[macdonjh]

If you could chug 3 or 4 Drummond Bros in advance, it made the Spam taste, well, less bad. The problem was getting through those first several beers without gagging.

One of the things frugal drunks I went to school with did was buy a 6-pack of decent beer and a case of crap. They drank a few of the good beers to get the ball rolling and taste buds numb, then partied onward on the piss. By the time munchies struck, I think even Spam sounded OK to some.

 

[tincanear]

@adydula I believe that "cap rolling" is more effective with tubed circuits, the voltages are higher, as well as the impedances, so the dielectric leakage current / dielectric absorption (soakage) and voltage coefficient non-linearities (esp with type 2 ceramic dielectrics) have more audible effects.

The later HP amp designs (Magni 3's, Jotunheim, Lyr 3, Asgard 3, etc...) seem to be coupling cap-free, and use a DC servo instead.

 

[Zojokkeli]

One of the things frugal drunks I went to school did was buy a 6-pack of decent beer and a case of crap. They drank a few of the good beers to get the ball rolling and taste buds numb, then partied onward on the piss. By the time munchies struck, I think even Spam sounded OK to some.

We had a couple of weeks long school project in Austria, where we discovered local Spars had a selection of budget wines. Our favorite was a 1€/L budgetrotwein in a plastic bottle. First mouthful tasted awful, but it momentarily killed all your taste buds so one was able to chug it after that.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Reading the Schiit website I was reading that the Magnis:

"Either Magni has no capacitors in the signal path at all—that’s what we mean by DC coupling. This eliminates any sonic effect a capacitor in the signal path might have on your system."

Cap "rolling" is something folks love to do with amps that are cap coupled...chasing audio nirvana with differing caps...so Schiit has just stated this not having and caps that might have an effect on the signal...

The Lyr 3:

"Unlike Vali 2, Lyr 3 has no input or output capacitors, no interstage capacitors, and an overkill 5-pole bias servo."

and the Jotenheim:

" and is completely DC-coupled from input to output"

I was just wondering if this was the "norm" for Schitt in their basic amp designs?

Alex

We do DC-coupled with a servo (or microprocessor management like Aegir/Vidar) whenever we can. Some products are cost-constrained or impractical. Vali 2+ and Valhalla 2 have output coupling capacitors, but that's it.

In the case of Valhalla 2, you gotta ask, even if we could do DC coupling, do you want your headphones directly connected to tubes with a 200V supply? If something went wrong, it could get bad in a big hurry. With enough DC sense and protect wrapped around it, you could do it, but between the more complex power supply (it'd have to be bipolar with a stacked rail for the input as well), and all the parts for protection, Valhalla 2 would have to get quite a bit more expensive...which kinda negates the point of the amp.

 

[adydula]

Thanks Jason!
LIke Paul Harvey said...."and now we know the rest of the story!"..

Alex

 

[Road77]

I actually like SPAM.

My grandfather was a WWII vet. When I was a kid in the 70s, he would often make all the grand kids SPAM sandwiches when we would visit. But he would never eat it himself. One day I asked him why he never ate any, and he said he had enough SPAM and guts in the war to last forever. At the time, my kid imagination thought he had to eat pig guts or something. I never understood what he meant until I was an adult.

 

[433521]

Little off topic, and I won't post a link since it's the wrong forum, but anyone interested in a Sumo Polaris II, there are a couple on craigslist in Saint Petersburg, FL. Owner says there is nowhere local to have them recapped, which they need, and one has a buzz. Otherwise, one owner, never moved. I just thought it sounded like it might interest people here if they are into Sumo tech as Jason used to work there. I do not know the seller at all. @Jason Stoddard if you know where to get those recapped, I'll pass the info to the seller if I can. He stated he'd rather keep them if he can get it fixed locally.

 

[bifcake]

We do DC-coupled with a servo (or microprocessor management like Aegir/Vidar) whenever we can. Some products are cost-constrained or impractical. Vali 2+ and Valhalla 2 have output coupling capacitors, but that's it.

In the case of Valhalla 2, you gotta ask, even if we could do DC coupling, do you want your headphones directly connected to tubes with a 200V supply? If something went wrong, it could get bad in a big hurry. With enough DC sense and protect wrapped around it, you could do it, but between the more complex power supply (it'd have to be bipolar with a stacked rail for the input as well), and all the parts for protection, Valhalla 2 would have to get quite a bit more expensive...which kinda negates the point of the amp.

Does it really matter what topology one uses in an amplifier? I would think that the end result (whether objective or subjective) would be the only thing that matters, rather than the way one gets there.

 

[adydula]

For a lot of us it is indeed the actual results...to others the road taken is also very interesting....both valid journeys and YMMV!

Enjoy your ride and Enjoy the music along the way and at your final destination!

Alex

 

[dhcarquinez]

We had a couple of weeks long school project in Austria, where we discovered local Spars had a selection of budget wines. Our favorite was a 1€/L budgetrotwein in a plastic bottle. First mouthful tasted awful, but it momentarily killed all your taste buds so one was able to chug it after that.

Is that the same Spar chain they have in Britain? When I was in Scotland in the early '80s, the locals drank Spar-labeled scotch, which I thought was pretty good.

 

[Zojokkeli]

Is that the same Spar chain they have in Britain? When I was in Scotland in the early '80s, the locals drank Spar-labeled scotch, which I thought was pretty good.

I believe so. We used to have Spar in Finland in the 90s too, not sure when it disappeared. Unfortunately we can only get beer from grocery stores. Anything stronger than 5,5% can only be sold in the government owned alcohol shops.

 

[macdonjh]

Does it really matter what topology one uses in an amplifier? I would think that the end result (whether objective or subjective) would be the only thing that matters, rather than the way one gets there.

It is a requirement of Audiophilia Nervosa to consider the method employed as well as the result. A good result using the wrong methods is just as deserving of scathing commentary and ridicule as a poor result using the wrong method. Or, heck, a poor result using the right method.

 

[Brubacca]

One of the things frugal drunks I went to school with did was buy a 6-pack of decent beer and a case of crap. They drank a few of the good beers to get the ball rolling and taste buds numb, then partied onward on the piss. By the time munchies struck, I think even Spam sounded OK to some.

Always started with a 6 of the "good stuff" if that's what you call Miller Genuine Draft or on a real splurge Heineken. Three on Friday night Then you had 3 for Saturday. Then moved on to Milwaukee's Best Light or Keystone Light. I'm not sure if any of those beers even exist anymore (well I'm sure Heineken does).

 

[Zer0.p0int.Zer0]

Always started with a 6 of the "good stuff" if that's what you call Miller Genuine Draft or on a real splurge Heineken. Three on Friday night Then you had 3 for Saturday. Then moved on to Milwaukee's Best Light or Keystone Light. I'm not sure if any of those beers even exist anymore (well I'm sure Heineken does).

You must be just slightly ahead of me because in college we had Milwaukee’s Best ICE! AKA Beast Ice

 

[bcowen]

You must be just slightly ahead of me because in college we had Milwaukee’s Best ICE! AKA Beast Ice

Ugh. Somehow Drummond Bros' just doesn't sound quite as bad now.