[baronbeehive]

UT is just kidding - maybe the hills on North Head.

Haha! He keeps a good straight face. I think it is far too cold on those mountains for an Aussie!

 

[Magol79]

@SonicTrance

Any chance that you can show us a mock-up or sketch of the Eternity?
I am very interested in this model.

Good luck with your exciting work on the new amps. This is quite an entertaining thread to follow.

 

[hypnos1]

ST - SonicTrance I was wondering what's ST.

Tomas is building for me Odyssey based on old school amp design, using Sowter UK custom order transformers, Mundorf caps and Yamamoto sockets. This is different from his other amp design and tube will influence the sound... a lot.

I'm debating whether I should get the GEC TT21 since I'll be buying the GEC KT88. No point duplicating there.

Today is a milestone for Odyssey. Tomas has placed the order for the 3 transformers - one power and two output transformers.

I do hope you will get back into tubes at some point. We'll have a lot to talk about then.

Give me a break UT...between you and @mordy my long yearned-for 'age of peace' is looking a bit more fragile now lol!

Ah...so you're getting Tomas to break ranks eh? Should be doubly interesting therefore to see how Odyssey compares to the other models!!

And yes, no point really having to go the top anode route if getting the GEC KT88 and not needing much higher current load on it...(though useful for doubling as power amp at all?). And Mundorfs? Have you looked into Clarity Caps perchance? : http://www.claritycap.co.uk/ :

Looks like Odyssey is well under way...good luck with her and all who sail in her!

 

[mordy]

Give me a break UT...between you and @mordy my long yearned-for 'age of peace' is looking a bit more fragile now lol!

Ah...so you're getting Tomas to break ranks eh? Should be doubly interesting therefore to see how Odyssey compares to the other models!!

And yes, no point really having to go the top anode route if getting the GEC KT88 and not needing much higher current load on it...(though useful for doubling as power amp at all?). And Mundorfs? Have you looked into Clarity Caps perchance? : http://www.claritycap.co.uk/ :

Looks like Odyssey is well under way...good luck with her and all who sail in her!

Here is a quote from a fellow head-fier:

In general, tube rolling is fun . Still, it happens that you get a little tired of it. But it passes soon.

 

[SonicTrance]

@SonicTrance

Any chance that you can show us a mock-up or sketch of the Eternity?
I am very interested in this model.

Good luck with your exciting work on the new amps. This is quite an entertaining thread to follow.

Sadly not! I don't do sketches or mock-ups, only CAD drawings and thats not very interesting
But, in about one month time the first Eternity will be ready and I'll of course show it here!

Thanks Magol!

 

[UntilThen]

Really, are you kidding? I kid myself that I am in the Tour de France when riding up a very steep hill near me without getting off, but my ride is over after less than an hour. The Tour De France guys spend 3 weeks on their bikes with only one rest day per week I think.

Did you really ride the Tour de France? I love watching it on TV for the fantastic scenery.. and the fact that I don't have to exert myself from my armchair .

That's my Tour De France racer. @mordy knows when I'm kidding. I did ride a lot 10 years ago. Now I just do Hiit class and golf but I should get back on the Specialized again.

 

[UntilThen]

Give me a break UT...between you and @mordy my long yearned-for 'age of peace' is looking a bit more fragile now lol!

Ah...so you're getting Tomas to break ranks eh? Should be doubly interesting therefore to see how Odyssey compares to the other models!!

And yes, no point really having to go the top anode route if getting the GEC KT88 and not needing much higher current load on it...(though useful for doubling as power amp at all?). And Mundorfs? Have you looked into Clarity Caps perchance? : http://www.claritycap.co.uk/ :

Looks like Odyssey is well under way...good luck with her and all who sail in her!

Tomas told me Odyssey will have ~ 10 watts in triode mode and a few more watts in ultralinear. That should be enough to get my bike up the mountains of Tour De France.

I'll look at Clarity caps if you get back into tube amps. Mordy and I will drag you back in. Anything wrong with Mundorfs? I was going to use Russian paper with oil. After Sowter transformers and Yamamoto sockets, my wallet is empty. I need to crowd fund now. You wouldn't have a spare dime would you?

Yes it will be interesting to see how 'my' Oblivion compares with Odyssey in the comfort of my home.

 

[baronbeehive]

That's my Tour De France racer. @mordy knows when I'm kidding. I did ride a lot 10 years ago. Now I just do Hiit class and golf but I should get back on the Specialized again.

You should, you have the weather for it there, not like here, I get a few yards down the road and it rains on me inevitably! Although it might go down the list of priorities when you get your Odyssey!

Awesome pic .

Edit: a bit off topic, I've just been listening to my hero Hank Marvin and some old Shads stuff, I believe he hangs out somewhere near you these days.

 

[LoryWiv]

Here is a quote from a fellow head-fier:

In general, tube rolling is fun . Still, it happens that you get a little tired of it. But it passes soon.

Who me, obsessed? I can stop any time I want to. But is it normal that going into this store with my wife today invoked instantaneous cravings for these bulbs' bigger musical brethren? Really, though, I could stop any time I want to.

 

[hypnos1]

Here is a quote from a fellow head-fier:

In general, tube rolling is fun . Still, it happens that you get a little tired of it. But it passes soon.

Hi M. Indeed, addiction is a (terrifyingly) wondrous thing lol! ...

Who me, obsessed? I can stop any time I want to. But is it normal that going into this store with my wife today invoked instantaneous cravings for these bulbs' bigger musical brethren? Really, though, I could stop any time I want to.

And hi to you too LW. Ah, that old saying..."Quitting is easy - I've done it a thousand times"!!!

 

[hypnos1]

Tomas told me Odyssey will have ~ 10 watts in triode mode and a few more watts in ultralinear. That should be enough to get my bike up the mountains of Tour De France.

I'll look at Clarity caps if you get back into tube amps. Mordy and I will drag you back in. Anything wrong with Mundorfs? I was going to use Russian paper with oil. After Sowter transformers and Yamamoto sockets, my wallet is empty. I need to crowd fund now. You wouldn't have a spare dime would you?

Yes it will be interesting to see how 'my' Oblivion compares with Odyssey in the comfort of my home.

Oohh...plenty power there UT...nice.

After Chord and Antipodes my wallet is even emptier than yours I'm afraid...you and M will need half a dozen Shire horses as well to help you with the nefarious deed lol! And nowt wrong with Mundorfs (apart - according to some - from possibly trading on their name these days?), but have read good things about the Clarity Caps...and they're British!

 

[UntilThen]

Oohh...plenty power there UT...nice.

After Chord and Antipodes my wallet is even emptier than yours I'm afraid...you and M will need half a dozen Shire horses as well to help you with the nefarious deed lol! And nowt wrong with Mundorfs (apart - according to some - from possibly trading on their name these days?), but have read good things about the Clarity Caps...and they're British!

The power I want to drive my speakers in nearfield listening and 10 watts ought to do that easily. Oblivion with 2.3 watts are now driving the same Axis Voicebox S monitors that I have on my desk. ... to pretty adequate levels... I never play it extremely loud when listening in nearfield.

I was initially going to suggest using Jupiters caps because they seem to be favored after the expensive Dueland caps. However I recall the GOTL sounding very good even with Russian paper with oil caps. Tomas said that in his initial testing, he cannot find much difference between the Mundorfs caps and the ordinary caps that he uses in Oblivion and Citadels .... wait a minute I am not even sure if caps are being use in those amps but I know Tomas told me something about comparing those caps... so I figure that caps don't really matter. Mundorfs, Jupiters, Dueland, Mars, Venus what do I care.

However transformers are another matter. I have always worship Lundahl transformers but after Tomas told me about Sowter and after I googled about that brand, I knew they are a brand to be respected where transformers are concern. In a transformer coupled amp, the quality of the transformers are very important. So I'm willing to go with Sowter UK transformers. Almost I became almost paranoid about Yamamoto's sockets. I got to have them. All 6 of them. I also wanted Yamamoto mA meters but they stop producing them !!!

Just quickly, this is Odyssey configurations:-

Drivers - Single double triode 6SL7 - can use 6SN7 in the same socket. Can use 12a*7 with adapter in that socket. 2 x EL11 sockets flanking the 6SL7 socket. Why EL11? Because I think they have magical powers that will save the world from climate change disasters. Also I like how they sound plus I have about 7 pairs of various brand of EL11. Even Tomas reckon that they will be beautiful sounding as drivers for the various power tubes.

Powers - KT88 (amp is bias to this tube), KT77, KT66, KT120, KT150, 6L6GC, 6550, EL34, 807, EL12 spez, EL156, GEC TT21, EL38, EL39 .... I got tired from typing !!! many more others but this should be enough.

Tube rectifiers - bias on GZ34 as it has the lowest voltage drop. Any rectifiers with around 200mA and higher voltage drop can be used. That means 53ku, U52, 5U4G, 596, GZ32, GZ37, 5r4gy, etc etc

speaker out
impedance switch - 4 settings - 8, 16, 72 and 128 ohms... I think
for convenience, xlr and rca in and out
switch for either dac or turntable input
speaker on / off switch

silver metal chassis to match the naked silver Sowter transformers. 2 mA meters in front. Amp will weigh close to 20 kgs .... omg.

That's my Odyssey. Probably my most expensive purchase. More expensive than Yggdrasil and Ragnarok. Do I think it's worth it? Of course. I'm a man who takes calculated risks ... key word here is calculated. Firstly I know how amazing Oblivion sound and Tomas did amazing work modding the LD Mark V6/8. Old school amp design is at his finger tips. Why am I going back to old school? Because I'm getting older? I need a nostalgic trip back to the past not the future. Secondly I was almost on the verge of buying an AmpandSound Mogwai Se or Bigger Ben but I need something more special than that. I needed to be able to specify what driver tubes I can use..... I also hate headphone and rca jacks sticking out from the top like the Bottlehead Crack amps.

Lastly Odyssey is auto bias. I won't drive myself crazy changing bias. As if changing tubes ain't enough.

 

[SonicTrance]

I was initially going to suggest using Jupiters caps because they seem to be favored after the expensive Dueland caps. However I recall the GOTL sounding very good even with Russian paper with oil caps. Tomas said that in his initial testing, he cannot find much difference between the Mundorfs caps and the ordinary caps that he uses in Oblivion and Citadels .... wait a minute I am not even sure if caps are being use in those amps but I know Tomas told me something about comparing those caps... so I figure that caps don't really matter. Mundorfs, Jupiters, Dueland, Mars, Venus what do I care.

Just so there's no confusion I'll comment on this.

Oblivion and Citadel also has coupling caps. The difference is that they're placed in front of a MOSFET gate. That FET is a source follower (current buffer) that drive the output tube grid. When you place a cap in front of a FET gate it becomes transparent (almost). Any cap of good quality will sound good.

Odyssey will not have a MOSFET grid driver. Instead the driver tube will drive the output tube grid through the coupling cap (the old school way)! So the cap will affect the sound much more in Odyssey.
When I modded the Little Dot MK6, which is also an old school design (white cathode follower OTL) I compared different coupling caps and found The Mundorf S/G/O to be one of the best. Hence my suggestion to use them in Odyssey.

 

[UntilThen]

Thanks Tomas for clarifying. I am very comfortable with your recommendation of the Mundorf caps. You've found the Mundorf caps to be one of the best and there are things in Odyssey I'll leave it entirely to you. I won't go into decisions on what caps or resistors to use. What do I know.

All I know is to leave the design and configuration of the amp to you. Then when it's finished, all I have to do is to enjoy the amp.

 

[baronbeehive]

Just so there's no confusion I'll comment on this.

Oblivion and Citadel also has coupling caps. The difference is that they're placed in front of a MOSFET gate. That FET is a source follower (current buffer) that drive the output tube grid. When you place a cap in front of a FET gate it becomes transparent (almost). Any cap of good quality will sound good.

Odyssey will not have a MOSFET grid driver. Instead the driver tube will drive the output tube grid through the coupling cap (the old school way)! So the cap will affect the sound much more in Odyssey.
When I modded the Little Dot MK6, which is also an old school design (white cathode follower OTL) I compared different coupling caps and found The Mundorf S/G/O to be one of the best. Hence my suggestion to use them in Odyssey.

Yes I was wondering why the discussion on cap rolling on the Odyssey, I didn't realize it didn't have the FET followers like the Infinity does.

Even so the design which comprises open loop, parafeed OT, and regulated PSU should make for an exceptionally clean sound for a tube amp, even though it isn't fully or partially balanced configuration like Oblivion or Citadel. I can't wait to hear UT's comments on tube rolling with his tube collection on such an already clean sounding amp. It should take him to an entirely different universe than the one we are inhabiting!!

I'm not familiar with circuit design with FET followers. In old school tube amps such as my Little Dot you can use 6SL7 and 6SN7 due to the designer's decision to allow tube rollers to vary these tube types. But in doing so neither tube can operate at it's ideal bias point. If they were to operate ideally they are so different that they would need a switch to go from one tube/load line to the other. With the Infinity, which has FET followers allowing the important horizontal load line, I'm assuming that tube rolling will allow different tubes to operate on different points along this same load line?