[tubebuyer2020]

...Just as a teaser I'm showing you a pair of his custom balanced monobloc amps ....

What was the build wait time like?

 

[lawrence2357]

What was the build wait time like?

I bought them used so I'm afraid I don't know.

 

[lawrence2357]

Nice to see he actually got to build the monoblocks, nearly three years ago he talked about wanting to do so. Do they have a model designation/number? Are they capacitorless (like he spoke about then)?

Again I don't know much about them, did he talk to you about the monoblocs? I couldn't find anything online about them. I'd really like to know more as they are probably a one off, and I'm glad he did get to build them

 

[kvik]

I am sure he doesn’t mind me citing the below from my correspondance with him..

nov ’18
I am thinking about building a dual mono sepp configuration amplifier in two separate housings with balanced inputs and outputs, of course in a completely tube version without capacitors in the signal path.

feb ’19
I'm now working on model H10 - dual mono, two separate housing for left and right channel, no capacitor and no transformer on output (OCL & OTL). If the tubes are bad, they do not work properly or there is DC current on the output, the microprocessor will disconnect the output and indicate which tube is faulty.

I suspect the tubes are 6N13S x4 and 6NS7 x2, but you will know that already, I guess.

 

[lawrence2357]

I am sure he doesn’t mind me citing the below from my correspondance with him..

nov ’18
I am thinking about building a dual mono sepp configuration amplifier in two separate housings with balanced inputs and outputs, of course in a completely tube version without capacitors in the signal path.

feb ’19
I'm now working on model H10 - dual mono, two separate housing for left and right channel, no capacitor and no transformer on output (OCL & OTL). If the tubes are bad, they do not work properly or there is DC current on the output, the microprocessor will disconnect the output and indicate which tube is faulty.

I suspect the tubes are 6N13S x4 and 6NS7 x2, but you will know that already, I guess.

Thanks for the info, I'm not sure this has an indicator for bad tubes (unless the LED can change colour or something, I don't want to find out really!). Did he mention the tubes he was going to use or is your comment based on my photo?

 

[kvik]

No, you are right, the indicator is missing. H14PE has one, there you can see what it looks like. I am not entirely sure about the tubes, made a portfolio overview at some point, where I put down the above tubes. I may have just guessed, based on what tubes he use(d) in a number of amps.

Did you ask him about the monoblocks?

 

[lawrence2357]

No, you are right, the indicator is missing. H14PE has one, there you can see what it looks like. I am not entirely sure about the tubes, made a portfolio overview at some point, where I put down the above tubes. I may have just guessed, based on what tubes he use(d) in a number of amps.

Did you ask him about the monoblocks?

Not yet, I've been trying to work out an issue with a different amp. I wonder if his 2 quotes above were referring to different mono designs, as mine look like SEPP referred to in the first one, but I'm not sure if they're OCL.

 

[kvik]

You could try to unscrew the bottom plate (all screws around the edge), and look inside. Be a bit cautious, if it doesn't come off easily, perhaps the plate is fastened to not just the frame, but to boards or transformers also. In that case it is better to wait for a reply from Wieslaw.

I had my amp specifically designed with everything attached to the top plate, in order to easily swap the oak frame for something fancier. Turns out I like the frame as it is, so doubt I will change it.

 

[lawrence2357]

The ones I've looked at either have the plate held on by just the screws around the edge, or have additional hex screws in the middle that screw into supports joined to the top plate.

 

[Slade01]

I was able to chat with Wieslaw online and he is excellent...a very knowledgeable guy.

 

[muckyfingers]

I received my H5 the other day, the box was beat up from the Post Office, but the amp and stock tubes were wrapped very well in plenty of bubble wrap. The wood base on mine was a little warped so it wasn’t perfectly level, I added a little furniture slider padding to one of the feet and that solved the issue. I've been rocking an RCA 6AS7G and LinLai 6SN7 tube. Works great with my Auteur and actually powers my LCD-3 Fazor pretty well. I've included some pics comparing it to an Asgard 3 so people can get a size reference.

The only thing I would change if I would have realized or asked, is to have the Stereo input be in the back instead of the preamp RCAs and not have the RCAs in front, basically eliminate the preamp as I don't need it.

It has a dead quiet background and ZERO transformer hum. Something I couldn't say about my Woo WA2 and Darkvoice when I owned them.

Also, I asked for an Orange power LED as I like that better with the tube glow, than Green or Red.

 

[lawrence2357]

Glad you're liking it. That dead quiet background is something I've never heard in any valve amp (headphone, pre or speaker) before discovering Eufonika and must be (at least partly) the result of all the chokes used in the design. For me it's a good sign that Wieslaw is a brilliant designer of valve amps.

I wasn't aware of LinLai valves and I thought on first glance at the pics that you'd used a second 6AS7 in the driver position :lol:. I've got some more exotic Chinese ones I should try at some point myself (eg Shuguang Black Treasures).

Also, I must look up where to get the RCA valves in the UK I didn't realise they were so affordable.

 

[kvik]

The only thing I would change if I would have realized or asked, is to have the Stereo input be in the back instead of the preamp RCAs and not have the RCAs in front, basically eliminate the preamp as I don't need it.

I think the point of having the input at the front is to keep it as close to the potentiometer as possible (shortest possible signal path). The PreOut is in part an afterthought, I think, which came about due to popular demand. Whether the position at the back is the optimal choice, I am not so sure, you have signal wires running in the full length of the amp. But I am no expert, so that might be jsut fine. As you say, if you don’t need PreOut, better to opt for the amp without it. Also, I haven’t seen this mentioned so far, but you can opt for Passthrough instead of PreOut. To many this will be a more usefull feature, you can daisy chain, if you have more headphone amps

 

[muckyfingers]

.

 

[muckyfingers]

I don’t know anything about the design, I’m just speaking from a personal use case and preferable aesthetics for me.

The amp is great and more people should try them out.