klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Dec 20, 2016 16:24:14 GMT -5
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Dec 20, 2016 17:18:28 GMT -5
PS...I borrowed the pair of speaker cables from upstairs to use temporarily. A banana plug tip just broke off as I was plugging it into the switchbox. Never had that happen. It was from a pair of 1-2 year old Emotiva speaker cables. I sent them an e-mail asking for some new tips to be mailed. A bit surprised...never had that happen before, but I have seen it reported here. Luckily, the tip came out of the connector easily.
And, the reason I had to steal that pair? I bought speaker cables from Monoprice. I expected a pair...got a single cable. Hmmm...didn't seem clear to me on the website...thought I was ordering a pair. I guess not! Been a while since I bought speaker cables and just expected a pair.
mark
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Dec 21, 2016 15:02:46 GMT -5
Dang...Brubeck sounds good on the Prima Luna...
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novisnick
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Post by novisnick on Dec 21, 2016 15:07:21 GMT -5
Dang...Brubeck sounds good on the Prima Luna... His music was made for tubes my friend!
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Post by Axis on Dec 21, 2016 15:10:59 GMT -5
Dang...Brubeck sounds good on the Prima Luna... His music was made for tubes my friend! I love that you guys are finding out that some tunes just sound better with tubes. I slept with my album Push Push (featuring Duane Allman) by Herbie Mann the first time I heard it on a good tube system.
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Post by simpleman68 on Dec 21, 2016 15:13:58 GMT -5
Awesome shot of your rig Mark! Got a chuckle out of your iteration of "Noel" Scott
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Dec 21, 2016 16:50:56 GMT -5
Awesome shot of your rig Mark! Got a chuckle out of your iteration of "Noel" Thanks and LOL! I wondered if anyone would notice that. That is an old family joke. The candle holders were my Grandparent's, and my Grandma would set them out properly every year. When she wasn't looking, my Grandpa would switch the order. It would go back and forth all season. My Grandpa was my best friend as I grew up, and his sense of humor rubbed off on me. And, I coincidentally look almost exactly like him. And, I carry on his humor. My wife "gets it" so she automatically sets them up the "right" (Grandpa's) way every year. Mark
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Post by kauai82 on Dec 22, 2016 18:30:58 GMT -5
Mark's post on using KT-88 power tubes in his Primaluna made me want to try them in my first generation Prologue One that I bought used about nine months ago. Found a deal on four JJ KT-88 tubes on eBay and got them for $65 for all four. I bought them as an experiment and figured $65 was worth a try. Tubes arrived packaged very well. I replaced my four Primaluna EL34 tubes and turned the amp on. Was not expecting much difference in SQ, but was very surprised by the difference in sound from the EL34. The midrange silkiness or "Bloom" was not as pronounced with the KT88's, but the bass was much deeper and more dynamic. At first it was tubby, but then I changed the speaker wires from the 8 ohm speaker outputs to the 4 ohm jacks and the bass tightened up.
The highs are a little more crisp I think on some tracks with the KT88's. Rock and dynamic New Age music is very good with more dynamics and a little better sound stage. Jazz and female vocal is where I need to listen to more tracks to decided if the KT88's stay in the amp. Some tracks I have listened to I miss that EL34 midrange silkiness. I am wondering if the Electro-Harmonic or Primaluna KT88 tubes would have a little more mid range presence than the JJ ones. Any one have experience with these two KT88 tubes can chime in with their opinion. Of course both these tube brands cost about $50 dollar a tube and I am tapped dry because of the holidays so that experiment will have to wait. Merry Christmas --Matt
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Post by audiobill on Dec 23, 2016 4:41:29 GMT -5
Matt, I like the Sovtek 6550s in most KT88 applications.
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Post by kauai82 on Dec 23, 2016 12:28:57 GMT -5
Matt, I like the Sovtek 6550s in most KT88 applications. Thanks for the advice on the Sovtek brand. Is there a particular reason you like them ?
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Post by audiobill on Dec 23, 2016 14:31:25 GMT -5
Well, Sovtek no longer makes the KT88 and the Sovtek 6550s are reasonable in price and sound great!
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jan 7, 2017 15:49:20 GMT -5
I just spent some time cleaning up wiring behind my system...what a rat's nest! With the xmc and its amps/speakers, and the tube amp and it's wiring with the switchbox to flip between tube and nCore, plus the turntable, an HTPC, 3 Sonos units, the Oppo, and cable...that leads to a lot of wires.
Anyway, while I was at it, I ran the old Thorens and the XPS-1 into the tube amp inputs. Heaven...listening to Johnny Cash's "Out Among the Stars" on 180 gram vinyl (nice gift from my wife!). Started off with a special pressing of Steely Dan "Gaucho". Sounds really good. Bowie at the Beeb next!
Mark
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jan 7, 2017 16:02:29 GMT -5
Really sounds fine... Mark
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jan 7, 2017 16:09:22 GMT -5
Waitin' for the Man... Delightful...Bowie covering Lou Reed. Mark
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jan 7, 2017 16:28:51 GMT -5
Cold day, warm vinyl... Mark
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Jan 14, 2017 15:20:43 GMT -5
So, I finally had a moment to add the splitters and wire up my system to allow me to play the tube amp via the XMC-1 using reference stereo WITH a sub. Per my sketch: Link-a-De-Doo-Dah... (see the 1st post on the page and expand the image) To play it, I just: - set speaker switch box to play the Prima Luna - turn on the Prima Luna - set the Prima Luna to the HT input (in this mode, it is effectively no longer an integrated amp and just a 2-channel amp) - turn on the XMC-1 to the "Geek" input which is taking the balanced output of the LH Labs Geek Pulse X Infinity DAC, sending it out of the XMC-1 via the "reference stereo" setting, but then also routing a FR/FL signal to the sub as shown in the link above - with the sub controlling the x-over, phase, etc. but the XMC controlling the overall volume. The end result is that I have the Prima Luna amp providing power for the FR/FL and the sub in play with the Maggies playing what they can and the sub "feathering in" below the Maggies. How does it sound? Good...quite good... The Maggies are great, but have their low end limit. Feathering in the sub this way is really a nice add. On some music, it's not a big difference, but on others - it is make or break. For example, when Lee Sklar plays bass with James Taylor, it's the difference between feeling Lee's bass down low and hearing a "thunk" as he touches a string. On other music, it just adds that little extra that rounds out the total sound vs. leaving it sound a bit hollow or like something is missing. For those having an XMC-1 and an external DAC they prefer over the XMC-1's, realize you do NOT have to choose between the external DAC w/o sub and just using the XMC-1's DAC's. You CAN indeed have reference stereo AND a sub...and it's really nice. Mark
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Post by boomzilla on Jan 14, 2017 20:03:07 GMT -5
Looks great, Mark - wish I were there! I don't have Maggies just now, but I bet they DO sound great with tubes!
I've been having fun with solid-state lately, but which'll win out in the long run remains to be seen.
Cheers - Boom
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Post by copperpipe on Jan 14, 2017 21:02:46 GMT -5
Amps are like cars. XPR = a C7 corvette; gobs of power, cuts up a track with precision, and very cheap (performance per dollar). But sometimes you just want a tube or a Jeep; yeah it wobbles down the freeway at high speeds and isn't always accurate or precise, but it's the perfect machine for a sunny afternoon; top down, doors gone, just you and the dirt road ahead. Why quibble over what's better when you can have both?
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Post by bitsandbytes on Jan 15, 2017 9:25:20 GMT -5
Excellent, Mark, that your sub works great with your Maggies. With superb DAC's being a hot ticket, seems the best way of using an XMC-1 when your sub has a high level input. Great to hear that using the volume control on your xmc-1 maintains the quality of your sound. Especially since my next processor a couple of years in the future will probably be an Emotiva one Walt
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