mulveling
Responses from mulveling
| Phono preamp tube rolling. I’ve done a ton of tube Rolling over the years on the Ares Magnum. The 12ax7 slots make a huge difference. My 3 favorites, from most favorite to less favorite:1. Mazda silver plates - These have a little extra energy on top, so maybe not the best ... | |
| Calling all Sota fans. Yes, the latest SOTA series Nova VI / Cosmos V / Millenia Eclipse have upgraded a LOT on the tech and materials. And of course, the vintage SOTA tables were built to be incredibly reliable and sound awesome for the money - plus there are a LOT out... | |
| Do small preamp tubes 12ax7 need to be matched? Some circuit slots are going to be more tolerant of ax7 / at7 / au7 / ay7 type swaps than others. Just depends on the circuit. Cathode followers and mu followers tend to be pretty tolerant, though 12ax7 probably aren’t the best choice for driving ... | |
| Premature gear defenestrations I’ve sold and regretted quite a lot over the years. There are many instances when I’ve sold and rebought later. There even are a few instances where I’ve sold and rebought a piece 2 or 3 times! But as time marches on and the system has evolved upw... | |
| Do small preamp tubes 12ax7 need to be matched? Ideally yes but you don’t need to be too OCD - with small triodes, often you’re trying to match 4 elements (2 triodes per tube) so it can be frustrating to try to find 4 within 10% of each other on the major parameters (mu, transconductance) - esp... | |
| First tube preamp recommendations (under $5k) ARC 5SE seems like a solid choice. And good on your wife to get the ball rolling, though you were also right to bump it up to the SE! Sometimes we audiophiles truly torture ourselves with endless internal debates & second guessing, resulting i... | |
| Benz Micro Glider SL or Acoustical Systems Fidelis Cartridge I started out with a Glider L2, 15 years ago. It was wonderful, and I didn’t upgrade for 2 years. The current SL model will be even better. All Benz cartridges have a great sound - more leaning towards "musical, natural" than "analytical, technica... | |
| Rogue Audio Sphinx V3 IMO Rogue Audio’s best value proposition lies in its all-tube power amps (at every price point), and the Cronus integrated. Their class-D based amplifiers are using outdated Hypex UcD modules, except for the Dragon which steps up to the nCore. In ... | |
| First tube preamp recommendations (under $5k) As a tube lover I would advise you to avoid preamps with 12ax7 or 12au7. Too much gain on the 12ax7 for a preamp, and 12au7 isn’t a great sounding tube in any role (but tends to be used a LOT in audio, unfortunately). 6SN7, 6922/6DJ8, 6H30 - these... | |
| Close, but no cigar ... Pass, McIntosh, Parasound's refreshed Halo series (JC5 or JC1+), Modwright | |
| Which preamp for VAC Phi 170 IQ? I've used a Rogue Athena with 200iQ monos and enjoyed it about as much as with Renaissance V. Balanced ins & outs, nice tube complement of 6H30. Doesn't sound too tubey or too solid-state. Unfortunately it's discontinued (and their newer pream... | |
| I need help with an amp decision LOL I don’t know if MC is trolling or if he really likes the DNA amps. MC - I do really enjoy your posts and passion, though we don’t always agree. Tannoys do very well with SS amps that are smooth and maybe a bit on the warm side, so if the DNA a... | |
| How much difference does a phono preamp really make? @tomic601 you are too kind, but thank you! Some others here have far more experience and know-how than I ever will! Though I'll surely keep being an analog enthusiast to my dying day. | |
| How much difference does a phono preamp really make? +1 @ozzy62 | |
| Any Tannoy XT8f vs Kef LS50 meta comparisons? Well, Tannoys aren’t for everyone, @avanti1960 Looks like OP is really enjoying his, as I’ve enjoyed all my Tannoys and still do today.Good to hear your results, @jin78! |