Room dimensions are 34 ft x 27 ft with 11 ft ceiling.The system has been set up and voiced primarily for vinyl.I use a sony es-9000 for dvd,cd and sacd as well as a sharp projector[can't remember model] for video[who cares].Walls are 1/2 inch sheetrock over acoustic insulation and the floors 1 1/2 inch hardwood over 4 inch acoustical insulation. Three dedicated 20 amp ac lines into the room. Gone are the Antique Sound Lab 1006 monos....replaced with a [very rare] Vulcan 240 tube amp.
Developed for the trade to demo arms and cartridges.Accomodates 3 tonearms.Employs a massive 70 lb solidbrass platter and an outboard dc motor[studer]
Eminent Technology ET-2.5
employing a surge tank with an indusrial airflow gauge
Sumiko MDC-800
Still my reference
Koetsu Rosewood Sig
The original rosewood [circa 1980]currently in Japan being rebuilt
grado statement reference
low output version
Tannoy Westminster
Outboard crossovers,the stock internal wiring was rewired with Cardas Golden Cross speaker wire. Stock crossovers capacitors and resistors were updated with Mundorf Silver Supremes and Vcap capacitors. Stock resistors were changed out for precision Mills-Vishay's. Crossover controls were hard wired to flat response position allowing me to change the switch position with a simple solder joint.
Supratek Cortese Custom
Optional single triode version allowing me the far more tube choices for line gain matching than the standard 6sn7. Stock volume pot was replaced with a Dact attenuator. Vcap and Mundorf Silver Supremes are used throughout. Although I lost the remote,the Dact attenuator was way more than worth the convenience factor of the remote [a no-brainer for me as vinyl is my predominate source] .
supratex syrah
Nos tubes
Vulcan tube amp 240
6 el-34/channel pushing 120 watts/channel pure class A or 55 watts/channel in triode mode *** A very Rare Amp***
Hello Chang. I can certainly understand your apprehension regarding tube venders on the net. The majority of them are just peddling the tubes in their inventories and don't have any idea as to the sound of them in real world audio applications.I presonally would not trust any of them.Many do not even have proper equipment for matching and testing these octal tubes.It is a crap shoot at best. There are many sonic flavors of 6sn7's and typically the early gt versions are sonically superior to the gta's and gtb's. The neutron tube you mention.....Is this a current production tube? The Neotron labelled tubes of the golden age were made in France.... usually relabelled mazdas or cifte tubes. I am unaware they even made a 6sn7. The mullard ecc35 is a good sounding euro tube, however it is much closer electrically to the [higher gain] 6sL7 than a 6sn7. The closest euro equivalent to the 6sn7 would be the B65 which was manufactured by brimar and often labelled mullard.However it is also not an exact equivalent tube electrically.In many amplifier applications, it is possible to substitute 6sn7's for 6sl7' and vice versa,however these are generally swapped for use as driver duty or input tube applications found in typical power amp circuits, not for gain use in preamps. Further more..... both the 6sn7 and 6sl7 were actually invented in America and in my honest opinion...were better sounding than most of the euro octal based substitutes. When used in a preamp....octal tubes are very very critical with regards to noise and micophonics.The very best eqivalents of the 6sn7 were originally developed exclusively for the American Miltary Defense and werer actually commisioned by the American military for use in the highly confidental missle program.These were the RCA redbase 5691[6sL7] and the 5692[6sn7].Most examples of these tubes [typically] are extremely low in noise,rugged, generally have the tightest triode section matches than any of the 6sn7 octals,they are also a true 10,000 hour tube. RCA invented both the 6sn7 and 6sl7 in the 1920's and sold more of these tubes than all of the rest combined.I am not familiar with your preamp, however I would not hesitate in recommending the redbase 5692's. Although they are quite expensive,they are much less of a gamble than any other 6sn7. Your sylvania 6cg7's are more than likely relabelled GE's. They are actually very good sounding tubes and would be very difficult to get anything much better, perhaps the 1950's tung sols or the 1950's RCA top getter version. "NOTE" Always keep in mind that even brand new nos tubes can be noisy and microphonic "right out of the Box" regardless of how strong they test or how tight their triode sections! This is the main reason why I personally have such low regard for tube sellers on the net.Without listening to the tube in an actual preamp application,one can never honestly tell you how good or how quiet it will be in your system. If you are after specific tubes [per say] and having any trouble sourcing them,let me know, I have been hording them for years and have hundreds of them in my personal collection. Hope this helps. Cheers David.
I can't help but ask you tube questions. I saw your recent posts on the supratex and tubes in general. I have a cary/aes tube preamp that i have on sale. It uses 6sn7's and 6cg7's, a pair of each. I currently have a pair of Jan Phillips 6SN7 WGTA, black base in them and a pair of the sylvania's. Was thinking of upgrading to the *best* 6SN7's i can find. you seem to be an authority on the tubes, especially these. Who may I ask do you trust in the field of tube sellers that I can get honest advice and products from. After some research, I have heard terrible things about some dealers on the Internet.
What do you think of tubeseller.com and Neotron 6SN7 Round Plate??
Also, I heard that Mullard's are the *best* and someone else warned me that they are not exactly 6SN7 and that I should never get them.
What are your thoughts if you don't mind. Thanks so much for your time.
Ecclectique - let us know if you pull off the open joists idea with your wife's approval... just so the boys can have a drink on you. definitely the dream is to construct a room for electrostatics...perhaps even, dare i say, stacked?
the room i may be able to use is too small for e'stats because of the size limitations you mentioned.
Hi Kublakhan. Is this going to be an interior room in the house? I ask this because... if I had my way, I would never have used the sheetrock.I would have left the walls simply as open wooden joist's with the acoustic insulation stuffed between them.My wife just wouldn't buy off on it.Before I did the sheetrock thing- I listened to rig for months and even brought in the acoustat 2+2's as well as a pair of proac response 3's.Every speaker system sounded very good and all of them were very easy to place in the room for tone,balance and staging.As you already know...e-stats need some breathing room behind them to couple with the room.No more "single seat" sweet spot.They simply disappear,the stage is huge!I will be building another room strictly for the acoustats and will definitely leave open joist's on the sidewalls,staggered baffles on the ceilings and a solid wall behind the speakers.Try to keep your listening seat as far away from the back wall as possible.You didn't mention your speakers? I am just assuming they will be E-stats of somekind.I learned many years ago... that the room can sometimes be more important than the sum of the components used in it.Ever heard a vintage pair of 16 ohm Rogers LS3/5a's on good stands in a small room? Even with mediocre vintage tube gear.. they make music with as much or more soul than some of the $50,000 rigs I've heard in the high end salons.Hope this Helps. Cheers David.
You did great, Ecclectique. good enough tht now i want a pair of tannoy's so i'll just consider my life incomplete until i find a pair... and so many other components i'll never see. damn you! I'm a huge electrostat fan like yourself and it killed me to get rid of my acoustat monitor 4's. some day i was hoping to stack another pair on top! sends shivers up my spine thinking about it.
question; you say the walls are 1/2 sheet rock 'over' acoustic insulation. is that correct or did you mean the other way around? i might have just opened up a room in the house for a dedicated one but it's verging on the small side. since you've obviously just went through this do you have any thoughts about super cheap wall treatment? the room can be as ugly as anything in the history of audiophile fashion mishaps which is really saying something. I was actually thinking about buying some used futons with the same black coverings (gotta at least try to match) and coating the walls with them for starters, then move them around as needed. reflection is going to be the biggest hurdle besides my bank account.
Hello Gang. Twl...Thank you for your kind words,they are very much appreciated here.As most of you veteran audio guys know... that no matter how good your system is,it is really only as good as your room will allow it to be.Putting the system together was actually the easy part of the equation. Tuning a room of that size was not only very expensive but a 2 1/2 year exercise in frustration.In 1999,I had the opportunity to acquire a 100 year old school house in the farm country of Ontario.Four huge rooms to work with....I thought I had died and gone to audio heaven!....Finally; I thought....the perfect room to set up my beloved Tannoys.I was soooo excited,I had a smile from ear to ear. Well... the smile disappeared with the first bar of Ry Cooder.My kids "Kenners give a show stereo" sounded better.The Westminsters are very full range and also very efficient.With a concrete floor,plaster ceiling and 4 double brick walls...ahhhhh!..well...I am sure you get the picture!After countless hours of sound proofing the walls,foors,ceiling, tuning,rewiring,tuning some more,changing cables,swapping out amps,preamps and more speakers,I finally got it right. Big, effortless sound in the proper scale and tone from anywhere in the room.I should qualify a few things.Most of my adult life was spent listening to the recording arts through electrostatic speakers and tube amplification.[stacked quads,acoustat 2+2's] in fairly large rooms.I have never really been fond of loaded horns per say.The Tannoys do NOT sound like your typical horn loaded speaker,as a matter of fact they sound more like an e-stat than any other speaker I have ever heard and without the inherent liabilities of a stator.They have real "soul" and resolve so much imformation in proper scale...and at live concert hall levels to boot.No Midgets on stage here.My preferences to music are oriented more to jazz, blues and straight ahead rock.Preferabbly live recordings.Wanna hear Louis blow his horn,take a breath and blow it some more, or Bill Evans play his Steinway at full tilt boogie.Hendrix and the Band of Gypsy's New Years Eve bash live at the Fillmore "now there's a monumental recording on vinyl" The best of it all is... Ive got great seats and can indulge in favorite beverage or whatever.Yeah.. I'm a pretty happy camper these days...Gregm...The Luminesence has been my Reference preamp for vinyl playback for almost 20 years[and hopefully 20 more]I have 2 very good systems so the syrah or the lumi will be used in one of them. I sent my Koetsu to Japan for an overhaul and can't wait to get it back so I can do a shoot out between the preamps with a cartridge that I've lived with for 20 years.I recently acquired a Shelter 501 to tide me over-- however.. I just have'nt had enough seat time with it dial it in yet.Kublakhan[great handle]I will try to describe Tannoy's sound in context at another time as I think I'm getting a little long winded here! and besides that I am a really a 1 fingered typer and its time for bed.Cheers David
A very nice system that shows a lot of study, experience, and thought. I appreciate your work. I know it took alot to put something like that together. A fine mix of the best of the classic and the best of the new. Good work. Vinyl rules!
