[Derrick Swart]

As I've said, we wouldn't put a 5-year warranty on it if we didn't think it would last 10 years.

Asgards are ridiculously, ridiculously reliable.

Like in they never come back!?

 

[FrivolsListener]

But don't forget -- the output devices will be on a much larger heat sink.

JC

In my case, it was from working on obsolete commercial GE Mastr II radios used as repeaters. They can handle the duty cycle. They have a ginormous heat sink, but they do also have short leads to the final amps. That is where the cracks happened.

Ironically, it may be that in this case, it was just the wild temp swings of being in an unheated building on a mountain top (-20 F in winter is not unusual) to having to dissipate heat of some guy who will not shut up running the (FM) transmitter at full power (there is no other power level with FM).

In any event, the leads broke off the PC board. Which was warmed incidentally by the final amp.

 

[belgiangenius]

There has been a ton of discussion here about setting up a network music system, so I though I'd share some info about how to make it easy. Please note I have no interest in the products I am about to mention except that I have used them both.


Let's assume you want to set up a music server in your home. You want to stream audio from the Internet and/or from a service like Tidal, and you have music files on a hard drive or NAS that you'd like to play. You have decided that you want to use Roon to control your system. Here are two solutions that are as close to plug and play as possible, and which require no computer knowledge or special skills. They only require a little money.


The two devices I have in mind are the Roon Nucleus and the Elac Discovery. Both are music server computers in nice compact cases. Both are silent with no fans or rotating hard drives so they can be placed right in your rack as part of a music-oriented system. Both come pre-loaded with a version of Roon but only the Discovery allows you to avoid subscription fees. And both are readily available for just over a $1000 investment (as of this writing the Discovery is $1100 and the Nucleus is $1400 on Amazon.) With Nucleus you’ll have to also pay the $500 lifetime Roon license so consider that.


Here's how you use them: You plug them in to power and the Internet as part of an Ethernet network (neither offers wireless.) You connect them to your music system (more on that in a bit.) You either plug in a USB hard drive or NAS holding your music (or you direct them to the folder containing your music elsewhere on your home network.) You download a control app to your PC, Mac, tablet or phone, or all of these, log into your Tidal account if you choose to go that way or select the local track you want to hear, and you begin playing music. No Pi DIY, no special computer knowledge required, no difficult setup (although there is a little bit of setup, but even a novice should be able to do it.) That's it. Except for the cost nothing could be easier.


What is the difference between the two?


The Nucleus is a Roon server with one USB or HDMI digital output so it must be used with a receiver/preamp or external DAC that accepts one of these. The Discovery is a Roon server with USB and S/PDIF digital outputs but it also has dual analog outputs, meaning it has two (decent sounding but not great) DACs built in so it can be connected to an analog input of a music system making it more flexible. Also, the three outputs on the Discovery (digital, analog 1 and analog 2) appear as different "endpoints" (Roon-speak for player) in the Roon app and can be controlled separately, meaning you actually have three different players available. You could connect the digital out to your main music system and one of the analogs to a second zone and use them both at the same time, playing the same or different content. The digital outputs on both sound pretty much the same and the quality you hear will be dependent on what you connect them to. The analog outs on the Discovery sound to me as good as a mid-level CD player. Acceptable and listenable but can be improved upon. Nucleus comes with a full version of Roon and Discovery with Roon Essentials. The notable difference between the two is Essentials has a max local library size limit of 100,000 tracks and does not support DSD nor multichannel audio via HDMI.


Both devices are Roon servers, so if you have other endpoints in your home they can all be "seen" and controlled from the app and can all access whatever music is connected to the server.


There are many other solutions, and many that can be cheaper. But in my opinion if you want to get into the network music game as easily as possible, one of these is a good solution.

If you can swallow the $500 price tag, Roon is awesome. I recently switched from jRiver and haven't looked back.

What thrills me the most is how easy it is to switch or control zones. I can stream to my Yggy by USB, via AoIP using Dante virtual sound card and Dante device (attached to Yggy via AES/EBU), or even to a squeezebox in my basement. You can switch instantly and even stream in parallel to all devices if you choose.

Awesome.

 

[Maishar]

Very doubtful it's that high, unless your house is 85 degrees F. Check it with an IR thermometer.

You are right! My house is 85 degrees F (29C. Guess I like the heat ) Currently the naked Gumby is 41C according to my meter. Would you say it is OK or should I put back the fan?

 

[the finisher]

I hate blue LEDs! Yes, natural tube lighting is the way to go. I remember my dad showing me the insides of our B&W TV with it powered on and the lights all off at night. That was a beautiful site. I remember going to the local Alpha Beta grocery store and checking tubes on the tube test by the entrance. New tubes were just sitting there in boxes. Too bad many of you don't have memories like that!

P.S. Forever is a long time....

We had a all tube color TV when I was a kid, I watched the first moon walk on it in 69, I was very young but remember it.
I broke down all the time, I would watch with fascination when the guy came to repair it, it was a tube audio system too, my first records were here.
Dad paid dearly for it, solid state was replacing these old grandaddy's of the modern home theater.

So about 50 years ago, it was cool.

You are right! My house is 85 degrees F (29C. Guess I like the heat ) Currently the naked Gumby is 41C according to my meter. Would you say it is OK or should I put back the fan?

Sounds perfect, they don't like the cold.

Jot is 90f and Yggy is 85f in a 68f room, Minnesota don't ya know.

 

[Paladin79]

That was a beautiful site. I remember going to the local Alpha Beta grocery store and checking tubes on the tube test by the entrance. New tubes were just sitting there in boxes. Too bad many of you don't have memories like that!

I certainly have memories of tubes. RCA was still using them on some hybrid chassis when I hired in there. I was then involved with the first solid state TV's they produced. Plenty of tube type audio gear was around but I gravitated to solid state. I an recall people giving and throwing away collections of tubes because they were not used much any more, and how nice it would be to have them now. Hindsight is 20/20.

 

[FrivolsListener]

We had a all tube color TV when I was a kid, I watched the first moon walk on it in 69, I was very young but remember it.
I broke down all the time, I would watch with fascination when the guy came to repair it, it was a tube audio system too, my first records were here.
Dad paid dearly for it, solid state was replacing these old grandaddy's of the modern home theater.

So about 50 years ago, it was cool.




Sounds perfect, they don't like the cold.

Jot is 90f and Yggy is 85f in a 68f room, Minnesota don't ya know.

One of these?

My brother got one for free, and that was our first color TV when I was a kid. We went through two refurbished CRTs on it.

 

[the finisher]

One of these?

My brother got one for free, and that was our first color TV when I was a kid. We went through two refurbished CRTs on it.

This-1966 Zenith SC 600 Color TV

Many many tubes were needed.

 

[winders]

We had a all tube color TV when I was a kid, I watched the first moon walk on it in 69, I was very young but remember it.
I broke down all the time, I would watch with fascination when the guy came to repair it, it was a tube audio system too, my first records were here.
Dad paid dearly for it, solid state was replacing these old grandaddy's of the modern home theater.

So about 50 years ago, it was cool.

Yes, I remember the tube-based color TV and how it would need repair more often than anything else in the house. We had a TV repairmen that was in my mom's bowling league. He would always talk me through what he was doing. Super nice guy! Those were the days....

 

[Xcalibur255]

As colder temperatures start moving in I can either haul in firewood for my wood stove or turn on a couple more class A amps. Having tube amps helps a bit as well and some tubes being rather pointy keeps the cats from laying on them as well.

I've taken to running 5998s in the summer and 6080s in the winter in my OTL because the latter run hotter than the former. Come January the 25v adapter for the 6SN7 socket might make an appearance too.

 

[Derrick Swart]

Blue lights must die.

I always prefered soft red leds contrasting on black, you know amsterdam, darth vader and knight rider sentiment

 

[valiant66]

In the winter, with the lights dimmed, my wife and I like to roast marshmallows over my 70 WPC KT88/6SN7-based tube amp. Along with the heat, the amp provides nice mood lighting.

You're not worried about dripping sugary goodness all over your expensive tubes?
.

 

[Kn1nJa]

My Lyr 2 makes for a really nice hand warmer in the cold Wisconsin winters. Sure the volume knob gets quite warm, but it's never been to the point where I'm worried.

 

[winders]

You're not worried about dripping sugary goodness all over your expensive tubes?
.

I don't think I am going to touch that one......

 

[Paladin79]

I've taken to running 5998s in the summer and 6080s in the winter in my OTL because the latter run hotter than the former. Come January the 25v adapter for the 6SN7 socket might make an appearance too.

I have a feeling I can guess which amp you are talking about and now I will have to test your theory lol. That would be a fun game, "name that headphone amp", you give a clue like, it has no on-off switch on the front, or it only has one tube. And we have to guess what it is.