Erik Mandaville Posted May 8, 2004 Author Share Posted May 8, 2004 The biggest 2A3 I've ever seen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 8, 2004 Share Posted May 8, 2004 It's beautiful...the DRD brings a tear to my eye! The GG's sharp, too! New solid brass knobs would be icing on the cake IMO. Fantastic job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted May 8, 2004 Author Share Posted May 8, 2004 I understand what you're saying Jt -- about the knobs. These cheap but sturdy black things remind of all the stuff my dad used to make when I was a kid -- he's off kind of doing his own thing right now, and maybe this is just some nostalgia on my part.... The DRDs are only DRDs on the input and a small part of the output. Another major player in the design is a parallel-feed OPT, which is an important part of the design. It was derived from Jeff Lessard's Horus 2A3 amp, which I also built and liked quite a bit. The combination in this SET amp I made is really pretty good sounding to me. Thanks so much for your compliment! Erik GG Note: We have Victor Krauss playing right now, and the new preamp is obviously capable of very, very good bass performance. His sister sings on this album, and it's possible to hear her lips part part in order to form words as they are sung. Amazingly good detail, with not a hint of glare or harshness. The wait for the kit was on the long side, but I think the Grounded Grid is worth much more than it cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonestarBlues Posted May 8, 2004 Share Posted May 8, 2004 Hey Erik. As usual you do great work. When does school let out in Katy? Have any summer audio projects planned? Erik the tube Doc is excellent at working on tube gear-building-diagnosing problems & repairing. My sick Moondogs were healed/repaired by Erik. I have a question for you tube gurus. My new to me used 2 year old Dehavilland Verve preamp is very quiet. In fact the Verve is more quiet than the Mcintosh C 38 solid state preamp it replaced which shocked me. There is just a barely audible faint white noise when you place your ear right next to the Cornwall's tweeter. The white noise with the Mcintosh preamp was not bad at all & could only be heard when placing your ear 6-8" from the Cornwall's tweeter. Being a non technical tube amp & preamp owner. What would account for the super quietness of the Verve preamp. Circuit design? I did not know that a tube preamp could be more quiet than a solid state preamp. The Verve uses Auricaps as the coupling caps. I pulled the bottom plate after I first got the preamp to take a gander at the innards. I have only owned 3 preamps-1st-the Mcintosh C 38 preamp which I have used with the Mcintosh amp, Moon- dog amps & Llano Phoenix amp. 2nd- Welborne Labs factory assembled Reveille preamp that I have only used with the Moondogs. 3rd-the Dehavlland Verve preamp with the Llano Phoenix amp. I prefer the Verve over the Mcintosh preamp. It has a better sonic synergy-music sounds more 3 dimensional, relaxed & palpable with great dynamics. It just sounds more musical. The Verve is also tube rectified. It is the 1st tube rectified preamp I have owned. Been listening to music over 11 hours now through the Llano/Verve combo. Regards, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted May 8, 2004 Share Posted May 8, 2004 Erik, What brand or wire stripper you using on the teflon ? I've been using the same wire as you from Mouser I bet ? The stuff is great but stripping teflon tends to get me cussing. If you can remember point me to the wire stripper you bought. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted May 9, 2004 Author Share Posted May 9, 2004 Thanks, Mike! Sounds like you've got a really nice preamp in your system, now! You are obviously really enjoying the system, but more importantly music. Great! We get out of school in two weeks, which after last weeks seems like a long time. It's getting incredibly busy now with gettings exams written and copied, reviews for exams written and copied; all of the end-of-the-year stuff. I have a HUGE list of summer projects, one of which will hopefully be a preamp. We've got to get this hip surgery thing done for our dog first, and then we'll see how things go in terms of money for audio toys after that. Craig: The stripper I'm using now is made by Klein Tools. # 11045. I got it in the electronics section of Home Depot. It's the ONLY one I have ever found to work half decently with that pain in the patooty Teflon. And yeah! I did see that wire in Mouser, and was glad that they are finally selling it! I'm sure it's probably exactly the same as what I'm using, which I got a store in Arizona when I was there. I'm running out of it, though, and need to put an order in with Mouser, anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 ---------------- On 5/8/2004 4:43:50 PM Erik Mandaville wrote: I understand what you're saying Jt -- about the knobs. These cheap but sturdy black things remind of all the stuff my dad used to make when I was a kid -- he's off kind of doing his own thing right now, and maybe this is just some nostalgia on my part.... ---------------- Sorta like this homemade shortwave tube radio my dad built for me last year...I know what you mean. These knobs can also be found on Rickenbacker electric guitars and basses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted May 9, 2004 Author Share Posted May 9, 2004 Wow! That's incredible, and EXACTLY like the kind of stuff my dad makes....maybe we're brothers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 Naw, we're definately NOT brothers...I may even be adopted; I'm not a solder-slinger like my dad (I don't even know which end of a soldering iron to hold onto...duhh). He doesn't do much building anymore. His forte is restoring vintage tube radios for antique radio collectors, and sells many of them on eBay as well. I wish I had his talents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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