almarg
Responses from almarg
| You are invited on a "trip down memory lane". A pair of Marantz Model 2 monoblock amplifiers (ca. late 1950s), which I owned for a time during the early 1990s. I sold them because with the speakers I was using at the time, and when used in triode mode which I found to be sonically preferable ... | |
| Smoke on my power amp @itsjustme, thanks for your comment. I would add, though, that in the specific case of tube amps having output transformers it seems pretty well established that such amps should not be operated unloaded while they are processing a signal. The con... | |
| LTA Ultralinear vs Pass Labs XA25 To add to Wlutke’s comments I would definitely not proceed with the LTA Ultralinear before asking Mr. Salk about the suitability of using an amplifier having a 1.6 ohm output impedance with your particular speakers. My strong suspicion is that the... | |
| Smoke on my power amp To illustrate what I was referring to in my previous post, in the first of the following photos I’ve uploaded the two transistors with the grayish blobs straddling two of their leads are shown surrounded by a red rectangle. The second photo is a b... | |
| Smoke on my power amp I looked at the photos pretty carefully, and the one thing I see that I’m suspicious about involves two of the output transistors in the right channel, the circuitry for which appears in the left half of the second photo.At the extreme left of the... | |
| Smoke on my power amp @ihcho The Google Photos links you provided in your last post don’t work, at least for members of the public. I’m not sure how or if photos uploaded to Google Photos can be shared publicly.If you upload the photos to Google Drive, though, and then... | |
| Frustrated with Vinly Looking at the settings on my phono stage dip switches, this is what I see:- 100pf- 47k- RIAA curve- 40db OK. So we can say at this point that the phono stage settings are not contributing to the tics/pops/crackling problem. From a sonic standpoin... | |
| Frustrated with Vinly Some questions:What settings are you using on the SimAudio phono stage? With a 2M Blue I would expect the best settings to be:Input impedance: 47KGain: 40 dbInput capacitance: 0 pfThe recommended load capacitance for the 2M Blue is 150 to 300 pf, ... | |
| Diminishing Returns Congratulations, RV, on reaching a point where you no longer feel a need to be on the merry-go-round. No small accomplishment, especially for one as discerning as you are when it comes to classical music. Enjoy! Best regards,-- Al | |
| Tube tester...anyone own their own? If you want a general idea if your tubes are good or bad and are reasonably matched get a home grade Hickock or TV-7DU for a few hundred $. You will not get repeatable results from these testers. Each time you test a tube you will get somewhat dif... | |
| Monoblock power amps same dedicated outlet? Anyone think bad idea sonically to mix one dedicated outlet for left monoblock amp and left sub...I have REL set at low output and a low crossover so sub are very modestly involved. Well, to give a highly technical and esoteric answer I would s... | |
| Monoblock power amps same dedicated outlet? I agree with Jafox that you should consult with Pass Labs. But FWIW let’s look at the specifics:Gs5556 makes a good point in referring to the significance of the speaker’s impedance characteristics. And I see in one of your other recent posts that... | |
| Tube tester...anyone own their own? I hadn’t been aware that Alan Douglas had passed away, but I see via a quick Google search that he died unexpectedly in 2015 at the age of 72. Very sad.I have the definitive and beautifully done series of books he authored on "Radio Manufacturers ... | |
| Tube tester...anyone own their own? I’ve been very pleased with a Hickok 800A I purchased from an antique radio collector in the 1990s. I’ve never had it calibrated, but testing I’ve performed on many NOS tubes (that I know to be truly NOS/never used) as well as various used tubes, ... | |
| Can anyone explain in laymans terms why your gear sound better after warm up But try asking a EE. I'll be surprised if you get 15%. Was there something that wasn't clear in my answer?-- Al (BSEE, MSEE, JD) |