aerius

Sweet! Your next project, should you choose to accept, is to get an amp built around the EML AD1 mesh plate.

60dB in the phono section, another 15dB in the preamp section. I've heard one and it has more than enough gain for a ~0.25mV MC cartridge. But I can see how it could be marginal depending on the gain structure of the rest of the amplification chain and the efficiency of the speakers.

Both AVC and TVCs will run into saturation issues, as I understand it it's a function of the core material and not the single vs. dual windings. That's why 100% permalloy is found only in small signal applications and not in output transformers.

Nah, get someone to build you the Vacuum State FVP5 (PDF file). Or go nuts and build the fully balanced version on the Vacuum State schematics page.

Slagle. As in Dave Slagle. He makes good stuff and does custom orders. You can order his transformers from intact audio

Possible signal overload depending on the output of the preamp. The Tribute is spec'd for 6V RMS and I don't know what the specs are for other inductive volume controls, so it's possible the output from a preamp can overload them.

No man, if you're really serious about losing weight you should strand yourself in the mountains with no food for a few weeks. Another option is to drink disease infested groundwater in 3rd world countries to catch a bad stomach & intestinal virus so you end up purging bile & blood from both ends, then you can enjoy a nice long hospital stay hooked up to an IV drip. Guaranteed to take at least 25% off your body weight or your money back.

They were used passively in front of the power amps. It was source(s) ---> AVC box ---> power amps ---> speakers.

I haven't heard the Prometheus or DIY Hifi transformers yet, and I don't know anyone around here who has one. I've heard the S&B TX102, a Dave Slagle AVC, and a couple Tribute AVC's. Tribute & Slagle will both do custom jobs, if you need different spacing between steps, inductance values or whatnot, they can do it. My personal favourite is the Tribute followed by the Slagle, the Tribute sounds like it has a wider bandwidth, more details, more speed, more goodness. Kinda like hearing DHT's for the first time but not quite that dramatic, but it's the same idea. The Slagle is no slouch itself, the difference between it and the S&B is the same as going from the Tribute to the Slagle. I don't know how much of a difference you'd notice on a typical headphone system, most of the listening was done on a custom open baffle speaker rig using Lowther and Beyma drivers with a Heil tweeter.

I've heard it against the Prima DAC with Artemis Labs SP-1 amps and Reference 3A MM de Capo i speakers. The short summary: The Prima has a slightly larger soundstage but the Acute seems crisper & more focused with the imaging, need more listening time to be sure. Both have serious depth on the soundstage, Acute isn't quite as wide though. The de Capos have limited bass so it's pretty much the same for both down there, Acute has a slightly nicer midrange, the tone's a bit richer. Highs I don't know, the speakers don't have enough treble resolution to tell. Overall detail & resolution is very close, I couldn't tell one way or the other with the system. I guess the easiest way to explain it is this. Take a photo and load it up in Photoshop, that's the Prima DAC. Dial up the saturation a bit, that's the Acute.

My local audio shop has an Acute, there's no digital input on it. I haven't had a chance to listen to it as much as the Capitole, but it's definitely in the same ballpark as far as sound is concerned. Way better than the Prima CD player.

Mockery Dusty, mockery, just showing how absurd aRc's post is.

The principles of the automobile are well documented and haven't changed since the days of the Ford Model T around a century ago. We haven't had a technology breakthrough in over 70 years since they started using fuel injection in engines and unibody construction. It has been a refinement of existing technology all these many long years and to what service?

Get the EML's and be done with it, don't bother dicking around with other tubes unless someone has a stash of NOS RCA monoplate 2A3's they're willing to sell you for cheap since that's the only tube that sounds as good as the EML's. I have RCA twin plates, JJ's, and had a borrowed pair of EML solidplates for a while, it's not even close, the EML's are way ahead in every aspect.

A heads-up for those in the San Francisco area, The Burning Amp Festival, featuring Nelson Pass, Siegfried Linkwitz and lots of other cool guys. It should be one hell of a treat for anyone in the area who can make it, lots of cool stuff and there'll probably be enough tech talk to make your head spin. It's a great chance to hang out, listen to great gear, and learn more things in one day than you ever thought possible.

That's the hippy stoner couple, none of their reviews make sense. Maybe if you were wasted on hash they might mean something, maybe.

That's the exact same turntable I have, I'm using a Shure V-15 type III since I have a bunch of warped records and need a cartridge that can track anything. I'm pretty happy with the sound, it gets a bit strained & confused on loud complex orchestral works but otherwise I can't complain too much.

The DP-2 is spec'd for a 12AU7 on the input according to the manual, but for whatever reason the one at my dealer had a 12BH7. From my rather limited experience it's a better tube than the 12AU7 but it eats more heater current.

Hmmm...that's odd, the one at my dealer had 12BH7's on the input. Couple other suggestions, though I've only heard one of them. If you have a bit more money you can get the Wright Sound AU-15 which is somewhat similar to the Artemis DP-2 in that it's a transformer coupled P-P 2A3, but it uses different input & driver tubes. This one I've heard and it's darn good, it just gets the hell out of the way and plays music. Which is not to say it can't do detail, soundstage and all the usual audiophile terms, it can, in abundance, but I just don't care since it sounds so good. If you don't have the dough the Mono25W is a good bet, I haven't heard it but I trust George Wright to know what he's doing with audio design. I'd be surprised if it sounded anything less than excellent.

And I'll pee rainbows and fart bunnies out my ass.

Then we get crappy circuit design, crappy build quality, crappy customer service, and amps that burn down houses and blow up real good. Sounds like a great idea!

Two plane tickets to Kamloops.

For a rough approximation, go to Home Depot and get a 300W halogen tube along with a lamp to put it in. Plug it in, turn it on, and stare at it.

Great. It's nice to know that he's taking a page out of the RSA how-to manual.