[jdawg]

Well it took a few months for me to get all the parts and finish assembling the Cornet 2.  It was enjoyable to build and I just wanted to share some pictures and my initial impressions after listening to it for a few weeks. So I hooked it up to my Rega P3-24 and at first it sounded a bit on the bright side but after a few hours it started to sound warmer.  It sounds really good but I can't notice any difference or improvements in sound quality over the phono section of my NAD C160 preamp.  The only difference I can hear is that on my NAD preamp I have to turn the volume up louder to reach the same listening level with the Cornet.  Other than that they both sound just as good to my ears.  I haven't done any upgrades yet and  I'm using Sylvania 5Y3GT and JJ 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes.  I'm not sure if these are the best tubes to be using but these were the ones I was able to get easily at my local electronics store.  Maybe trying different tubes and upgrading the capacitors might improve the sound but for now I'm just going to enjoy listening to it in its stock form before doing any upgrades. 

[dangerbird]

Very nice build sir.I have one and it's certainly a keeper.

[Biff]

I've had a Cornet 2 for about a year now and after rolling a lot of tubes, I've found that RCA NOS tubes are generally the best to my ears.

Right now I'm running an RCA black plate 5814A in the 12AU7 position. I have a couple of RCA long gray plate 12AX7s in the other spots.

Oh, and my Mazda 5Y3GB rectifier is very good, too.

[mjock3]

Very nice pics. I am planning on building one in a short while. I suppose it will take awhile to break in.

[david62]

Beautiful looking case and tubes.What kind of caps did you ues?
Dave

[jdawg]

Thanks for all the positive comments! The case was the hardest part to do.  I used the Hammond enclosure instead of the more expensive one and it took forever to paint it.  It took several coats of paint to get it to look good but I think it was worth it.  I used the capacitors that were on the parts list except for C202 and C204.  I used Sonicap Gen1 caps for those instead.  I think in a few months from now I'll start upgrading the capacitors to see if it makes any difference.