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New to Tubes


Limberpine

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I'm brand new to tubes and am looking for anybodies experience with the Erhard Audio Phono and Pre? I bought a Will Vincent St-70 on here from @joessportster and am seriously enthralled by the sound and depth that comes out of the Cornwalls with that amp. Like,  WOW!

 

So, to feed the "sickness", I have now gone down the path in thinking that the Pho and Pre should be tubes as well, but I want to get some other opinion on that and opinions on Erhard if people have experience with them.? I have also looked at the Tubes4hifi Pre and Phono as well, which are similar in price, but don't have tone controls.  And if I'm being COMPLETELY transparent the Tubes4hifi are not as nice on the eyes as the Erhards. I know it's about the sound........but its also a bit about the aesthetics. : )

 

Thanks in advance for all the help!

 

I'm def a noob to more sophisticated audio, but have recently gotten back into music in a deep way because of the Cornwalls.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/20/2020 at 11:50 AM, Limberpine said:

I'm brand new to tubes and am looking for anybodies experience with the Erhard Audio Phono and Pre? I bought a Will Vincent St-70 on here from @joessportster and am seriously enthralled by the sound and depth that comes out of the Cornwalls with that amp. Like,  WOW!

 

So, to feed the "sickness", I have now gone down the path in thinking that the Pho and Pre should be tubes as well, but I want to get some other opinion on that and opinions on Erhard if people have experience with them.? I have also looked at the Tubes4hifi Pre and Phono as well, which are similar in price, but don't have tone controls.  And if I'm being COMPLETELY transparent the Tubes4hifi are not as nice on the eyes as the Erhards. I know it's about the sound........but its also a bit about the aesthetics. : )

 

Thanks in advance for all the help!

 

I'm def a noob to more sophisticated audio, but have recently gotten back into music in a deep way because of the Cornwalls.

No experience with the tube preamps you're considering, but IME a tube preamp really does compliment a tube amp. I have the Dynaco ST-70 series II (similar to your Will Vincent)and I use an inexpensive Chinese Tube pre based on the Marantz 7 pre circuit and I love it. It sounds better than any other combo I've tried (DAC direct to amp, SS preamp, passive attenuator).

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11 minutes ago, Limberpine said:

Thats great to hear! I'm excited to listen to the Tube pre. Right now I'm just running a Schiit Sys with the Dac or with the Schiit Phono through the St-70 and it doesn't sound too bad TBH. 

Wow, guessing it sounds really decent...

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I have a Schiit SYS. It's only $49, but IMO it sounds very sterile like and lifeless. The gain or volume is quite low when coupled to the ST70 I have and I mainly use it sometimes as an attenuator. I get the idea of the placebo effect it has on one's conscience because it's a simple unit. I think the internals are even made in Japan of all places too, but a dedicated preamp like the Erhard will absolutely blow it away. It's no contest when I compare the two and my Aretha has tone control. Obviously the Erhard is many times the price of a Schiit SYS but you'll definitely hear your money's worth with the Erhard. For me, Holger has been great to work with and answers many of my questions and his products are top notch. The phono stage in my Aretha is fantastic too. Great clarity and punch. There's some pics of my Aretha here. 

drD

 

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On 10/31/2020 at 7:55 AM, angelaudio said:

I have a Schiit SYS. It's only $49, but IMO it sounds very sterile like and lifeless. The gain or volume is quite low when coupled to the ST70 I have and I mainly use it sometimes as an attenuator.

 

The SYS is just a 10K stereo potentiometer in a box...it has no gain/output line voltage, meaning it's not an active device. The SYS just attenuates the line voltage from the source...like you mention. I'm guessing the ST70 amplifier requires a bit more input line voltage than your source puts out to get the best out of the amp...more than the common 2 volts from CD players and whatnot using the SYS.

 

That's why the SYS sounds dead compared to the active preamplifier. I like that tone control option on the Erhard Aretha btw...

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Yeah, the Schiit gear was just a placeholder while I made a decision on the Tube Phono and Pre, so Im excited to hear all the tubes in line in comparison. Erhard should have me that by laf November. Even when comparing the ST-70 with the Schiit pre and Phono to the the Marantz PM-8 SS, I def lose definition, so I can't wait to to have a tube setup all the way through.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Woot!

 

Got the new Erhard Aretha Pre......got it hooked up and ready to go.....then lots of noise in the La Scalas.....and what I mean about that is I heard a feedback noise in the speakers when there is no music playing and when there are quiet parts of music....is this to be expected? Or am I doing something incorrectly? 

 

Here is the chain: laptop, hooked to Music Fidelity V-Dac, hooked to Aretha Pre amp, hooked to Will Vincent ST-70 hooked to the La Scals via 10awg silver coated copper wires bare end.

 

The build quality of these units are great! Iooks rad too, and when I dont hear the "feedback" sound  it sounds lovely. 

 

So, again new to tubes and want to know if this is what comes with the territory? 

 

Thanks! 

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5 hours ago, Limberpine said:

Woot!

 

Got the new Erhard Aretha Pre......got it hooked up and ready to go.....then lots of noise in the La Scalas.....and what I mean about that is I heard a feedback noise in the speakers when there is no music playing and when there are quiet parts of music....is this to be expected? Or am I doing something incorrectly? 

 

Here is the chain: laptop, hooked to Music Fidelity V-Dac, hooked to Aretha Pre amp, hooked to Will Vincent ST-70 hooked to the La Scals via 10awg silver coated copper wires bare end.

 

The build quality of these units are great! Iooks rad too, and when I dont hear the "feedback" sound  it sounds lovely. 

 

So, again new to tubes and want to know if this is what comes with the territory? 

 

Thanks! 

 

I have the same preamp and it's dead quiet on my Heresy 4's with both of my tube amps. There should be no 'feedback noise'. Did this ''noise' just start when you received the Aretha?

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5 hours ago, tube fanatic said:

Please describe the sound you are hearing in more detail and if it is from both speakers.  Does it change with the setting of the volume control or input selector?  If it has a phono input, do you hear the sound with only the turntable connected and nothing else?

 

 

Maynard

I will see if I can post a short video. That might be the easiest way to hear it.

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1 hour ago, Les Lammers said:

 

I have the same preamp and it's dead quiet on my Heresy 4's with both of my tube amps. There should be no 'feedback noise'. Did this ''noise' just start when you received the Aretha?

So, there was a teensy hum when I was using the Schiit sys with the Will Vincent St-70 and was not audible during a song, only in between or when no music was on. but now that hum is WAY louder with the Aretha in all areas. 

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2 hours ago, henry4841 said:

You've got hum. Try shorting the inputs and see if the hum is in the amp itself. If it goes away with the inputs shorted the problem is elsewhere. 

Thanks! Yes, I have to give a ton of Kudos to Holger at Erhard Audio. He just spent 20min with me on the phone walking through a  couple ways to chase down the issue, including shorting the Power amp, which when done, makes the noise LOUDER. : /

 

I already had new power and rectifier tubes on the way, which he suggested changing them out will be the next step in seeing what's up.

 

Any other words of advice on troubleshooting the problem?

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