Received McAlister amp!

madmax

Those are horizontal output tubes. They just happen to use the wire on the top. I haven't found out what purpose it is used for yet.

My preamp will be whatever sounds the best. The choices will be either the AI Modulus 3A or the McAlister pre which is on order. I'm guessing it will have everything to do with synergy. It will be quite hard to beat the Modulus.

It looks to me like he made a real effort in the asthetics area, just going from the pics I saw.

The amp and power supply were shipped at the same time in two boxes. One showed up yesterday and the other seems to be held up by the canada sortation plant, whatever that means.

I looked into these particular amps because Scompracer and Normanlity seemed to like theirs. Mostly I just wanted to try something different. At the time I had just got my TungSols for the Jolida and it didn't appear they would do any more than any of the other tubes I tried. Of course since then I have totally fallen in love with the Jolida so this is going to be a really hard sell now.

If these sound anything like promised, I will order the mono blocks. McAlister actually talked me down saying "the monoblocks are way more than anyone could need or use, power wise, unless they have very inefficient speakers". He also said "You will understand once you get the amplifier".

I'm hoping to get everything in place over the next month or two if I can get away from work long enough.

madmax

BlueMDPicker

F1nut wrote:

10am ok with you, Chuck?

10am + Jesse!!!?? Pfft... he knew that was a bluff.

jfb4548

SCompRacer wrote:

LOL *click* Turns attention back on....

It seems his builds vary some. For instance, Norm and I have one large cap on our PP150S while the pic of the 150 on his web site shows two. Sounds like Chuck has two. The output trannies should have the same windings and interleaves, so where is the added weight? Maybe Chucks scale is off, and he don't need to watch his weight after all.

Peter does some nice custom work too. I didn't have enough faith in the product when I put my money down the first time and wanted to stay at minimum cost. I regret that now. Here is a pic of some built to order mono blocks.

Wow! The monos are cool. Those are the power supplies behind? I bet their not common ground, right? That is the one SDA SRS issue I can't overlook :rolleyes:

jfb4548

madmax wrote:

I will do a full review once I get it all going. Big is good, but I think you guys know I'll be fully truthfull when it comes to sound. I find it hard to belive I will favor it over the Jolida with the Tung Sol's installed. I am fully into that system as we speak. We'll see...
madmax

Hey I get first dibs on the one you don't like

madmax

10:00 AM? Ha, I'll have 4 hours of work in by then. Probably 6 hours by the time you guys roll out of bed...

I gotta find a way to get one of those gigs.

Woke up this morning and went straight to the amp to take another peek! Damn that power supply holdup. The pre-amp looked kinda small on his website but I'm wondering how much real-estate it will take up at this point. (The amp looked small too). I'm gonna have to come up with some way to house this stuff. It wouldn't even fit on my rack sideways and I can't sit it on the carpet because of the ventilation holes on the bottom. What I'm thinking about is a slab of something to sit it on. (On the floor). Any ideas where to get something like that? Something sorta dark and stone age looking. It would have to be maybe 23" x 14" and 3" or 4" thick and have a relatively level top and bottom. I can picture what I want. It would look like a piece of coal or black marble or similar but I have no idea where I could find it.

madmax

jfb4548

madmax wrote:

10:00 AM? Ha, I'll have 4 hours of work in by then. Probably 6 hours by the time you guys roll out of bed...

I gotta find a way to get one of those gigs.

Woke up this morning and went straight to the amp to take another peek! Damn that power supply holdup. The pre-amp looked kinda small on his website but I'm wondering how much real-estate it will take up at this point. (The amp looked small too). I'm gonna have to come up with some way to house this stuff. It wouldn't even fit on my rack sideways and I can't sit it on the carpet because of the ventilation holes on the bottom. What I'm thinking about is a slab of something to sit it on. (On the floor). Any ideas where to get something like that? Something sorta dark and stone age looking. It would have to be maybe 23" x 14" and 3" or 4" thick and have a relatively level top and bottom. I can picture what I want. It would look like a piece of coal or black marble or similar but I have no idea where I could find it.

madmax

Find yourself someone who does kitchen countertops and see if they have any scrap of the various stone they use.

SCompRacer

Peter prefers to use horizontal output, AKA as sweep or beam tubes, due to the fact they have lower distortion with the ability to handle up to ten times the voltage and three times the amperage of some audio tubes. Many of the tubes in this family had external top mounted anode connection points for the plate. He is not the first to use this tube in an amp, but his circuit and output tranny design are among the best in their use.

Some of his customers have strongly encouraged him to improve the looks of his base product, as well as improve the packaging. Canada Post and/or the hand off to the USPS has caused some delivery problems to the US with split shipments, damage or both. I was spared, Norm and a fellow at Audigon were not so fortunate. We discussed using a different carrier for our future deliveries.

All I can say for sure is you get way more performance than your paying for. Thats rare in any hobby where some folks will pay dearly for the illusion of a premium product.

madmax

Yes, as a matter of fact the mono blocks ARE common ground. Most tube equipment is except for OTL. (Output TransformerLess). OTL doesn't use a transformer for the output stage.

Great idea with the countertops.

madmax

SCompRacer

jfb4548 wrote:

Wow! The monos are cool. Those are the power supplies behind? I bet their not common ground, right? That is the one SDA SRS issue I can't overlook :rolleyes:

Thats correct. The power supplies are on a seperate chassis, and the monos are not common ground. Peter had told me that the negatives of his mono blocks could be connected when used with SDA's.

madmax

madmax wrote:

Yes, as a matter of fact the mono blocks ARE common ground. Most tube equipment is except for OTL. (Output TransformerLess). OTL doesn't use a transformer for the output stage.
madmax

Thats odd. THIS MAY BE IN ERROR!
madmax

Edit: But if you can (and do) connect the grounds then use of the SDA's is OK, correct?

jfb4548

madmax wrote:

Yes, as a matter of fact the mono blocks ARE common ground. Most tube equipment is except for OTL. (Output TransformerLess). OTL doesn't use a transformer for the output stage.

Great idea with the countertops.

madmax

I nearly put in an order just before Christmas, but I'm holding off till I read you review! Peter seems to be a good guy and fair priced to say the least.

SCompRacer

jfb4548 wrote:

I nearly put in an order just before Christmas, but I'm holding off till I read you review! Peter seems to be a good guy and fair priced to say the least.

I enjoy speaking with him. You get the occasional Canadian sterotype 'aboot' and 'eh' out of him. His ideas seemed strange to me at first. Such as, circuit design should dictate sound, not tube rolling. His amp may not appeal to everyone, but I'm happy with it.

His charges are fair for upgrades too, like CD player mods. I wan't to get up there to hear some Acoustat 2 + 2's he modded. He has a way of regulating the 5000 volt PS on these speakers and the results are said to be night and day improvement.

madmax

For the review, I will remove my other amp and insert this one with the same exact setup. If the results are good I'll go ahead and review after burn in and becoming familiar with it. If it just doesn't do it for me I will wait until I receive the pre-amp, try different cables, etc and then do the review. I will give it every chance but I am very honest in reviews. Everything has it's good side and bad side.
madmax

amulford

Dibs

Just perusing, the prices are very good. I am intrigued, and would like to hear the impressions.

SCompRacer

madmax wrote:

I will give it every chance but I am very honest in reviews. Everything has it's good side and bad side.

I have no doubts and I am in complete agreement with you.

dorokusai

I say nice amp if I knew what it looked like....sounds like a ghost story

madmax

I am charging the camera batteries as we speak! When I get home tonite I'll snap some pics.
madmax

amulford

I'd really like to see some up close and personal shots, too. Maybe open her up and get a few of the innards?

halo

SCompRacer wrote:

LOL *click* Turns attention back on....

It seems his builds vary some. For instance, Norm and I have one large cap on our PP150S while the pic of the 150 on his web site shows two. Sounds like Chuck has two. The output trannies should have the same windings and interleaves, so where is the added weight? Maybe Chucks scale is off, and he don't need to watch his weight after all.

Peter does some nice custom work too. I didn't have enough faith in the product when I put my money down the first time and wanted to stay at minimum cost. I regret that now. Here is a pic of some built to order mono blocks.

That picture is supposed to be what all his amps and power supplies look like now. Black lacquer case with polished brass plate on the facia. The PS looks like an amp all by itself.

Rich - if that thing weighs 55lbs I'm going to need help getting it set up when it gets here (soon..soon...soon)

Chuck - sorry about the confusion. I thought you were using a modified Sonic Impact. Please post some pics - my amp should be the same as yours.

I-SIG

madmax wrote:

It wouldn't even fit on my rack sideways and I can't sit it on the carpet because of the ventilation holes on the bottom. What I'm thinking about is a slab of something to sit it on. (On the floor). Any ideas where to get something like that? Something sorta dark and stone age looking. It would have to be maybe 23" x 14" and 3" or 4" thick and have a relatively level top and bottom. I can picture what I want. It would look like a piece of coal or black marble or similar but I have no idea where I could find it.

Maybe talk to a cabinet installer/builder and get a scrap piece of a granite countertop?

Wes

madmax

peersool wrote:

Rich - if that thing weighs 55lbs I'm going to need help getting it set up when it gets here (soon..soon...soon)

Being curious about the difference, I re-weighed it on a cheap shipping scale. Should be more acurate than the bathroom scales. It came in at 44 lbs.

madmax

Here is a pic.

SCompRacer

Yeah, thats way different. Norm's and mine are the same, 17" wide (19" face plate) 12" deep and 9 & 1/4" high to the top hats.

Dennis Gardner

SCompRacer wrote:

Yeah, thats way different. Norm's and mine are the same, 17" wide (19" face plate) 12" deep and 9 & 1/4" high to the top hats.

That's a TALL amp............

SCompRacer

peersool wrote:

Rich - if that thing weighs 55lbs I'm going to need help getting it set up when it gets here (soon..soon...soon)

I'll gladly help ya. But your in build que now.:D

If you do get yours within a month, you can say neener-neener to us guys that waited so long.

madmax

Mine took longer than the original time estimate but... It is understandable considering all the time which was consumed coming up with the new case design. That stuff takes a lot of effort. This new design is heavy duty which could possibly save some shipping heartaches in the future. I felt totally confident with McAlister. I went ahead and paid up front even though he does not require it.
madmax

fredv

Hi Chuck,

Is there any switch to select 4/8 ohm output tap?

Thanks,

madmax

fredv wrote:

Hi Chuck,

Is there any switch to select 4/8 ohm output tap?

Thanks,

No. I asked about that and he said the transformers are beefy enough to handle either one from the same tap, power wise. I would have felt a little better with the option to choose but he was very confident it was not a concern.
madmax

jfb4548

madmax wrote:

Here is a pic.

Are the inputs and speakers taps on the front panel? Why did you choose fnt. over back? What choices did you have to make when you ordered?

halo

SCompRacer wrote:

I'll gladly help ya. But your in build que now.:D

Thanks

If you do get yours within a month, you can say neener-neener to us guys that waited so long.

C'mon - you know me better than that.

Looking good Chuck! Take another one after you put the tubes in