already sounds really good using parts I have always used in my personal Sweetie I have had for years. Picture of my star ground. Like a star with all the rays coming from one place a star ground is all the grounds going to one place only in an amplifier. All my builds, SS and tube, are built using the star ground method.