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Post by jandl100 on Dec 18, 2019 18:07:39 GMT
Thanks for the update on your latest kit. Excuse my ignorance, but what does the buffer actually do. It's an impedance matching thingummy, presenting components with a near-ideal load so they can perform optimally without having to strain their circuits, poor little things that they are. Some kit combinations will need this more than others, so the effectiveness of the buffer will vary accordingly. Please don't ask me why anyone would make one with valves in, I'm sure there is a good reason! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2019 18:12:28 GMT
A buffer can also be employed to alter the tonal character and presentation of the system. A popular tweak years ago was to pop a Musucal Fidelity X10-D between the pre-amp and power amp to get a bit of valve character into a system. And it worked.
I still use an X10-D when the fancy takes me, in my CD replay line-up. It's an interesting and positive addition.
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Post by antonio on Dec 18, 2019 18:23:20 GMT
Thanks both of you.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2019 21:04:36 GMT
Fantastic ! However , it's still unfathomable to me that an audiophile can jettison such an important part of musical reproduction. Even as a curio I'd have kept some. If you haven't the room I can sort of understand but even so. It's the most important , hands on and fascinating period of musical replay and it's just been dispatched like a bit of bog roll. A remnant at least of omething that important must survive in an audiophile's possession even as pure sentimentality. Nah .... something not right here , fellah. 😕 |
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Post by hammer on Dec 18, 2019 21:28:39 GMT
Wish I was around when you were selling some of it😂
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 18, 2019 21:32:01 GMT
Hmm, I've got more use for a bit of bog roll than vinyl and associated gear. I'm not the nostalgic type. I used vinyl when I had no choice -- 1st deck was a Pioneer PL12D over 40 years ago.  The problem is that I'm pretty much entirely into classical music, and surface noise was just a total pain in the arse for the quieter sub-genres of classical. CD was a god-send when it came along, and now internet streaming gives me an effectively infinite music library with 100% silent background. It's literally a dream come true for me. I did hang on to vinyl gear for quite a while, but looking back that was a big mistake. I did love rummaging in charity shop LP bins, then generally got enraged when the effing things were so effing noisy.   Good riddance to vinyl as far as I am concerned. I've no nostalgia for it at all. |
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 18, 2019 21:33:05 GMT
Wish I was around when you were selling some of it😂 You just had to go to the right charity shops at the right times. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2019 21:41:26 GMT
What headphones are you using nowadays, Jerry?
S.
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 18, 2019 21:46:34 GMT
What headphones are you using nowadays, Jerry? S. PSB M4U1 with swapped out earpads.  |
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 20, 2019 16:47:19 GMT
Ooooo, new DAC.  Chord 2Qute with a Teddy Pardo PSU. ... which necessitated the re-introduction of my Chinese RVC passive preamp, as I had been using the volume control on the Audiobyte DAC.  I tried the 2Qute with its standard wallwart PSU first, then onto the Teddy. It's obviously a significant upgrade, despite some of the tosh you can read on t'internet. A keeper, better than the excellent Audiobyte? Time will tell, it's certainly interestingly different. |
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Post by dsjr on Dec 20, 2019 17:02:16 GMT
I've only heard one or two of the new Chord dacs with their own amps admittedly and I freely admit I liked what I heard immensely. Still not sure if the dem on the Up-Scaler was 'assisted' a little by the demonstrator who had the remotes, as I'm sure levels were altered slightly - either that or the scale and 'shading' (godawful words) were better with it switched in. Not as if the standard reconstruction filters were Sh#t to start with.
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Post by antonio on Dec 20, 2019 18:12:17 GMT
Linear power supplies are a big plus to the sq imo. I use a cheap Chinese one with my Calyx and also a Project one with the Project transport. Two power supplies are used with my NVA phonostage, clear difference when adding one then two.
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 20, 2019 18:33:18 GMT
Yes, I recall that RD was of the view that there was no such thing as a PSU that was too large, the bigger the better as far as sq is concerned.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2019 19:00:33 GMT
Yes, I recall that RD was of the view that there was no such thing as a PSU that was too large, the bigger the better as far as sq is concerned. Well that's not right. As long as enough current is available for any situation said piece of equipment is going to face, then it's big enough. Lets face it, you could make a PSU the size of a National Grid substation, but would it improve things? No! |
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Post by jandl100 on Dec 20, 2019 19:04:14 GMT
I have no opinion personally, being a technonumpty, but I recall an article by Paul McGowan of PS Audio fame, who based on his own experience thought the same. Mind you, he was baffled by why that should be, as well. I think he would have relished a PSU the size of a National Grid Substation. Or do you speak from experience, having tried it?  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2019 19:12:17 GMT
I have no opinion personally, being a technonumpty, but I recall an article by Paul McGowan of PS Audio fame, who based on his own experience thought the same. I think he would have relished a PSU the size of a National Grid Substation. Or do you speak from experience, having tried it? I run two actually. One in each 32,000 watt 300B valve monoblock. The two garages they occupy, fortunately back onto the house, so the six inch thick speaker cables don't have too far to go. The monoblocks also provide the heating for the entire house.  |
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 20, 2019 20:34:24 GMT
I have no opinion personally, being a technonumpty, but I recall an article by Paul McGowan of PS Audio fame, who based on his own experience thought the same. I think he would have relished a PSU the size of a National Grid Substation. Or do you speak from experience, having tried it? I run two actually. One in each 32,000 watt 300B valve monoblock. The two garages they occupy, fortunately back onto the house, so the six inch thick speaker cables don't have too far to go. The monoblocks also provide the heating for the entire house. As long as the power supply has GOOD ripple rejection and is capable of delivering the power required, there really isn't much of point in going large. I've tried it and I heard the result of it with the NVA3 with the BBPSU and to my ears, the NVA2 with 2x PSU was better. And yes, I also agree with Antonio that the NVA2 was better with two PSUs rather than one but there was a reason for that. Unfortunately, I can't remember or find it in my notes from the time. |
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Post by macca on Dec 21, 2019 9:50:17 GMT
I have no opinion personally, being a technonumpty, but I recall an article by Paul McGowan of PS Audio fame, who based on his own experience thought the same. I think he would have relished a PSU the size of a National Grid Substation. Or do you speak from experience, having tried it? I run two actually. One in each 32,000 watt 300B valve monoblock. The two garages they occupy, fortunately back onto the house, so the six inch thick speaker cables don't have too far to go. The monoblocks also provide the heating for the entire house. I think you meant to say the entire street? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2019 10:32:19 GMT
I'm actually thinking of using a 4 watt valve amp. A 6V6 single ended Class A job.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2019 21:16:47 GMT
Wish I was around when you were selling some of it😂 I grabbed some LPs from Jerry (the proceeds went to charity). I listen to vinyl and CD. For classical, CD wins every time. |
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 10, 2020 14:01:54 GMT
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jan 10, 2020 14:24:40 GMT
Good stuff Jerry. Where do they rate on your all time favourite list? |
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 10, 2020 14:31:23 GMT
My favourite list comes in 2 parts - stuff I'm happy to live with and stuff that gets moved on pronto.
No plans to move these on.
It's interesting going from a single stereo amp to bridged monos with the same amp model - the sound has become more solid and real seeming, the quiet bits as well as the loud bits.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jan 10, 2020 15:07:53 GMT
My favourite list comes in 2 parts - stuff I'm happy to live with and stuff that gets moved on pronto. No plans to move these on. It's interesting going from a single stereo amp to bridged monos with the same amp model - the sound has become more solid and real seeming, the quiet bits as well as the loud bits. Yes, if I could afford it, there'd be two 686 amps in my system. Even though the 686 is truly a dual Mono configuration. All that power would be fantastic. |
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Post by macca on Jan 10, 2020 18:14:08 GMT
Class G/H Jerry? Think Justin brought one of these down to MiBO but could be getting mixed up. That one was pretty good and no chance of clipping the bastard.
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 17, 2020 9:45:36 GMT
New power amp - PrimaLuna Prologue 5. The clever autobiasing arrangement means that it's plug&play for a wide variety of power valve types - KT88, 6550, EL34, 5881, KT90, KT77, KT66. Fun will be had with that capability. It came fitted with Edicron 6550WE, and JAN 12ax7 and 12au7 input valves. First impressions are -- very nice. An obviously 'different' presentation to the 2x Apart Champ 2 solid state powerhouses, which is a good thing. There's no point in having different amps if they all sound the same!   So, the Cunning Plan is pretty much complete - excellent power amps in the 4 main flavours now reside chez moi, - valve (PrimaLuna), solid state class A/B (Apart, even if they do call it class G), solid state class A (LP Spirit / Pass Labs) and solid state class D (TPA3116). I hope they are all keepers for at least the medium term. |
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 17, 2020 9:48:19 GMT
Class G/H Jerry? Think Justin brought one of these down to MiBO but could be getting mixed up. That one was pretty good and no chance of clipping the bastard. Yup, class G, whatever that means. A slight variation on class A/B, I think. Justin would have brought the Champ 1, higher powered but a bit smoothed over compared to the Champ 2 that I now have as a bridged pair. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2020 9:58:46 GMT
Class G/H Jerry? Think Justin brought one of these down to MiBO but could be getting mixed up. That one was pretty good and no chance of clipping the bastard. Yup, class G, whatever that means. A slight variation on class A/B, I think. Justin would have brought the Champ 1, higher powered but a bit smoothed over compared to the Champ 2 that I now have as a bridged pair. Basic power amplifier classifications are here: www.audioholics.com/audio-amplifier/amplifier-classesThere are others though. I have a few amps that operate in Class A and Class B. Quads! |
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Post by jandl100 on Jan 28, 2020 9:35:19 GMT
I'm going distinctly backwards in terms of DAC technology. As of this post I am totally won over by the DAC in this 20 year old beast.  A Lexicon DC-1 DAC/pre/processor. Used in 2 channel mode it's as transparent, detailed and enjoyably musical as anything I have heard. A delta sigma DAC, I think. Daft, really. Maybe it's not what you've got, it's the way that you use it. |
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Post by Bigman80 on Jan 28, 2020 9:55:36 GMT
I'm going distinctly backwards in terms of DAC technology. As of this post I am totally won over by the DAC in this 20 year old beast. A Lexicon DC-1 DAC/pre/processor. Used in 2 channel mode it's as transparent, detailed and enjoyably musical as anything I have heard. A delta sigma DAC, I think. Daft, really. Maybe it's not what you've got, it's the way that you use it. Never even seen one! |
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