[ISALULA]

Impressive set of gear you had there ! Great meet and great impressions guys ! Thanks

 

[FrankCooter]

Rob N asked if I used DC on the filaments of my 71a amp. Both the 12a gain stage and the 71a power stage use Tentlabs current regulated DC power modules. They work well so far.
DHTs, especially at the low levels used in headphone amps are prone to hum, noise, and microphonics. By careful design, layout, and tube selection, these problems can be minimized but never entirely eliminated. It's the price one pays for their superior sonics. In the end it's a matter of taste if the trade-offs are worth it.
Normally, both the 71a amp and the GM70 amp are pretty quiet. I had five seperate power supplies going at the meet. My cabling was a rats nest of daisy chained power strips and overlapping umbilicals. It's a wonder it worked at all. There were ground loop issues in the GM70 amp. With K1000s there wasn't a problem, but with sensitive dynamics like the L3000, you could hear a hum.
Rob, I love your avatar! Cobalt blue pre-Depression era Arcturus tubes are one of my favorite things in life!

 

[Lornecherry]

If this is even but a prelude of what Can Jam '09 will be with respect to headfier's, specialty vendors and exotic "I've never heard that" equipment ...I'm running out to buy a plane ticket. Oh wait, our Canadian dollar is worthless again ... damn economy.

 

[ironbut]

What a great meet guys. I think we can expect one hell of a National this year thanks to David (909). It's fantastic to see Frank up to his old tricks. His amps just keep on gettin' better and better. I would've like to have been a fly on the wall with Frank and Craig talking amp design.
Did Ray say anything about his electrostatic amp's development? I guess it's ready when it's done but I hope it's a little less than 7 months off.
Well, congrat's David,.. I think this one will really lube the tube and make 09 the biggest and best yet! (Headstock???)

 

[krmathis]

Really impressive indeed!

Envious on those who live in an area with lots of Head-Fi'ers and hence can arrange such a meeting...

 

[Rob N]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankCooter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rob, I love your avatar! Cobalt blue pre-Depression era Arcturus tubes are one of my favorite things in life!

For some reason it's got stretched

 

[909]

zippy2001 has won the the Grover Huffman 1M RCA interconnects. Congrats, Steve!

A big thank you to Grover for his continued generosity and support of the Los Angeles Headphone community.

 

[mikeymad]

Well it is always nice to see when your old equipment is still out there making the rounds... my old friend the Rudi... I knew you well.

And Man!! I miss listening to this amp........!!!!!!! I have heard a lot of things but this amp will always be at the top of my list of great things to listen to... glad to see it up and running.... much respect Frank.

Cheers,

 

[foo_me]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankCooter /img/forum/go_quote.gif A particular highlight of the show was I got to meet and have a nice conversation with Craig of Eddie Current. I've been an admirer of his work since his "Moth" days. His new Aficianado that was on static display is going to use high frequency AC to light the filaments of the DHTs. This has the potential to make a major sonic improvement and, as far as I know, has never been done commercially before. I'm definitely interested in hearing this amp.

I stopped by LA for work this weekend and I had the chance to visit Craig in order to do 2 things: 1) current status of the BA and 2) wth is going on with the Afficianado vs the BA and what amp is he going to make.

First of all, I had a chance to listen to the current version of the BA and what do you know...Frank was right! It sounded noticeably better!
I had already heard the BA at Icarium's mini meet a few months ago. At that time, I also compared it to the Nautilus and liked the BA slightly better.
Something about both the Nautilus and BA being transformer-based amps really made my RS1s sing! I eventually decided to go with the BA since it had more smoothness to the midrange and some other subtle differences but I remember it being somewhat close.

Well, I listened to the current version today with the 307a tubes and with the new method that Frank described on the BA. It was noticeably different and better! Not subtle either. Immediately noticed improvement in details and imaging. And it's truly different because I'm hearing the Nautilus right now (borrowing it from Craig) and there is definite improvement over the Nautilus and earlier version of the BA. Moreover, Craig wasn't even finished with his power supply so he said there was still more improvement to be found in the final production version with the final tube rectified power supply!

Secondly, I know there's some confusion regarding the Afficianado and the BA. As far as the amps go, Craig says they're basically the same amps using the same circuit, hence he was thinking of charging the same amount except for the tubes. However, the Afficianado was intended for a different line of products that he's partnering with someone else on...more along the lines of speakers, amps, and preamp (the Afficianado)...hence, the different name and chassis.
For my purposes and those on head-fi, it seems there's really no reason to pick the Afficianado over the BA since they are the same amp, except for maybe the aesthetics.
The only question that remains is the AD1 tube. Depending upon how they sound, he may or may not offer that tube option on the BA. RIght now, I love how the 307a sounds on it and the amp would be really special if it sounded better with the AD1. Morevoer, I believe the Afficianado will be developed later possibly later half of next year with the priorities being the Zana Deux, Zana T (transformer version, and the BA.

Anyways, just wanted to give a status update for those waiting for the BA and for anyone else interested in the BA. I plan to drop by Craig's place 1 more time to compare the AD1 tubes vs 307a during thanksgiving time. Hopefully, everything will be ready by then for production. Anyone with questions can pm me or better yet, give craig a email or call as he's always willing to answer questions.

 

[barmar46]

I had the same exact conversation with Craig yesterday and foo me you could not have stated things any more clear or complete. I will be very interested to know your first hand comparison between the 307A and AD1 tubes in the BA. The AD1 would have to be a quantum level or above improvement to justify a $500 increase in cost but still...
Please keep us posted on your impressions.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just as a quick FYI, the official demo unit for the markl mod-ed MD5000DE was not available, so I sent a brand new un-burned-in balanced pair, as that was all I had. Does not put the best foot forward of course, as everyone knows these units need 250+ hours of solid burn-in to develop, but I did want to have a presence at the show. Would like to thank Edwood for making that possible. Looks like it was a fun time. Those Cooter amps are something else (look great anyway).

So, after 250 hrs it sounds like the R10?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, after 250 hrs it sounds like the R10?

To me it's more like a Koss ESP950 that has been re-cabled with a Stax PC-OCC cable by APS and run off a Woo GES maxed stat amp, except the MD5000 DE bass is leagues ahead of the ESP950 with more extension and impact and presence. But the detail, mids, sound signature and presentation was very similar (I give a small edge in speed and transparency to the stats).

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/rev...d-mods-380675/