[gld]

OK folks, I'm here now and will be participating in the Market Hall. I'm going to list my products and provide pics of it. Any one interested , can post questions and I will respond . This is the first time I've tried to link pics so I hope this works.
Gary

[JoshK]

Welcome Gary!  BTW, if you need help uploading images to the gallery to post pictures I can help.

[gld]

These amps are amazing for their small size, (7"x12"). They have a huge soundstage and are very musical. They have excellent bass control and natural midrange with nice high end extension. They use 5687's and EL-34 tubes. They are a self bias amp, so you need not worry about the bias.
Excellent sonics and craftsmenship for $1650.00/pair. I will gladly answer any questions.  

[gld]

This is the best headphone amp I have ever listened to! Very quiet and totally transparent!! Excellent sonics and can be used with virtually any phones. It comes with 1 input , but you can have 2 at an extra charge. Very high quality amp for $650.00 complete

[JoshK]

Those 50watt monoblocks are great looking!

[gld]

Thanks   Josh
 gary

[WEEZ]

Those mono-blocks have to be the best looking amps I've ever seen. As classy looking as the Joule-Electra amps! Question--

Is the 50w rating a full bandwidth rating- or a 1khz rating? Distortion @ 1%? I'm curious 'cause it seems high for a self-biasing EL-34 amp.

Input impedence? Sensitivity? Is that an aluminum face-plate?

Give us the skinny- man, those are nice looking amps.

WEEZ

[tull skull]

Gary,
I have been a quiet fan for quite some time. I know with your efforts to increase your visibility that your will have even less time. My hope is, in time, due to the spirit of this site, that you might consider some kits for us to assemble. Hoping this will ignite a quiet spark.
Thanks

[Grover]

Those are really great looking monoblocks Gary.  I've got a bunch of questions, hope you don't mind.

Mute setting keeps the filaments lit, is that right?
Do you recommend keeping the amp on all the time?
What brand of 5687 tubes come stock and is there any difficulty finding that particular tube type?
How often would you need to replace tubes?
Can you share a bit about internal parts used and what make of transformer?
Self biasing means you could try 6550 or KT88 if you want?

Thanks

[gld]

WEEZ
Thanks for asking about the amps. The 50 watt rating is at full power, and the distortion is below 1%. The bandwidth is -3db from 18hz-40khz. The input impedance is 100k and sensitivity is around 2 volts for full output. They have posts for 4 ohm and 8 ohm. Yes, the front plate is aluminum, .25" 6061-t6, polished, clear anodized and engraved. The sides on the standard amp are oak, but other woods can be had. And No, 50 watts is not to high for a pair of EL-34's self biased if they are  properly designed. All of my transformers are designed by myself and built locally. I also have full control of the entire process. I will eventually be set up to give real specifications as time permits.

[gld]

Grover
I will answer your questions in the order you posted them.
Yes, the mute switch only shuts down the high voltage to the output section, the rest of the amp is ready to go.
Thats totally up to you, I usually run my amps 12-14 hours a day and always turn them off. Some folks believe in leaving the eq on all the time. Personally I think turning them off, actually makes them last longer. I figure HEAT kills, and the heat inside an amp is pretty great. Welll theres alot of caps in the power supplies, and the heat will shorten there lives, so it seems to me that leaving them on actually shortens there life.
I ship the amps with JAN PHILLIPS 5687's. Many brands are available, and most can be found in quanity. The average cost for them is around $4-25, depending on brand and type. There are also several other tubes that will work well in these amps.
I really can't honestly answer that. My original prototype amps are 6 years old and still have the same tubes in it. Quite awhile I believe.
I try to use all 1% resistors , except in the higher wattages, those are hard to get in 1%. I use all SONICAPS in my products, I really like them. In the power supplies I use NICHICON caps, and the transformers are designed by myself. Both power and output are my designs. I always use ceramic sockets and most of my products are hardwired on the back of a board, so when you look at it, it looks like a circuit board.
Yes, the amp will operate with either the 6550's or KT-88's. I would have to recalculate the cathode resistors for proper bias current. You could not safely change the tube types without doing this.
gary

[gld]

tull skull
quietly think about this for a minute. How much power, and what would it have to cost to make it worthwhile as a kit. I trust that you will be honest about the cost.
Gary

[JoshK]

I personally don't think I could make a similar tube amp for less.  The only way to do it is either build economy of scale, hire cheap labor (china) or lower quality. Usually all of the above.

[WEEZ]

Gary,

Thanks for answering my questions on the 50w mono's.

Those are REALLY fine looking amps. Must sound pretty good too....

 

WEEZ

[tull skull]

Man, Gary, that is actually a tough question. It will be easy to be honest because I'm fairly ignorant in such issues. Well actually, all issues! Ideally, for me I'd want the 50watt monos for 1K. Hey, you wanted me to be honest!

I guess what's most important is that it has your sound signature. I remember you offering the stereo unit through Danny, and I pondered it several times. It's easy to ponder when you don't have the money! I will be having some improved cashflow very soon so now it gets a little more scary.

As your marketing guy, I'm thinking two preamps; a basic and an killer. A phono stage to add to the basic to compete with the killer in two steps.

Hope you not rolling your eyes too much. I'm sure this isn't what you were looking for but like I said, I'm fairly clueless and was hoping for you to ponder the offerings, not me!

[Danny Richie]

I remember you offering the stereo unit through Danny, and I pondered it several times.

He didn't offer it through me.

I just posted some info on it in my forum as a favor to Gary, so everyone could be aware of it.

He didn't have a web site up and running at that time, but does now and I believe the info on that amp is there.

[LordCloud]

Do you know when you are going to update your site to have pictures of all of your products? I would really like to see what all of your preamps look like, or maybe I just don't know where to look. By the way, a fellow member of the Utah Audiophile Society had your entry level preamp for an audition and it sounds really good. Good enough that I want to see and hear the better models. Please keep up the great work! It is very hard to find quality gear at a reasonable price.

[doug s.]

Do you know when you are going to update your site to have pictures of all of your products? I would really like to see what all of your preamps look like, or maybe I just don't know where to look. By the way, a fellow member of the Utah Audiophile Society had your entry level preamp for an audition and it sounds really good. Good enough that I want to see and hear the better models. Please keep up the great work! It is very hard to find quality gear at a reasonable price.

yes, i agree - show us detailed pics of yer preamps!  

regards,

doug s.

[Brad]

Gary,

good job on the initial website!
If you get all your info there, it'll save you some time answering questions.    Can't wait to see more details on the mid/reference preamps.

[gld]

I'm working on it everyone. The pics will be posted as soon as I get some.
Gary