atmasphere

Responses from atmasphere

Where are you today?
I started with tubes, went SS briefly, went back to tubes and never looked back. The economy has had nothing to do with it. I came to realize that to achieve the goal of making the music sound real, the equipment had to be designed to obey the rul... 
an amp without "electronic" sound
Dcstep, to achieve what Dazzdax is talking about you need an amplifier that has a remarkable combination of characteristics. It should be fast, which is a problem for a lot of tube amps, but it should be relaxed, which is a problem for a lot of tr... 
Tubes to solid state for amplifier path...
Minnesota has actually recorded the highest dewpoints anywhere in the world. We get very humid summers, with highs in the upper 90s and low 100s (usually in July). The smallest window air conditioner I could find will easily keep up with our S-30 ... 
an amp without "electronic" sound
Toufu, the short answer is 'yes', but I would not automatically assume that all triode and all class A amps will be 'clean' and neutral. Re-read my post again- one thing about SETs and push-pull transformer coupled amplifiers is that the larger yo... 
an amp without "electronic" sound
Dazzdax, if you want the amp to not impart an electronic quality, I can tell you that the list of candidates is not very long. On top of that, its likely that you will have to accommodate the amplifier in some way, as the relationship between any ... 
will grado hum?
Dkzzzz, you don't need to. The hum with Regas and Grados is caused by the ungrounded parts, and is easy to solve. 
will grado hum?
Piedpiper, sure. I ran a wire from the case of the motor to the bearing of the platter, and from there to the base of the arm, so that they were all grounded. I had to scrap some of the plating off of the motor case in order to be able to solder t... 
Apogee vs Soundlab
Dazzdax, one thing you might try is to put a resistance in series with the speaker. Two to four ohms ought to do (some audition might be a good idea), but it should handle high power. This will simulate an amplifier with a higher output impedance ... 
Solid State or Tube Preamp mated with Tube Monos?
Somut, of course I recommend tube preamps over transistor as being more musical :) but whatever you've heard in the past, keep an open mind and for best results audition the preamp at home with your gear rather than anywhere else.Happy hunting! 
will grado hum?
I've seen this with Regas, but we found that we were able to fix some grounding problems on the Rega and then there was no hum at all. 
Apogee vs Soundlab
Dazzdax, its normal for transistor amps to sound that way on the Sound Labs, due to the low impedance at high frequencies. Sound Labs do not expect the amp to double power as the impedance is halved. seehttp://www.atma-sphere.com/papers/paradigm_p... 
The Definition of An Audiophile
As long as there have been humans, there has been music. This says to me that music is not entertainment (although it certainly is entertaining): it is essential.Some of my earliest memories are that of sitting in front of an ancient 78 player, pl... 
How many People own Working Reel to Reel Decks?
Sns, any 'quarter track' machine can play 'half track' tapes. You won't get the full signal-to-noise ratio, but you *will* get everything else.It can always be converted by changing the heads, which will likely cost you a lot more than the machine... 
How am I frying all my amps? Oscillating? Help
If the Anthem has a stepped volume control, some 'clicking' between steps is likely normal. A stepped control will have a 'make before break' contact scenario, but even with the best materials its normal to get some clicking as you adjust the volu... 
YG Acoustics add in Stereophile
S7horton, you are quite right, but having done this a few years, there are certain things that show up from time to time that you get to recognize. If there *was* a capacitor in the midrange circuit, it was very large and very transparent. Those t...