Posts by atmasphere | Audiogon Discussion Forum

atmasphere

Responses from atmasphere

Dec 17, 2019	Adjusting tube bias... Its based on both the amplifier and the EL34 characteristics. For any EL34 going in that amp the bias setting will be the same. Be sure to check it one hour after warmup- you may find it higher. The correct bias setting will be what the reading is...
Dec 16, 2019	Amplifier Hum - Only Amp Connected This sounds to me like a power supply problem such as a failing filter capacitor in the power supply. Such a part can indeed cause more hum in one channel than the other but the problem would be in both. Sometimes you might be able to get it to st...
Dec 16, 2019	Time to buy a class D amp? I did not understand what kind of patent is this as class D amps are widely used for already more than a decade. 2 decades actually, but that does not mean that everything to be known about them is already known. The proof’s in the pudding when we...
Dec 16, 2019	Budget Tube Amp (newbie) Read thru this thread and didn't see this anywhere so I thought I'd add my 2c. Old tube amps like the Dynaco generally sound more "syrupy" and warm than good modern tube power ampsIf properly refurbished this is not the case.
Dec 13, 2019	Trying to find an amp that matches my tastes (aka death metal) Don't worry about what music you play. Electronics have no way of knowing the difference- what makes an amplifier good for classical music makes it good for metal too.
Dec 13, 2019	Amplifier Hum - Only Amp Connected I will try the cheater plug this evening. Does it make sense that a ground loop would be worse in one channel?That hasn't been my experience but that does not mean it couldn't happen.
Dec 13, 2019	Amplifier Hum - Only Amp Connected It is normal for an amplifier to pick up a little bit of buzz with no input or with the preamp turned off. Does it have the buzz with the preamp turned on?If no you're off the hook. If yes, this type of buzz can be caused by a ground loop. For tes...
Dec 12, 2019	dB effeciency vs speaker configuration What impedance and what sensitivity sounds the best?From an amplifier point of view, the less distortion the amp has to make to do its job the better. To this end, higher impedance followed by higher efficiency will result in smoother more detaile...
Dec 12, 2019	Classe CA100 - Static, Cut Outs when cold. Ideas? This problem is commonly caused by noisy differential input transistors. I've seen this on many solid state amps. As they warm up the noise often goes away. I really doubt a bad solder joint as the warmup issue would not exist.
Dec 11, 2019	Need 20 - 25 foot spk cables. In my experience running long speaker cables often is not a good idea. Think about how much a set of Sound Labs set you back, and the simple fact that they are one of the most resolving loudspeakers on the planet. Running long cables often results...
Dec 11, 2019	Passive Pre-Amp into Integrated Amp to Prevent Clipping? -Atmasphere said that the receiver likely has active circuitry (such as a DAC) built-on which can be overloaded.I was not talking about a DAC- just that there is active circuitry prior to the volume control. If you were using the built-in DAC this...
Dec 10, 2019	Amp tripping circuit breaker. Yes. Your breaker is failing. They use a magnetic principle and the more they break, the easier they break. Replace it- see how that goes.
Dec 10, 2019	What's more important in a difficult room, room correction or higher, clean, power? If you use a distributed bass array such as the Swarm, standing waves are eliminated and get get much more even bass throughout the room, not just at the listening chair.Years ago I did a Stereophile show in NYC. We had room correction and also a ...
Dec 10, 2019	Passive Pre-Amp into Integrated Amp to Prevent Clipping? OK. What do you think is happening on my system? If I go DAC -> receiver I have clipping even at low volumes (20/100). If I add the SYS before the receiver and reduce the volume to about 3 o'clock, the clipping is gone.Its pretty obvious tha...
Dec 06, 2019	Passive Pre-Amp into Integrated Amp to Prevent Clipping? That suggests that the Yamaha also has active circuitry prior to the signal reaching the volume control. IMO as a designer this is a bad move as this means the input circuitry can be overloaded as you've experienced. If the volume control was prop...