Cornet II finished. Pic & review.

robertwstephens · « **on:** 18 Feb 2006, 06:51 pm »

Hello! First, thank you to everyone who advised me on the way. I would never have been able to do this on my own. I also owe a lot to the "Getting started in DIY audio" website. You can Google the text in quotes to find the site. I used Auricaps where suggested, metal film resistors, Vampire RCA's, silver chasis wire, JJ tubes for the AU7 and AX7's, and a 1960 RCA rectifier from http://pages.prodigy.net/jimmcshane/tubes.htm(very nice guy to deal with!). The handles are Valli & Valli. I sell decorative hardware for a living and couldn't resist adding these after seeing them in another post. I sent the top plate to be drilled and punched at Tice industries - http://www.ticeindustries.com. Scott Tice is a friend of mine. I was more than amazed when the unit powered up and the voltages tested out fine. I was using the phono stage in my Harmon Kardon amplifier before this. I have a MMF-5 with a Grado platinum reference cartridge. The Cornet II sounds amazing, even without much break in time. The soundstage seems huge now. Like other reviews, I find the Cornet II very smooth, quiet and the slam on the bass is rich with a fat sounding punch to it. I couldn't be happier with the project and will be spending some more money with Mr. Hagerman in the future. Peace. Robert

robertwstephens · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Feb 2006, 07:05 pm »

any tips on getting the picture to appear below the text? Peace. Robert

Thanks for the tip! Peace. Robert

ohenry · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Feb 2006, 07:10 pm »

Look at the bottom of the pics in your gallery, that is the url to paste into the post.

Very nice looking Cornet, congrats!

Eric H · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Feb 2006, 07:00 am »

Nice job on your Cornet! I think the rails are a great addition and I plan to stick some on mine when I get a chance... They just look "right" and protect your tubes some, too... thanks for posting your source. I'm also a fan of Jim and Jim (Hagerman and McShane). Can't go wrong with either.

Once you get settled in with your Cornet you should try some tube rolling to get your sound dialed in... not that there's anything wrong with the J/J's (I actually haven't tried their 12ax7's) but many people like the Sovtek LPS 12ax7's for new production or Tele's (my favorite) if you have some or can afford them. Depends on everything else... but it's lots of fun... good luck!