[ianmedium]

Thanks GG, I was not criticizing just wondering if the changes had altered the sonic signature. I think what you have done will give Shikada san a lot of food for thought for future iterations of this amp. I am not a technical person at all so when I see things like Tubes being adapted for use that were never in the original design perimeter I just wondered if that affected the sonics. I am glad it does not but rather just adds flexibility!

Now you just have to be careful with all those other tubes and the longevity of the tube bases, though I am sure it would not be hard for you to put new ones in if needed.

I really appreciate you pushing the boundaries to see where you can go with this amp. I am left in awe of your capability!

 

[GermanGuy]

yes, and what a great hobby for me. i can build my own headphones, explore new possibilities, learn a lot about tubes, woodworking, electronics, drilling and shaping included, i can take pictures, and best of all discussing here and listening to music and relax.
 
p.s. i think changing the sonic signature of this great amp is something nobody here wants as there is absolutely no need for!

 

[ianmedium]

One of the highlights when I see a new post by you is the thought of I wonder what GG has done now, it keeps the thread alive and exciting I feel so PLEASE KEEP POSTING THEM!

Hopefully within two weeks I shall be able to contribute more once again as Shikada san hopes to have my modifications done by the end of the month. I have two DF91's to try, the Brimars and the Raytheons and of course firstly the new player so I think the first tubes to go back in will be my favourites and ones I know so well, Mazda DF91 and Phillips DL92!

 

[GermanGuy]

Quote:

Now you just have to be careful with all those other tubes and the longevity of the tube bases, though I am sure it would not be hard for you to put new ones in if needed.
 

i don't know if you believe in things like intuition, seeing the future or magic, but we should stop writing about possible problems.
 
i wrote about contact problems with the 3.5 mm jack and then yours broke. and yesterday you wrote about the tube bases and ............  no need to ask what happened today .......... i had to repair the left channel df91 tube socket!!!!!!
 
in the future i will be more carefull,  instead of writing 'problem' i will use 'possible point for improvement'.... 

 

[ianmedium]

Yikes. Ok, This song is perfect and here is the pertinent line from it..

"Well I tell them there's no problem,
Only solutions"


[VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da69-pu_pqc[/VIDEO]

 

[woodcans]

I continue to enjoy the discussions here.
 
These are supposedly Brimars, but are not labeled by brand on the box or on the tube. Can anyone chime in? Thanks in advance!
 

 

[ianmedium]

Hey WC. They are indeed Brimars. I purchased some from the same seller. These are Mil-spec ones. The "AD" signifies they were made in Brimar's Rochester plant in the UK.

 

[woodcans]

Quote:

Hey WC. They are indeed Brimars. I purchased some from the same seller. These are Mil-spec ones. The "AD" signifies they were made in Brimar's Rochester plant in the UK.

 
Thanks Ian! Very happy to hear they are mil-spec. That, and the fact that they showed up unexpectedly (they took a while in shipping) are two very nice surprises.

 

[ianmedium]

they sound lovely as well, just make sure you put a good number of hours on them. Mine really opened up and transformed after about thirty hours.

 

[GermanGuy]

Quote:

One of the highlights when I see a new post by you is the thought of I wonder what GG has done now, it keeps the thread alive and exciting I feel so PLEASE KEEP POSTING THEM!

 
some topics i am thinking of implementing them:

- a small red status led behind the illuminated front ring to see if the amp is in full or 1s4 / power saving mode
 
- a small green status led behind the illuminated front ring to see if the amp is switched on /off
 
- a big capacitor directly connected to the power switch on the side where the cable for the internal power is connected
 
- a similar switch (the reason i placed the tube type / power save switch on the left side and not in the middle) to switch all led's except the status led's on / off (to save even more power)
 
- permanently mounted wooden side panels also integrating the colorfly c4 and the option to apply a shoulder strap
 
- more and better color rings to change the front led's color
 
- replacement of the front input with chinch and xlr / or additional chinch
 
- replacement of the impedance switch by a new one (if i find one) with three positions to also have a setting up to 200 ohm
 
- complete internal recabling of the amp which is then nessesary

 

[ianmedium]

Already a successor to the AK120 !!    http://www.post76.com/wordpress/?p=43207




FYI - founder of A&K James Lee talked about the successor of AK120 with an even higher price tag plus a larger screen. No further details at the moment. 
Estimated HKD 12000 !!!! mean around 1500 to 1600 dollar....


So I may wait a little for my RWAK120....

I just tried the Headphone out of the AK120 with my portable Stax set up. I am very happy to report that it is an exceptionally clean line out. I was easily able to discern different cables with it so this bodes really well for the TU-05/AK120 combo!

 

[GermanGuy]

would be very interested in how this little stax sounds. always had the idea to buy one but no chance here to find one to listen to!

 

[spkrs01]

My TU-05 is arriving lunchtime, approximately 2-3 hours time

 

[ianmedium]

Fantastic! It is evening here so I will be waking up to thoughts from you I hope!

 

[spkrs01]

I received the TU-05 late in the afternoon...........
 
Few observations:-
 
- definitely more desktop amp than portable/transportable amp in sonic character
- very much a modern sounding tube amp. What I mean is in the last ten years or so, there has been a convergence in sound signatures, the best SS and Tube amps sounds remarkably similar
- open and clean sounding, and very accurate of upstream adding very little character to the sonics thus far
- soundstage width is far better than I anticipated
- I would have liked a more dense presentation out of the box but I would imagine with burn in and tube rolling, personal preferences can be accommodated
 
Overall, I am very happy with this purchase and will continue to listen and just generally enjoy the music emanating from the TU-05 

 
Thanks to Ian for drawing my attention to this amp, and to AnakChan