Area 51
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Posts posted by Area 51
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11 hours ago, Jon B said:
a Southern Cal Klipsch fan
Hello from Area 51! Where are you, Jon B?
Hi! I'm George (my forum name is Area 51) in Ventura.
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8 hours ago, henry4841 said:
If that were mine I would not sell it.
... and you have how many amplifiers, Henry?
You are a man after my own heart, my friend.
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7 hours ago, henry4841 said:
When listening to Area51's Sweetie I did noticed the bass seemed mighty good
and I have to agree Sweetie sounds pretty darn good on my HIP Heresies without a sub. But there was something almost undefinable nagging at me. It didn't sound bad. It just wasn't lighting me up like I was hoping it would. I think adding a sub might be one of those things you don't miss until you have it. Then you realize you needed it. We'll get to that later but for now why wasn't I more enthusiastic about the overall sound? Again, it didn't sound bad but there was something I couldn't put my finger on that just wasn't there. At this point I should tell you I used to be something of a cable denier or skeptic. I didn't think interconnecting cables could make a big difference once you reach a level of competence and you're using "adequate" quality cables. I realize that, like so much around audio equipment, terms like "adequate" are highly subjective and I'm opening myself up to criticism. In fact, I'll probably be excoriated-if not excommunicated-because I will soon be offering some cables for sale in the Garage Sale section but in my humble, admittedly biased opinion upgrading from my entry level cheapos to some good quality Audioquest interconnects delivered an immediately discernible improvement in bass on my Heresies without a sub so I can now confirm Sweetie's bass is "mighty good".
8 hours ago, henry4841 said:Maynard said as much about the bass when first introducing the Sweetie.
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On 9/16/2022 at 2:13 PM, henry4841 said:
While the website was down I finished the Premium Sweetie build.
Looks good and I'll bet it sounds as good as it looks!
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On 9/9/2022 at 2:00 PM, tube fanatic said:
Keep up the beautiful work.
Our mutual friend was kind enough to build and send the "economy version" of your design my way. I am grateful to both of you, thanks.
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1 minute ago, henry4841 said:
should last a lifetime or at least a few decades
Sweetie looks like she's bulletproof. She'll probably outlive me. (She's certainly in better shape).
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On 9/10/2022 at 1:32 AM, henry4841 said:
very satisfied
Indeed! I'm a happy guy, thank you.
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3 minutes ago, henry4841 said:
Lots of myself put into this build. I need to hang on to this amplifier and enjoy it for a while and not sell it.
Good for you, Henry. Enjoy!
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34 minutes ago, henry4841 said:
What do you guys think?
I like it!
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12 hours ago, henry4841 said:
a tool to produce music
That's a pretty good line, Henry.
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9 hours ago, henry4841 said:
Believe me there was a strong temptation for me to keep those tubes but I bought them for Area51 one's amp and that is where they went.
And they are appreciated, thank you.
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5 hours ago, tube fanatic said:
I may have to head south so Henry and I can sit on the porch in rockers as he suggested.
I am grateful to Henry for building Sweetie. And I am grateful to you, Maynard, for designing Sweetie.
Whatever our age, you guys ROCK !
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I'm gonna find myself a girl who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors In each other's paint-by-number dreamsGet up and do it again
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1 hour ago, 82 Cornwalls said:
I just do a search and use tube equivalent.
That oughta work. Thanks!
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33 minutes ago, henry4841 said:
Stick with 6Y6, and 6SJ7 tubes. I honestly do not think you are going to find any better 6SJ7 tubes than you already have. The tubes in it now should last a very long time. Those old tubes were made to last.
Can do for Sweetie, thanks - I like the long life and affordability aspects but I was asking a more general question about tubes in general.
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35 minutes ago, henry4841 said:
Sweetie is working fine with no problems.
Indeed.
A couple questions:
Unlike some audio equipment Sweetie should be turned off when not in use, yes?
Is a warm up period of 10 - 15 minutes after powering up and before using recommended?
After turning off is there a "resting" period recommended before turning on again?
What should I use on the wood?
And, not particular to Sweetie but regarding tubes in general; Where can I find some sort of guide to tell me what tubes are acceptable replacements for tube "rolling" or experimenting in search of different sounds or tones or flavors or ... whatever you call it? How do you know what's interchangeable and what is not?
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10 hours ago, henry4841 said:
Area51 posted a few days ago when he agreed with me about this amplifier is all about the mids and vocals.
Sorry I have been MIA recently. My water heater is the "gas station" type: short and squat so it can fit in the crawl space over the bathroom so when it failed and flooded it made a real mess everywhere. I have been busy and, as a result, distracted. I have had music on while I'm working; listening to Amazon Music streaming into Sweetie and filling the shop with my HIP Heresies. Can't really call it "critical listening".
I noticed right away the sweet sound of female vocals with Enya grabbing my attention and possibly indicating how the "Little Sweetie" got her name. Bonnie Raitt and Bonnie Bramlett got in there, too but I always like the Bonnies regardless of how their music is delivered. Everything else? That gets interesting. I mentioned previously that I wonder how much speaker selection and speaker placement is influencing my impressions - and the use of a pre amp with my living room Cornwalls. Other factors include my advanced age (old ears) and rock and roll history (blown out ears). I sometimes find myself complaining that it's difficult for me to hear and understand clearly the human voices in a television broadcast of a football game or other sports where the crowd or the marching band overwhelms the announcers. Does that indicate hearing loss or degradation of the quality of listening available to me? Probably.
I'm looking forward to some CD time although that will be on the Cornwalls. Turntable will be set up later so my Sweetie evaluation will continue with sources being CDs and streaming as I work to recover from the flood.
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Congratulations!
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19 hours ago, henry4841 said:
Less is more philosophy.
I once read, "The best pre amp is no pre amp". I guess it's safe to assume you would agree with that, Henry. I hope I'll be able to experiment and play with some A-B comparisons so I can contribute from experience.
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19 hours ago, henry4841 said:
Oh well, why not.
That's the spirit!
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16 hours ago, henry4841 said:
where it shines, vocals and tone.
Yep!
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14 hours ago, jjptkd said:
Even though the shop is a bigger space the HIP's (if stock) are 3db higher in sensitivity than the Cornwall you may be surprised how well they'll work together I'd give it a try nothing to lose.
I've been dealing with an unpleasant water heater problem and it has worn me out so I'll be brief. I was unaware of the Heresy sensitivity advantage. I thought I had the Cornwalls too close to the wall in a room that's just too small for them. That may be. Unfortunately, I can't move them out any farther than the 5 inches I have now. Maybe I can reconfigure and pick up a couple inches but that's about it. Well, we have a lot of possible combinations to experiment with so time will tell, I guess.
The important part: Sweetie straight to the Heresies in the shop is way cool. I have more work to do and I'll be listening to some variety but I think just about anything is going to be fun.
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17 hours ago, Shakeydeal said:
Thanks for the comments but I’ve decided to pass.
Would it be inappropriate to ask why?
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9 minutes ago, henry4841 said:
Guys I am like the rest of the visitors to this thread wondering what Area51 thinks of the 6Y6 tube sound.
I haven't listened to these Cornwall speakers in quite a while. Now, Sweetie has them all to herself. I finally set up my HIP Heresies and old Yamaha receiver in the shop area here and that's mostly what I have been listening to for the last few days so that's one basis for comparison. I'm really happy with those speakers so far. Otherwise, I'm listening to a pair of Amazon Echo Studio speakers in the living quarters and I'm more than a little surprised to find I like them a lot so that's another basis for comparison but It's way too early for any kind of conclusions about Sweetie.
Today: Enya. Well suited to Sweetie, I think. Streaming Amazon Music. Threw in a little Supertramp for variety. Cowboy Junkies Trinity Session. A little Steely Dan on CD. I keep coming back to Enya - because Sweetie and Enya seem to work so well together. Maybe that was predictable. Is that the 6Y6 tube sound I was told about? Female vocals?
Some of my basis for comparison is what I remember of the solid state Schitt Vidar and Aegir combination through the Cornwall IIIs. More present in the front of my mind, right between the ears, is the impression those HIP Heresies have made on me. I've had them playing for less than a week and it's an understatement to say I'm impressed. They're out in the open with plenty of room to breathe, filling the shop. Speaker placement is just about right. The Cornwalls (and Sweetie), on the other hand, are in my much smaller living room where listening position is critical.
Yeah, you're reading my mind. Can I take Sweetie out to the shop and turn her loose on those Heresies? Straight, with no preamp? Why not? So far, I'm learning more about speaker placement in my listening areas than collecting impressions about my newest family member, Sweetie. Well, at least I know she likes Enya.
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Premium Sweetie Build
in Talkin' Tubes
Posted
I'll second that. Little Sweetie loves my Heresies and I am loving the combination. I hope I'll be able to do some A - B comparisons soon and maybe contribute some impressions to the discussion. For now I'll just say "thanks".