elektron
Responses from elektron
| Will Magnetic Tape Eventually Go Full Circle No, but until sample rates match up to the "pixal" count of analog, magnetic tape will be with us. Sound is recorded on analog magnetic tape much like FM broadcasting, with a high frequency carrier modulated by the audio. The bit rate of digital c... | |
| 12au7 tube question? Yes. Lots of choices. However, as others have pointed out, a MIL or industrial number alone, does not guarantee that what you are buying is better. If it was made during the peak of vacuum tube production it will be better than towards the end of ... | |
| custom Crossover building service?? HiYou can upgrade components in a crossover yourself. If confused about the circuit, make a drawing of what it is now and carefully note values of components. You can easily get a portable test instrument that measures inductance. Plan on spending... | |
| Any shortwave radio listener among us? Ah, yes. Grundig and Sony. The Satelite 700 is excellent.But, let us not forget the radio is only as good as the antenna. Look into a powered antenna, external if possible.Sony makes a good one. I power mine with batteries for as little noise as p... | |
| Senior Audiophiles - Audiophile since the 60-70's? Hello to all. I built my first amp in 1959 (Eico kit). Except for the minor diversion caused by the "newer is better transistor" it has been tubes all the way. This is an exciting time. Better parts. Renewed tube manufacture.Desire to explore forg... | |
| Threshold/ What is the Stasis topolgy? Write to Nelson Pass at Pass Labs.He designed it. | |
| Tungsol 5881's Tungsol invented and introduced the 5881 and 6550. The Tungsol 5881 had a miconol base, sort of a tan brownish color. Transductance of each of these types was superior to anything made by competitors. Both types are beam power tubes. I am curious ... | |
| Riddle me this... The answer is a toughie. I think it comes down to marketing. Despite what a person hears the wattage rating is kind of like horsepower. Lots of speakers are in the 87 to 94 dB 1W/1M class which means they are wasting power as heat rather than tran... | |
| I finally got a Mcintosh amp I am not surprised. My impression of this amp was that it imparted a kind of "zinginess" to the music. Dynamics were produced in an unpredictable kind of shocking way to the central nervous system. The human voice and accoustic instruments were pa... | |
| SET Tubes - Sonic Differences They all sound different. I would stick with triodes: 300B, 45, 2A3, 845, etc. at least to start. What you are talking here is purity of sound, not huge amounts of power. Speaker sensitivity is critical. You want the highest number of decibels at ... | |
| Revox B77 You might want to inquire as to the history of the machine. Light use, heavy use, that kind of thing. If you do clean the heads, try Vodka ( 80 proof is just fine )and some cotton swabs. Medical swaps are dandy. Also,you can see gross head wear by... | |
| Valve Question? I think you are seeing a brief arc between the cathode and anode inside the rectifier tube. The Cary's operate switch complete's the circuit to ground for the B+ ( high voltage ) and the high tension comes on virtually instantly. This causes the r... | |
| Canare Star Quad for speaker cable The Canare 4S11 works very well. The dialectric is very good. They are copper and have the limitations of copper. Will sound better than lots of stuff on the market for mega bucks. I tend to favor silver ( use 18-22 guage solid conductors sheathed... | |
| Mullard NOS Hi. The 12AU7 and 12AY7 are both dual triode tubes. They are not the same tubes. Characteristics are not the same: transconductance, etc. If memory serves me, the AU dissipates quite a bit more than the AY. Get a copy of the RCA Tube Manual (RC-19... | |
| Matching pre amp tubes? It depends on what the circuit is and how the tube is being used. Miniature duo triodes ( 12AX7 etc.) have two triodes in one glass envelope. Each section can perform differently: transconductance, noise, and so forth. Power tubes are matched up t... |