[FullRangeMan]

Thanks Richard

[Chuck Harris]

Richard, I too apologize for not getting back to you sooner. Yes the Delta Pro 15 is very responsive, excellent base and midrange in all sorts of music. I crossover at 4KH to the midrange and tweeter speaker.  This is interesting as my amp is the Bugle 45 designed by Gordon Rankin using the 45's at only 2 watts output per channel, yet I can drive the dickens out of the Delta Pro 15. My overall sound is very real, sound stage presence which is exciting to hear.

I us a 5V4 for my rectifier tube. It is much like the newer 5AR4 but much cheaper. I compared using the 5Y3 and the 5V4. The 5Y3 has a much higher plate resistance than the 5V4, thus a lower plate voltage on the 45's using the 5Y3, plus also a slower capacitance charge on the power supply large caps which changes the bass response. I prefer the low resistance 5V4 fast recovery.

The driver tube to the 45 is a 6072A long plate RCA. I have not found anything that sounds better than that, although a 6189 Sylvania long plate is close. The 6189 has much lower gain but gives me more control on the preamp.
Chuck

[rollo]

   Guys using a 6AX5 for rectifier, a Raytheon driving GE 45s. Want to try other 45s just not sure which ones. What compares or betters EML ?

charles

[roscoe65]

   Guys using a 6AX5 for rectifier, a Raytheon driving GE 45s. Want to try other 45s just not sure which ones. What compares or betters EML ?

charles

6AX5 rectifier - not many options there.  I guessing an Alan Eaton amp.  You didn’t mention what tubes were driving the 45s, so I will guess 6SN7.  A lot of people like NOS or good vintage globe 45s.  Konrad and Arcturus are a couple of good, if pricy choices.

[jmdavidson87]

I am using an Art Audio PX-25 with my Klipsch La Scalas (104dB efficient). The power tubes are NOS Osram PX-25’s, which produce 6 watts/ch.  It’s quite a magical setup.

[Les Lammers]

It's puzzling to me that in almost 2018, there is so few choices in solid, low-cost streamers that offer coax spdif output.
Like most audiophiles, I already own high end DAC's and would like a good streamer that has good coax spdif out.  If no coax, would take regular toslink preferably over mini toslink, and analogue outputs are not needed. 

Looking around, I might just have to pick up Chromecast Audio unless there are better options..

Streaming/computer audio drove me nuts. Too much jargon etc. I bought an Arcam rPlay, now discontinued, when Parts Connexion, had them for $299. I stream Tidal to a MHDT Labs Orchid DAC.

I never fully understood the Raspberry Pi thing but I get it now. I am going to order this, https://www.allo.com/sparky/digione-signature-player.html, with the Shanti power supply. It's future proofed, as much as digital can be, because you can run different software.

[Les Lammers]

I have a few flea amps and really enjoy them.  I bet there are many of us lurking with sweet and simple tube amps (maybe not as nice as Richard's  ).

BTW, if you want to try a cool speaker that's cheap and easy to make, grab a set of Saba console greencone drivers (woofer and tweeters) from the 1950's. I have mine mounted in simple floorstanding, open-backed plywood boxes using one cap for the tweeter crossover.  They are efficient and sound great with sane decibels.  I got mine from a German guy on ebay and they are in excellent condition.  I suppose it makes perfect sense they get along well with low power tube amps. 

I have three Chromecast audio units streaming Tidal hifi.  Again... another good sounding, cheap thrill.  I bought some decent 3.5mm to RCA plug ICs on Amazon and it's fun to sit back and dream of different music to play.  It's a nice way to discover/investigate music before investing in vinyl or CDs if you're like me and addicted to tangible formats.

Yes, the Isophone, Telefunken, Grundig speakers have Alnico magnets and sound wonderful with flea watt amps. I just got a pair of Isophon-ph2132 Coaxes and will have them in a quasi open baffle soon. They are 97db with a 5.5uf cap for the crossover. I will drive them with a 45/2A3 Inspire amp from Dennis Had.

[Les Lammers]

   Guys using a 6AX5 for rectifier, a Raytheon driving GE 45s. Want to try other 45s just not sure which ones. What compares or betters EML ?

charles

Personally, *I* like the EML solid plates and prefer them to the mesh version. I have the TJ Full Music 45's they are OK but the EML is in another dimension.

[-Richard-]

The question of which 45 tubes sound the 'best' may be similar to asking which cables sound the best.

I am only suggesting that the answer may depend on the rest of one's gear and what 'sound' gives you the most pleasure. For example, which EML 45 tubes sound best, the Mesh Plate compared to the Solid Plate, depends on how you would want to bias the sound of your 45 amplifier. The Solid Plate is strong and clear and you can expect something similar to a highly resolving Solid-State-like rendering of the leading edges of transients, especially sharply struck sounds, while the Mesh Plate has more tonal complexity and perhaps a little more depth.

I once purchased a pair of RCA 45 tubes made in 1949 or 1950, sorry I no longer remember which date, from a chap in Florida who said they were found in a garage where they had been sitting among chickens for 55 years! After I brushed off the chicken poop from the original boxes and set them into the 45 amp I was using at that time they rendered a sonic performance that was supremely magical.

I no longer have that set-up, having changed things around quite a bit since then, including, and this is just as important, my listening habits and biases. We could well ask, if the admittedly retro technology of LP's with all of the accompanying ancillary gear like sophisticated styluses and turn-tables, have made such a dramatic comeback in the last 10 years, why have not tube manufacturers come up with 'flavors' of tubes, such as the legendary 45's, that could satisfy the sophisticated tastes of tube-lovers?

Which EML 45's, Mesh Plate or Solid Plate, work best in my current system actually depends on what music I am playing. However, right now I own only the EML Mesh Plate and a few coke-bottle type 45's from the golden age of audio.

I used to see bushels of 45 tubes for sale around 10 years ago, now there presence is becoming unfortunately quite thin.

Best of luck to you. With Warmest Friendship ~ -Richard-

[isaacc7]

Streaming/computer audio drove me nuts. Too much jargon etc. I bought an Arcam rPlay, now discontinued, when Parts Connexion, had them for $299. I stream Tidal to a MHDT Labs Orchid DAC.

I never fully understood the Raspberry Pi thing but I get it now. I am going to order this, https://www.allo.com/sparky/digione-signature-player.html, with the Shanti power supply. It's future proofed, as much as digital can be, because you can run different software.

Pretty sure the Sparky based systems have been deprecated/discontinued. The new thing is their USBridge Signature. You can use the USB output or you can add the digione board to the USBridge. Just make sure to get the right case and two power supplies.