Eddie Current Electra Electrostatic Amplifier

I think I said this before, but I found the Psvane 6NS7-type tube to be the best in a Pinnacle (over lots of NOS vintage tubes I tried from all the well known names),
with the sweetest extended highs and the most transparent bass, very controlled, and that great inner-light that I associate with tubes in general.
So Psvane would by my 1st choice to try for any tube type. My first one lasted about 18 months of pretty heavy use before they got noisy and had to be replaced.
Seems like good reliability to me.

I should have mine tomorrow. It is just sitting at the ups store aperantly for the last couple of days.

Only been messing around with the electra for a day, but I am loving it with the 009. Cant wait to burn the tubes in all the way.

Quote:

kingstyles said:

Only been messing around with the electra for a day, but I am loving it with the 009. Cant wait to burn the tubes in all the way.

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Just quickly on ergonomics (thanks in advance): heat? hot to the touch? ambient heat? does it heat up the room?
Any noise in the phones or from the amp or tubes themselves?
Are the headphone and input connections easy to use and not overly tight?
Is the volume control easy to find a good level with ('not sure if its a stepper or a pot)?
Thanks.

The tubes themselves get quite hot to the touch, wouldn't try touching them.  Chassis stays surprisingly cool.  Never had it on long enough to add much ambient heat to the room in the summer but I imagine it would.
 
The jacks are tight like the original LL (new LL is quite smooth.)  I don't know if this will get better over time, sometimes they loosen up.  When plugging in I keep one hand on the back of the amp to provide a counter for the force it takes to plug in headphones.
 
Volume control is a pot and easy to find a good level with in my experience.

Thanks Radio_head! Heat from an amp is a funny thing. Sometimes the tubes can be hot (most are) but the heat doesn't seem to travel from the amp a lot and it doesn't 
radiate heat much. My B52 is like that: 8 tubes but it doesn't generate a hot zone that can annoy me. (Even a solid state class-A amp can do that.)
OK, sorry for going off on a tangent but I always ask this about a new amp I may be interested in like the EC.

It is an odd thing.  However, my listening room is about 20' X 16' and have lots of air movement so it could be it adds and I just haven't noticed.
 
I don't think I've ever listened for longer than an hour at a time so far as I've been so busy and probably only have 5 hours total so far, so maybe long sessions are different.  

If you leave the amp on for an extended time, it will heat up the room. The tubes do get hot. I also get a hum from the power supply which isnt noticable with the headphones on. It is easy to get a comfortable listening volume. 85db for me is around 9:00. So plenty of spare gain. I am using an 6v input though.

Any reviews coming?

Quote:

acantor said:

Any reviews coming?

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^^

acantor said:

Any reviews coming?

Click to expand...

Pics too if we're doing requests.

 

 
Make sure V1, V2, V3, V4 are set to 40mA, then go back to O which should revert to zero before plugging in

 
 
Use ECC32's at your own risk, its like adding a 3rd tube in heater current.  Worked fine for me, but Craig said to definitely not use them for all 4.
 
 

 
The high gloss chassis picks up dust and fingerprints fairly easily, didn't get a chance to do a wipedown with a microfiber cloth before taking these
 

 
It is so reflective in fact, that you can see the writing on the macro lens used to take this shot reflected on the chassis
 

 
Upper knobs are coarse, lower are fine bias.  You can get to exactly 40 without even needing to use fine most of the time
 

 
Note that for this front pair of 6SN7's, Craig provides a pair matched by him - unmatched pairs can add a goodly amount (sorry for the technical jargon) of distortion
 

 
 
To be honest I don't know how the Mullards last this long and are still in perfect condition.  After all...
 

 
 
...They are made in Britain.
 

 
These reflections are so hard to get on camera.  I tried, still doesn't fully capture how it looks in person
 

 
I've been telling Craig to use those amphenol umbilicals for so long.  Looks like he's finally taking my sage advice. Amp takes both balanced and steve eddy inputs.
 

 
PS I love you.  Blue LED's, not so much.
http://i.imgur.com/Bn0cpYyh.jpg

 
 
Some people think Craig's name is Eddie Current and just happens to be a great (or terrible) pun to start an amplifier company with."My name's Eddie Current, I have to go into a field where my name will be appreciated!"  Sort of like how parents who name their kids Amber or Jenna don't have the right to complain when their daughters are attracted to certain professions, they basically pushed them into it.
 

I have some ecc32 but never really liked them in the ba. Maybe I will try them in the electra, even though I doubt I will like them in it either.

Is your needle perfectly still or does it waver/vibrate on the 40?

I also have some Jan Sylvania I've been using, I can't seem to find my TS BGRP's at the moment.  I'm definitely not married to any of the tubes I've been using so far.
 
It takes a bit to warm up and then a bit more to settle.  Once it does it doesn't waver much.  If you keep the same tubes in there they should settle after a while and not need much re-adjustment.

I dont need to adjust mine, it just seems to jump around the 40 mark a little. So far I like hytron in the input, sylvania bad bays in the 2nd set, and GL kt77 in the output. I have some really closely matched tungsol 6sn7 coming in to replace the hytrons. Sounds great with the 009. I havent plugged in the 007 yet.