ajcrocker1

Responses from ajcrocker1

If you have a CD Player, you need to do this periodically...
I put in the Chesky demo disc ran it for a while, Class A system.  Did the track 7.   Then back to the demo disc.  My noise floor is -93dB and speakers 19 woofers and 2 inch horns, both Faital Pro.  Perhaps a bit better in the midrange but details... 
If you have a CD Player, you need to do this periodically...
I have the disc.  The premise of this discussion is that bits of the system have become magnetized.  My chassis are copper and aluminum.  My cables are silver.  My connectors are gold plated copper.  All the above are non magnetic materials.  Circ... 
How many watts??
Your volume control is most likely logarithmic so you cannot use that as an indicator.  Go to Home Depot, Lowe’s or Amazon.  Order a volt meter.  Set the meter to AC voltage and measure the voltage across the speaker terminals while playing.  This... 
Why so many tubes?
The number of tubes increased as speaker efficiency decreased.  Paralleling tubes or going push pull can increase power but also can muddy the sound.  As a builder of SET amps I focus on using as few tubes as possible.  Each tube has its own sound... 
Tubes
I own hundreds of vintage tubes.  It is a game of 30 to 50 percent rejects when you take into account testing and real world performance.  Just because a tube tests at 100% does not mean it will perform well.  Heaters may draw to much.  The tube m... 
How to get into high end digital? (Feeding a DAC)
Fiber optic provides complete isolation from the noise in the power supply of the sending unit.  Coax does not.  Galvanic and isolation transformers still pass noise through the ground.  Wireworld makes nice fiber optic cables made from glass.  Al... 
Power conditioner some say yes and some say no.
If you buy the isolation transformer and find it hums  too much open it up and install rubber vibration absorbing feet from parts express between the transformer and the case to help keep it quiet.  Setting on an inch thick cork pad from Amazon al... 
Power conditioner some say yes and some say no.
With sryeager being an exception, in general here are steps I find helpful.1. Breaker box should be updated to move your room away from air conditioners, blowers, and other high draw breakers2.  Add a whole house surge protector3.  Put your equipm... 
Power cord choice?
Power cords often cross other cables.  The radiated noise can affect the audio in those cables.  Look for a shielded power cord from Mouser or Digikey.  Don’t get the biggest cable as large gauge wire is cumbersome.  16 gauge is normally sufficient. 
Are all of these NOS tube inventories real? How have we not consumed them already?
Whether it is a dealer or eBay, there is a lot of marketing fluff.  The only way to know the life left in a tube is to have a transconductance and gas test.  That said there are many tube testers in use that are not calibrated and the results are ... 
Problem with phono stage
A quick look at online pictures shows opamps in use in the Black Cube.  Now there are different black cubes so I may not be looking at the right one.I used mine with Sound Smith Moving Iron and other MM carts.  I had no issues.As to feedback it ca... 
Advice on CD transport
I have several Marantz players which work well as a CD transport.I recently picked up a used Rega Apollo R and a Woo Audio WTP-1.The Woo Audio is my first choice as it is a bit more definition than the MarantzThe Rega comes in last due to it being... 
Problem with phono stage
Emlim,Records all have pops and noise that can be eliminated by a number of methods.  I had a black cube in the past.  My guess as to why it reveals more pops and clicks has to do with lack of feedback.  By inserting feedback into the signal noise... 
Hi-res streaming on Qobuz
From the crutchfield websiteFiles up to 16-bit/48kHz are streamed without compression or transcoding. High resolution audio files (24-bit/192kHz), are down-sampled to 16-bit/48kHz for transmission. This allows for the most reliable streaming exper... 
Ok now I am frustrated with streaming
I sent this posting link along with some other tracks to Qobuz to look into