xerxes
Been here a while!
Posts: 1,115
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Post by xerxes on Jan 8, 2007 22:03:23 GMT
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 8, 2007 23:07:26 GMT
Looks very well made Xerxes and I like the fact it's got readily available 6922 valves in it. I've never tried their valve amps but their G&W TW-J1 was very well built, sounded great and extremely good value for money (I paid about £69.99 for mine at the time) I started a thread on Head-Fi about it a year or two ago but it turned out that some of them were not as good as others (DC offset in some was low in others massive) and the UK importer "Knoxed" was a bit of a joker. I must admit that I really liked my TW-J1, the story was that students at some university in China built them and, as I say, the build quality was pretty damned good as far as my example was concerned. If only I'd seen that before I hit the "buy it now" button and bought this last night I decided against the T.M.S T100 MKII purely because of the "Recommended For lower impedance headphones such as the GRADO ATH SONY!" remark at the bottom of the listing. Like Fergus I've no intention of listening to Grado headphones and will be sticking with high impedance 'phones. This amp would have probably been great with Senns but after a good long look I decided that the glitzy neon lights, vulgar gold knob and chrome handles would soon become tired looking. So I've settled on something called the High End Art Music AMPRO for no other reason than I like the look of the thing, am suffering temporary insanity, have totally lost the plot..... shit! I need another amp like a fckin hole in the head! I'm not even going to try justifying this purchase but I'm definitely not going to visit ebay pished again Very easy at the time hitting the "buy it now" button but the next day spent searching for details on an amp that's not widely known is no fun ;D Oh well, I've bought it and it's apparantly on its way... all I know is it's got a wooden chassis, "looks" nice and runs 2 x 5687 1 x ECC82 and 1 x 6080......................... Wish me luck ;D
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Jan 8, 2007 23:19:23 GMT
ECC82 gain stage 5687 driver stage,likely SRPP since it uses 2 dual triodes so probably not too shy on the driving power either
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xerxes
Been here a while!
Posts: 1,115
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Post by xerxes on Jan 8, 2007 23:39:27 GMT
I thought you were on the wagon.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 8, 2007 23:51:51 GMT
I thought you were on the wagon. A slight hiatus at the moment, I fell off the wagon and don't have the energy to run after it and jump back on board.... I'll get back on it next time it comes round
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 8, 2007 23:58:02 GMT
ECC82 gain stage 5687 driver stage,likely SRPP since it uses 2 dual triodes so probably not too shy on the driving power either Yeh, yeh. These 5687 buggers are expensive, what are the (if any) equivalents in a Russian package? Is it a case of 5687 only or can we employ others, that are compatible / direct drop in substitutes, in this position? I've got plenty of the ECC82, 6H1P-EB, 6080, 6922, 6DJ8 etc. etc.
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Jan 9, 2007 0:27:38 GMT
EC99 but not a drop in,6H30-ditto Can be weasled in with some changes
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Jan 9, 2007 1:31:40 GMT
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Fergus
100+
Done a David Ike and is now known as Godkin
Posts: 197
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Post by Fergus on Jan 9, 2007 20:57:00 GMT
Today saw me fighting with temptation. I tried to resist fitting the SVETLANA 6S19P-Bs, but gave up the fight about three hours ago. Initial impression, very good. Lovely looking valve (I know aesthetics are not meant to be important) but it's much brighter. Much heavier too - twice as heavy as stock 6C19.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 9, 2007 21:38:52 GMT
You know Fergus, the more I look at your Darvoice the more I wish I'd gone ahead and got one. The internal wiring looks very well done with angled wire, very neat and extremely time consuming to produce too. I may get one yet but will give this wooden job I've ordered a workout before I buy anything else.... actually I think I should be having a clearout of amps not buying more......... madness!
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Fergus
100+
Done a David Ike and is now known as Godkin
Posts: 197
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Post by Fergus on Jan 9, 2007 22:16:17 GMT
That AMPRO amp is stonking great valve, Mike!!! I hope it sounds good. Tubes seem pretty widely available, especially the ECC82 and 6080. I saw a couple of 5687s on E-Bay - they say that 6900, 7044 and 7119 are equivalents. Don't know if this is true.
There may be advantages in waiting to buy the 332. Prices may very well come down - the 336i now sells at just over £100. There may also be faults that need ironing out - look at the V3 and its tendency to weld resistors to the curcuit board.
This is only my second amp (the V3 being the other), although the desire to give way to the Madness is very seductive. Maybe we could start something like A.A. or a Betty Ford Clinic for those who have an hopeless addiction for buying audio equipment - headphone amps in particular.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 9, 2007 23:00:37 GMT
Maybe we could start something like A.A. or a Betty Ford Clinic for those who have an hopeless addiction for buying audio equipment - headphone amps in particular. Seriously though it can become an addiction or even an obsession. When you stop enjoying the music and start listening to the equipment something's gone far wrong somewhere down the line. I definitely have a tendency these days to listen more to the equipment than the actual music itself.... far removed from the person I was many years ago who switched the system on, fired a record onto the turntable and listened to the music. I don't quite know when the transition between music lover to system analyst came about but there's no denying the fact that I nit pick and home in on the minutiae to the degree I'm actually missing the music and the wonderful feeling music can bring about. Some may class it as not being content with anything (a lot of friends / ex friends have said that's my problem) and others may class it as an obsession...... I don't know what it is but I've always got an insatiable urge to try to make things sound "better". I just wish the days where I'd pump up the volume and get down to the groove would come back..... that's probably what it is, trying to recreate days / times gone by. Thing is, you can't manufacture that kind of emotion, those one off experiences, as hard as you try.... no turning the clock back that's for sure. When I look at a teenager walking down the road in total bliss with his ipod I don't class him as the anti christ and chastise him for listening to (and enjoying) shitty compressed music.... I ENVY him for he is enjoying the moment and not analysing it.... something you lose the older you get and you throw money at it in a desperate attempt to recreate those innocent days of youth where days lasted weeks, erections cropped up on an hourly basis, things tasted good, the world seemed a great place............. You'll never recreate those times whatever the capacitor or how BIG the valve.... too much shit gone down and too many hopes and dreams quashed..... I'll keep trying though
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Post by MaN227 on Jan 10, 2007 0:11:49 GMT
When I look at a teenager walking down the road in total bliss with his ipod I don't class him as the anti christ and chastise him for listening to (and enjoying) shitty compressed music.... I ENVY him for he is enjoying the moment and not analysing it.... something you lose the older you get and you throw money at it in a desperate attempt to recreate those innocent days of youth where days lasted weeks, erections cropped up on an hourly basis, things tasted good, the world seemed a great place............. You'll never recreate those times whatever the capacitor or how BIG the valve.... too much shit gone down and too many hopes and dreams quashed..... I'll keep trying though very well spoken, I only wish that when we are young we would realize how great those times really are, but no.... they pass by like leaves on the breeze and now all we are left with is a bear tree. We try to "rake" them up, but they are impossible to put back on the tree, so we are left with a pile of dried up leaves and a still bear tree. ain't life grand?
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Fergus
100+
Done a David Ike and is now known as Godkin
Posts: 197
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Post by Fergus on Jan 10, 2007 0:14:54 GMT
I think you're absolutely right, Mike. You become obsessed with the equipment, and the music simply becomes a way to assess your latest mods or new equipment. I am constantly (well, almost constantly) listening to music, or to be more precise listening to how the music is portrayed, so I can justify my upgrades. Sometimes, though, I do lose myself in the music and that makes everything worth it - just.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 10, 2007 0:40:06 GMT
Or sheep. I can do bears but a tree load of them would be too much for me to cope with. A bare tree would be a lot easier to manage ( spelling gestapo mode) Zer is no excusen for ze bad spellingshpieling you vill be educated and you vill differentiate from ze nude mad animal and ze bare fact you swinehound.... Ve vill not tolerate ze badden shpell!
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Fergus
100+
Done a David Ike and is now known as Godkin
Posts: 197
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Post by Fergus on Jan 10, 2007 16:42:59 GMT
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 19, 2007 23:29:00 GMT
I've decided to go for a Darkvoice too fergus. They may not be the prettiest looking things but the internal workmanship is the best I've seen from the pictures of various Chinese head amps I have managed to source on the net. That Ampro thing was just "shoddy" inside yet looked beautiful on the outside.... I really don't give a fck what it looks like as long as it sounds good and is professionally put together. The one I'm going for is your one's little brother I believe? The 336i.... I was going to pull the plug on the whole idea and just stick with my numerous solid state amps but seeing I've got a few GE6080 valves may as well put them to good use. Looks like there's plenty of scope to tweak the 336i too and getting to the parts won't be any problem as the P2P has been very well implemented.... honestly it was like spaghetti junction inside that Ampro dog of a thing.... just look at the potential for tweaking inside this thing: Just from looking at the picture I can see a couple of spare slots for some nice film caps, the film caps on the PCB can all be bypassed on the underside of the board with something exotic (the top as you see it in the picture) Looks like a board mounted pot and from looking at the pitch maybe not the best of pots, possibly even a linear job.... that pot and board can easily be removed and substituted with a hard wired dual / log RK27 (if there's enough clearance behind the valve base... some solid silver cores to replace the........ stop me! looks like a real fun amp to work with
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Jan 20, 2007 2:05:48 GMT
that was COLD Mike ! anyway don't discount pots just on "looks" or even a linear which may in fact be a "fake law" pot which some beleive is an even better response curve than the traditional audio taper pot
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Fergus
100+
Done a David Ike and is now known as Godkin
Posts: 197
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Post by Fergus on Jan 20, 2007 12:11:02 GMT
That's great, Mike. I thought that shambles of an amp would have put you off. The great thing about the 336i is that there's plenty of information out there, about tubes and mods etc. I know of one guy (on Headfi I think) who has comprehensively modded the 336i. You may have seen it, but I try to get the link. I don't think the pics of the DARKVOICE do it justice. It doesn't look pretty, but once you actually see it, it has a certain home-spun "beauty." Built like a brick sh*thouse too.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 20, 2007 12:38:17 GMT
Yeh I know, seemed amusing at the time (under the influence) but in fact cold..... removed it. I'm not discounting it on looks Rick, it's pretty well documented that the pot is a linear type with no fake law.... just a linear pot full stop..... have a read of this thread If it's the case then I will be fitting an RK27 and a dual log at that
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Fergus
100+
Done a David Ike and is now known as Godkin
Posts: 197
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Post by Fergus on Jan 20, 2007 19:43:58 GMT
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 20, 2007 20:30:29 GMT
Hi Fergus (Or is it Godkin ) Yeh, I know....... I just linked to that in the thread before yours I'm still way in the loop man Still a BIG part of Head-Fi even though they don't realise it yet
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 20, 2007 23:04:56 GMT
Ok Miguel, You've been telling me how good this amp is for quite some time, let's do it! Anyway I can get the funds to you and you can send me one with the "returning to the UK for repair" technique?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 20, 2007 23:35:56 GMT
Hi Fergus (Or is it Godkin ) Yeh, I know....... I just linked to that in the thread before yours I'm still way in the loop man Still a BIG part of Head-Fi even though they don't realise it yet
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 21, 2007 0:20:51 GMT
Mike, what about this beast? 337 "is" a beast especially where weight is concerned..... she comes in at 15 kilograms (30 plus pounds) I'd be prepared to buy one of these if I could walk into a shop, pick it up and stick it in the boot of my car.... any problems and I'd simply drive back to the shop with it. Thing is 15 kilo equates to a hundred quid in shipping "if" you have to send it back to China (or wherever)..... it may last forever but if it does pack in you're looking at a VERY hefty return to base cost and that is assuming the "base" will still be there and, if they are, what will they charge you to ship it back....... All hunky dory as long as things are working well but, believe me, can quickly turn into a vague and very costly experience if things stop working as they should. Always enter the weight (in this instance 15 kilo) into the equation and the cost / hassle / worry to send the item back should it go tits up....... still the bargain amp you thought it was? No.... You get what you pay for Fergus... if the gamble pays off and lasts a lifetime then good call...... if it breaks down and stops working then an EXTREMELY expensive journey into the unknown ............................ There's a lot to be said for back up and a kosher warranty at a walk in dealer near you Having said that I'm taking a gamble on the 336i, only a potential 5 kilo of weight to ship round the great wall of China via a language barrier should things go wrong.
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