leok Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 So Erik, I finally took your advice and removed the SET's 2A3 cathode cap (which theoretically does nothing but provide an unwanted, redundant, inferior current path through the power supply for output audio). And I guess that's what it was doing because sound is cleaner and bass is much better. I didn't know those Chorus-IIs went so low. Well I guess I did, but never before with the SET. Maybe I'll pull them from the pp amp: they're ultrapathed also. Thanks for nagging. Otherwise I never would have tried it. This explains why there's no cathode cap in Welborne Labs' DRD. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 I had a similar experience with an amp that I built and a cathode cap. With it, it tended to distort more and sounded kind of compressed. Without the cap, the sound really opened up. Turned me away from caps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 Erik seems to be a casualty of Klipsch sifting out the 'chaff' from the other posters at the forum. Erik can't seem to log into the BB anymore. I'm guessing it was his cavalier attitude toward helping others by trying to line his pockets...by doing stuff for forum friends for free. Or maybe it is because I actually offered to pay him for repair work that he has done for me. I did pass on your comments to Erik, Leo, and is happy that you are confirming what he has heard in his amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 ---------------- On 7/24/2004 3:40:35 PM edster00 wrote: Erik seems to be a casualty of Klipsch sifting out the 'chaff' from the other posters at the forum. Erik can't seem to log into the BB anymore. I'm guessing it was his cavalier attitude toward helping others by trying to line his pockets...by doing stuff for forum friends for free. Or maybe it is because I actually offered to pay him for repair work that he has done for me. Why would they do that? it doesn't seem like he's in it for the cash to me. He just likes to experiment with tube circuits, and post the results here. And help others out with the tube circuits they are interested in. I don't understand that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 I don't understand either, Mike. I probably shouldn't have posted what I did, but all of a sudden Erik can't connect to this site. I really hope Erik can't log on here for some other reason, IMHO he was a valued contributor and definitely not here to exploit the forum members, as some have intimated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 I doubt that Erik has been banned. I had a problem getting on the forum all last weekend. All I could get were error messages. I was bumming big time! Did Erik have any names prior to this one? The software was set to delete the newest names of multiple screen names. Leo, I will have to remember your experience when I put together my parafeed 2A3 DRD amp in a few weeks. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 3dzapper, what was the issue preventing you connecting here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 I think there is some technical explanation as to why Erik can't get on. Clueless was having trouble a couple of weeks ago, too. Erik is one fine individual and contributor to this forum!!! I was really toughed out when the forum was down a while back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 ---------------- On 7/24/2004 7:34:47 PM edster00 wrote: 3dzapper, what was the issue preventing you connecting here? ---------------- I really don't know Ed. Every time I clicked on the forun I got one of those internet error messages. Not the 404 one but like that: "The web page you are looking for is temporarily unavailable....." Don't know,me. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 Very strange. After a few days of log on failure, things finally grabbed and let me in. I haven't been banned, and know Amy well enough to know that she would have informed me if that had been the case. It's obviously a technical knot of some kind, which actually became sort of a blessing in disguise. I've gotten a significant amount of work done in the time I haven't been able to log in. Thanks for the words of support, though! Leo: I'm glad that cathode cap removal on the Ultrapath has worked out for you. I think it is a definite improvement, and I have done the same on Edster's Cobalt Horus amplifiers. Those cobalt OPTs are really very nice, and I now have first-hand experience in hearing the difference between them and the permalloy OPTs in my amps. I was so curious about this that, after the work I did on Edster's was complete, I frantically reconfigured my own amps back to the Horus circuit so I could compare the two side-by-side. The main difference I perceived between the cobalt and permalloy, as far as what I heard, had to do with transient attack and decay. The permalloy Horus, as I have always said in the past, is a great SET amp, and had the essential character of the cobalt version -- but there was a difference. There was a more sharply honed edge to the sound of Edster's amps, which to me had the effect of an added sense of immediacy and presence. I am wondering if it might be possible to 'mimick' a little bit of that sound by experimenting with coupling capacitors. I am using the very good Jensen caps that were sent to me a couple of years ago (unexpectedly and in return for some work I had done -- thanks again, Ed!), and I wonder what a quality film and foil capacitor, such as Hovland, might do. The Jensens are the only ones I have ever used in the Horus circuit. Rick: I am interested in your project! Is this a Welborne DRD kit you're going to build as a parafeed amp? I have heard the stock DRD 2A3 amps, and really like the idea and sound of choke-loading on the driver, direct coupling, and so forth. Comparing my own DRD parafeed amps with the cobalt Horus, the DRDs needed some moderate preamp drive to get them sounding their best, whereas the AC coupled Horus had lots of spark at lower volumes, as well. I have also recently been in contact with Jack Eliano, and he told me he now prefers a different driver in the DRD circuit, and that the 6N1P is no longer his preferred choice. Also, if this is a Welborne amp, did you get the Teflon socket upgrade? That 9 pin Teflon socket I have in my amps turned out to be a bit of a pain, and I would suggest using a much cheaper and simply ceramic 9 pin instead. Or is this a totally from-scratch project? Either way, I look forward to your impressions. I have to say that, having heard the cobalt Horus and my own DRD parafeed amps side-by-side, I will give Jeff Lessard due credit for the better amp, overall. You might like to try his design, as well. Do check the Electra-Print site, and you can see the 6AN4 driver in a circuit there -- it's the 45 DRD amp, I believe. Erik Oh! Having also recently built another Transcendent Grounded grid, I had the chance to use it with the cobalt version of the Horus. An amazing combination, to say the least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 You people make me want another 2A3 amp - just when I thought I had enough power amp in the house . But I agree with Erik's evaluation of the GG preamp. It made me notice that my vinyl setup was not the way I want it to be....fortunately some VTA adjustment has improved the situation....which of course shows not only that one doesn't stop developing listening skills (hopefully!), but how revealing (in a positive sense!) this preamp is. Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted July 25, 2004 Author Share Posted July 25, 2004 Eric, good to see you back in. I figured there had to be a technical snag of some kind. edster, thanks for passing on my initial note. I just finished listening to an SACD of Mendelssohn's string quartets 1 and 2. First time I've enjoyed this recording straight through without some kind of fatigue. It's remarkable how these amps respond to tweaks here and there. I'm sure designs like the OTL provide another set of dimensions to listening possibilities. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 Eric, Did your browser give you the no server response ? Like the klipsch site was down ? I had this happen last weekend for 2 days while other were getting in fine then all the sudden it worked. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 ---------------- On 7/25/2004 9:56:15 AM NOSValves wrote: Eric, Did your browser give you the no server response ? Like the klipsch site was down ? I had this happen last weekend for 2 days while other were getting in fine then all the sudden it worked. Craig ---------------- I've had the same thing. If it wouldn't have happened, I would have raced Gary and grab these Khorns first, heh . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Leo: Just some food for thought for an additional possible upgrade sometime down the road a piece: You might visit the Bottlehead site, which has information on all of the MagneQuest products, including the small (but not inexpensive) grid choke that can be used as an alternate to the grid leak resistor on the 2A3. I have seen these used in a number of circuits, including the parafeed Horus. For the past few weeks, I have been using the grid chokes in the Moondogs, and they worked well. The chokes have since been removed and put back in the modified Horus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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