Promitheus TVC passive preamp anyone?

rollo · « **Reply #500 on:** 9 Dec 2006, 03:39 pm »

jaspal,
Nichcolas advised me my unit was shipped Friday[thursday here].Hoping to see it next week.It took a little over one month. Once broken in for 300 hours I will compare it to the latest Bent unit.The only difference besides the transformers is the dual mono volume pots of the Promitheus.Hang in there
rollo

brashgordon · « **Reply #501 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 02:07 am »

Nicholas notified me mine was scheduled to be shipped ... "confirm" ...Friday the 8th ...
but haven't heard anything since ... I've had him do a lot of mods since the October 8th
order date ... I sure hope it's on it's way ...

He wound up using brass on the bottom, stainless on top and 6% silver solder throughout...
dual mono's, special knobs....and a reverse drag 'chute ....

Supposed to be the best he can currently make ... geeze, maybe I should have taken a stock
box and had it in 3 weeks ...

BTW ... was just jokin' about the Bose thread...

GGGGGGGGGGG

PromitheusAudio · « **Reply #502 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 04:38 am »

Gordon and the rest of the guys

Have not been in contact for a while. Last week one of nature's handy work blew up my router and have been un-wired for a couple of days. Lighting struck near my house. and "fried" my modem/route. Got back my connection and working stable yesteday so lots of stuff could not been done as i use the internet to liase with people as well as DHL . DHL requires online registeration of parcels
But all has been sorted out. Amid the slightly delay I believe DHL will be processing most of the parcels that needed to be send out.

Here are some nice pics of gordon's unit

Got to love those beautiful ebony knobs.

Check the new military switch i scored. REally good stuff. Silver contacts with thick ceramic.

Also i can't wait till christmas(will finally able to sit down and relax without feeling guilty) we are like santa's workshop now busy churning out tvc. I believe i should be able to ship out nearly 25 units of tvc this week. Also hopely the rest before 5 days before christmas

On US taxation, i believe Malaysia and the US are working out on a deal to have a free trade agreement

NewBuyer · « **Reply #503 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 06:06 am »

I really like the new design there, with the selector switch in the center and the dual-mono volume controls on each side. Having the transformers separated further from each other internally like that, I wonder if this is better operationally as well?

Those ebony knobs look great too. In fact the whole TVC looks great.

Nicholas, I think you forgot the ".jpg" in your last picture there, of the switch?

brashgordon · « **Reply #504 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 01:32 pm »

aa aa aa aa

This looks like it will be well worth the wait !!!

brashgordon · « **Reply #505 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 02:12 pm »

Been looking at ****MY**** actual box for a couple of hours now ...

Can't wipe the grin off my face .... SWEET !!

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

bikes and beats · « **Reply #506 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 02:41 pm »

Great news on the improvements, Nicholas!
A question for you and everyone else. On my standard unit, is there any way to improve/increase the upper frequency retrieval? It just seems like occasionally there's something missing. Am I dreaming? Should I get my hearing checked?
I'm thinking this involves just the very upper registers because piano and acoustic guitar recordings I generally don't notice a difference.
Crazy me!
-cheers!

gooberdude · « **Reply #507 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 03:18 pm »

Brashgordon's TVC looks killer

Nick, how many inputs can be added with this new design? i'm gettin' my friends hooked....

Hey bikes & beats, one way to improve the overall sonics of the TVC, including the high frequencies, is through some sort of vibration draining scheme. If there's ANY sonic aspect of this TVC you don't like, it can be cured...just takes some experimenting.

i'd wager a bet that adding a brass top plate and the Ebony knobs would help the HF too, but i don't think those should be used in place of footers & a platform. Without a proper vibe draining scheme, you won't know exactly what this TVC sounds like. You won't experience its full potential.

Have you ever listened to a pair of speakers that weren't spiked to the floor & then installed spikes & heard an improvement? that's exactly what using nice coupling footers and a suspended tonewood platform will do for this TVC.

matt

Randy · « **Reply #508 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 04:38 pm »

Nick,
Matt has me sold on the benefits of using a good platform for the TVC. When will the platform you are developing be availabe?
Randy

jaspal kallar · « **Reply #509 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 05:45 pm »

Quote from: gooberdude on 12 Dec 2006, 03:18 pm

Hey bikes & beats, one way to improve the overall sonics of the TVC, including the high frequencies, is through some sort of vibration draining scheme. If there's ANY sonic aspect of this TVC you don't like, it can be cured...just takes some experimenting.

I wondered how many of you have your TVC on a glass shelf in a hi-fi rack ? That's what mine will be sitting on.

- jaspal.

akmal00 · « **Reply #510 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 05:58 pm »

I wondered how many of you have your TVC on a glass shelf in a hi-fi rack ? That's what mine will be sitting on.

- jaspal.

[/quote]

I have seen and heard the TVC placed on an Acrylic shelf. Doesn't work. The mids became thin and the bass was worse. Wood especially a good platform with some other vibes draining method seems to work great for this TVC.

gooberdude · « **Reply #511 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 07:32 pm »

Hey Jaspal,

i've played around a lot with vibration draining, isolation and coupling. In my experience, the shelf material isn't that important IF the TVC is isolated from it. I think glass is an OK material IF your gear doesn't actually touch it. otherwise, glass can be quite detrimental IMO.

i've mentioned a 'suspended' tonewood platform in other posts - take a look at Mapleshade's website (or the pics i posted a few pages back here) to get a good idea. its not optimal to have the TVC just coupled to a tonewood platform...the platform MUST be isolated from the rack/shelf in order for the platform to vibrate correctly. an isolated platform is really the key to vibration draining. without it, you are just coupling...

the platform suspension provides a short circuit from vibrations (both the chassis & floor/airborne vibes), and allows the platform to work as a vibration sink.

the coupling footers provide a circuit (or path) for vibrations. the pointed weight i place on top of my TVC acts to direct the vibes from the chassis into the footers & ultimately into the platform (vibe sink). internal vibes from the TVC enter the suspended platform and never leave...this action makes the tonewood 'sing'.

for isolation, i haven't found any product as useful or musical as the Isoblocks that MS sells for $25 a set. likewise, i think their pointed footers and weights are the bee's knee's. i've A-B'd the isoblocks to an inner tube suspension and there's really no comparison...the tube produced big muddy boomy bass whereas the blocks produced a musician playing a stand-up bass (big difference). the test was done with my Expression TT.

the only gear that does not work well with this vibe draining scheme is cd players. it works insane for unsuspended turntables and amplifiers though...and now this TVC.

no affiliation with MS, lots of admiration and satisfaction with their products though.

matt

wendell · « **Reply #512 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 08:39 pm »

Nick, any solutions for my tvc YET?

jaspal kallar · « **Reply #513 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 09:42 pm »

Quote from: gooberdude on 12 Dec 2006, 07:32 pm

Hey Jaspal,

i've played around a lot with vibration draining, isolation and coupling. In my experience, the shelf material isn't that important IF the TVC is isolated from it. I think glass is an OK material IF your gear doesn't actually touch it. otherwise, glass can be quite detrimental IMO.

[snip]

.
.
.

gooberdude: Thanks for the comprehensive reply. However, I'm curious to know if you have placed your equiqment on glass shelfs and ever found any improvement? Or perhaps you've only had wooden shelves?

I bought my rack (9 years ago) made by a company called Mana and I must admit the results were very good. It's although I had a upgraded a component. I haven't actually looked that much into isolation since, so once again thanks for you reply ... it's got me thinking.

Any other opinions on this and on Nicks included isolation products shipped with the TVC ?

- jaspal.

gooberdude · « **Reply #514 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 10:51 pm »

hey jaspal,

i've never owned a glass shelf rack system like yours, but i have tried several types of shelf materials
under my components. Before i ever tried isolation + coupling, i just coupled my TT to the MDF shelf below with a set of pointed brass MS footers - for over a year. at that point i had not spent $ on platforms or Isoblocks - i thought it was unnecessary.

for one experiment, i compared a 2'x2' chunk of 1/2" thick glass from work (from an old window), a 1" thick slab of white marble, a 2" thick maple end grain butcher block & 2 difft types of 18"x18" floor tiles - slate and marble (like you'd get at Home Depot)....to see which sounded the best.

the butcher block was much, much more musical sounding than the glass, marble, MDF or floor tiles. Everything but the butcher block was fatiguing and nasty sounding. Keep in mind i was
simply laying these panels on top of the MDF shelves of my Lovan rack, then putting the TT on top.
i make cd's from LP's and have found this to be a most accurate way of testing tweaks...so i set-up the TT under each shelf type for a day or 2 then made a CD. the CD's will highlight any & all SQ issues...the glass, MDF and stone tiles definitely had SQ issues...the maple had BASS. As a tweaker, i always follow the bass.

I want a tight, musical, detailed, warm & dynamic 3-D soundscape - neither glass nor stone nor MDF provided that while sitting underneath a coupled turntable.

based on my experiences with the suspended platforms, i'll wager that the shelf material isn't as crucial IF you go with a suspended system like i've mentioned - that was the crux of my last post. The material your shelves are made from won't affect sonics much because with the isoblocks, your gear is isolated from the rack itself...

a simple test would be to find a maple butcher block and set it under your tvc (on top of the glass shelf) and listen. use the footers that Nick provides with the TVC. If you hear an improvement, try out a good suspended tonewood platform and well engineered footers in the near future...

butcher block is end grain, its too hard for this purpose, but its good enough to give folks their 1st taste of what tonewood can do for stereo gear.

there is a very steep learning curve when dealing with these issues but once you hear it done properly, there's no going back.

matt

rollo · « **Reply #515 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 11:08 pm »

gooberdude,
Very good info,I also have found no equal to MS isoblocks to isolate the platform.The only other product that worked for me is made by Sound Fusion[info@soundfusion.ca].Footers are $10each.Check em out.
rollo

rollo · « **Reply #516 on:** 12 Dec 2006, 11:16 pm »

akmal,
Is that the wood plinth from Nicholas.Please describe.I'm awaiting one from Nicholas along with the TVC.Due to circumstances beyond nicks control the unit was shipped Mon. instead of Fri.

thanks rollo

NewBuyer · « **Reply #517 on:** 13 Dec 2006, 12:37 am »

By the way, does it seem obvious to anybody else here, that Promitheus Audio really needs its own Circle...

maxwalrath · « **Reply #518 on:** 13 Dec 2006, 12:46 am »

Quote from: NewBuyer on 13 Dec 2006, 12:37 am

By the way, does it seem obvious to anybody else here, that Promitheus Audio really needs its own Circle...

It would have to be a forum like Hyperion...it doesn't seem like a good idea to slow Nicholas down right now

brashgordon · « **Reply #519 on:** 13 Dec 2006, 02:18 am »

Please don't slow him down .... I want my TVC .....

too bad I don't have a Mark Knoppfler / Sting lead in for that ...

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG