sunnysal Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 dean, sounds like something might be wrong...the one time I heard this amp it was hooked up to lowthers and it was dead quiet (well pretty much a light hiss from the speakers with your ears up to it)...so start looking for something loose or a weak cap somewhere, ground? soldering?...the amp was not a "slam" amp in the bass but did not seem wimpy either...how do the 300bs test? let us know, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 ---------------- On 12/18/2004 1:01:17 PM DeanG wrote: It's noisy. Noiser than the Apollos, which means I can hear it from 20 feet away. It's not a hum, but a buzz. There is a knob on the rear of the amp to add feedback. If I set it to the max setting, I can get it to quiet down to about where the QUADs were. At the zero feedback setting, the noise level is unacceptable, and there is waaay too much gain. Thank God for The Peach -- or this amp would already be back in the box. I really haven't had time to play with it much. I dealt with the cosmetic issues late last night while everyone was sleeping. Today has been madness around here -- so no in depth thoughts about the sound for a couple days. I have a feeling this one will benefit from some warm-up time. It also has a personality, which I think is an attribute of Triodes -- I found myself talking to the stupid thing -- coaxing it to cooperate with me. ---------------- Well that sucks bigtime. Are you talking about mechanical buzz from the amp itself or that it is producing the buzz in the speakers? Do you hear it only when nothing is playing, or even with music? Try telling him that you'll keep his tubes dust- and fingerprint-free if he'll calm down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 ---------------- On 12/18/2004 2:54:30 PM paulparrot wrote: Well that sucks bigtime. Are you talking about mechanical buzz from the amp itself or that it is producing the buzz in the speakers? Do you hear it only when nothing is playing, or even with music? Try telling him that you'll keep his tubes dust- and fingerprint-free if he'll calm down. ---------------- The noise is probably coming from tired 300B's. I had the same noise issues with my Airtight 300B amp. Is the amp going back to Audiogon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 "The noise is probably coming from tired 300B's. I had the same noise issues with my Airtight 300B amp. Is the amp going back to Audiogon?" Doesn't the amp have sensors to indicate wanked output tubes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted December 18, 2004 Author Share Posted December 18, 2004 "dean, sounds like something might be wrong...the one time I heard this amp it was hooked up to lowthers and it was dead quiet (well pretty much a light hiss from the speakers with your ears up to it)..." Aw c'mon Tony, don't compare our Klipschorns to single, itty bitty driver designs with limited HF extension, and moderate sensitivity. It's just not the same. "Dean -- what are the five black square pieces they look about like MOSFET transistors??? Unusual construction." Mark, those are five black square pieces that look like MOSFET transistors. LOL, what the heck you asking me for? I just blow these things up, I don't know anything about them. "Are you talking about mechanical buzz from the amp itself or that it is producing the buzz in the speakers? Do you hear it only when nothing is playing, or even with music? Try telling him that you'll keep his tubes dust- and fingerprint-free if he'll calm down." The amp itself is quiet, the buzz is coming through the squawker and tweeter. In a fit of lunacy, I threw everyone out of the house so I could play. I turned the amp on, and then left to go downstairs and clean the workroom. When I went back up 45 minutes later it was much better. I could still hear it, but only from the chair (figures). Still, better than from all the way across the room. This was something I remembered about the Apollos. They were not amps you could just turn on and listen too. They needed a good half hour to get their act together. I at least got a chance to run it through the paces before leaving for work. Throwing on the normal stuff I use to medicate myself, I thought it was a tad bit too midrangey. Not in a bad way, just not my preference. The sense of speed is amazing though, and things are definitely more separated out than with the QUADs. The bass seems a little weak, but you never lose track of the bass lines. After four songs or so, I was digging it pretty good. Oh, and this thing sounds very little like the Canary. I decided I still had some time to goof around, so I started by moving to the 4 ohm taps. It took all of about 10 seconds to figure out that this where it needs to be. No doubt about this one. A bit more bass presence, and the sound just seemed more balanced overall. I don't think much if anything changed from the middle to the top -- the bass just came a bit more forward, but warmed things up. Next, I decided to play with the adustable feedback feature. Since the amp had quieted down so much during warm up, I wondered what just one click over to the 2db setting would do. Cool, and could now just barely detect sound from the chair. I went back to the zero setting as the reference point and started with the song I had just listened too. A little way into the song I clicked the knob over to the 2db setting -- this was much, much better. The midrange pulled back some, and the sound just seemed more focused and open. Hey, don't ask me, I just call'em like I see'um. It sounded so good right there, I just didn't feel the need to try the other settngs (3db, 4db, 5db, and 6db). I'm sure to play with them later, but for now -- it sounded like where I wanted it to be. So, the noise level was down, using the right tap to bring the bass out, and thanks to some flexibility built into this thing -- was able to get the midrange dialed in. I had a nice balanced presentation, good focus, and with everything now nicely snapped into place -- it was much easier to discern the strengths of this thing. One thing I'm really happy about is how good it sounds around 80db. The QUADs sounded O.K. here, but the soundstage was prone to collapsing on me, and I always felt like I had to turn it up a bit more to get the sound to move away from the baffles. The character of the sound doesn't change either as you start juicing things up. This was another perceived weakness of the QUADs. When you listen to this thing, you don't think about fact that you are listening to 300B's, or Triode -- the thing that strikes you is the speed. The intoxicating element of the 300B is still there, it's just not the thing you notice so much. Of course, as is my custom -- I played those awful things I listen too -- testing the VAC's upper limits, and its effect on my ears. Very clean, very good, with sufficient dynamics to carry the day. For now, I think I have to give this amp the thumbs down for lovers of Jazz or Classical works with lots of quiet passages. I just think it has too much gain for horns. If it wasn't for The Peach and it's gain controls -- I would be screaming. Right now, the controls are set roughly at the 9 o'clock position, which is where they have to be to give me good range on the attenuator. "The noise is probably coming from tired 300B's. I had the same noise issues with my Airtight 300B amp. Is the amp going back to Audiogon?" This very well could be the case, even though the seller assured me he had just bought the tubes from VAC last year sometime. Well, we know how that goes. Doesn't the amp have sensors to indicate wanked output tubes? The newer versions of the amp have that. It's called The Sentry Circuit, which is pretty cool. I can have it added for $600. Yeah right, I sure have that laying around now. Looks like I better keep the fire extingquisher close to the amp:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 lowther dx3 = 98db dx4 = 99.5db, very sensitive...no hum or buzz when I heard the amp, just a light hiss with my ear pressed up against them. dean, if you still hear hum or buzz please do continue to investigate the source; the tubes, caps, grounding/wiring...something is wrong IMHO, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted December 18, 2004 Author Share Posted December 18, 2004 O.K. Tony, will do. I'll call VAC on Monday, and give Craig another opportunity to see if he can get me electrocuted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Why waste your time? Unload it on eBay and buy something else to try out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 I tried three other tube amps with my Klipschorns before I settled (as far as I can ever be) on the SJ-302A. The other amps all had mechanical buzzes or hums, some through the transformers, and others through the Klipschorns. The Klipschorns seem to bring the worst out on amps that are only a little below optimum performence. On other speakers these problems weren't apparent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 ---------------- On 12/18/2004 5:53:48 PM DeanG wrote: For now, I think I have to give this amp the thumbs down for lovers of Jazz or Classical works with lots of quiet passages. I just think it has too much gain for horns. If it wasn't for The Peach and it's gain controls -- I would be screaming. Right now, the controls are set roughly at the 9 o'clock position, which is where they have to be to give me good range on the attenuator. ---------------- If the Peach controls are like the BlueBerry's, the gain controls start at 6 o'clock, so Dean's got them up only a quarter of the way. I have mine, for comparison, at about 1:30. The preamps each have a separate volume control knob for normal adjustments. ---------------- One thing I'm really happy about is how good it sounds around 80db. ---------------- Dean, what's happened to you, man? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviserated Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 ---------------- On 12/15/2004 3:54:11 PM rf3iicrazy wrote: Dean, When your done with the VAC, keep me in mind, I might take those off your hands! Tom ---------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Tom, Try offering him half of what he paid No, seriously now, Dean's going to want to keep this amp until next year anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 I'll bet he's glad that's less than two weeks away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted December 18, 2004 Author Share Posted December 18, 2004 LOL, no. The rule is no one gets the amp until it's flamed up at least once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Allright, what is a potentially burnt up, noisey amp with scuffed up gold plating worth? Tell you what Dean, just send me the VAC and fifty bucks and we'll call it even. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 ---------------- On 12/18/2004 9:48:19 PM 3dzapper wrote: Allright, what is a potentially burnt up, noisey amp with scuffed up gold plating worth? Tell you what Dean, just send me the VAC and fifty bucks and we'll call it even. Rick ---------------- That's a very generous offer from 3dzapper, Dean. I think you should give him a raincheck on that deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 When Dean says something is scuffed up, that means a normal guy would need a magnifying glass and the light to hit it just so, in order to maybe see a hint of a hairline scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted December 18, 2004 Author Share Posted December 18, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Well, it just goes to show how well the venerable 300B can sound given the right topology. You definately wouldn't want my lil' 8 watter...but at least it's as quiet as a church mouse (but that could change if I use the 4 ohm taps to my Cornwalls, eh?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 ---------------- On 12/18/2004 10:44:04 PM DeanG wrote: ---------------- Hmmmm. Guilty as charged! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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