[mcullinan]

....soldered a few loose connections.. which he says is common with point to point wiring..

I have built much of my own gear, with point to point connections.....so how long can I expect before failures appear?

Rick

Yeah I wouldnt expect failures to appear. Saying connections were loose, I did look in the inside and found 1 wire connected but unsoldered, it wasnt coming off, but the others did not move. Perhaps that is what he meant. And I would think building at high volume, maybe youd not put enough solder, idk.
You soldered it, and you probably would know your skill best yeah?
Mike

[mcullinan]

If you get something like the Modwright Transporter you are getting the best of both worlds in one package!

http://www.modwright.com/pdf/TransporterMusicServer.pdf

George

what do you do if you want to listen to winyl or fm? 

even if you only do digital, i wouldn't be surprised if this would still sound better when run thru a good preamp...  i wonder whether dan thinks it will sound better if run thru his 36.5 pre...  i know srajan said he preferred it when run thru a preamp, but he also wentured that others may not...

doug s.

I agree I think it would sound better still with a good separate pre.
Mike

[TerryO]

....soldered a few loose connections.. which he says is common with point to point wiring..

I have built much of my own gear, with point to point connections.....so how long can I expect before failures appear?

Rick

Rick,

How long do you wait now before failures start appearing on your gear?
If you are proficient at soldering and dress the wires correctly, I would imagine that you'll be long gone before a soldering failure occurs.

Best Regards,
TerryO

[mcullinan]

I use NOS tubes.

Rectifier: Amperex GZ 34  similar to the Mullard ,the earlier ones with the double d getters are better then the later year ones.
They should last a long time, worth every penny.

Regulators: Sylvania 6F6g or GEC Kt-66 both are real nice. The 6F6g have better bass and are little warmer. The Kt-66 have more clarity in the mids & are more extended in the treble. Both are excellent, with warmer 6sn7's the KT-66 , with more neutral 6sn7's the 6F6g.

Drivers: Tung Sol round plate black glass (expensive but one of the best all around 6sn7)
            Sylvania 52 bad boy with the 3 hole plates and copper post ( if you like the VT231 black plates you'll love these, much better bass with the same beautiful midrange and highs)
           Sylvania 6sn7w (dynamic,slam,detail,sparkly highs)

 These are my 3 favorities, but also use Rca grey glass & NU black glass when I want a more romantic sound for Vocals, etc.

         

Nice tubes.. those tung sol are about $450.00?  If you can get a hold of the Russian 1578 I wonder how theyd compare.
I think I will stick with the TADs, I believe the GECs are also mucho bucks?
What amp do you have paired with?
Mike

[doug s.]

If you get something like the Modwright Transporter you are getting the best of both worlds in one package!

http://www.modwright.com/pdf/TransporterMusicServer.pdf

George

what do you do if you want to listen to winyl or fm? 

even if you only do digital, i wouldn't be surprised if this would still sound better when run thru a good preamp...  i wonder whether dan thinks it will sound better if run thru his 36.5 pre...  i know srajan said he preferred it when run thru a preamp, but he also wentured that others may not...

doug s.

I don't listen to vinyl or fm.  

Do I think things would sound better through Dan's two-piece preamp?  Probably.

Of course, there are many ways I could spend another $9k to improve things... aa

George

i listen to fm the most; winyl & digital is equally split for the rest.  a preamp is the essential piece in my rig.  it is full sounding, dynamic, and extremely transparent.  my modded melos ma333r has been a mainstay in my system for ~10 years, & it ain't going anywhere anytime soon.  

doug s.

[tubes-n-horns]

....soldered a few loose connections.. which he says is common with point to point wiring..

I have built much of my own gear, with point to point connections.....so how long can I expect before failures appear?

Rick

Rick,

How long do you wait now before failures start appearing on your gear?
If you are proficient at soldering and dress the wires correctly, I would imagine that you'll be long gone before a soldering failure occurs.

Best Regards,
TerryO

I am not waiting; in fact I don't even think about when it is going to fail. I pay vey close attention to each and every solder joint I make. That is what you would expect with point to point wiring, but I guess the quality can slip with mass production. I just thought it ironic for his repairman to say that.

Rick

[jbtrio]

I use a Spectron Musician III SE which makes an awesome combo.
Pairing a tube pre with a Class D gives you the best of both worlds.Tube richness and density with detail and power, which has an ease to the sound even during high dynamic contrast.
  All my equipment is  listed at the bottom of the page.

[mcullinan]

O yeah so is mine... if I only looked Wow, Ive never met someone with a Supratek...

Mick says that his associate still builds Chardonnays and Mick looks them over when he is done... so if anyone is interested email him.
Plus he mentioned something about a super preamp (mucho deniro) that is in the works... So I guess they are only sort of out of business.

Mike

[Mariusz]

Super preamp for mucho deniro??? is not a business but more like a passion.

[mcullinan]

yes I think for Mick it's all about the sound and passion.
M

[t-head]

not dissing any other suggestions, but my WLA12A linestage from Wright Sound is under $1,000 and very nice. He makes one with phonostage as well. US made...P2P wired...sounds sweet with SS or 300B monos...

t

[face]

With the right synergy, passive preamps can sound good.  I'll take clarity over coloration any day. 

[doug s.]

i will take clarity over coloration any day, too.  but i have never heard a passive preamp that had the dynamic drive of an active preamp.  which is why i like my melos - it's got drive and it's neutral...   

ymmv,

doug s.

[carusoracer]

Hey Mike,
Supratek made some excellent gear and it was probably one of my favorite preamps.
Briefly owning Chardonnay with a NOS Bendix 6106 Rectifier tube and a matched pair of NOS Tung-Sol Round Plate tubes was quite an experience........especially for $1700 used.
I loved that thing......really. 

And........like most, I also tried CD to Amp directly. My comments are not so dissimilar from the previous ones as well. Transparency, YES.
Body, soul, weight was unfortunately a miss. All in all, I guess that in fact - preamp is essential to enjoy the MUSIC to the fullest- IMHO.    -
Until proven otherwise.

Mariusz 

That is pretty darn close to the combination I'm looking for If I could only hear one first, but rarely for sale...Still looking. I really like the Bendix Redbank to tubes in my T200 CDP

[doorman]

Also check out www.transcendentsound.com
Their GG pre is "hair-shirt" but a killer pre, well able to hold it's own in some pretty refined company.
Don

[TomW16]

Passive preamps can work but the associated equipment must have appropriate drive and impedences that play well together along with short, low capacitance cables.  Plunking a passive preamp into a system without proper planning will typically not work well.

Cheers,
Tom