NOSValves Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Well if folks have been wondering what the hold up has been with the VRD release is I'm happy to say it is almost over thanks to help from Mark Deneen. Originally I used a treaked version of the front end board from Triode Electronics in the VRD as the front end driver/phase splitter. Well when I went to place a order in December I got the "temporarilty out of stock" notice on Neds page. Well that notice is still there today. So this forced me to cry, prod and beg to Mark Deneen into action on a project we had planned to do in the future right when poor Mark was in the trenches with the release of his Blueberry . Poor Mark being the excellent person he is worked on the layout and design of the PC board for me in his spare time (like he had any). Well this last week we battle millions of demons and had lots of laughs. I yet again gained a wealth of knowledge from the best ! This board really performs !! I just wanted to give a public thanks and let everyone know what a great guy Mark really is !! ( In spite of his politics ) Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillmbil Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Way to go Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 One of the most wonderful attributes of Mark's personality is how humble he is. He exhibits his genius, and then denies his genius. My email box is starting to fill up with messages from people wanting to know why I want The Peach, and what does 'it have' that many of the other preamps I've tried didn't have. One person had picked up on the clearly obvious -- my happiness with the QUAD combination, and couldn't make sense out of my willingness to break up the combo by removing the QC-24 out of the system. I love the sound of the system as it is, but I do believe the QC-24 is the weak link. The linestage section of the Blueberry prototype was much more expansive and atmospheric in nature, and even though I felt the QC-24 offered up more detail, and a bit cleaner sound at high SPLs -- the Blueberry was much more "musical". Keep in mind here that the prototype was not a "finished" product, and the final version ended using some very upscale parts in places where the prototype didn't. I believe the finished versions will be "cleaner", because I know Mark is a perfectionist, and he isn't going to put something out there that isn't near "perfect" -- from his perspective at least -- and that's good enough for me. There are many "good" preamps. I still love the look and sound of the Cary's, but they don't have anything over the sound of even the Blueberry prototype I heard. If you dig up the picture of the parts compliment of the Blueberry prototype -- or the finished board -- well, it easily competes with other things I've had in as far as sophistication and elegance goes. Lastly, other products don't have the most important thing I want: A fingerprint of Mark Deneen's mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Dean, I've been trying to get a smudge off the Blueberry for a week with no results. Now I know what it is, " a fingerprint of Marks mind". I'll leave it there. It's looking good. The Blueberry's linestage is so good that it can take the output from a Hitachi DVD player/Cd player/recorder and make it sound like a million dollars. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I'm honored to own Bluberry #2. I haven't been able to find any weakness in this preamp yet. I don't even miss my tone controls. I'm giving it another week or so before I start tube rolling. If it can sound better, I'll be shocked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillmbil Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I am glad to hear how well the BB sounds. I only got about 10 minutes in before the rectifier tube in my ST70 blew. New one should be here today. Gary, your sig is old and missing all the new toys. I guess with Dean's and Craig's approval, Marks mind print, and many good reviews the pre amp has to be spectacular. I went with the Forum's suggestion and bought a 299D and had Craig rebuild it, and for the first time these last two nights brought it into the house. All I can so is "Holly FS Batman". I leaned back in my chair and listenend to the whole Diana Krall CD in amazement. If it can sound that good this BB and a good amp has got to be worth every cent. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted April 13, 2004 Author Share Posted April 13, 2004 Gary, There are good deals on eBay for Mullard Box plate 12AT7's CV4024 !! Better grab you some I did. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 The CV 4024 is not a box plate version of the 12AT7. Actually, a box plate version was never manufactured. IMO, The CV 4024 sounds very lean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 When I had a need for these I found that the Sylvania 6201 was the best sounding 12AT7. The Mullards were too zippy and the Telefunken ECC801S too dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted April 13, 2004 Author Share Posted April 13, 2004 Oops Oh my god I made a mistake !! Thanks for pointing that out. Bet they are still a improvement over what is provided with the BB and for $12.99 each why not ?? Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 IMO, The best 12AT7 is the GEC CV6091/ A2900 with the most balanced and full bodied sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Isn't that just a seclected Mullard with a GEC sticker on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillmbil Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Guy, Where do you get those tubes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 The small GEC (branded Genalex "Gold Lion" in the USA) tubes are the "Holy Grail" to collectors. They are super-select Mullards with VERY fancy packaging (each tube has an individual test data sheet) and certainly are not "worth" the astronamical prices they tend to bring even though they are EXCELLENT performers. The B759 (12AX7) has been known to sell for as much as $400 NOS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Bill, I got them from a German tube collector, few years ago. But they can be found at some of the tube dealers. Allan, The CV6091 was actually manufactured by GEC and not sourced from other manufacturers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I got the Sylvanias from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio about 5-6 years ago. I'm sure he has more (he had several HUNDRED of them at that time). I think they were about $25 ea. You will not go wrong with these, I assure you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 ---------------- On 4/13/2004 10:37:11 AM Guy Landau wrote: Bill, I got them from a German tube collector, few years ago. But they can be found at some of the tube dealers. Allan, The CV6091 was actually manufactured by GEC and not sourced from other manufacturers. ---------------- No kidding? I always thought they sourced all the signal tubes from Mullard and Brimar. You learn something new every day! And I am SURE they are great tubes, even though I have never seen or heard one! GEC was a pretty maniacal company when it came to quality control--they make Telefunken look like slobs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I just won this auction last night: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2236981796&category Are these the Sylvanias that you are talking about? Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Nope. The 6201 is a gold-pin super-premium 12AT7. These are garden-variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubelover Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Who is Mark Deneen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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