Blue Hawaii Special Edition

[shellylh]

Thanks Justin. I was measuring between a + and ground.

[johnwmclean]

Anyone have experience with the famed Metal Based Holland EL34’s?

[blubliss]

Yes, they are the best EL34s I have heard but the prices are ridiculous; I spent too much on the 12 I bought 

[Dave R]

Indeed it is.  I'm not too keen on external PSU's if I can skip them.

Is there any difference in SQ between an external PSU and internal ?

[spritzer]

The internal should be superior but there are way too many variables to consider. 

[johnwmclean]

Yes, they are the best EL34s I have heard but the prices are ridiculous; I spent too much on the 12 I bought

Thanks Andy, that's good to know.

I guess your using them in your T2?

Edited November 17, 2014 by johnwmclean

[johnwmclean]

The internal should be superior but there are way too many variables to consider.

What about EMI?

Having the AC separate kind of makes sense to me.

[Mr.Sneis]

Pain in the ass when you've got to place the separate PSU on its own shelf!

[blubliss]

Thanks Andy, that's good to know.

I guess your using them in your T2?

Correct.

[spritzer]

What about EMI?

Having the AC separate kind of makes sense to me.

 

By using a shielded transformer and placing it as far away from the "signal path" as is possible this becomes far less of an issue.  It's also not like you don't have roughly 6A of AC riding through that umbilical cord with the DC voltages just to keep the tubes lit.    Much better to place the power supply close to the amp boards and keep the heater stuff away from everything else. 

[johnwmclean]

Indeed, I forgot about the AC heater wiring through the umbilical.

[justin]

i havent found AC in the umbilical to make any difference. the impedance of the power supply lines is too low. if i needed at least 2,000 feet of cable, i would get custom cable made with the wires for the AC heaters twisted and shielded

[spritzer]

 

I figured I had to post when this one was up and running again.  Sounds awesome... 

[n_maher]

Why such wildly different pot positions L vs. R?

[spritzer]

Left is now a rotary power switch while right is a 4 gang pot. 

[purk]

 

I figured I had to post when this one was up and running again.  Sounds awesome... 

Any difference in sound quality between the original Justin's BH and current version of BHSE?  Look awesome Birgir!

[nopants]

damn that is a clean pair of mk1s

[spritzer]

Yet they were the "runt of the litter" so I sold them off.   

 

Any difference in sound quality between the original Justin's BH and current version of BHSE?  Look awesome Birgir!

 

There is a pronounced difference but that is to be expected given how different they are. 

[luvdunhill]

Agreed. BJT > DMOS

[wink]

 

There is a pronounced difference but that is to be expected given how different they are.

There are some that would say that the different versions of tubes used would be part of that difference, and there are those that would say it makes no difference.

 

The only way to be sure is to use the same tubes in each one and then come to a conclusion.

 

Or, you could just swap the tubes over and look for differences.

 

Being the sort of person I am, tube rolling is one of the reasons I built a KGSSHV and not a KGBH/BHSE.

 

The only reason I'm in the process of building the KGST is because there's not the scope for tube rolling.

 

I find life much more enjoyable turning on the amp and listening to what I've got as opposed to spending hours tube rolling looking for different species and quantities of plankton.

 

The real anal retentives would build the KGSSHV in both Sanyo and IXYS versions and post the results over at the other site as a great service to the crowd over there.

 

After all, David mahler did it with his headphone collection, and the thread still gets newbies wanting him to insert their flavour of the month new headphone so that they can get confirmation on their spectacular purchase

[luvdunhill]

Ok. What if the topology offered in the BH is better than the KGSS? You would avoid it just because it has more perceived flexibility?

[nopants]

You can also just buy any quad and...not tube roll

 

how is that different from the KGSSHV, except that they stick out of the case?

[wink]

 

Ok. What if the topology offered in the BH is better than the KGSS? You would avoid it just because it has more perceived flexibility?

The problem here is my personality. I know that the BHSE is better than the KGSSHV. I have heard Johnwmclean's one often enough to cement that in.

 

What John is now doing with tube rolling is what I would be doing, but with greater fervency.

 

Being an elderly fogey, and having been around the audio traps long enough to know my proclivities and foibles, and having been retired for over a year, I find that having a set-and-forget setup is preferable to one where I am continually searching to extract the last little bit of improvement by part swapping.

 

I used to engage in it, but now would rather leave it to the those of a more youthful and eager disposition.

 

I also know that were I to have  BHSE, there would still be the nagging desire to spend the time and money to scratch that itch.

 

I even had the inclination for a while to pull apart my KGSSHV to bump up the bias current to 14mA. I successfully killed that idea by listening to it as it stands and being satisfied.

 

I dare say, were I decades younger, I would be going flat out with all the builds and improvements I could reasonably/unreasonably afford.

 

I would certainly have built a DIYT2 and a megatron if I were under a half century when they hit this forum.

 

It took me over 2 years to build my KGSSHV only because I have too many other interests crowding my space and vying for time.

 

Hope this helps to understand an eccentric old pensioner.

[wink]

 

You can also just buy any quad and...not tube roll

 

how is that different from the KGSSHV, except that they stick out of the case?

Not true.

If I had a quad of xf2's I would want a quad of xf4's then a quad of shuguang treasures, and a quad of psvanes, and also a quad of etc, etc, ad hoc, ad nauseum, ad infinitum.

 

I would just rather not go there.

[nikongod]

Don't roll tubes, roll amps.