atmasphere
Responses from atmasphere
| Variac noise @ccogopher A stepdown transformer will be more expensive. Bucking transformers are fairly cheap, since the transformer does not have to be nearly so large. For example, the Marantz 8 draws 190 Watts. It runs on 100V if the newer Japanese version.... | |
| Good Suggestions for Tube Amps under 6k @gregjacob Does it have to be tube if it sounds just as smooth and detailed as a good tube amplifier?? | |
| What would cause noise (ground noise?) when touching the volume control and tone controls? So I tried a few more things but I'm still getting the buzz/hum. @tubeguy76 If you did so without talking to the manufacturer then you were wasting your time. This is a problem that has a very specific cause and I suspect that manufacturer, ... | |
| Mystery Of Red Plating The most common cause is the tube itself fails. Sometimes the socket fails with the tube. If high voltages (+500V) are involved, sometimes the socket can develop internal arcing. This is why ceramic sockets are used in higher power situations, as... | |
| 300b lovers The prototype preamp is essentially a circuit that was a thought experiment of Lynn’s for a fully balanced design that has been around for years and no one ever really tried to build and perfect it. @donsachs I'm curious what is meant by this.... | |
| Variac noise @ccogopher Again, variacs are not meant to be quiet. Your friend is lucky. You could try a DC blocker on the AC line; clearly you're not interested in the method I outlined earlier, although it would solve the problem as well. | |
| The 300B World If it were power, it would be hard to explain why I like the 45 tube (and it is not just me). @larryi As I explained earlier, the big challenge of SET OPT design is bandwidth. Its pretty easy to get bandwidth using a 45! Wider bandwidth mean... | |
| The 300B World I find that there are differences in the sound of 300b, 2a3 and 45 tubes based on hearing many different amps employing these tubes. @larryi I think you'll find that the differences you hear have more to do with who designed and built the ou... | |
| Variac noise @ccogopher Variacs usually make some noise. There is an alternative way to get the right voltage. You could use a small transformer that puts out 15-20Volts and use it to buck your line voltage down to 100V (or alternatively, from 100V to 120V). ... | |
| What would cause noise (ground noise?) when touching the volume control and tone controls? I can reach out to the preamp maker, just wanted to see if I could solve it myself before doing so. :) @tubeguy76 This sounds like the controls are not properly grounded and the case may not be either. I would talk to the manufacturer first, s... | |
| The 300B World Stereophile recently reviewed Klipsch La Scalas and measured B-weighted sensitivity of 101/2.83V/m. The impedance dropped briefly to 4 ohms at 70 Hz, 335 Hz, and at length above 10k Hz. Would a 300B amp be capable of driving these speakers? @... | |
| Audio Research in Receivership. As just one example, my Ref 150 SE which I purchased new in 2017 has a design problem with in-rush current on start-up. It is not a question of if, but when, as to the input fuse blowing and taking the board out with it. The successor 160M, 160S,... | |
| Fritz Speakers I've been playing the Carbon 6s, which is his smallest speaker, for about a year. I only play them at lower levels, since they are part of my bedroom system. I didn't want to sacrifice detail just because its a smaller system. They do just fine! | |
| The 300B World 300b needs carefully matched loudspeakers. Otherwise, it's pushed into higher distortion you want to surf the 1st few watts. Most SET users don't use SET-friendly speaker systems. I have a few 300b amps now. They do best with front horns or full-... | |
| Do 5-pole DIN tonearm connectors deteriorate the sound? Currently I have issues with hiss and a deep background hum, indicating bad shielding of the tonearm wires and some grounding issues. @reimarc You need to figure this out before worrying about rewiring the arm or dealing with connectors! Otherw... |