1995 CAL "Old School" Alpha DAC & a few pics.

pearsall001

Well, I must confess I really didn't know what to expect from this "old timer" DAC. But even after 18yrs & the way technology marches on this puppy is still a gas to listen to. You would think that it would be smoked by it's much newer counter parts buy not so fast there buddy boy. It might not be the latest & greatest but it certainly still gets one involved in the music. Pretty much laid back musically...kinda reminds me of just swinging in a hammock with a nice glass of breshly brewed tea & not a care in the world. Very soothing & mellow I would call it.

Now compareing it to my CA DacMagic is a whole different story. The DACMagis is very revealing, spot on, & dynamic with it's musical presentation. Pretty much at completely different ends of the spectrum musically. Picture yourself on a tropical island out for a nice jount...the Alpha DAC would be like riding a bicycle all over the island & the DacMagic would be like tearing up asphalt with a motorcycle. They will both get you to where you're going, just differently. Which one is better?? I really don't want to say because they both are extremely pleasing & I can swap them out depending on what mood I'm in. Now Brock has to recommend a few tubes for me to roll in & out! But for now the Amperex 12AX7 tubes it came with sound pretty darn good.

organ

Thanks for sharing your experience. I like your analogy when it comes to this DAC and your Magic.
Judging by your description, the murky Mullard tone might be to your liking. I haven't bought tubes in long time so I'm not sure how much they're going for now for the good versions. Very nice tubes with warm, rich sound.

pearsall001

organ wrote: »

Thanks for sharing your experience. I like your analogy when it comes to this DAC and your Magic.
Judging by your description, the murky Mullard tone might be to your liking. I haven't bought tubes in long time so I'm not sure how much they're going for now for the good versions. Very nice tubes with warm, rich sound.

Silky smooth is how I'd desribe the sound. It just sounds "right"...nothing harsh, bright or glare in the way it presents itself. I think my ears like what I'm hearing!!!

pearsall001

organ wrote: »

Thanks for sharing your experience. I like your analogy when it comes to this DAC and your Magic.
Judging by your description, the murky Mullard tone might be to your liking. I haven't bought tubes in long time so I'm not sure how much they're going for now for the good versions. Very nice tubes with warm, rich sound.

Silky smooth is how I'd desribe the sound. It just sounds "right"...nothing harsh, bright or glare in the way it presents itself. I think my ears like what I'm hearing!!!

cnh

pearsall001 wrote: »

Silky smooth is how I'd desribe the sound. It just sounds "right"...nothing harsh, bright or glare in the way it presents itself. I think my ears like what I'm hearing!!!

That's "music" to my ears! It's the sound I "most love". Who cares about all the excess "detail" in super high end modern DACs. Give me some "warmth", and some good tubes and a nice cognac to go with them!

cnh

organ

I'm with you guys. That's how I tuned my current system at the moment. I enjoy the buttery smooth sound with nice detail sprinkled on top like icing on a cake.

mantis

Thats it Phil , fire up the Crock Pot , I'm coming over.

Very cool man , Love your description of what you heard , I could taste the Tea Leaf's.

organ

Hi Dan,
Are you still running the Dynadio? Just curious. You took your system off your sig.

tonyb

Nice Phil, there's still somethings to be said for "old school" gear. Funny, alot of the older dacs had that analog sound and todays dacs are trying to recreate that but with more detail. IMHO, too much detail if not done right can take away from the musicality of the dac. This has been the case to my ears with alot of newer dacs I've heard. Tons of detail, bass slam, but kinda sterile sounding.
Rock that bad boy.

pearsall001

mantis wrote: »

Thats it Phil , fire up the Crock Pot , I'm coming over.

Very cool man , Love your description of what you heard , I could taste the Tea Leaf's.

Dan, you'll love the CAL Alpha DAC...smooth & sexy sounding. It'll set your memory back to the good 'ole days for sure. The crock pot's ready to go. Just give me a shout when your available.

tonyb wrote: »

Nice Phil, there's still somethings to be said for "old school" gear. Funny, alot of the older dacs had that analog sound and todays dacs are trying to recreate that but with more detail. IMHO, too much detail if not done right can take away from the musicality of the dac. This has been the case to my ears with alot of newer dacs I've heard. Tons of detail, bass slam, but kinda sterile sounding.
Rock that bad boy.

Tony, the music is as smooth as a baby's arse my good man. Those guys at CAL back in the day really knew their stuff. I guess you could say it has an "analog" sound quality to it for sure. I'm really enjoying it.

Now where's Brock to recommend some tubes for me to try???

heiney9

Heya Phil.

Let me go through my stash to jog my memory and get some thoughts together for you. Does it take a pair?

H9

pearsall001

heiney9 wrote: »

Heya Phil.

Let me go through my stash to jog my memory and get some thoughts together for you. Does it take a pair?

H9

Yes it does Brock...thanks. It came with Amperex tubes but I can only make out the words Holland on the glass. Which I'm sure doesn't tell you much. Other than that I don't know how to identify the exact tubes that they are. But they do sound rather sexy!!

mantis

organ wrote: »

Hi Dan,
Are you still running the Dynadio? Just curious. You took your system off your sig.

No I haven't run Dynaudio speakers in years. I have been rocking Definitive Technology Mythos ST's.

tonyb

pearsall001 wrote: »

. But they do sound rather sexy!!

Tubes that sound sexy....I can dig it. Find some Megan Fox tubes and throw those in.

I guess audio gear does give a man wood after all.:cheesygrin:

Roll some tubes Phil, I have a feeling what your hearing is more so tube related rather than the dac itself, which is normal but I bet more detail is to be had with a tube roll. These dacs were thought of highly back in the day and with the right tubes and maybe some updated parts swapped out, I bet they can still kick some arse even by todays standards.

Dawgfish

Speaking of silky smooth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YpQnx9EE_A

heiney9

Hey Phil can you take the Amperex tubes out and look for etched codes on the side? What type of label does it have? Is the getter a large halo or small halo? It's always been my contention to get the best you are willing to pay for when it comes to tubes.

The 5751 is a popular slightly lower gain tube that is substituted for a 12AX7. The ECC83 is simply the European designation for the American 12AX7.

12AX7: the original version of this tube. This can only be used in parallel filament circuits. This is not a big deal as virtually all audio equipment is of a parallel filament design.
12AX7A: This version can be used in series or parallel filament circuits.
12AX7A tubes made for the US Military are labeled 12AX7WA, and I have seen WB and WC versions. The W is the military type code, A,B, and C are progressively later productions. These are nice military spec tubes. DO NOT confuse these with current production Russian or Chinese crap with the suffix WX, WB, or WC! These are not military tubes and are not NOS tubes at all!

I would probably steer clear initially of the RCA 12AX7 black plates and Mullard tubes simply because based on what you've already described, you are already quite mellow. As a general observation they are a tad more laid back than some tubes.

I am really interested to see what and where the Amperex's you have are. Tubes can say "made in Holland" on the label and be incorrect. The tube codes are the only consistent identifier, period! Sometimes I can tell by internal construction too.

For Euro sourced tubes (except Telefunken) you will find two lines of code etched towards the bottom of the glass, and on very early tubes they will be inked on the bottom of the tube inside the pins. The first line indicates the "batch code", and every time there is a revision to the tube designation, this code changes. You will find earlier batch code identifiers usually mean an earlier version of the tube, which is usually better. It can also be an indication of plate type and getter type.

For Euro ECC83 the short plate tubes have a batch code (top line of etched code) of I61 (1958 and 1959); I63 (1960-1961); I65 (1962) are all considered early versions of the tube and have LARGE HALO getters (which are more desirable) The LARGE HALO tubes sound a little sweeter and have a slightly more open sound, some may not even pick up on it, however.

I65 tubes made after 1963 (with some exceptions as this seemed to be the crossover year) are SMALL HALO tubes. If you find a 1963 I65 tube always ask the seller what size the HALO is because some the 1963 tubes will have a LARGE HALO, not many, but some. The above follows true for Holland made ECC83's and French made ECC83's

Ok this is getting quite long as there is a lot to explain. Take a look at this link, while it doesn't cover every type of tube, it gives a pretty good idea.

http://www.tube-classics.de/TC/Tubes/Valvo%20ECC83/ECC83.htm

Here are some tube recommendations in no particular order.

Valvo tubes made in Hamburg. The earlier the better as 1958, 59 are long plates which are better than the short plates, but are pretty pricey. Batch code mC1, mC2, mCP (mC indicates long plate tubes) with a 45* slanted Halo getter

1959,60,61 short plates are excellent and a bit less $$$ than the long plates, but still can be pricey since they are more rare than a typical Holland made ECC83. They also have a 45* slanted Halo getter.

I have 2 pairs of 1959 short plate Hamburg Valvo's. The second line of tube code (which is the production code) starts with "D" which indicates Hamburg. No exceptions here. No matter what the label says, if the production codes starts with "D" it's a Valvo Hamburg tubes. I never did pop for the long plates as they are just to expensive since the gear that uses 12AX7/ECC83 is in a secondary rig.

1959-1962 Large Halo Heerlen Holland made ECC83. It could have several different labels with the Amperex label commanding a higher price. Typically Valvo labeled Heerlen Holland tubes are less expensive, but they are the EXACT same tube, made on the EXACT same tube line, at the EXACT same time. Heerlen Holland tubes have a "delta triangle" in the second line of tube code (which is the production code). No matter what label in on the tube the "delta triangle" indicated Heerlen Holland.

Sylvania GB (gold brand) 3 mica 5751 gray plate or black plate. These have gold print and some came with gold pins. The gold pin version is quite a bit more $$$ and don't sound any different than the std pin GB 5751. Don't get later versions of this tube from the 70's and 80's as they sort of suck.

Sylvania JHS 3 mica gray or black plate 5751 green or yellow label, as good as the GB (Gold Brand) but usually less $$$

Raytheon JRP 3 mica black plate 12AX7

Telefunken, but they are pricey.

Anyway sorry for the long ramble, this is just the tip of the surface, but are some very nice tubes to try.

H9

carvcom

Great review Phil, I've always wanted to try out an Alpha.