jazman Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Mobile, No contest on looks. The GZ37 is one graceful looking tube. Hopefully I will get another GZ37 soon to audition with the Rogers 2A3s. I'm very tempted to send these Rogers to you for a listen a couple of months down the road. They don't sound like the RCA's or Sovteks, maybe not enough midrange liquidity for your taste. I'm truly trying to get a good feel for their sonic properties. That may create an interesting mix with the GZ37s. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 I'd LOVE to hear those Rogers 2A3. Never heard them. Really surprised the Mullard GZ-37 went bad. Those things are really bullet proof. All mine are still good and the damn things are always on. Cant beat the Mullard rectifiers. You get a deal on the Rogers? kh ps- IS there any chance the Rogers 2A3 are rebranded Sylvanias? Look into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted January 20, 2003 Share Posted January 20, 2003 Mobile, I think I got a good deal on the Rogers at $69.00 for the pair. Believe me, I tried to get a second pair to no avail. I have not been able to find anything on the tubes or boxes which provide a clue to their origin other than they were "made in Canada"(printed on the tube). The contruction looks to be RCA blackplate. They simply don't sound like the other two pair of RCA 2A3 blackplates I own. I'll see what I can find on Sylvania rebranding. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted January 20, 2003 Share Posted January 20, 2003 I remember reading somewhere they are rebranded Sylvanias and then Jeff said the same thing. I couldnt find out nor remember where, however. The Sylvania 2A3 is an ok tube but not as good as the JAN CRC VT95 Black Plates. You can routinely get Sylvanias on ebay and other places on the cheap relatively speaking. I have no proof one way or another, so all above with a grain of salt..perhaps bigger grain than some. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted January 20, 2003 Share Posted January 20, 2003 Leo: Certainly you've got the scoop on cathode bypass capacitors. Have you tried posting on the Welborne forum? You're getting great feedback on the subject here, but maybe Ron W. can provide the clarification you're looking for. Let us know how this develops -- you've got me tempted to go and yank out those caps so I can hear for myself what you're talking about! Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted January 20, 2003 Author Share Posted January 20, 2003 Erik, I did. Ron responded, "Yes, leave C5 in the circuit. You could lose some bass performance if removed" In fact, the bass response may be a bit reduced with them out. But for what I perceive as gain in clarity, it's no issue. Anyway, the Moondogs (with the caps out) have nicer bass than my pp amp, so for me, bass is still improved. Moondogs have nicer everything than anything I've ever heard for that matter. If you can remove the caps without risking damage, you should try it. I think the highs are much cleaner and more natural. And those clean highs sound real nice through the RF-7s (I haven't tried the Fortes yet). leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Hi again, Leo: Sheesh, this is about the last thing I have time for this morning, but I'm fascinated by your experiments with this aspect of the Moondogs. I tried a post on the Welborne site myself yesterday evening, and got a response along the same lines you did from Ron W. It obviously boils down to a preference, I guess. If you're not experiencing distortion or a significant reduction in bass response, it might be the best thing to do. I'm always (Kelly H. knows this about me!!!) looking for the greatest amount of clarity I can obtain, and I will likely give this a shot this weekend. No damage will happen to the amps -- I've done tons of work inside the amps since I've built them, and this won't pose a threat. I appreciate the concern you offered, though. I'm thinking about getting rid of as many of the terminal boards that I can, and rewiring virtually point to point, using the leads of the components themselves (as much as practical)to complete the circuit. Almost all the boards have come loose because of old or faulty epoxy (which, although it aesthetically helps with reducing the number of screwheads on the top plate). Aesthetics are important, but in this case inferior adhesive has compromised some things internally. My amps are very nearly silent, but I've had to re-glew as best as I could, the boards that have come loose. It was hard to do that work neatly with all the wiring in the way! See ya! Kelly: You still wanna try those cables for fun? Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Sure on the cables. And I would pass them on to other forum members with SET that are in need. In addition, there are several here that believe cables make NO difference. I would be interested to hear their take with real experience. AGain, this is an extremely nice offer; let me know if I can contribute here - drop me a mail (I rarely check the private messages). Sadly, on the Welborne Labs front, I have to say that Ron is marginal at best when giving objective feedback regarding circuit design changes or questions. I have experienced this first hand more than a few times over the years and Erik has battled with the aspect of WL as well. In other words, I am somewhat surprised that Erik even suggested to ask Ron about this as I can almost predict the answer. The best thing in my view is to let your ears decide. As JF theorized, it might reduce sensitivity but the gains will probably be worth it to a few. It's just one more trade-off that is an easy change as well. Ron likes what he did with his amps. Moving outside that domain will sometimes bring more wrath than help. JF suggested a number of tricks or things to try with my Moondogs. First, I have to ditch this Radio Shack soldering iron as the tips last 15 minutes if that. Use it for something like IC or speaker cable soldering and suddenly it's junked again. I now hate to pull the ole RS iron out. A Weller is obviously in need. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 I have to admit that, although I haven't made the effort to post on the Welborne site, I do lurk now and then! Ron seems to be making more frequent contributions, but Kelly is certainly right that I experienced some frustration there. Leo obviously knows enough about what he's doing, and I hoped he might get a slightly more in-depth description on this specific application of bypassing the cathode resistor. I've complimented that fine Moondog amplifiers more times than I can remember, and was surprised about some of the designer's feedback I got in return. I also mentioned an interest in direct-coupling between stages -- that was shot down instantly. But guess what? The new Jack Eliano circuit now being offered as (probably very, very good) kit uses a combo if interstage and direct coupling -- if my memory serves me right here...maybe it doesn't use both...need to go check that schematic. P.S. Jean-Francois is a good guy! He took the time to email me and offer his take on the bypass cap issue -- that was unexpected and helpful to me. He doesn't use them! So I'm going to chop mine out this weekend and compare the performance both with my Lowther horns and the sculptural La Scalas! It's been so long since I used the GZ37s (which are packed away like treasure), I might plunk those in as well -- I always thought they looked a hell of a lot neater than the shortish but good, 5Y3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Kelly are you thinking of me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Ahem....sorry, just had to clear my throat, there... Kelly: Art Dudley hasn't gotten back to me yet on those cables, and I've asked Tony Glynn (former Lowther America guy) to please send Art one of the two pair I gave to Tony G. to try out. If Art really likes them, than I'll go ahead and make him a pair when I have the time. I told him I don't want any money for this whole thing -- and $$$$ never has had anything to do with it. I wanted to give him a small token of appreciation for all the work he did with Listener. That was an audio publication I really liked and now missed; and was one in fact where I mentioned in a letter how much I liked the Moondogs. Anyway, since you wanted an 8 ft pair, I might cut off four of the 12 feet to use for an interconnect experiment. Then one day soon, I'll get around to making another pair of the speaker cables for myself. I'm using the old cross-connected pair I told you about, since I sent the other CAT 5 to Tony Glynn. I also gave Tony both the pair I made -- one of which belonged to me, and I told him he could just have it. He wanted an 8ft pair (mine was 5ft), so I made another for him. That cable is so cheap compared to what else is available for a similar kind of performance (just my opinion -- you have actually used a few more 'real' cables than I have, which is why I'm interested in your thoughts on them). The LAST thing I want to start doing is braiding CAT 5 cable for a living! Just getting a couple of opinions from serious audio folks and listeners is all I'm interested in. You had a good idea in possibly kind of passing them around for others to try, and my ego isn't one that can't handle someone not likeing them. Hey, maybe Craig could have a look at that ASUSA for you. ASUSA obviously didn't skimp on the power and output trannies! Looks really nice, and I had a close look at the pictures Craig posted of his recent Dynaco re-build -- very neat work. Anyway, I hope this is all clear. And a question: Are you going to take Jean-Francois' advice about that now very famous cathode by-pass capacitor? Man, I'm tired...students at school were pretty wild today for some reason. out! Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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