Hi,
Larry pointed this thread out to me yesterday. I am extremely flattered for the attention and the very nice comments (the checks are in the mail guys)
The information that Doug, Dan and Larry provided pretty much sums it up.
I started building audio equipment when I was 12 or 13. I have been involved with music since I can remember and chose to become a recording engineer which led to my employment in the Broadcast industry. I am currently a manager at a Television facility.
The preamp and individual phono/line stages came about as an experiment. I had built many designs that while boasting superb technical specifications, left a little to be desired musically. I chose tubes because they are an easy way to get a lot of gain in a single amplification stage, I chose tubes designed specifically for audio because this allowed me to operate them as intended without feedback and conservatively for a long life.
I realized that the sound quality of these units would then be dependent on how the circuit modulated the power supply and overall coupling and isolation of power supply, signal and drive ability.
Making these units for those who cherish them has been a great reward as I have been able to expand my musical horizons and enjoy stimulating company. I don't profess to have mystical knowledge, I have applied circuits that have been around for a long time in slightly innovative ways. I don't profess to match all components to .1% but I have paid careful attention to proper loading between stages, careful component selection and mechanical damping. I have nothing against matching components to .1%, I'll get to it right after I find tubes matched to .1% :-)
This thread has caused quite a bit of email traffic. I have convinced a close friend and Audio Professional Larry Marcus at Paragon Sight and Sound to field these inquiries for me. Larry was the owner of S/N 000 of my preamp (he only owns it because he refused to send it back, he is currently devising a system to make sure he has it in the afterlife, in case there's audio y'know).
Thanks for the nice comments. Enjoy music, tolerate equipment.
Regards,
Nick
Larry pointed this thread out to me yesterday. I am extremely flattered for the attention and the very nice comments (the checks are in the mail guys)
The information that Doug, Dan and Larry provided pretty much sums it up.
I started building audio equipment when I was 12 or 13. I have been involved with music since I can remember and chose to become a recording engineer which led to my employment in the Broadcast industry. I am currently a manager at a Television facility.
The preamp and individual phono/line stages came about as an experiment. I had built many designs that while boasting superb technical specifications, left a little to be desired musically. I chose tubes because they are an easy way to get a lot of gain in a single amplification stage, I chose tubes designed specifically for audio because this allowed me to operate them as intended without feedback and conservatively for a long life.
I realized that the sound quality of these units would then be dependent on how the circuit modulated the power supply and overall coupling and isolation of power supply, signal and drive ability.
Making these units for those who cherish them has been a great reward as I have been able to expand my musical horizons and enjoy stimulating company. I don't profess to have mystical knowledge, I have applied circuits that have been around for a long time in slightly innovative ways. I don't profess to match all components to .1% but I have paid careful attention to proper loading between stages, careful component selection and mechanical damping. I have nothing against matching components to .1%, I'll get to it right after I find tubes matched to .1% :-)
This thread has caused quite a bit of email traffic. I have convinced a close friend and Audio Professional Larry Marcus at Paragon Sight and Sound to field these inquiries for me. Larry was the owner of S/N 000 of my preamp (he only owns it because he refused to send it back, he is currently devising a system to make sure he has it in the afterlife, in case there's audio y'know).
Thanks for the nice comments. Enjoy music, tolerate equipment.
Regards,
Nick