[Bill Epstein]

Clarinet replaces a passive with a killer ladder attenuator. So far, I can't detect much difference except for the higher gain and waaay stronger dynamics. That's a hell of an endorsement , especially as I agonised over using the stock volume pot or another one of the attenuators. I opted for stock for convenience and wanting to hear a baseline before modifying.

As you can see I did use some upgrade parts such as Vishay 102s for the input resistors and Z-cap outputs. Also a film cap for the B+; I prefer film here and the small size of this 47uF/450V from Vintage Audio Lab was irresistable. The position is owing to fact that I tore up the board trace removing the electrolytic I had there initially now it just hooks on to the HV input resistor.




All those DVMs you see are a safety tip from George Anderson at Tubelab. He recommends a bunch of cheapo DVMs all hooked up before power-up; no poking around the high voltage with probes under power. Cool idea. For $80 bucks I bought these 3 from Jameco along with 3 sets of mini-grabber probes. The 4th meter is just to check fialment voltages which came in at 6.07.

Clarinets a winner. Only one thing I find puzzling: the gain's kinda high from the Cornet. With my 6 1/2 watt Tubelab Simple SE amp I only get to 9 O'clock before the volume gets too loud. No big deal and Jim has to design for the middle of the pack, I suppose.

[SoundBound]

Nice work.   The fact that it does not seem to change the sound signature is a good thing to hear.  It sure is tempting to think that it could render the dynamics of the sound more accurately when the Clarinet is in the system.  Hmmm  may have to be a future project.  Looks like a nice tube complement you put in there.
rs

[analog97]

Clarinets a winner. Only one thing I find puzzling: the gain's kinda high from the Cornet. With my 6 1/2 watt Tubelab Simple SE amp I only get to 9 O'clock before the volume gets too loud. No big deal and Jim has to design for the middle of the pack, I suppose.

That's my experience also.  I think it has a lot to do with the amp's sensitivity.  It takes only a volt or 2 to max out many amps.  I have tried 3 amps with my Cornet2/Clarinet combo.  Each one had a different response to the Clarinet's output, but 11 O'Clock was tops for the apparently-least sensitive amp.  I have no idea what the relationship is between volume level on the Clarinet and voltage output, but I am guessing that 9-10 O'clock must be pushing a couple volts or so.  I don't really care about the Clarinet volume control position as long as it does not max out at, say 7 O'clock.  That would be a drag!   Enjoy the C2/Clarinet combo.  That is a WINNER!! 

[harryf]

You see tons of posts on the cornet 2.On how good it is.I think the clarinet is even better!
The only problem is tube rush over 50% volume.I do most of my listening under that point though.

[Bill Epstein]

The only problem is tube rush over 50% volume.I do most of my listening under that point though.

I saw you mention that before. You must have a noisy tube, or tubes, or perhaps EMI. It certainly isn't the circuit; I've tried both my amps, the direct-coupled 45 and cap coupled 6CA7, both are dead quiet at 0 attenuation.

Have you tried the standard trouble-shooting routines? Pin it down to signal or power supply, one channel or both, etc? It seems a shame to leave it as is and miss some truly LOUD experiences

[tubesforever]

Way to go Bill! 

Yep my Clarinet is as clear and clean as a good passive or buffered passive.  That was my reference for about 10 years.  I had a chance to listen to the transformer based attenuator sold by Bent Audio and my Clarinet beat that as well.  It is the star of my system right now. 

What kills me is how good and rich the sound is down quiet.  I don't have to have it way up to hear full meat and potatoes kind of sound.

CD's are where I gained the most.  They now sound a lot more like a reference master recording and a lot less like "perfect sound forever".

The growl I get from good bass sources is nothing less than enviscerating.  I have heard and sold a lot of gear in my lifetime and nothing gets this as good as the Clarinet with a superb bass source.

Cheers!

[Bill Epstein]

The growl I get from good bass sources is nothing less than enviscerating

Eviscerate
transitive verb
1 a : to take out the entrails of : disembowel b : to deprive of vital content or force
2 : to remove an organ from (a patient) or the contents of (an organ)

Ouch! Ooch! Yikes!!!


I guess you really do like it to make a scarifice(sic) like that.

[harryf]

Bill i run russian tubes or well worn nos.
My clarenet is quiet at 0 volume.It's at 12 o clock i start to get some hiss but i use very efficent speakers and a bryston amp.So at that point it's loud!
My clarinet is a ok perfect.No need to go through it.
It's a very easy build.

[Bobzilla]

Eviscerate?

Eviscerate!

Ya gotta love Tubesforever!

[tubesforever]

Eviscerate?  Eviscerate!

My son flew down to Reno last spring and spent three days at Chez tubes ala Hagerman. 

When I visited him in Portland we stoped by a couple of audiophile systems there in town.  One had 45k dollars of equipment retail price and the other had over 80 thousand dollars of equipment at retail.

When we left, I asked my son how he felt my system stacks up to the big dollar systems he heard. 

He offered that they sounded good but didn't deliver the same clarity, dynamics, life like presentation and more importantly not one of these systems delivered the mid bass growl I get in my system.  Thank goodness for inexpensive Russian teflon tubes.  They give me that level of dynamics, clarity, and growl.

BTW I have about 3k dollars in diy speakers, 1k in silver and high quality copper speaker wire and interconnects, 1k in the Clarinet, 1k in the Cornet 2, the hotrodded Bedini 150MKII retailed around 1495 dollars and the Bedini 250MKII retailed around 1995 from what I remember.  ( I bought each of these for 500 dollars used. )   I have 150 dollars in black gates and teflon caps in the Bedini 150MKII and it is a superb amp for near field listening.  I have about a grand in my diy turntables, tonearms, and cartridges.    That's an investment under 10k dollars. 

Anyone visiting Reno is invited to drop by for a listening session as long as you are willing to help me move after the eviction paperwork is served.  Living in an apartment is beginning to grow old.