What did you do to your stereo rig today?

pitdogg2

My work is done here 😃

JayCee

marvda1 wrote: »

I had a pair of Mullard cv4003's that I thought were noisy since last I played them was a few years back when I had a Belles 21a preamp. Well something told me to try them in my Mastersound Compact 845 integrated amp. They were dead quiet and the best sound I have heard from the Mastersound, not to mention that it saved me $300 as that is what they are going for a pair now.

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I have this tube in my DAC, it provides the 'Secret Sauce'. In the right application, it's one of the best.

+1....currently running a matched pair in my BHK Pre.

jdjohn

Speaker stands hand-made by my wife's grandfather for his Realistic speakers. He was an exceptional wood-worker.

Surely I can put them to good use.

audioluvr

pitdogg2 wrote: »

My work is done here 😃

Damn it Ivan! I just ordered a pair of Brimar CV4003's from Upscale Audio thanks to you! (and Jesse). Damn enablers!

marvda1

I am trying to find out how the brimar cv4003 sound compared to my mallard cv4003. I need a backup pair but the mullards are $300 pair. Let us know how those brimars sound.
Those ge 6189 are nice even handed and neutral. Better get them at the low price now.

michaeljhsda2

motorstereo wrote: »

Today I swapped my Yaqin mc100b tube integrated for the Mc mono's just to change things up a bit for a few days. It should be quite a change going from 1200+wpc down to 45wpc in triode mode.
My guess is the 1.2tl's aren't going to be as happy now with the big reduction in current

Did you get a chance to listen to the Yaqin yet?

maxward

“Surely I can put them to good use.“

They might make great amp stands for monoblocks, if not reused for speaker stands.

motorstereo

michaeljhsda2 wrote: »

motorstereo wrote: »

Today I swapped my Yaqin mc100b tube integrated for the Mc mono's just to change things up a bit for a few days. It should be quite a change going from 1200+wpc down to 45wpc in triode mode.
My guess is the 1.2tl's aren't going to be as happy now with the big reduction in current

Did you get a chance to listen to the Yaqin yet?

Yes I did quite a bit of listening since I last posted and here's my impressions. I found I preferred the UL mode slightly when using the Yaqin's preamp section and listening to digital. But I found I preferred the triode mode when listening to vinyl with the Yaqin's pre. I spent a couple days listening to these different types and those were my findings.

Next I bypassed the Yaqin's pre section and used my Mcintosh c100 preamp and the Yaqin as a straight power amp. I found this was my favorite way to listen to music and I very much preferred the triode mode when spinning vinyl. UL mode was still very good but not quite as nice as triode mode on either digital or vinyl. I had several hours of listening time on these modes as well and just this morning I decided it was time to go back to the 1201's. I'll give the little Yaqin credit; it held up admirably well considering it's competition. In either mode it had no trouble at all driving the 1.2tls to decent listening volumes which really surprised me. The Yaqin's success also has me casually looking for a pair of tube monos now as well.

pitdogg2

Personally I've been impressed with both the yaqin tube buffer and my new tube preamp. Many poo poo the Yaqins as cheap Chinese junk but I'd have to say I found it's anything but.
Very nice gear for prices paid.

michaeljhsda2

motorstereo wrote: »

michaeljhsda2 wrote: »

motorstereo wrote: »

Today I swapped my Yaqin mc100b tube integrated for the Mc mono's just to change things up a bit for a few days. It should be quite a change going from 1200+wpc down to 45wpc in triode mode.
My guess is the 1.2tl's aren't going to be as happy now with the big reduction in current

Did you get a chance to listen to the Yaqin yet?

Yes I did quite a bit of listening since I last posted and here's my impressions. I found I preferred the UL mode slightly when using the Yaqin's preamp section and listening to digital. But I found I preferred the triode mode when listening to vinyl with the Yaqin's pre. I spent a couple days listening to these different types and those were my findings.

Next I bypassed the Yaqin's pre section and used my Mcintosh c100 preamp and the Yaqin as a straight power amp. I found this was my favorite way to listen to music and I very much preferred the triode mode when spinning vinyl. UL mode was still very good but not quite as nice as triode mode on either digital or vinyl. I had several hours of listening time on these modes as well and just this morning I decided it was time to go back to the 1201's. I'll give the little Yaqin credit; it held up admirably well considering it's competition. In either mode it had no trouble at all driving the 1.2tls to decent listening volumes which really surprised me. The Yaqin's success also has me casually looking for a pair of tube monos now as well.

That's cool. Yeah I was surprised myself that the Yaqin amps sound really good on my 1.2TL's...well on all the speakers that I've owned for that matter, but they do. Getting confirmation from someone else means my ears aren't so bad after all haha. I haven't checked the web lately but I'm hoping to one day see them make 100+ wpc tube monos, either EL 34 or KT 88 based amps.

JayCee

audioluvr wrote: »

pitdogg2 wrote: »

My work is done here 😃

Damn it Ivan! I just ordered a pair of Brimar CV4003's from Upscale Audio thanks to you! (and Jesse). Damn enablers!

Damn it all of you! Make that 2 of us. Late night surfing last night and let my guard down. Have a pair en-route to compare to the Mullards, RT, National, PS Vane and RCA Black Plates.

Clipdat

Tried a cork mat on my turntable:

marvda1

have you looked into these?
https://herbiesaudiolab.com/collections/turntable-mats

jdjohn

Drew probably needs a slip mat so he can do some DJ scratching

gp4jesus

Clipdat wrote: »

Tried a cork mat on my turntable:

And........?

displayname

marvda1 wrote: »

have you looked into these?
https://herbiesaudiolab.com/collections/turntable-mats

I've always wondered about these and the Funk Firm Achromat. https://www.musicdirect.com/analog-accessories/funk-firm-achromat-platter-mat

But my TT is designed to run directly on the delrin platter, so I don't mess with any mats.

Clipdat

marvda1 wrote: »

have you looked into these?
https://herbiesaudiolab.com/collections/turntable-mats

Haven't looked into any of these. Just decided to try the cork one since it was only $20.

gp4jesus wrote: »

And........?

Sounded good before when I was using these, and sounded good after with the cork mat. So, shrug?

maxward

Good price on that mat. Gem Dandy sells an RCC (rubber cork compound) mat for $60 that looks substantially the same.

jdjohn

I bought a few cork/rubber mats like that from Hudson Hi-Fi a few years ago, but now they're sold-out. They're actually sold-out of most all their mats now, but do still have this all-cork one, which has a recess for the label.

ZLTFUL

I have the Herbie's Way Excellent mat in 4mm thickness.

I have been very happy with that purchase.

DaveHo

I have a Pro-ject Debut III with the Acryl-it platter. I've always run it without a mat, but am curious if there would be an improvement with one. But what about VTA? No adjustment on my table AFAIK.

guyincognito

First time poster. I added a butcher block acoustics base to help address what i believe is a resonance issue I was having with my turntable while running in 45 rpm. Pretty happy with the results. At some point I will build or buy a better source stand.

guyincognito

To add to earlier posts I am pretty happy with my Jake's deerskin mat on the planar 8. He is a one man show and sells his mats on Amazon for a pretty reasonable price. I've upgraded turntables twice but the mat always makes the cut.

DaveHo

Welcome! Looks like a great rig. Stick around, we are a passionate bunch!

guyincognito

This group seems much more positive and friendly than some of the other forums. Genuinely excited to have found this group. I also have a Parasound JC5 on order that I am anxiously awaiting delivery on. I will post updates when it gets here. Happy listening in the meantime.

guyincognito

Current rig... I have the Arcam SR250 behind the TV at this point. After the JC5 gets here I would like to replace the Arcam with a JC2 BP at some point when funds permit.

nooshinjohn

guyincognito wrote: »

To add to earlier posts I am pretty happy with my Jake's deerskin mat on the planar 8. He is a one man show and sells his mats on Amazon for a pretty reasonable price. I've upgraded turntables twice but the mat always makes the cut.

And you can always make a nice pair of driving gloves out of it when you decide to upgrade!

jdjohn

guyincognito wrote: »

Is that a Benchmark DAC3/HGC preamp...or a similar model? I certainly enjoy mine

guyincognito

@jdjohn

Benchmark DAC 2 HGC with the firmware upgrade. Bought it used for a song. I feel like I will have to dig deep to improve upon it. I have been interested in Lampizator DACs as of late but haven't looked too deep. Most are out of my price range but the Amber 3 looks interesting.

jdjohn

I think you'd be hard-pressed to exceed the performance of that without a significant outlay of additional cash.