garymd Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Our pal Craig has designed a truly amazing preamp and I'm here letting the cat out of the bag because I know he won't. Also, I'm probably the only person on the forum who's had the pleasure of hearing it. I replaced my BBX (which is no slouch as you all know) about 3 months ago with the 1st prototype and it is without question the most significant improvement to my system since I purchased my VRDs many years ago. The stereo mags will never hire me as a reviewer so I'll tell you in layman's terms.....This is one seriously kick-a$$ piece of gear. The phono section is almost dead quiet, quiet as any I've heard. I'm back to playing all my LPs over again for the first time and hearing detail I never knew existed while actually adding the additional warmth and texture you usually give up for that extra detail. As soon as I get a chance, I'll try to attach a few pics. Mine is just a prototype with only the basics but I know a really nice version is on the way that will match the VRDs looks. And no, Craig didn't ask me to post this. I put it off way too long as I'm in week 3 of a new job but I know he's offering the usual forum member and pre-order discounts for those of you with leftover Christmas money.[G] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Hello Gary Thanks for the heads up. I knew he was working on this and saw photos of an early prototype. Sounds like a winner. Ill have to contact him and get in line! Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 NBS = No [bs] ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Our pal Craig has designed a truly amazing preamp and I'm here letting the cat out of the bag because I know he won't. Also, I'm probably the only person on the forum who's had the pleasure of hearing it. I replaced my BBX (which is no slouch as you all know) about 3 months ago with the 1st prototype and it is without question the most significant improvement to my system since I purchased my VRDs many years ago. The stereo mags will never hire me as a reviewer so I'll tell you in layman's terms.....This is one seriously kick-a$$ piece of gear. The phono section is almost dead quiet, quiet as any I've heard. I'm back to playing all my LPs over again for the first time and hearing detail I never knew existed while actually adding the additional warmth and texture you usually give up for that extra detail. As soon as I get a chance, I'll try to attach a few pics. Mine is just a prototype with only the basics but I know a really nice version is on the way that will match the VRDs looks. And no, Craig didn't ask me to post this. I put it off way too long as I'm in week 3 of a new job but I know he's offering the usual forum member and pre-order discounts for those of you with leftover Christmas money. WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS WE WANT PICS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 These aren't my pics but are from an email Craig sent out to a few of his customers. He also sent some info with the pics: Hi! I am glad to report that my NBS preamp with phono project is at long last in its final phases and ready for pre-orders. The time frame quoted to me for the chassis to be fabricated is 8 to 9 weeks from the date I order. I am now giving a window of opportunity to customers interested in the pre-order discount: You have from now until January 6, 2013 to get the down payment to me. I would like to place my order on January 7, which places the building of the preamps to commence by mid March. I will build them in order of the date that the deposit is received: The first person to send me his deposit will be the first one to have his preamp built, etc. I anticipate that each preamp will take me about 3 days to build and then a few more days to allow me to run it through its paces and burn it in to ensure proper operation. My best estimate for completion is one and half weeks, tops, but I think it is more likely to take one week. Attached you will find a few pictures to get an idea about what you will receive and any changes noted from the final prototype build. Of course feel free to ask any questions or make special requests within reason. No, I cannot make any layout changes. But some customizing will be available, like main coupling cap upgrades, upgraded volume controls (Alps blue velvet standard) or source selector switch. Of course extra costs will be involved in customization (basically whatever the extra part costs, less the cost of the standard part). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 There was more info but I'd rather leave that up to Craig and his customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 There was more info but I'd rather leave that up to Craig and his customers. Can you tell us the tube complement used? My eyes just aren't good enough to tell from the posted picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Gary, thanks for posting. would love to hear the sweetheart. Congrats Craig! Turned out another winner. Pics look great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davis419b Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 There was more info but I'd rather leave that up to Craig and his customers. Can you tell us the tube complement used? My eyes just aren't good enough to tell from the posted picture. Here is a pic of the tube layout ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 good looking iron, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 Here's what mine looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Based on Gary's recommendation I have gotten in line and ordered one myself. Thanks for the heads up bud! I'm really excited about this new offering from Craig! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 There was more info but I'd rather leave that up to Craig and his customers. Can you tell us the tube complement used? My eyes just aren't good enough to tell from the posted picture. Here is a pic of the tube layout ! That one I can read. Thanks! [H] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Wow Gary thanks for letting the cat out of the bag so to speak! Here are some larger sized photo's. The black face plate on Gary proto type has is not an option just so folks don't get the wrong idea. I have built two of these so far Gary's is proto type #1 and I have proto type #2 here. The fabrication shop (long time klipsch forum member) has Proto Type #3 chassis for copying purposes. Once this is all said and done these proto types which are Sonically identical to the end product will be put on the road show so interested folks can try before they buy. But keep in mind this will be many months from now. I have to first get the finished product launched which will take at least 6 pre-order customers to help me partially finance the huge one time engineering and screen print costs involved for a small cottage business like NOS Valves. I did this very same thing with the release of the VRD mono amps and the VRD stereo amp which worked out well for all involved. I'd rather not go into too many details here on the forum because I feel it's a bit over the top on a promotoinal level and I know it rubs some folks wrong. So after this if anyone has questions either email me or give me a call. Please no private messages they tend to eat up way too much of my time. I end up logging into the forum and get side tracked reading threads which I have little time to spare. Each photo has notes that explain some of the very basic changes that will be implemented in the final product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Inside all point to point wiring which from my experience in the repair/refurbishment business I think is a much better long term solution. The Lundahl transformer step up is designed strictly for circuit board implementation so it will have a circuit board if LOMC is chosen as an option. This part of the circuit deals with strictly music signal no HV B+ or heat present to cause any issues long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 The back layout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 AlI I can say is that its about time. Congrats Craig. I'm sure it's sounds just terrific. I intend to travel over to Gary's early in the New Year for a listen. A couple of questions. Can you adjust loading for both resistance and capacitance if you are going LOMC? Oh, and what's the deal on the step up? Is that from another source? Is it basically a simple gain stage or something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Thanks Marty! You can read about the step up here http://www.kandkaudio.com/phonostage.html both versions have the ability to plug in differing resistance values without soldering and they is no reason a person could not bypass the resistor with a cap to accomplish capacitance loading. Swapping the resistance is a great fine tuning tool ask Gary. The wrong value can really make it sound like garbage so care needs to be taken. I plan to include a few values around the known center line for the cartridge each customer plans to use so they can fine tune. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 NBS = No ? Well maybe [] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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