henry4841

Anybody use these guys. When searching for an image of the album I found it on this site. Price is right. https://bulltraxrecords.com/barbara-mandrell-in-black-white-mca-records-mca-5295-lp-album-pin-949360909/?sku=949360909&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyOuYBhCGARIsAIdGQRP2Chi7D6OXSPgeqvRNCTzQRNf9xgghnSKrnwpuzz5KMGuX47k1MH0aAjEqEALw_wcB

Last night, a good one by Barbara.

I think in a past post I called the 6Y6 a pentode when it actually it is a beam tetrode, tetrode 4 pins instead of the 5 pins in a pentode. Interesting history about it's development. Some guys in England built the first pentode and got a patent on the design. Anyone building a pentode tube had to pay the English guys a royalty to do so. The USA guys decided to design a tube that does the same thing as a pentode with just 4 pins and presto we have the Beam power tube. And do not have to pay a patent fee to the English guys. You tech geeks can net it and find the details if interested. I found the history interesting when I read about it years ago.

Nelson liked the old Simlac's but my understanding the newer ones have changed. Nichicon makes a cap series much like the old Simlacs. At least that is what I am hearing on the net. Hard to go wrong with the Nichicon brand of caps. When doing the kind of things Kt-88 has done just go by what you see and think and not what someone else on the nets says sounds good. Just please yourself. I like hearing what KT-88 has found. First hand experience with different parts. Good thing about a forum, hearing different and new views.

Interesting KT-88.

Guys the test I ran using Arta may be flawed. I have not tested my new signal generator with Arta to see how clean the signal coming out of it is before running it into the Sweetie. If the signal generator has a dirty signal the amplifier is going to to amplify the dirt. I just assumed the generator is clean. Assume nothing when doing any test. I will try and remember to do that sometime today.

What you guys think of what I came up with for an amplifier chassis. You have to admit it looks solid with wood and thick sheet aluminum. One thing for sure it is one of kind. I bet If I had it my office when I was working all the guys would be drawn to it to take a look. Hillbilly folk art SET tube amplifier. You find things like this In places like Maggie Valley NC. For those that do not know there are no chain restaurants in Maggie Valley. It's where old folks go to vacation to relax and get away from it all. Neat little town nestled in between a number of mountains. I use to like to go around this time of year when the leaves start changing. Busy time for the Smokies. I really like the look. People are doing that real rustic look to old rusty cars. Get it mechanically redone and the insides real pretty but leave the outside alone and just spray some clear over it. I think it is called a rat rod. Is that right? Just a passing fad probably. I would not care to have one.

I've seen the youtube doc on that Russian engine. Watched it twice. I forget what was so special about the engine but it is something special about it and it was built decades ago.

I bought 8 of hers in a deal along with 30 or more other LP's in two package deals from the same seller. There are a couple, one in particular, that just sucks. Nothing wrong with the vinyl but it is in the way it was recorded or either the vinyl pressing itself. It happened with LP's bought new years ago as well. The others are just beautiful sounding if you like country rock type of music.

Many thanks, I like the look and yes the metal plates have some scratches as if it were a piece of old equipment. I like that kind of look myself. Certainly not a pretty vase in the wife's parlor but more for a mans room. Serious looking. I could have sanded the aluminum down and applied a pretty colored paint and made it glass smooth. Did as much with custom car work in the past but that is just not me at this stage in my life. I like this look. There is something called surface primer that fills in surface imperfections in the metal of cars. Works real well for minor imperfections. This is pretty solid wood hand built with hand cut dovetails and heavy solid aluminum plate not covered over with pretty paint. I am satisfied with how the chassis turned out. Pleases me. What do you guys think? Lurkers that never post as well.

Did a little this morning, very little but necessary. Drilled the ventilation holes and lightly sanded the enamel clear and put another coat of enamel on the top plate. Attached the small plates to have a look. I like the look I have achieved. Just what I imagined and was going for. This is what diy is all about. More so in a tube amplifier than a SS one. Took my own personality and put it in a tube chassis. This is the look I was after. A serious looking no frill amplifier.

After that Barbara Mandrell Moods. I bought a lot of Mandrell LP's a few weeks ago. I was not a fan and had no LP's of hers before then. The lady had a great voice back then. I new pleasant female singer I am enjoying quite a lot. Easy on the eyes as well.

I understand. I practically listen only to LP's and I will post some of the LP's I enjoy as well. Last night I listened to Connie Francis. Lot's of reverberation used on that LP. At first it was pleasing but I got tired of it later on.

Just thought I would mention, yes the tiny leads on mf resistors are easily broken. The reason I always buy extra's when placing an order.

Some very good points. I have talked to Maynard about the subject of carbon film vs mf resistors years ago and he just said no difference in his opinion. I built one tube amp with carbon resistors just to see for myself. I could really not tell any significant difference. The only way to run a real test is to build two identical amps, one with carbon and the other with mf and then compare the sound with some significant time listening to both of them with the same source of music. Personally I think either way will sound just fine. The one advantage of mf is they do not drift from stated ohms over time like a carbon resistor does. But an amp such as this one is real tolerate of drifting value parts. Nor does carbon have some other properties not wanted as does mf, inductance, reactance etc. You can make a carbon resistor at home with just a lead pencil and a piece of paper. Scratch yourself a good thick line of lead pencil on a piece of paper and then measure with an ohmmeter to verify yourself. I have done it.

Laugh for the day. Me in the cartoon.

Ever watch the movie 'A Christmas Story." A professor in foul language is the language the boy used talking about his father.

Guys I appreciate each and everyone of ya'll that gave their opinion on how to finish the aluminum on this build and I gave some thought to each and every one of them. But this is the great thing about building your own amplifier, you can make it look exactly like you like. I am building this amplifier like I am building it for myself and the look I have chosen is what I like. If decided to sell it after finishing it I guess I will just have to try to find someone that likes the look I like or I will just keep it for myself. This is the first for me on a couple of levels. This is the first tube amplifier I have built as mono's and the first with premium parts. There is a strong temptation for me to keep it but Lord knows I do not need another tube amplifier. Or the trouble it is building one this way, for looks as well as for sound. If I decide to sell it and no one else likes the look I will be perfectly happy keeping it for myself. I am not rich by no means of the imagination but nor am I broke. Always, like most everyone else, could use some extra money but I get by within my budget. For the time being that is. No one knows what is around the corner.

I'll take those old analog recorded LP's over the new LP's that were recorded digitally any day of the week. To me the newer LP's are just cashing in on the newer LP beginners. No doubt LP collecting is the in thing with yuppies these day. The reason for the LP comeback.

Forgot to drill some vent holes in the main plate. This little amplifier runs really cool for a tube amplifier with most of the heat is coming from the top mounted tubes but those voltage reducing power resistors do generate some heat doing their job. Not a worrisome amount but some heat. I will drill those vent holes first thing this morning.

Just thought I would add, my boys get their smarts from their mother. My ex and I were like oil and water but no question about her being smart. She went on to become a successful business woman and even got on her picture on the front page of a local circulating magazine last month showcasing her success. Me, I am still just a good old country boy.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. These days all the better amplifiers are really good sounding. Not what you would call a bad one in the bunch by any stretch of the imagination. That being said all amplifiers that I have heard sound different in subtle ways. Biggest difference between amps that I know of is the difference in sound of say a single ended amplifier vs a push pull one or possibly throw in the class D ones into the mix since they have been improved a lot the last decade. There you will have two different camps. I enjoy both camps A and A/B tube or SS but my preference with the kind of music I enjoy is class A single ended whether SS or tube. That is with our Klipsch speakers where you can use both camps. Many other speaker brands one cannot use low powered class A SE amplifiers. SET tube amplifiers with their low power are not recommended for those speakers needing a lot of power to wake up. Perfect for us though and highly desirable in high end audio circles.

As we know that can be really debatable with a lots of serious discussions. Vinyl is my first form of source material. Probably has more to do with my age than anything else. The most desirable form to me would be the old master tapes of recordings that the LP's were cut from. As ODS stated lots of love playing an old LP and collecting them is fun in it's own right. LP's sound just really good to me but I was raised on them.

Below is the one other time Roger gave a 1 hour lesson at the BAF 2018. You may have to start in at the first since I am in the process of watching it again. He died the next year from cancer at 68 years old. You young guys are living in a wonderful time. When I was 20 years old we did not have videos of a teacher, professor?, that taught at Stanford talking advanced tube circuitry for free on the net. You must realize it cost the parents of kids going to Stanford a small fortune to spend 4 quarters hanging out with this guy and we get to see 2 lessons from him for free. One does not have to have degrees to make it in the electronic world. Companies actually want whoever can the do the best job the fastest. I believe there is a misconception that if you have an electronic engineering degree you will get a high paying job designing circuits when it actuality you will most likely be repairing PCB board rejects from the factory floor. They have the time required to fix and repair a board down pat much like the flat rate book mechanics have at a service center. Like the average time to find and fix a board is 45 minutes. The boss expects you to repair 10.66 of them in a day or you will be looking for another job. The graduates with an electronic degrees that go into designing new products are in the top 5 or 10% of the graduating class. Companies want the best minds doing the designing. My son that makes the most money of my 4 boys never went to college. Two of my other sons did, one from Auburn and the other from a community college called Troy. The one that graduated from Auburn went on to become a lieutenant commander or possibly commander before retiring from the Navy. But Eric, the one that only went to high school, is making 6 figures and the 1st number is not a 1 selling encryption software to large companies. The company he works for sells the software that the techs working at a large business use to create a unique encryption different from anyone else. They are not like consumers who just buy a mass market for everyone software. If they did that they would be broke into by hackers the very first day. Now he just flies mostly in the USA for business meetings but a few years ago he was flying all over the world teaching the engineers at companies that have bought the specialized encryption software from the co. he works for. As most know the big money is in sales in most any company. He went to India many times. Tells some hair raising stories about the drivers on the road there. Also went to Dubai a few times as well. Said he did not like it so much. Nothing much to do there for the 1 or 2 weeks he had to be there. His favorite place to go to was Singapore. Always enjoyed going there. The point is here he is, without a college degree, he is making big bucks because he gets the job done. He was a computer geek right when computers were making a scene in the consumer market. Could always find him at home in front of his Apple as a teenager. If one can understand this Sweetie 3 circuit amplifier you will have a good foundation to grow on. I mean really understand what is going on in this amplifier. What every component in the circuit is there for and why. Then you can gradually add more and more circuits into your repertoire. If you spend some time watching Roger's videos and try and soak in all that he is saying you will be on your way for enjoyment in the hobby of amplifiers or possibly more than just a hobby one day if you learn young enough. When he mentions something, a circuit or a new word, that you do not understand do some googling and find the answer to your question. Going to SS from tube is easy since a lot of the info is much the same just using a different active device. All the parts around an active device are there just to make the active device, whether tube or SS, work the best it can. At least as much as the talent of the designer knows how. Mass market amplifiers are now switching over from tubes and transistor to chip amplifiers, class D. But still there are components around that chip to make it work correctly just like a discrete tube or transistor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pU3jNquDUo&t=1390s