HarryO Posted September 15, 2007 Author Share Posted September 15, 2007 Mikey my friend, Your generous offer hasn't gone unnoticed. With my unfounded fears of shipping sensitive electronic equipment I will counter your generous offer and invite you down here to Indy where I will give you reign over the remote control and censorship over musical selections to be played. Three hots and a cot also thrown it to sweeten the pot. BTW, sorry to hear your "Magic Pebbles" franchise is going through hard times. Appreciatively, Harry PS, Loudness buttons are no longer required seeing I can't get past the second click on the volume controls anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted September 15, 2007 Author Share Posted September 15, 2007 "Which are phono and which are line tubes? Phono seems to take more tubes in the preamps I've had. How much line and how much phono gain, if you have figures handy? Thanks, nice looking unit!" Here are some details and specifications on your preamp; Line stage - Frequency response 15Hz - 100KHz -3dB down. Flat from 20Hz - 88KHz I limit the upper response to 100KHz as any extension above this point could pick up small amounts of RF. You would never hear it but the sound stage and imaging would be affected. -17dB of gain -S/N 105dB -THD < 0.02% - Output impedance , line stage 150 ohms / headphone jack 40 ohms The regulated power supply has less than 10mV of audio signal on the supply rails. The high voltage power supply is tube regulated with the 21JZ6 sweep tube and three filament power supplies are used. I use a unique first gain stage circuit ( you might want to read the description on my web of the SE-32 & 44 as this is the same design for the pre-amp ) The Phono stage is absolelty RIAA accurate with no global feedback- the 12AT7 x2 and 6DJ8x2 are the phono stage. Best regards, Peter http://www.mcalisteraudio.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 Tube rolling on a new pre can be bothersome. There's times I miss bass and treble controls that don't burn my fingers. Harry That's just too d@mn funny. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 I'd unplug that preamp as soon as I could, put it in a double box and send it to me. Then order the monoblocks,pay for them and ship directly to me for extensive review prior to forwarding them to you. Ol' arfandbark, What a true friend you have there Harry, just looking out for his good buddy ........... It's touching !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Harry. I know how excited you were about getting the Mcallister and your expectations that it would be the pre of your dreams. It appears the dream is coming true and I, for one am excited for you. Sounds great. Can't wait for a formal review once the tube swapping has settled down and the right mix is achieved. Sometimes I think we spend too much time on this forum agonizing over gear rather than music. But when a piece of equipment brings the sound alive and brings almost a rediscovery of the thrill of well played music on a well designed system, then I think maybe we aren't spending enough time talking about gear. Kudos to you Harry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 "Harry. I know how excited you were about getting the Mcallister and your expectations that it would be the pre of your dreams." I seriously doubt I'll ever have a "dream system". I'm able to enjoy about any component in some form or another. I'm presently really enjoying the little Heathkiy AA-111 amp I've been playing with caps on. I've found very nice vintage sound through it and it's very pleasing to listen to. I just sold a very good sounding Sansui AU-9900 to Groomlake that I really enjoyed also. Yes, I do like the McAlister stuff a lot but there's tons of gear I like also. Lucky I can find a lot of pleasure in the different offerings of the many manufacturers. I'm listening to a little NAD receiver on a pair of vintage JBl Lancers that sounds very nice right now. It's just Ebay offering stuff but I still get to enjoy the finer points of the different gear. I've been burning in the tubes in the McAlister pre. It's sound is very good. The rolling is bringing it in to my liking very well. Even with just a few hours on it I can say it's a heck of a preamp. It's got a long way to go before I put a stamp of approval on it as the best I've ever owned but if it's not then the list above it is short. So much of the sound depends on the amp I run with it. It all has to match up good to sound good. No matter what it is. Thanks, Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted September 21, 2007 Author Share Posted September 21, 2007 The new preamp has come around to my liking. I love this thing. The range is extraordinary, sweet and smooth, and details the music better than any pre I've ever owned. This includes the previously owned McAlister ML-33 preamp. It's found it's place in the #1 system. I really couldn't be happier. I read a post on 6 moons audio about Peter McAlister on a review of some high dollar cables. I thought I'd link it for all to read. My preamp in a custom form is mentioned in the review. Harry http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/silverfi2/silverfi.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadDad Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Got to give HarryO a plug here .He loves changing things but it sounds great, now. Haven't listened to as many systems as others here, and don't have "Golden Ears", but I know what I like and Harry's gear sounds great. Is there a band in the closet?. Mines not there now.....but maybe someday soon. Got more "explaining and justifing" to do with the wife. It seems like I'm always wanting to change things now. I'm coming down with this dreaded "stereo upgrading disease". Next on the list, new speakers like HarryO's Wallrus. I'm just one step away from being back in the doghouse. BadDad, BadDad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted September 21, 2007 Author Share Posted September 21, 2007 Baddad, Thanks for the review. It's changed again. I shipped off the amp we listened to last night to Arfandbark. He's tubular now. He finally took the plunge. Woof ! watch out for the new addictions. I got the Dynaco ST-70 in this morning from Joessportster and checked it all out, fired it up, biased it out, and it's starting to come in pretty good. It's easy to tell it doesn't have much time on it since the rebuild. The bass is starting to come in good after about 7 hours of playing it out. The tubes are starting to settle down and sound pretty good. It will take a while but I'm sure it's not going to take any further changes except maybe getting rid of the EH EL34s and put in a quad of Amperex Hollands in it. I'll probably change out the 7199 GE for RCA black plate disc getters also. I've got a pair already burned in I have in the AA-111 Heathkit I just finished re-capping. Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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