@Unclephil: Thanks and sorry for not responding asap. But to answer your question, I built my preamp myself.
@Vernneal: Thank you. I do have six, only four shown in the pic. The four tables have different "personalities" depending on the arm/cartridge being use(assuming that phono preamp, line level preamp, amp, and speakers are the same.
I find early sound reproduction technology fascinating, however I never seem to find the time to get to some of the vintage shows here in Canada and the United States.
I know a couple of guys that have virtual museums in their homes of theater speakers, amps and studio recording equipment including a eye popping collection of phonographs.
Abe I would be interested in your impressions of this preamp when you get it built
Hello Mark,
Find sometime to listen to your friend's set up, especially the SET/horn or SET /coaxial driver system. You might find yourself enjoying how it portrays music. I did manage to listen to one of my friend's before, and I was hooked! Your results may vary of course.
Yeah, once I have the preamp finish, I will send you some pics and first impression thoughts followed by updates along the way after the honeymoon period (if there's any). Mind you, I am not a commercial builder so you have to "excuse" the version, aesthetics wise,of the unit I am capable of making. You can see in my System's Page my homebrew 2A3/45 amp. Hopefully, I can build a better looking chassis for the preamp.
Abe, if you still have your H2O solder in Sonicap Platinum bypass caps for a really special treat. These are very sweet, detailed, and really the improvement is all around wonderful. Let me know if you are interested, and I will give you the particulars.
Thanks for the recommendation. Unfortunately, the H2O was a thing of the past for me. I now have SET/high efficiency coaxial drivers in OB set up. All I need, powerwise, is about 1/2 of a watt nowadays so I sold my H2O long time ago.
Abe, if you still have your H2O solder in Sonicap Platinum bypass caps for a really special treat. These are very sweet, detailed, and really the improvement is all around wonderful. Let me know if you are interested, and I will give you the particulars.
I find early sound reproduction technology fascinating, however I never seem to find the time to get to some of the vintage shows here in Canada and the United States.
I know a couple of guys that have virtual museums in their homes of theater speakers, amps and studio recording equipment including a eye popping collection of phonographs.
Abe I would be interested in your impressions of this preamp when you get it built.
Thanks for the tip. I had been following the OswaldsMill Tube tasting gatherings since 2006. My friend, Joseph Esmilla, attended last years event.
If you noticed in my system page, I have a Thomas Schick arm. This arm was introduced at the event last year and I bought the first of the few that Thomas made.
Yes, the people as well as the gear shown there are pretty amazing.
FWIW, give me a couple of months and I will share something to you. It's a full function preamp, my friend's design, and he brought it at the meet and got tremendous responses from the crowd. I am starting to build one and hopefully I can show you how it looks like and describe how it sounds compared to our beloved Supratek.
Yeah, Mick understood the economics of things I would say. It will be difficult to compete in business from a manufacturer where cheap labor is abundant. Technology can catch up especially in audio where most of the designs coming out are not really new in a sense but just an improvement of what was done before. I know, I was born and raised in Asia.
Me, I will keep my Chenin too. i now understood how the preamp works electrically and I probably could troubleshoot my unit if something happens to it. Besides, I really fell in love with the preamp long time ago and still I could say that up to now, I still have the feeling.
Again, thanks for the tubes. I know that you have a very nice set up but I hope that someday you will have the time to experiment on high efficiency speakers and low power SET amp. The combo sounds great with the Chenin preamp and the reason being is that the preamp can drive the input stage of a typical SET amp (like 6SN7, 76, 56, 6SL7, etc.) with ease due to its low output Z.
Hi Abe, We have been traveling, we never checked our e-mails while we were away. Good to hear the 45s worked out!
As you know from what I understand Mick has packed it in and is going to start up farming grapes for wine.
Afew years ago I e-mailed Mick asking if he had any plans on making a amp to go with the Chenin. Back then he was concerned if he could compete with what was coming out of China. He told me there were some good amps from China he has heard and I should look into them, off hand I forgot what the brands were. Well , I'll keep my Chenin. Someone posted a heading here on Audiogon alittle while ago stating , [ So much for Preamp deal of the century ].
I can't say what his intent was for doing so, he is another Aussie. His handle is Downunder.
Oh well , the sun will still rise from the east and set in the west.
Regarding the RCA Radiotron 45s, I have a pair if you like for $20.00 each plus $8.00 shipping.
I'll take it! Please send me a PM at [email protected] so I can get your address info and preferred terms of payment. I will try to email you as a reminder next week when you get back from your trip also.
Yep, I truly enjoy building my amp. I also learned a lot from it. After hearing it with a 2A3 (Sovtek), I am convinced that all my research paid off in the end.
Hello Abe, Regarding the RCA Radiotron 45s, I have a pair if you like for $20.00 each plus $8.00 shipping.
The Cunningham RCA 45s ,both are no good.
The Radiotron 45s are nice and clean looking inside with no burn marks at all.Good looking getter flashing. Nice tight bases and 45 markings on the glass.
I,m leaving tomorow and will be gone until next week. Shoot of an e-mail next week and we'll go from there.
Really sounds like a great little project building the 2A3 45 amp! I should look into something like this to do myself.
Hello Abe, I have not got around to testing these vintage 45 tubes, I have two pair.
Just had too many things to take care of this weekend before I leave for out of town again.
If they test good ,I would certainly sell them to you for more then a reasonable price.
A very attractive looking tube these Cunninghams.
Something you could look into in your neck of the woods for a great cheap source of vintage radio tubes like the 45 and others. Is to hunt down vintage radio shows in your area and or collectors of vintage radios. Many do not know about vacuum tubes being used in high end audio. A shocking price for some of these old timers would be $50.00 apair new in the box. I know afew up here.
Nice system! What are your thoughts on the Teres versus the Garrard? Granted you have different arms and cartridges on them...
Hello,
Thanks for the nice words!
The Teres and the Garrard are , without a doubt, two different animals. There is nothing in my experience that will come close to the dynamics of a well lubricated, well cleaned Garrard 301 sitting on a high mass plinth. No belt drive can compete on its "immediacy" IMHO.
While the Teres is very quiet and a nice sounding table to booth, it is more into small ensemble jazz or classical music. The Garrard on the other hand has this brute force that makes your toes tap on the rhythm, pound your chest from the bass, and will open your ears how the high soars in the air. As I said, there is nothing like it compared to the belt drive table of nowadays. Maybe it is just me but that is how I can compare the two tables. I also have the idler Thorens TD124 and this kind sounds different too!
I had a Dynaco 400 on the maggies then switched to a Threshold Stasis 3. Always had a tube preamp of some brand.
I still have the Quads. I had them overhaualed in 1997. There is nothing like them even today.
I know we beat this to death ,our Chenins are in the best of the best of buys category.
Over the years I have only compared acouple of other brands of pres and phonostages that sold for almost double the price of the Chenin.
Used to have close to the same set up: Magnepans and Threshold S500 Stasis Amp. Then migrated to Odyssey monoblocks, then to an ICE H2O amplifier.
Yes, I am glad I bought the Chenin. I do not have extensive experience on high $$$ preamps but after I bought the Chenin, I stop looking for a different one. Saved me a lot of money for sure!
I read many good things about the Gavia. I hope it all works out for you! I heard the Phantom arm on a top of the line VPI and sounds impressive. If I can only play on that kind of playing field, sigh!
I read your building a 45 amp . Last week I traded a mint Telefunken German table top radio for afew hundred vacuum tubes. I have a nice bunch of Cunningham tubes ,In the bunch I did notice apair of 45s with etched bases .
I have to get around testing them. I did test abunch before the trade but never got around to all the RCAs and Cunninghams.
Most are very old vintage from the 1920s
I am still far from completing my 45's. I am waiting for my output transformers and choke. Should be here by the end of March I hope. If you decide to sell the 45's, please let me have a crack at it and see if I can afford your price ;) ! I am interested on the RCA's too or any 2A3 you might consider selling.
Thanks for the message Mark! I really appreciate your time telling me what current endeavors you have on this great hobby of ours. Please keep me updated!
I once owned apair of Magnapan 3s back in the 1980s along with apair of Quad electrostats. There was nothing like them back then.
I had a Dynaco 400 on the maggies then switched to a Threshold Stasis 3. Always had a tube preamp of some brand.
I still have the Quads. I had them overhaualed in 1997. There is nothing like them even today.
I know we beat this to death ,our Chenins are in the best of the best of buys category.
Over the years I have only compared acouple of other brands of pres and phonostages that sold for almost double the price of the Chenin.
I sold my turntable acouple of months ago and been on the search for a new or used one.
My focus this past 5 weeks has been on a Galibier Gavia record player. However Thom Mackris , the owner cannot seem to get it together to take my order....VERY STRANGE!!!! I think I'm going to past and look else where.I may even look at Teres or even Raven.
I read your building a 45 amp . Last week I traded a mint Telefunken German table top radio for afew hundred vacuum tubes. I have a nice bunch of Cunningham tubes ,In the bunch I did notice apair of 45s with etched bases .
I have to get around testing them. I did test abunch before the trade but never got around to all the RCAs and Cunninghams.
Most are very old vintage from the 1920s.
Well ,I shall see what happens today with my turntable hunt.I e-mailed Thom of Galibier on Thursday ,Friday he e-mailed me back asking that I should phone him. Which I did. He said he would call back last night ,but never did.... I did buy a used Graham Phantom, traded a really nice pair of Philips MiniWatt metal base EL-34s new in their original boxes and some cash for the arm. I'm really looking forward getting up and running again.
How do you like your system with the Brine's FT-1600 versus the Orions? I use the FT-1600's also and have been tempted to try a dipole design speaker.
Very different Mwoods111! The FT1600 sounds good at low level listening, while the Orions can do low level and mid to high level with flying colors. My honest opinion, the FT1600 is no match and not even close to the performance of the Orions no matter what genre of music I am playing.
Unfortunately, I never compared the three carts as far as bass "superiority" is concern. My speakers can go to 20 Hz. easily. So no matter which cart I use, as long as it is in the source recording, I was not aware of being "deprived" bass wise.
If push comes to shove, I will put my money on the Shelter. Not because it has the deepest bass but because its mids and highs are very extended and refined (to this ears!)which makes the bass so natural in its outcome. Second will be the Denon provided that the appropriate gain for its 0.25mV output is sufficient.
Nice system on Audiogon I don't know if you'restill using the Mapletree audio Octal 6B. I'm considering it, as well of the Ee Minimax Preamp, and just wanted you opinion. especally compared to the other preamps you have
I have no experience with EE minimax. The Octal 6B is a new generation. Mine, the Octal Triplex 6A, had been around since 2003. It's a nice sounding Octal base preamp. It uses 12J on the SRPP and 12SN + 6R7's on the CF topologies. In my case, I replaced an Audio Research LS12A with it and never look back. Dr. Lloyd (MAD designer and owner) is a character! He knows what he is doing and supports his stuff very well. Not affiliated to him or his business but it was a pleasant experienced in buying and owning his preamps all these years.
