by "gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
Published 03/19/2017 at 01:39
by "gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
Published 03/19/2017 at 01:39
Tags: Audiositelock
STARS: 2
The failure was pretty spectacular, but I was too concerned about shutting it off before it actually blew up to take a picture. It started glowing very bright, blue, and buzzing loudly. The front right power tube. Time to add hunting for EL34 matched quads, or at least a pair, to my list of things to do tomorrow. The one really good place for them is closed on Sunday’s, so maybe I’ll wait till my next chance to get there when they’re open. They have matched quads of JJs for $44. Probably not amazing tubes, but this is the borrowed ST70, I’m saving my good tube money for my own ST70, whenever I start that project.
"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
03/19/2017 at 01:47, STARS: 1
Nice to see a little vintage audiophile stuff on Oppo! I have a tiny grace digital receiver now, but my first for these speakers was my dad’s from back in the day - brushed aluminum, great feel on the knobs/buttons. It took a tumble a year ago though and that was the end of that :...(
"gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
03/19/2017 at 01:53, STARS: 0
I try and post whenever something vaguely interesting happens with my systems, I dunno how much crossover there is between car and audio enthusiasts, but there’s at least some.
I’ve never heard of Grace, whats it like?
That’s too bad, I love the old stuff. None of the new amps feel as good to me, even if they’re technically superior.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
03/19/2017 at 10:42, STARS: 0
For NOS quads you’ll want to hit ebay, but it’ll cost you quite a bit for 4 matched EL34s. New production stuff is decent, especially if you’re looking for a quad. JJs aren’t bad by any means; if you’re adventurous the Electroharmonix big-bottle 6CA7s (electrically the same as an EL34) are pretty nice as well. A handful of places online sell new production tubes - likely at better prices than a local shop. (Antique Electronic Supply, Tube Depot, et al)
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
03/19/2017 at 10:44, STARS: 0
Kinja isn’t letting me edit - if you’re just replacing a pair I’d be pretty tempted to go NOS. Will last longer and sound better.
"gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
03/19/2017 at 12:11, STARS: 0
I’ll be looking for NOS quads for mine, when I get to diagnosing it. This one is borrowed from a friend so I just want to get it going again, he’s told me to not spend to much money on it. Tube Depot I’ve been looking at, I got a solid state rectifier from them a while ago. I’ll look into the electro-harmonix, but my friend, the owner of this amp, has bought pairs of their tubes twice, and both times, one of them has blown up within a couple weeks. He’s had way better luck with JJs, when it comes to new production tubes.
"gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
03/19/2017 at 12:12, STARS: 1
Yeah I’m likewise tempted to do that. The JJs are just so cheap, but I’ll be calling around locally this week to see what’s out there for reasonably priced NOS stuff.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
03/19/2017 at 14:41, STARS: 1
I built a tube stereo (true dual monoblocks, basically two amps in one chassis) as a comission a while ago, put JJ KT77s in it. I think it’s the best sounding stereo I’ve ever heard. I still have the schematics somewhere; once I can afford the whole BOM I’m building myself one.
"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
03/20/2017 at 09:34, STARS: 1
Yeah I think there’s definitely a little crossover. Have you been in a 300ZX? The center stack is amazing; you’ll feel at home because it has the same solid-feeling brushed aluminum knobs/buttons/graphic EQ.
The grace was a great buy. I wanted the smallest receiver I could find because it sits on my desk. It’s 100 watts, and about the size of a long novel so that’s great. It powers a pair of pioneer cs-g303s (bought for $50 @ the salvation army in college!) that sit on either side of my desk.
https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Digital-GDI-BTAR512N-Integrated-Amplifier/dp/B013UCJFSW
And I agree, there’s just something about the warm tone of a vintage receiver paired with some older speakers. You can’t replicate that. One of my friends has his dad’s college receiver/speakers from the seventies (also big wood cabinet pioneers) and other than smacking it on the side when the left channel goes out, it’s still going strong!