I get varying degrees of hum depending on the sensitivity of the headphones I'm listening with. Most of the time it is low enough that I only notice it if I unplug the headphones while they are on my head.
ALO Audio Studio Six Reviews and Impressions Thread
- Thread starter shigzeo
- Start date
I get varying degrees of hum depending on the sensitivity of the headphones I'm listening with. Most of the time it is low enough that I only notice it if I unplug the headphones while they are on my head.
there was some hum when i first got the amp but gone after some burn-in/100 hours around
what is it you like or don't like about the wa6?
i have a silver wa5 and silver st6. both sound very different. wonder how it/they sound with a k05
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
yea i thought about getting the k03x when it first came out couple years ago. too expensive though so i went out and got the st6
. didn't make sense but anyway. i love both amps very much. i use the amps with different headphones. for how they sound, do some search(people tell it much better than me). in my quick words, the wa5 sound more "pretty" and the st6 has more life and musical. plenty of juice, both do things great no doubt i would think both sound great with the utopia.
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
yea i thought about getting the k03x when it first came out couple years ago. too expensive though so i went out and got the st6. didn't make sense but anyway. i love both amps very much. i use the amps with different headphones. for how they sound, do some search(people tell it much better than me). in my quick words, the wa5 sound more "pretty" and the st6 has more life and musical. plenty of juice, both do things great no doubt i would think both sound great with the utopia.
That's why I go with ST6 route. I know Woo Audio signature already. Now, save some fund for ST6 and perhaps ALO phono stage as well.
It's matter of silver or black color.
Tx.
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
Hi,
Anyone here try ALO phono stage yet?
Wondering why no review for this unit yet?
Thought and comment?
I am shopping for a dedicated phono stage as well.
Anyone here try ALO phono stage yet?
Wondering why no review for this unit yet?
Thought and comment?
I am shopping for a dedicated phono stage as well.
goldendarko
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2013
- Posts
- 3,037
- Likes
- 886
Kind of spendy for a phono stage IMO. But I'd be interested in hearing more about it too
I have the Phono Stage and have used it for about 18 months with my VPI Scout 1.1 and Dynavector 10X5. I like it. The match with the ST6 is excellent as you would expect. When I use it for two channel it is an expensive total unit since the ST6 is the power supply for the phono Stage.
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
I have the Phono Stage and have used it for about 18 months with my VPI Scout 1.1 and Dynavector 10X5. I like it. The match with the ST6 is excellent as you would expect. When I use it for two channel it is an expensive total unit since the ST6 is the power supply for the phono Stage.
Wow.
I assume you had other phono stage in the past. Care to comment ALO vs others?
I have the Phono Stage and have used it for about 18 months with my VPI Scout 1.1 and Dynavector 10X5. I like it. The match with the ST6 is excellent as you would expect. When I use it for two channel it is an expensive total unit since the ST6 is the power supply for the phono Stage.
Wow.
I assume you had other phono stage in the past. Care to comment ALO vs others?
I did not have a really high end Phono Pre previously. I had a smaller Cambridge solid state unit. So the Phono Stage is a big upgrade in sonics. I would enjoy doing a comparison with something more robust. We'll see what comes in the door for review this year.
TomSix
ALO Audio Studio Six deisgner
Hello all.
Just a few words to share about the ST-6 phono stage:
The ST-6 amp was designed from the beginning with the intent of offering an optional mating phono stage, and so elements of the circuitry of the ST-6 amp itself were carefully designed with this in mind, particularly the power supply.
The ST-6 phono stage has a rather high audio output impedance, and so use with other manufacturer's power amplifiers having input impedances lower than the nominal 100K input impedance of the ST-6 is not recommended.
Also, the ST-6 phono stage is designed to work specifically with moving magnet, moving iron, or high-output moving coil (like some of the MC offerings from Denon, Sumiko, Dynavector, etc) cartridges, and so is not compatible with low-output moving coil (LOMC) cartridges or LOMC input step-up transformers.
The price of the ST-6 phono stage might seem a little high, but one has to consider the absolute level of performance and sound quality of the unit in comparison with various high-end stand alone phono preamps on the market. By that comparison, the ST-6 phono can be actually be considered a very good buy --if you already have the ST-6 amp, that is!
Having said all of that, yes, the ST-6 amp should also work well with any other high quality stand-alone phono preamp.
Just a few words to share about the ST-6 phono stage:
The ST-6 amp was designed from the beginning with the intent of offering an optional mating phono stage, and so elements of the circuitry of the ST-6 amp itself were carefully designed with this in mind, particularly the power supply.
The ST-6 phono stage has a rather high audio output impedance, and so use with other manufacturer's power amplifiers having input impedances lower than the nominal 100K input impedance of the ST-6 is not recommended.
Also, the ST-6 phono stage is designed to work specifically with moving magnet, moving iron, or high-output moving coil (like some of the MC offerings from Denon, Sumiko, Dynavector, etc) cartridges, and so is not compatible with low-output moving coil (LOMC) cartridges or LOMC input step-up transformers.
The price of the ST-6 phono stage might seem a little high, but one has to consider the absolute level of performance and sound quality of the unit in comparison with various high-end stand alone phono preamps on the market. By that comparison, the ST-6 phono can be actually be considered a very good buy --if you already have the ST-6 amp, that is!
Having said all of that, yes, the ST-6 amp should also work well with any other high quality stand-alone phono preamp.
bcschmerker4
That's bcschmerker4® to you!
What tubes would the Studio 6 phono stage use? From what I've studied of phonograph cartridges, they really need two twisted pairs inside a shield to reach the preamplifier; I prefer Cannon® XLR-5 connectors to the universally-used paired RCA single-ended to reach the phonostage, in order to keep each output coil in a balanced circuit to eliminate, insofar as possible, both outside EMI and power-supply hum. Could dual or quad 7025A's in an instrumentation-amplifier circuit do the job of maintaining balance while amplifying the cartridge output to the point where RIAA equalization can be applied?
TomSix
ALO Audio Studio Six deisgner
On the tubes used in the ST-6 phono stage:
There are three tubes, two 12AX7s, and one 6SN7. Each channel has two stages of 12AX7 amplification followed by half of the 6SN7 as an output stage. The passive RIAA equalization takes place between the two 12AX7 stages. There is absolutely no feedback of any kind used.
The basic circuit is inspired by a famous RCA design which originated in the 1950s. Of course, there are a good number of modifications and optimizations involved in this implementation.
A big emphasis of the ST-6 phono circuit design was on optimization of low-frequency performance, low distortion, and high resistance to overload.
The filaments are fed from well-filtered DC supplied by the ST-6 Amp unit, and careful attention was given to filament wire routing and circuit grounding.
The high voltage supply for the tubes is provided by the gas-regulated HV power supply in the ST-6 amplifier, and then additional multi-stage R-C filtering takes place for each separate Left and Right HV supply chain inside the phono unit itself.
Hum is reduced to extremely low levels below the threshold of normal audibility, and so special 12AX7 types such as the 7025, 6EU7 etc are *not* required for good performance. Any quality tube from the 12AX7 family should work well.
Often times careful implementation of a very simple and minimalist circuit nets superior subjective results as compared to circuits of greater technical complexity which might otherwise have "looked good on paper"
There are three tubes, two 12AX7s, and one 6SN7. Each channel has two stages of 12AX7 amplification followed by half of the 6SN7 as an output stage. The passive RIAA equalization takes place between the two 12AX7 stages. There is absolutely no feedback of any kind used.
The basic circuit is inspired by a famous RCA design which originated in the 1950s. Of course, there are a good number of modifications and optimizations involved in this implementation.
A big emphasis of the ST-6 phono circuit design was on optimization of low-frequency performance, low distortion, and high resistance to overload.
The filaments are fed from well-filtered DC supplied by the ST-6 Amp unit, and careful attention was given to filament wire routing and circuit grounding.
The high voltage supply for the tubes is provided by the gas-regulated HV power supply in the ST-6 amplifier, and then additional multi-stage R-C filtering takes place for each separate Left and Right HV supply chain inside the phono unit itself.
Hum is reduced to extremely low levels below the threshold of normal audibility, and so special 12AX7 types such as the 7025, 6EU7 etc are *not* required for good performance. Any quality tube from the 12AX7 family should work well.
Often times careful implementation of a very simple and minimalist circuit nets superior subjective results as compared to circuits of greater technical complexity which might otherwise have "looked good on paper"
TomSix
ALO Audio Studio Six deisgner
The Early Days:
Here is a pic from ALO (Circa 2011 or early 2012) showing the very first Studio-Six prototype-demonstrator being operated by Caleb Rosenau of ALO Audio.
I had a lot of enjoyment designing and constructing that unit. It was an exciting time!
Here is a pic from ALO (Circa 2011 or early 2012) showing the very first Studio-Six prototype-demonstrator being operated by Caleb Rosenau of ALO Audio.
I had a lot of enjoyment designing and constructing that unit. It was an exciting time!
Users who are viewing this thread
