Beefy

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I had certainly considered those, but many factors work against them...... I don't use iTunes for anything except loading my iPod Classic, music is all FLAC, my DAC only has a spare coax connection, don't want to have to have TV on for just music (with the AppleTV) or don't want to buy another iPod to get a remote (with the Express).

Breathe thread, BREATHE! And its ALIVE! I'm looking into getting a digital transport to stream to my DAC, and be easily controllable from the couch. I've done a little bit of research, and the Squeezebox Duet seems to tick the key boxes - and 2.5 years ago, people seemed to think it was the shiznit. So I'm just wondering whether people think it is still a good buy? Any limitations I should be aware of? Any major competitors I should consider? Thanks!

Wow, the merging drops is spectacular!

Similar story. I bought one late 2006 and it hasn't skipped a beat - it even survived shipping over to Canada in a suitcase. Luck of the draw, I guess. Indeed!

Bloody hell, is it school holidays already?

Thanks for pointing it out. I hadn't noticed, but now I am humming the Eagles as well.

I listen fairly quietly; a DACT doesn't have nearly enough steps. You should try and keep the input impedance at 100k, so a 50k series resistor is a good idea with a 50k pot. The TKD requires a new mounting hole, and I suspect that the DACT would too.

Nice tip! Things seem further confused by the 7236. This tube seems highly regarded, but is actually a computer-rated 5998A with the flat plates. Drinking still seems like a great idea

The only 5998A datasheet I can find claims that they are exactly the same as the 5998, except for the glass envelope and base. I've also read claims that the 5998A was only ever made by GE but the Tung Sol datasheet above disputes that. I also have Sylvania and GE 5998A's right here in front of me that are clearly quite different from each other. Heater draw on the 5998(A) is 2.4A compared to the 6080 and 6AS7 at 2.5A, so they can't be exactly the same. I'm going to go and drink, heavily, until this all makes sense......

Tempting, but with a 6080, 2x 6AS7G and 2x 5998A, I can't possibly need more tubes....... can I?

I'm going to use one of these: http://www.partsconnexion.com/tkd_64186.html with a 50k series resistor.

If I were you, I'd buy a better pot before I bothered with the tube sockets. That change will definitely require modifications though.....

Roasting pan, 4lb prime rib and a meat thermometer. Turkey can bite me this thanksgiving!

The Woo ones that Looser101 linked to above do indeed fit without any modifications. They are a touch tight on the screw holes for the octal mounting bracket, but still doable.

Picked up my tubestore order from the post office today...... the Teflon tube sockets are indeed leaps and bounds ahead of the ceramic ones. Well worth the money.

I have never laughed so hard at my TV as I did when that happened on TAR.

I most interested in how the JJ ECC802S hold up to the better NOS tubes. The guitar guys go nuts for this particular tube.

1x 6AS7G, 2x 5998, 2x 12AU7 - all middle-range NOS, nothing fancy yet. Takes me to a total to five of each tube, with a mix of NOS and new production.

I agree. But always remember the exception of the milk stout, to which lactose is added. Yeast can't turn this into alcohol and it does remain in the final product as a distinctly sweet flavour.

Teflon sockets purchased, as well as $150 of tubes

Cheers for that. A teeny touch more expensive, but the PCBs have more solder holes which may be helpful. Might be a good chance to pick up some alternate tubes as well!

No, they would be direct solder to the pins.

Well the stock pins on most sockets have holes in them to actually insert and solder a wire. It would be a lot harder to directly wire up to the round pins, thus the PCB. I just wasn't sure if the Parts Connexion ones would fit. HiGHFLYiN9 used PCBs for his Teflon sockets, but he got those from Woo.

And it isn't even really the socket itself that is the problem, but the bloody awful pins. A bullet biting I do go, bye bye PayPal balance! Nebby, one last question...... did you use the add-on PCBs to assist with wiring your sockets? It will make life a crapload easier, but I'm worried about whether it will all fit in the bloody box by the time the Speedball goes in......

Pretty sure that the tube is in-tact, but I will check appropriate resistances before I try to use it. One thing that has really started to annoy me while prepping for this build is tube sockets. The ones that came with the kit were OK but I thought I could do better without going nutty. So I bought some 'premium' ceramic models along with everything else from Partsconnexion, and they seem like very little improvement. What do you need to do to get a decent tube socket? They seem a lot harder to find than a good OPAMP socket! Do I just bite the bullet and get Connex Teflon ones with tulip pins at $20 a pop, or am I being anal and the kit ones are fine?