What did you do to your stereo rig today?

verb

verb wrote: »

Got this today from CL. 10amp Powerstat. Minty! The guy even delivered it to the house!

So my delight was quickly diminished the other day after I took that pic, left if there (yes right in the middle of the doorway, idiot) and the Mrs came into the office a little later then stubbed her toe! Boy did I hear it!

Viking64

verb wrote: »

So my delight was quickly diminished the other day after I took that pic, left if there (yes right in the middle of the doorway, idiot) and the Mrs came into the office a little later then stubbed her toe! Boy did I hear it!

You heard it? I told you it would sound like Van Halen 's first album!!!!!

Clipdat

verb wrote: »

Did you get these from @joecoulson ?

Yep! He gave me a great deal on them! Thanks Joe!

motorstereo

While I'm under corona house arrest I thought this would be a good time to do some comparisons. Having heard a rumor that fully balanced amps don't project the soundstage as far as non-balanced amps my curiosity got the best of me. So far I'm surprised that the little non balanced Proton d1200 is making a good accounting of itself. More listening is needed.

pitdogg2

motorstereo wrote: »

While I'm under corona house arrest I thought this would be a good time to do some comparisons. Having heard a rumor that fully balanced amps don't project the soundstage as far as non-balanced amps my curiosity got the best of me. So far I'm surprised that the little non balanced Proton d1200 is making a good accounting of itself. More listening is needed.

I do not think that was intended for the older SDA's, it was for the L800's only as far as the SDA side.

but let us know your findings.

Tony M

I've ALWAYS coveted that Proton amp ever since I read about it in Stereo Review many moons ago.

Those meters!

verb

That's it! I coming over to quarantine at your house! Can I take your Harley out for a spin too?

gp4jesus

I cleaned and dusted

motorstereo

verb wrote: »

That's it! I coming over to quarantine at your house! Can I take your Harley out for a spin too?

You sure can if you don't mind riding a Kawasaki as I don't own a Harley.
The little 1200 is still surprising me with how well it pairs with the 1.2s especially since it's not my favorite amp on my other 2 pair of floorstanders (khorns+ads1530's).

BlueBirdMusic

motorstereo wrote: »

While I'm under corona house arrest I thought this would be a good time to do some comparisons. Having heard a rumor that fully balanced amps don't project the soundstage as far as non-balanced amps my curiosity got the best of me. So far I'm surprised that the little non balanced Proton d1200 is making a good accounting of itself. More listening is needed.

I see an unusual shelf the amp is sitting on that I really like. It looks like some type of adjustable piston on each side. Is it part of the overall shelf? Can you talk about it?

I was looking at a listing of a D1200 on Reverb that was posted on Wednesday. Almost mint it said. It has sold immediately.
Harry

verb

motorstereo wrote: »

verb wrote: »

That's it! I coming over to quarantine at your house! Can I take your Harley out for a spin too?

You sure can if you don't mind riding a Kawasaki as I don't own a Harley.
The little 1200 is still surprising me with how well it pairs with the 1.2s especially since it's not my favorite amp on my other 2 pair of floorstanders (khorns+ads1530's).

Lol! For sure! I thought you had a Harley. I must be confused with someone else who had a Harley parked in their basement!

motorstereo

BlueBirdMusic wrote: »

motorstereo wrote: »

While I'm under corona house arrest I thought this would be a good time to do some comparisons. Having heard a rumor that fully balanced amps don't project the soundstage as far as non-balanced amps my curiosity got the best of me. So far I'm surprised that the little non balanced Proton d1200 is making a good accounting of itself. More listening is needed.

I see an unusual shelf the amp is sitting on that I really like. It looks like some type of adjustable piston on each side. Is it part of the overall shelf? Can you talk about it?

I was looking at a listing of a D1200 on Reverb that was posted on Wednesday. Almost mint it said. It has sold immediately.
Harry

It's not a piston it's just an extra part of a stand I put in there as an isolation experiment. They made no change that I can hear so I'll probably remove them at some point.
I bet that 1200 did sell quick if it was priced right. I was thinking this d1200 is one of my better cost vs. performance items. In my case the Proton didn't cost as much as a pair of aftermarket handles on one of the Macs.

BlueBirdMusic

The link to the 1200 below. I think it was slightly higher than others I have seen on Reverb, but it has all original packing etc.

You really have a treasure chest in your rig. I assume you use a dreadnought with the 1200.

https://reverb.com/item/32915657-proton-d-1200

Harry

motorstereo

That 1200 is in very nice shape and that seemed like a fair price. My lighting is all original and getting pretty dim compared to that one and I'm thinking that should be my next project.
Thanks for the kind words and yes I use a 1000va dreadnaught.

55SLA70

A couple days ago I put a NOS SED 5U4G rectifier in my Decware preamp. I recently got it off Ebay and paid about $20.00 for it. Quite frankly I wasn't expecting much but after a couple days of listening I found it not to be a bad tube at all. Compared to the 1950's Tung-Sol 53YG it replaced, I found it clearer and with a larger soundstage, but also a little edgier and with a slight increase in glare. It also had a little more drive. The edge and glare were definitely there but it wasn't that bad. Just noticeable upon comparison. I could regularly listen to it with no reservations whatsoever. Maybe if I put some more hours on it some of the edge and glare will dissipate, but for now, it's definitely something I could live with. For $20.00, on my rig, I consider it a win.

treitz3

I have recently found out (again) just how valuable a rectifier tube can be in a system. Congrat's on your new found sound!

Tom

55SLA70

Thanks Tom. I just got the Decware preamp and have been rolling quite a few tubes through it, trying to dial it in. As we speak the leading combination is a 1958 RCA 5R4GY rectifier, a BEL 6922 (made in India with Phillips tooling) input and a pair Voshod 6N1P-BN outputs. I tried rolling some other 6922's into the output section but due to the 6N1P's high heater voltage, I got a nasty 60 cycle hum. So, for the time being, I'm kind of stuck with the Voshods. Other rectifiers I tried include: a 1958 RCA 5U4G, a 1963 Tung-Sol 53YGT, and a 1967 Mullard GZ32. I keep coming back to the RCA 5R4GY though. So far the best compromise of the bunch.

treitz3

I am currently running a NOS 5AR4 - Mullard from the 60's as my rectifier. Sounds like you have some tube stash to work with. Nice. Since I have a new pre with completely different tubes now, my stash will have to start from scratch.

Tom

55SLA70

I've been thinking about trying a Mullard 5AR4. Some other Decware preamp owners use them with good results. I have to remember to look for one when I go on one of my tube buying binges.

Mike Reeter

55SLA70 wrote: »

I've been thinking about trying a Mullard 5AR4. Some other Decware preamp owners use them with good results. I have to remember to look for one when I go on one of my tube buying binges.

I have one these, a Mullard made G.E. in my Preamp, excellent choice.

Mike Reeter

Trying a new Audioquest Carbon Digital Cable between my Transport and DAC, after about a solid 40 hours of burn in, the Carbon is really starting to bloom.

A very pleasant upgrade over the previous Silver wire that was in place. Most notable improvement so far has been the "Spaciousness" in the soundstage, very detailed, yet smooth as Butta.



Also, just received today a set of the small Iso-Pucks. I know these are Marketed to be utilized under smaller Speakers, but I'm trying them under my CDT and DAC to see if I can hear any notable increase in performance. If these prove worthy, I'm planning on installing more under the Line Preamp and Phono Preamp as well.

halo

Looking good Mike!

xsmi

pitdogg2 wrote: »

motorstereo wrote: »

While I'm under corona house arrest I thought this would be a good time to do some comparisons. Having heard a rumor that fully balanced amps don't project the soundstage as far as non-balanced amps my curiosity got the best of me. So far I'm surprised that the little non balanced Proton d1200 is making a good accounting of itself. More listening is needed.

I do not think that was intended for the older SDA's, it was for the L800's only as far as the SDA side.

but let us know your findings.

Now, I'm ALL confused. Can vintage SDA's like my SRS's use a dual mono amp that is all in one chasis with a single power cable, as long as we don't use the balanced inputs?

Nevermind, I found the answer.

55SLA70

Mike Reeter wrote: »

55SLA70 wrote: »

I've been thinking about trying a Mullard 5AR4. Some other Decware preamp owners use them with good results. I have to remember to look for one when I go on one of my tube buying binges.

I have one these, a Mullard made G.E. in my Preamp, excellent choice.

Mike,

Between you and Tom I kind of getting a little interested in this tube. I checked a few 5AR4/GZ34 Mullards on the internet and although they look like they can be a little pricey, I did see a few reasonably priced. Hopefully some careful shopping will nab me a good deal. First, I think I'll hit my brother up, maybe he's got one in his stash. I'll see him in a week or so. If he doesn't have any, the search will have to commence.

Nightfall

GlennDog

55SLA70 wrote: »

Mike,

Between you and Tom I kind of getting a little interested in this tube. I checked a few 5AR4/GZ34 Mullards on the internet and although they look like they can be a little pricey, I did see a few reasonably priced. Hopefully some careful shopping will nab me a good deal. First, I think I'll hit my brother up, maybe he's got one in his stash. I'll see him in a week or so. If he doesn't have any, the search will have to commence.

Recommended reading . . . btw, Welcome to CP!

https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/190184/tube-supplier-and-cross-reference-thread#latest

pitdogg2

I had a tube buffer that used 6AK5 tubes. I always found the Voskhod 6J1P to be a very sweet tubes. Out of all my USA 6ak5 old tubes only two others bested the Voskhods.

There is some older nice 6DJ8 tubes you should have a good time rolling in some.

Tony M

I rearranged some more speakers and stuff.

I took my 1 RTA12b off of the dolly it was on and now it's level with the other one. Sounds better too.

I took one of my Triton Ones off it's dolly too. It sure looks short now! I ran out of time before I could take the other Triton off of it's dolly. This weekend I'll probably go out and do it.

I was listening to some sets of speakers from my classic JVC Receiver while moving things and organizing and I heard distortion after about an hour. I was thinking, The "Eagles Farewell Tour" CD doesn't have distortion!!! It must be something beyond the CD. I started to search...

The AR58s speakers sounded good yesterday or the day before, have I blown the newly re-foamed woofers?, blown an old mid or teeter? Well the mid on one seemed to be making the distortion so I checked the rear connections. I re-set the 2 wires and it sounded better. But I still wanted to check the back of the JVC since I was moving a bunch of wires around yesterday or the day before. The speaker wires all looked firmly in place and they were. I tugged on all 12. no problem. None touching each other. BUT...

I noticed the wire from the CD player to the JVC's cd input was TIGHT as $$$$! Somehow moving things around, that interconnect wire hooked around the stereo stands' back corner on the left side. The hook-ups are on the RIGHT side... .

Well relieving the tension and rechecking that one speakers' wires in its back terminal made the distortion disappear. The interconnect is a nice cheap one but I think it has to be a flawed suspect in the future.

I had a blast. I rocked out and even danced a few moves, which I RARELY do. I can't dance!!
I even lit an incense to start the evening out there. "China Rain" I think it is. I used to burn incense, turn a little waterfall on and turn the lights off except a orange Japanese Lantern with a 40 watt bulb in it. The Carver amp and SRS2s would be playing relaxation music and I'd drift off to sleep and not feel the pain in my neck for a good bit.

Many years went by doing that routine. Tonight reminded me of all those good days I was lucky enough to have had because of music and mood settings.

I think music might help me again through this virus threat/scare that's hitting some of our members now.

A few days ago, I didn't know anybody that knew anybody that had it. Now we do. SCARY!

One more thing.
I post funny joking pictures having to do with TP and the 6' spacing on the beach, but it's to bring a smile to our minds UNTIL this virus touches more and more people we know. Then it will be SERIOUS discussions and posts from then on I'm sure.

Again, God be with you and your families John and Dave.

And may God be with the rest of you guys and your families too of course!

Mike Reeter

GlennDog wrote: »

55SLA70 wrote: »

Mike,

Between you and Tom I kind of getting a little interested in this tube. I checked a few 5AR4/GZ34 Mullards on the internet and although they look like they can be a little pricey, I did see a few reasonably priced. Hopefully some careful shopping will nab me a good deal. First, I think I'll hit my brother up, maybe he's got one in his stash. I'll see him in a week or so. If he doesn't have any, the search will have to commence.

Recommended reading . . . btw, Welcome to CP!

https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/190184/tube-supplier-and-cross-reference-thread#latest

Glenn, thanks for pulling up this Awesome Thread by Tom again. To be honest I had forgotten about this. Excellent list!

treitz3

Thanks, Mike. I appreciate the kind words.

Tom