Rebbi,
I'm really happy for you. You did an excellent job of building as well as documenting the build of your amp. I hope that you love it, and I really think that you will. Congrats!
John |
Rebbi,
I've been watching the blog with interest, and really loving it. It looks great. As I listen to my Kit One, I am excited for you, because I know that you will be very happy. |
Rebbi,
I never understood how that link to Where's Tvad happened. It's been that way for a long while. I use my kit one with a pair of Klipsch Epic CF-4 speakers. They look like monsters, but actually work great in a small 11X13 room. I have had some great speakers with more glamorous names in the past, but these are really the best I have had overall. They are 102db efficient, and work very well with the Kit One. |
Rrsclyde,
I have the Kit 1 10th Anniversary for some months now. I can't say how it would compare to the Legend Monos, but before I decided, I asked the opinions of Brian @ Audio Note Kits as well as Pete Fulton, who built it for me, and both of them immediately advised me to get the Kit 1. I believe that it was Brian (you could and probably should call him) who told me that there were customers who had gone from monos back to the Kit 1.
I can't really comment on the superiority of the c-core transformers in my amp, since I have never heard the regular ones. For the difference in price that I paid, I hope they sound better! Joking aside, the amp sounds great, and I am very happy. I never would have thought 8 little watts could sound this good. |
Hi Rrsclyde,
I have mine configured as an integrated, with a Khozmo stepped attenuator. Out of curiosity, I thought that I might hook up my Morrison Audio ELAD (solid state) placing it between the source and one of the inputs, after calling Pete and asking if that was safe. At first, superficially, I thought that I preferred it, but I soon realized that the magic of the amp's timing and the way it exposed musicians intent, at least with this preamplifier, had been lost.
I'm glad that you asked about noise. It is not just quiet, but very quiet. My speakers are 102db efficient horns, and there is no noise to be heard with ear to speaker. I think that its one of the reasons for the clarity of the amps sound. And yes, it can be built as just an amp.
I would love to hear the Legend C-Cores with that new super preamp they are introducing. |
Rebbi,
Don't sweat it. I doubt that it's a big difference. Users have been praising this amp for years, and that was before the many upgrades that have been incorporated since it first came out. You will be happy. |
Rebbi,
Just to remind you again, don't be discouraged at first power-up. The sound on the first day was not pretty at all. I was concerned. It starts clearing up soon after though. |
That is funny! For once I don't regret not proofreading. |
Rebbi,
I sent you a PM a couple of days ago.
John |
Mikirob,
I am really enjoying my Kit 1 10th Anniversary, but I often wonder what a different set of 300b tubes would do to the sound. I really can't afford the Emmission Labs, or some of the other recommended candidates at the present time, but like any audio type guy, I wonder. It still sounds wonderful as-is.
Rebbi, I hope this is all resolved for you very soon, and I hope that it makes the amp a good match for the De Capos. |
There aren't many companies who offer this kind of support. I was impressed from the first time I called Brian, and Pete Fulton is just great. It is so good to know that a company isn't just taking your money and letting you drift.
It will surely all be sorted out in the end, but I'm sorry that you have to go through the hassle. |
I am really anxious to hear about your results Rebbi. God Luck! |
Hi Reb,
Pete is just the nicest man around; really talented, and humble as well. I know he will do it for you.
As a sidebar, I have to say that on my efficient horn speakers, this amp is quieter than 3 other SS amps I tried. That was a really nice surprise, as we all know that noise obscures detail, as well as causing long term listener fatigue. When I stand with my ear to the drivers, it is really silent. Just a great amp. |
Hi Reb,
I'm a bit confused. I thought that Pete sent you a new circuit board to install, but now you are sending the entire amp down to Fla? This is getting expensive.
There is no doubt that Pete will solve the issue though. I'm certain of that. |
Rebbi,
I have been waiting for your news, and I am really happy to hear that the problem is solved. I am really anxious to see you loving yours as I do mine.
John |
Reb,
Great news. I'm happy for you, and anxious to see how you enjoy it when it comes back. Pete is a really great gent isn't he? |
Mikirob
I am excited to hear that you and your wife will be building a Kit One. Great little amp, and I'm sure you'll love it. I look forward to reports on the process. |
Charles,
As you know, I was itching to upgrade the 300b's in my Kit One, but there were too many other financial priorities. I would love to have a set of the Takatsuki like you have, but that's out of reach now.
Sometime a week or so ago,another member mentioned that Parts Connexion had Black Treasure 300b z tubes on sale for $279.00 pr. I went for it as that is a good deal, and they are arriving tomorrow.
Obviously there are better ones, but they should be a nice upgrade from the tubes that came with the amp.
I will report when they have broken in a bit.
John |
Charles,
If you liked them, then I know I will love them.
From a purely aesthetic point of view though, I think the Takatsuki 300b is a thing of beauty. |
Your welcome, but I don't deserve the credit. I found out about them from other forum contributors who brought them to my attention. I understand that @ $60.00 each, they still aren't cheap. |
Rebbi,
So happy that all is finally settled and your problems with the amp are over. Now it's time to enjoy!
Charles,
Now is as good a time as any to update you on my experience with the Black Treasure 300b tubes that I bought a few weeks ago.Yes, they are breaking in and changing a lot, and I am much happier than I was in the beginning. It is apparent that this amp can sound very different depending on the tubes which are used.
What threw me off at first was the entirely different presentation of the Black Treasures. They are more forward, while at the same time having more solidly defined and powerful bass. When I say forward, I should be clear that the stock Shuguang 300b tubes were recessed somewhat in the midrange, but made up for that with a crystalline clarity.
The Black Treasures are not too forward, just overall more linear from top to bottom. They sounded flat and lacking depth and dimension, and that is surely changing now. Timbres, microdynamics and the general flow have all improved, and I am not near 300 hours yet.
These tubes are more "modern" in sound in that they are somewhat "drier" than the somewhat more liquid and romantic stock tubes. The payoff is that there is more body on the bottom end of saxophones, and pianos are more precisely portrayed, with faster stops and starts, and without the slight "ringing" I was hearing with the stock tubes.
Overall, I am really beginning to enjoy these tubes, and like some others on this thread, I have certainly come to respect the emotional as well as the intellectual insights that SET amplification can bring to reproduced music.
One more comment about the stock 300b tubes...I still like them. Even when I had nothing to compare them to, I could recognize their deficiencies, as I will with the Black Treasures when they are fully burned in; but like a friend or lover who is imperfect or quirky, there is still a personality in those tubes which offers a lot to love, and is very communicative.
I am glad that you, like myself Rebbi, had such a positive experience with Pete. He indeed does beautiful work, and I could not have done the same for myself, so the modest extra charge was money well spent.
Again, I can't make any comparative comments about the C- core transformers, but my amp sounds great. How much of that is down to the transformers I don't know.
Time for you to have fun now,
Thanks for the narrative, All the Best, John |
Hi Reb,
I am attaching the link to the specific page. Scroll down to the ones that have a value of 0.22 uf.
http://www.partsconnexion.com/capacitor_film_jupiter_copper600.html.
They are $60.00 a piece, and as you know you'd need four, but the price is very reasonable compared to the Duelund and other competitors. Look at the comments about them on this site. And as I said, they are a great fit. |
I agree with Charles. The stock tubes seemed to stabilize within a much shorter period of time. I'm not sure that it was even 100 hours, whereas these are still changing.
I don't know what Audio Note charges for the copper foil caps, but I'm sure that it isn't cheap, and likely for the same price or less he could get the Jupiters Charles, and they fit perfectly.
By the way Reb, I am glad to see you managed to get the upgraded copper plate. Small touch, but it's nice. |
When I was having mine built by Digital Pete, I bought the Jupiter caps from Parts Connection and sent them to Pete. There was no credit for the stock caps of course, as they are part of the kit. Brian suggested V caps as an upgrade, but from things I read, they didn't sound like my kind of thing. |
Hi Reb,
I use the Pangaea AC 9 SE and it is a little more quiet with more prominent bass. Not a night and day difference but really good value for the money, and well made. |
I've been curious about the Coincident myself, but naturally, it costs more. |
Mapman,
They are similar to what I am using with the same amp, and I agree that they would be a good choice; but as you said, the shipping would be expensive. |
Rebbi,
When are you expecting to receive your RCA 6sn7 from Andy? |
I know...it's so amazing. I sit there listening, and wonder what Tataksuki or Elrog 300b tubes would add to this, but honestly, I am really lucky to be able to have this level of performance with my modest means.
I have spent soooo much more in the past, and gained so much less. The Kit One is really a great platform to build on.
I just knew you would be amazed, and I'm really happy for you. It's not about looks ,or brute power, or any of that for me anymore. It's really about musical insight, and hearing beauty when it's there to hear. I have to add that recordings that are crappy sound crappier than I thought they were, and now, the reasons why are clearly revealed. Good to great recordings sound magnificent. |
Charles,
It was you who pushed me over the edge, and I thank you for helping me take that leap. I had just bought a Mac 402 for my efficient speakers, and was expecting to be in paradise. That didn't happen, and I finally understood what some say about *the fist watt".
I had certainly read some negative things about SET amps over the years as well, but I still felt that they might be the thing for me, and your posts and system were the deciding factor.
There are still many virtues to good SS amps, but I have no regrets, and a lot of gratitude for having been connected to this experience.
Thanks, John |
