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Post by dsonyay on May 17, 2019 14:41:20 GMT -5
Does Bob Latino sell tube preamps?
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Post by pedrocols on May 17, 2019 14:49:02 GMT -5
Does Bob Latino sell tube preamps? Yes he sells tube amps as kits.
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KeithL
Administrator
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Post by KeithL on May 17, 2019 14:56:45 GMT -5
I had one of those - although I think it was a slightly different model (and I think it was the APPJ version). Within its power rating it actually worked quite well. It was also made pretty well.
Note that this is REALLY a low powered amp... and it's really tiny... so it's really more appropriate for "desktop" use. If you want to try one, you should look up "APPJ" . (There is some connection between the companies - but the APPJ versions tend to cost less.)
However, if you really want to play with little tube amps that are more useful.. you should check out this one. It's quite nice, in a cute sort of way, and puts out enough power to actually run speakers (it is a hybrid). (It's also a lot cheaper than the Miniwatt - and it has a real meter on the front. .)
Maybe try out an inexpensive low powered tube amp? Miniwatt gets great reviews www.ebay.com/itm/Miniwatt-n3-Silver-/264303702355. Under 300. Steve Guttenberg had this paired with heresy III speakers and thought the sound was amazing.. couldn't play loud,but at a high enough volume to enjoy. Maybe something like that would allow you to explore tubes, and if you enjoy, spend big money later. If not a MiniWatt, there's other similar type builds
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Post by audiobill on May 17, 2019 16:41:36 GMT -5
Does Bob Latino sell tube preamps? Or assembled.
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Post by dsonyay on May 17, 2019 21:03:30 GMT -5
Does Bob Latino sell tube preamps? Yes he sells tube amps as kits. I know he sells amps.. but what about preamps.
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novisnick
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CEO Secret Monoblock Society
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Post by novisnick on May 17, 2019 21:06:06 GMT -5
Yes he sells tube amps as kits. I know he sells amps.. but what about preamps. Here you go my friend tubes4hifi.comGo down to Roys Pages
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Post by pedrocols on May 17, 2019 21:07:09 GMT -5
Yes he sells tube amps as kits. I know he sells amps.. but what about preamps. That's a good question. I could call him and asks him. He lives 45 minutes away from where I live.
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Post by dsonyay on May 17, 2019 21:33:25 GMT -5
Sort of related.. but the amps Bob Latino sells seem to be based on dynaco amps? And is dynaco no longer in business? When I google Dynaco I come up with a Canadian company that only seems to sell the ST-70.. but no links on how to purchase one.
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Post by pedrocols on May 18, 2019 0:21:28 GMT -5
Sort of related.. but the amps Bob Latino sells seem to be based on dynaco amps? And is dynaco no longer in business? When I google Dynaco I come up with a Canadian company that only seems to sell the ST-70.. but no links on how to purchase one. There you go click>>> Tube Amps and Preamps
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Post by audiobill on May 18, 2019 5:32:55 GMT -5
Bob's amps are based on the dynaco amps pretty much in looks alone. Way upgraded circuits, parts quality, custom wound transformers, you name it. And no better value in a US made, excellent sounding tube amp or preamp. Even the chassis is 16 gauge stainless steel compared to the chrome plated original. All your questions can be answered at the tubes4hifi website.
That canadian effort is no longer offered for sale.
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Post by dsonyay on May 18, 2019 6:35:24 GMT -5
Awesome.. thanks for the info.
I've heard the Bob Latino mono blocks at Novisnick's Awesome stuff. The way the tubes glow is a bit mesmerizing as well
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Post by ttocs on May 18, 2019 7:21:11 GMT -5
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Post by ttocs on May 29, 2019 0:52:31 GMT -5
I finished building the amps tonight. I did a MUCH better job of wiring the second one. I've got questions for you folks in the know on the Bob Latino amps in particular, and tubes in general.
I'm only running a pair of KT88's in each amp, so they're running at half power, 65 watts according to specs, and using the solid state rectifier for now. I've got the speakers plugged into the 4 Ohm taps. I just started running them about 50 minutes ago and frankly, I'm really at a loss for words, it's such a new experience for me. I really need to avoid using adjectives for a while until I get a handle on what's going on here. I'm kinda stunned because I haven't heard anything to complain about, quite the opposite. Not a sour note yet.
1. With a fresh build is it expected that I shouldn't push the amps much until they've got some hours on them?
2. Are they supposed to sound this good with less than one hour of use?
3. Any way to get them to run cooler? Or would using all 4 tubes accomplish that to some extent? I just don't know how hot they're supposed to be.
4. How will I know if I'm pushing them too hard? With solid state I'm used to temperature difference between really high SPL and normal listening volume. With these tubes, they heat up pretty good just being on.
The speakers were already fairly invisible before, more so now. The dynamics were great before, still great but different, seems like it's accomplished with greater ease, a more polite presentation. I was actually startled a couple times on one track which I'm familiar with, so that was thrilling.
This is so intoxicating that I'm torn between auditioning as many songs as possible and wanting to listen to each track till it ends, always a good sign of improvements being rendered.
As I'm writing this, time is passing and is now at 1-1/2 hours since first listen. Still impressed.
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Post by ttocs on May 29, 2019 8:47:16 GMT -5
Update: The tubes were initially fairly hot but after a couple hours simmered down, so not worried about the heat now.
The power transformer on each amp runs just really warm, on the edge of not being able to hold my hand on top, is this normal?
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
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Post by novisnick on May 29, 2019 8:51:48 GMT -5
Glad you’ve come over to the Glowing Side! Tubes are Hot! You’ll have to live with that! 275* f to 300* f isn’t abnormal. Turn the air down a bit, it’s well worth it, winter heating cost will be reduced with more music listening! 😋
Tubes rock the world! Love what they do for my music.
Enjoy the Music!
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,223
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Post by novisnick on May 29, 2019 8:53:49 GMT -5
Update: The tubes were initially fairly hot but after a couple hours simmered down, so not worried about the heat now. The power transformer on each amp runs just really warm, on the edge of not being able to hold my hand on top, is this normal? No worries, your good! tube amps are very inefficient, they produce a lot of heat and great sound IMHO!
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Post by ttocs on May 29, 2019 9:40:28 GMT -5
Update: The tubes were initially fairly hot but after a couple hours simmered down, so not worried about the heat now. The power transformer on each amp runs just really warm, on the edge of not being able to hold my hand on top, is this normal? No worries, your good! tube amps are very inefficient, they produce a lot of heat and great sound IMHO! Thanks Nick for the confidence building! They sound great, but different. I'll need to put some hours on the things first, but I'm very pleased. I use the word "polite" because it seems that nothing is IN YOUR FACE!, and most of what I listened to last night sounded good at different volume levels. I simply need to get used to it for a bit to be able to come up with more proper description of the experience. It's kinda like finding out Santa Claus doesn't exist, but the opposite, it's interesting and fun to find out what I didn't know existed.
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Post by ttocs on May 29, 2019 10:07:47 GMT -5
Also, I inserted the other pairs of tubes last night but don't recall if this was before or after I noticed the tubes running less hot. So I don't know if they ran cooler with four tubes because there were four, or if the original pairs ran cooler after initial startup. Either way they are now about as hot as I expected.
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Post by pedrocols on May 29, 2019 10:10:45 GMT -5
Also, I inserted the other pairs of tubes last night but don't recall if this was before or after I noticed the tubes running less hot. So I don't know if they ran cooler with four tubes because there were four, or if the original pairs ran cooler after initial startup. Either way they are now about as hot as I expected. One thing to also be mindful of is that some solid state amps over emphasize bass reproduction.
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Post by ttocs on May 29, 2019 10:22:19 GMT -5
Also, I inserted the other pairs of tubes last night but don't recall if this was before or after I noticed the tubes running less hot. So I don't know if they ran cooler with four tubes because there were four, or if the original pairs ran cooler after initial startup. Either way they are now about as hot as I expected. One thing to also be mindful of is that some solid state amps over emphasize bass reproduction. Except that in this case the speakers have active powered woofers. It's my contention that the Krell amp so easily powers the stat panel that I increased the Bass Control setting on the woofers to +4 and set the Mid-Bass switch to normal, Zero. With the tubes I felt the sound was lacking treble so I set the Bass Control to Zero and the Mid-Bass switch to -2dB. Frankly, just like how Dirac does things, I much prefer turning a setting down a opposed to increasing or boosting a signal after the fact.
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