philodox

Well, I've got a quad of matched Sylvania's and a quad of matched RCA's on their way to me. We'll see how she tuberolls.

Yeah, that is curious. [about the grados and the senns] As for the K81DJ, I hear it differently. Maybe it is a volume level thing. Its burning in nicely... I'm still in the 'enjoying my new toy' phase though, so I don't have any insightfull observations yet.

I still need to get more info on that. I think the 4 6GU7's are the input tubes and the 4 6H30's are the output tubes, with the 4 27GB5 Pentodes used in the CCS' and the other Pentode [forget which he used] as a regulator, but I am not 100% on that. I also know that there is no feedback being used and that he employs negative PSU's for some or all of the stages. There are 8 power supplies in total I believe.

I doubt Peter would lie to me. Is there an easy way to measure it? EDIT: Just re-read your post and I think I took it the wrong way [and missed tkams post]. You just meant that you doubt 40 ohms output impedance would be a problem with Grados?

That output impedance is nice and low... This is also a good thing for high impedance headphones as well. I think my amp has an output impedance of 40 ohms or so.

Nothin' wrong with beastie boys or the propellerheads...

Man, that was so sarcastic it hurt. ...must be the italics.

I just figured out what happened here. The K340's were being driven balanced and the Grados were not. Sort of makes sense when you look at it that way.

Something strange has happened... all of a sudden I like classical music.

So three stages? Cool, can't wait to see it. Is it a PPX variant, or MPX, or something new entirely? That just about describes my amp as well, though the jury is still out on Grados.

You must be joking... they are bass monsters!

Yeah, Kevin already PM'ed me about that. I guess Peter decided to not go with dual pentodes.

6H30's and 6CG7's The PSU was relatively simple I think, but that is the beauty of the Aikido.

The Darkvoice too? I thought it sounded nice with the K501's... the volume switch broke on it before I could hear it with my K340's. Then again, I listen a lot louder than you and channel imbalances are less bothersome to me because of that. I noticed the volume thing as well, weird. You think that is because they were current starved? The Grado's sounded pretty good, but I think they were missing a bit of bass and had an even bigger bass extension issue. Probably not enough output capacitance I guess.

Thanks guys, I love it. Well, in the end, I think it will be replaced with a wood faceplate... but I do prefer silver to gold. As for black, it would be as simple as not putting a faceplate on... not sure how he would do the lettering though. Perhaps letraset with some clearcoat overtop?

Was he evil? I thought I was the evil one...

Those five tubes are pentodes, and the white cap is to cover the anode [a metal piece at the top]. I believe the wire runs off to ground the tube. I actually ordered those from an online dealer VT4C. The holes are not drilled through the chassis right now, though I think I may in the future for better ventilation. Right now it is just for the look. Yeah, too bad the switch failed. Maybe I can find a more rugged key start switch to replace it with at some point. For now the amp is powered off by unplugging the power cord. I'm not going to post impressions for a little while, but it can definately drive the K340's... I'll say that much. I'm thinking amber is the best match as well, though it depends on what swt61 cooks up for the faceplate. Thanks man, you enjoy those new headphones of yours. Lucky bastard.

I can't wait to hear the Saturn... I heard the old Planet and didn't like it much, but I understand their new line is completely different. Here is hoping you get it sooner than later.

I'm Jay in case anyone missed that. Nice to see you here Mikah!

Sorry for the quality of the pictures... I really need to get a tripod. A few points: - Yes, the 1/4" jacks are different. Yes, it will be fixed. - The Power keystart switch failed and Peter had to bypass it... I'm glad this happened before he handed the amp over. - The faceplate didnt really turn out as Peter and I wanted it. Neither of us payed anything for it though so no harm. Steve [swt61] should be able to remedy this for us in any case. - The XLR jacks are way too close to the volume knobs... this is one of the things that we will try to remedy with the new faceplate. - I believe Peter mentioned that there is some more exterior finishing that is still to be done. - Will probably swap the blue LED for a green one. Though I suppose I need to consider what will look proper on a bloodwood and ebony faceplate. - I'm thinking about trying to source the aluminum caps voodoochile used in his gorgeous amp as mine are tin. With aluminum I could polish them up nice and clear coat them. - We will likely tweak the circuit some more, though at the moment my complaints are very minor. - It's still burning in, so no impressions yet. My attempt at a Lights Out shot without a tripod... Renato enjoying himself... The whole rack... [i know, this is a terrible picture.] Random decent shot I took of the E5 Sig... Peace... I'm listening to Theivery Corporation - Heaven's Gonna Burn Your Eyes at the moment, and I swear, it is.

Damn... wonder when my turn is?

Yeah, it is a really nice venue... last time I take seats in 'the gallery' though. So uncomfortable! The opening act was great, some guy from San Francisco called 'Kid Beyond'... did some absolutley amazing beatbox. His cover of Portishead's 'wandering star' was very cool.

Anyone have links to these pictures? I'm curious to see them...

Man, that sucks. Must be sort of like when people at work have me take a look at their computer... then when I leave it starts acting up again. Chalk it up to gremlins. I will PM you my cell phone number and you can call me on Sunday when you are thinking about leaving. I should be able to let you know around when I will be getting home from my Dad's. It shouldn't be too late, and I get Monday off [Remeberance Day... you gotta love the gov't] so if it works out you are welcome to come and don't need to worry about staying too late.

Unfortunately I have a dinner at my Dad's Sunday evening... If you leave me your cell, or PM me for mine it might work out, but I can't make any promises. Reks - Yeah, I can definately see the benifits. Here is hoping I like the amp the way it is. Unfortunately there has been another delay... looks like Peter will be delivering the amp to me on Thursday.