ait

Responses from ait

vacuum tube shelf life
My preamp uses CX-326 tubes made alnost 90 years ago. They sound incredibly good.As for the Russian tubes, I recently bought 50 of the 6E5P that I use as driver tubes in my 833C amps. I have no worries about them dying before me! 
More Tubes = Better Sound
I prefer more power AND less tubes. One input tube, one output tube, 200WPC SET.Midlife Crisis Mono 
Tube Amp with Balance Controls - Does it exist?
No need for a balance control, just look for one with separate left and right channel volume controls. 
Capacitor log Mundorf Silver in Oil
"Unless your 1.0 uF 630v is of the older flat variety - there is no difference except leadout and capacity."OK, so the way I interpret this statement is that the older, larger diameter flat 630V CAST caps are of the same WPIO construction as the 1... 
Lightning Strike - Immediate and Delayed Effects
Tubes are usually very resistant to power surges and spikes; that's one reason the Soviets still used them in military gear until recently (maybe the Russians still do?). Solid state, on the other hand, has NO sense of humor.I had a nearby lightni... 
Experience w Bybee products for AC power?
Here's a link to a 23-page thread on DIYAudio about their experiences with Bybee products. YMMV.http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/everything-else/184442-cals-bybee-experience.html 
Amplifier is now off the Power Conditioner
We need to distinguish between conditioners and regenerators here. The first simply filters the AC. The second regenerates it in a cleaner state and provides a store of energy for quick bursts of power so it shouldn't strangle the sound.My amps ha... 
Amplifier is now off the Power Conditioner
Well I'm running my 200WPC 833C SET monoblocks off PS Audio P5 power regenerators, and they sound better WITH the regenerators. Because of the power draw of the amps, I need to use one P5 per channel, but the dynamics seem to be better with the re... 
Advantages of monoblocks
PS, I sold the expensive SCs and used the proceeds to buy a pair of 8 ga Northcreek inductors for my speakers, which resulted in a very nice improvement in bass clarity and detail. Trading the expensive SCs for the inductors was one of the best mo... 
Advantages of monoblocks
I've had multiple sets of monoblocks, run with both short IC/long SC and long IC/short SC, and the long IC/short SC has sounded better in all cases. In fact, my SCs now are only 18" long, which allows me to use two DIY runs of Cardas 11.5 ga coppe... 
Best source of NOS or same quality semiconductors
American Microsemiconductor has a lot of obsolete SS components in stock. http://www.americanmicrosemi.com/ 
Of all your gear, what piece impresses you most?
Audiolabyrinth,Those are Infinity RSIIb speakers, circa 1985. I've completely redone them with an external passive crossover featuring NorthCreek and Solen Heptalitz inductors and Mundorf and Duelund caps, new midrange diaphragms from Apogee Acous... 
Of all your gear, what piece impresses you most?
Granny,You can follow the entire build here, from conception to completion, including schematics, Spice and PSUD simulations, photos of the parts and sub-assemblies, test results, philosophical debates, etc.:Building A Midlife Crisis 
Of all your gear, what piece impresses you most?
My SET amps, because they took a year of my life to build...and they actually work!The Midlife Crisis. 
D-Sonic vs Wyred vs ....
Hey Viggen,Since you mention Infinity, I have a pair of Gilmore Raptor monos on the 'Gon right now. These are 500WPC ClassD amps using modified high sampling rate ICE modules. I've been running them for a few years on my Infinity RSIIb speakers an...