Show me your ****(embly), and let me get in your guts baby!

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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited September 2007
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    Nice,a dual mono phono pre.Every unit of his that I have seen pics oflook so neat and tidely layed out.I bet it sounds as good as it looks.
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited September 2007
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    Coveting!:cool:
  • cmy330go
    cmy330go Posts: 2,341
    edited September 2007
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    I purchased this at the same time as the PH-2000 above. Basically I was asked if I would be interested in either of them, and both were priced so incredibly low that I couldn't settle for just one of them. Plus it gives me a great opportunity to try them both and decide which I prefer.

    Anyway...Much like the PH-2000 this thing is built like a brick crap house. This is one of those components that makes you grunt when you pick it up.

    Enough talk. Here's the pics.

    Top
    img2230aa8.jpg

    Closer view of modules
    img2233zg0.jpg

    8 of 16 D-Cells
    img2234al4.jpg

    Back
    img2237ci0.jpg

    Front
    img2242eo8.jpg
    HT
    Mits WD-65737, DirecTV, Oppo DV-970HD, XBOX ONE, Yamaha RX-A1030, Parasound Halo A23, Rotel RB-985, Music Hall MMF-7, Parasound PPH-100, LSi-15, LSi-C, LSi-FX, LSi-7, PSW-1000, Monster HTS2600

    2 CH
    Parasound Halo P3, Parasound Halo A21, Sutherland Ph.D, VPI Classic 3 w/ 3D arm & Soundsmith Aida Cartridge, Arcam CD72T, B&W 802 S3, Monster HTS2500,
  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited September 2007
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    hummm, why does the PH 2000 have an A 2000 dress panel?
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited September 2007
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    That is friggin gorgeous. I would love to get my ears on that. I bet it is as quiet as could be.
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited September 2007
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    Battery operated gear shuts alot of cable pagans and non-believers up and that's always a good thing. The Sutherland unit is mellow in presentation from my experience and a very nice phono pre-amp.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited September 2007
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    Battery power ?

    very cool...

    Never heard any battery powered units like that....



    Doro,
    Am I a cable Pagen ?
    I kinda like the way that sounds !, but I think that`s probably not a good thing ..!!!!


    I think maybe I am ...I don`t know if I wanna be one though....:D
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)


    :cool:
  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited September 2007
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    ooooooooooh !

    those are bad a$$

    me likey !


    quick pull the draws off those bad boy`s....I wanna see...!!


    oh!, and by the way...MusicMan, those are beauties !!
    Thanks for the pic`s
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)


    :cool:
  • cmy330go
    cmy330go Posts: 2,341
    edited September 2007
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    GV#27 wrote: »
    hummm, why does the PH 2000 have an A 2000 dress panel?

    As I understand it...it all started when a friend of mine and his boss asked Ron Sutherland if he still had a PH-2000 that they could hear. He gave them his original demo piece to audition, and in the meantime Ron found that he had enough parts to build 4 more units. Apparently the only exception was the face-plate. So these final 4 preamps got leftover face-plates from the A-2000 amplifier that shared the exact same chassis. My buddy and I each got one, and I'm not sure where the other two went. I'm just glad one ended up here!:D

    If I'm wrong set me right Mark.
    HT
    Mits WD-65737, DirecTV, Oppo DV-970HD, XBOX ONE, Yamaha RX-A1030, Parasound Halo A23, Rotel RB-985, Music Hall MMF-7, Parasound PPH-100, LSi-15, LSi-C, LSi-FX, LSi-7, PSW-1000, Monster HTS2600

    2 CH
    Parasound Halo P3, Parasound Halo A21, Sutherland Ph.D, VPI Classic 3 w/ 3D arm & Soundsmith Aida Cartridge, Arcam CD72T, B&W 802 S3, Monster HTS2500,
  • cmy330go
    cmy330go Posts: 2,341
    edited September 2007
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    ...I would love to get my ears on that.....

    You can always try one from Acoustic Sounds for 30 days. Of course you'll probably end up keeping it.:D Seriously though...you really do owe it to yourself to hear one, especially with that SWEET setup you have.
    ....I bet it is as quiet as could be.

    Really....Dead silent is more like it. This is truly an amazing piece.
    HT
    Mits WD-65737, DirecTV, Oppo DV-970HD, XBOX ONE, Yamaha RX-A1030, Parasound Halo A23, Rotel RB-985, Music Hall MMF-7, Parasound PPH-100, LSi-15, LSi-C, LSi-FX, LSi-7, PSW-1000, Monster HTS2600

    2 CH
    Parasound Halo P3, Parasound Halo A21, Sutherland Ph.D, VPI Classic 3 w/ 3D arm & Soundsmith Aida Cartridge, Arcam CD72T, B&W 802 S3, Monster HTS2500,
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited September 2007
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    beardog03 wrote: »
    Am I a cable Pagen ?

    With these in your sig:

    MIT Shotgun S1-S3 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Plus Power Cords


    I doubt very much if you could even jokingly be called a cable pagan.
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited September 2007
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    cmy330go wrote: »
    Really....Dead silent is more like it. This is truly an amazing piece.

    This is what I need. Right now I am running my TT into my Spectral's phono stage (which is no slouch by any stretch) then the out of the Spectral into the line stage of my VTL. This sounds awesome, however, it is noisy. Once the stylus drops the noise becomes signal but I know it's there and need to come up with a different way to step up the signal from the low output cartridge. I've been wanting to hear a battery phono pre. I also have a step up transformer is the works.
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,878
    edited September 2007
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    Here are the ins and outs of my monoblocks :
  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited September 2007
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    :eek: You guys are hopelessly wierd! :confused:

    Poor gear, you deserve much better treatment then what these quacks do to you!:mad: :p:D
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,522
    edited September 2007
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    cfrizz wrote: »
    :eek: You guys are hopelessly wierd! :confused:

    Poor gear, you deserve much better treatment then what these quacks do to you!:mad: :p:D


    sheesh....girls. :rolleyes: What, you never tried a halogen bulb in your easy-bake oven?
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited September 2007
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    Nope! But then again, Mom & Dad ignored that item on my Christmas wish list anyway.:D
    steveinaz wrote: »
    sheesh....girls. :rolleyes: What, you never tried a halogen bulb in your easy-bake oven?
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited September 2007
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    Here is my new cute little monoblocks.They are Hypex UCD 180's and amazingly each of these tiny Class D modules is capable of 100 watts into 8ohm's and 180 watts into 4ohm's.
    The pic doesn't show the power supply which consists of a big Toroidal transformer and two big filter capacitors.They are enviromently friendly with a claimed efficiency of 90% which is double the norm for a class A/B design.I can't wait to get them assembled and have a listen but they will likely end up powering a Mid Bass Module I'm working on.
    UCD1.JPG 137.9K
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,049
    edited September 2007
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    Here's a grab shot of the innards of a Fisher X-100 I recently re-hab'bed for a local. Parts from Jim McShane and Antique Electronics Supply.

    Cathode biased, push-pull 7189s. Very sweet sounding amplifier; glorious midrange (maybe even a tad nicer than my HF-81).

    P1020673.jpg
    P1020649.jpg
    P1020647.jpg
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,049
    edited September 2007
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    And this is Amber. Amber doesn't mind going about topless, apparently...

    Amber.jpg
    Amber2.jpg
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,049
    edited September 2007
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    Finally... here (I hope) is my winter project.

    Fisher1400.jpg
  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited September 2007
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    That Amber pre looks to be a quality unit how old is it?It appears to have all discrete transistor gain stages,polystyrene caps and a full ground plane on the top side of the circuit board.Impressive.
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,522
    edited September 2007
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    We are men, therefore we disassemble.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,049
    edited September 2007
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    That Amber pre looks to be a quality unit how old is it?It appears to have all discrete transistor gain stages,polystyrene caps and a full ground plane on the top side of the circuit board.Impressive.
    The Amber is from the early 80's I believe. Company was in Charlottesville, VA. I rembember the name, but otherwise know nothing about the company or its (other) products.

    I got it as a package deal with a pair of small Ohm Walsh speakers (I am STILL not sure which model they are) and a Flame Linear 200B power amp. The price was right (I only wanted the speakers).

    The preamp had very noisy pots and switches; photos were taken during a DeOxit session. It does seem to be pretty nice. It has variable (MM) cartridge loading but is otherwise pretty short on bells and whistles. Sounds perfectly OK, 'specially for the price (basically $40 of what I spent).

    It has since been donated to a friend in need on the Left Coast.

    EDIT: For the record, and FWIW, a couple photos of one of the Ohms. I guess this is still roughly on topic for this thread, since the grilles are off :-)

    P1020691.jpg
    P1020689.jpg
  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,196
    edited September 2007
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    Ok, I've wanted one of these line stage preamps for at least a year. Finally got one yesterday. During all that time, I was never able to find any "gut" shots of this pre. What a shame, because its beautiful (IMHO), especially if you appreciate OVERKILL construction! I thought the Sony E80ES was pretty well built, but this think just puts it to shame! Its hard to get a grasp of this thing by photo. Its huge! Not tall, but its as deep as my 7.1 Denon receiver. Its heavy too! Weighing in at over 20lbs, and that's not because of thick metal casing, its all the guts!

    Arse Shot! I only wish they had used the same quality connectors on all inputs. That might be a mod down the road. High quality balanced sockets.
    PLD2k4.jpg


    Most of what you are seeing here is power supply! Those are all Nichicon Great Supply or Blackgate F caps. Something like 80,000uf capacitance, for a preamp! Most HT receivers don't even come close to half that!
    PLD2k1.jpg

    This is one of the gain stage boards. There are two identical, stacked on top of each other. You can see individual gold plated relays for each input/output leg, something like 24 in all. Again, the caps are Nichicon Great Supply and Blackgate. You can also see the high quality, shielded cable used to run the signals up to the volume/balance controls. Over on the left side, the headphone circuit is comprised of nice AD and BB opamps. The Headphone circuit has 2 gain stages, separate for each channel. You can also see rather large heat sinks for the gain Mosfets pairs. That really surprised me. They shouldn't get that hot, but they are running totally in class A and I guess John Curl wanted to make sure they had near perfect thermal stability.
    PLD2k2.jpg


    Final shot. Overview from the side. At used prices, you definetely get your money's worth out of these preamps. Some would argue that simpler is better on a preamp, but I like overkill.

    PLD2k3.jpg

    Soundwise, I haven't had enough listening yet. I listened for a couple hours last night through my Senn 580 headphones, and I can say, its the best I've ever heard though the headphones. Over the weekend, I'll get a chance to form a better opinion. I can say so far, its dead quiet, and absolutely no input cross talk. Each input is totally isolated. It does have quiet a bit more gain than my Sony, so that's taking a little getting used to. I've also switched to using an external phono stage. The seller gave me a Project Phono Box Mk2 along with the deal. It sounds pretty nice, but its not as quiet (on MC) as the Sony's built in phono. I will probably upgrade that at some point (soon).
    For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
  • beardog03
    beardog03 Posts: 5,550
    edited September 2007
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    I still have wood over the Fisher gear..


    ttthhanks...!!
    Cary SLP-98L F1 DC Pre Amp (Jag Blue)
    Parasound HCA-3500
    Cary Audio V12 amp (Jag Red)
    Polk Audio Xm Reciever (Autographed by THE MAN Himself) :cool:
    Magnum Dynalab MD-102 Analog Tuna
    Jolida JD-100 CDP
    Polk Audio LSi9 Speaks (ebony)
    SVS PC-Ultra Sub
    AQ Bedrock Speaker Cables (Bi-Wired)
    MIT Shotgun S1 I/C`s
    AQ Black Thunder Sub Cables
    PS Audio Plus Power Cords
    Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM Antenna
    Sanus Cherry wood Speak Stands
    Adona AV45CS3 / 3 Tier Rack (Black /Gold)


    :cool:
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited October 2007
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    The trannies are piggybacked! What a beast!
  • marker
    marker Posts: 1,084
    edited October 2007
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    The trannies are piggybacked! What a beast!

    NAD has certainly made a very good impression in this thread. ;)
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,049
    edited October 2007
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    NAD has certainly made a very good impression in this thread.
    Some folks are always impressed by big NADs.

    sorry, sorry... someone had to say it...
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited October 2007
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    Hello,
    The Amber pre-amp should sound good. I used to sell the Amber Series 70 amplifier and it was excellent sounding. I didn't have much experience with the pre-amp, but should be good. The designers may have taught electronics at U of VA, I seem to remember.
    Enjoy, Ken
  • ka7niq
    ka7niq Posts: 577
    edited October 2007
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    Hello,
    The Amber pre-amp should sound good. I used to sell the Amber Series 70 amplifier and it was excellent sounding. I didn't have much experience with the pre-amp, but should be good. The designers may have taught electronics at U of VA, I seem to remember.
    Enjoy, Ken
    I remember them both, preamp wasn't bad, a real sleeper, but Amber amp was very special, for the money.