[johnjen]

Was that a real question, or are you just pontificating about the quantity and quality of my reality?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

But then again this is just the latest in a long line of my, 'what would happen if…' experiments.
You know, for science and to push the state of the art in exploring audioist SQ tweako tricks.
I mean someone has to do it right?

And sometimes just being willing to make sacrifices is the formula for success.

And so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
hahahahahahahahahahahaha

JJ

 

[bcowen]

Was that a real question, or are you just pontificating about the quantity and quality of my reality?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

But then again this is just the latest in a long line of my, 'what would happen if…' experiments.
You know, for science and to push the state of the art in exploring audioist SQ tweako tricks.
I mean someone has to do it right?

And sometimes just being willing to make sacrifices is the formula for success.

And so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
hahahahahahahahahahahaha

JJ

It was a statement disguised as a question.

Seriously, I love reading about your latest experiments and trials so keep them coming. I've always been a tweaker, but not quite to your level....yet.

 

[johnjen]

Thanks.

Yeah fussing with the internals can be a real challenge no doubt, but I have decades of experience dealing with repair/upgrades/updates to a wide range of electronic gear, so adding a couple of wires to the tube pins is relatively 'easy'.

It's mostly a matter of not letting the 'surgery' get out of hand.
That would be 'bad'… hahahahahahahahaha

But really it's more a matter of figuring out what experiments might yield potential benefits, and why I should pursue them.
This is where experience pays off along with figuring out how to implement them AND keep them reversible.

I still have plans to modify my Rok Amp but these DHT amps have taken most of the wind out of that project's sails.
And I have a slew of new projects on the horizon to keep me occupied as well.
Not to mention a re-build of portions of the Purp-Amp's circuitry to deal with it's 'wear and tare' issues.

Slinging hot solder is not for the squeemish, but then it's not rocket surgery nor brain science either…
hahahahahahahahahha

JJ

 

[gefski]

Thanks.

Yeah fussing with the internals can be a real challenge no doubt, but I have decades of experience dealing with repair/upgrades/updates to a wide range of electronic gear, so adding a couple of wires to the tube pins is relatively 'easy'.

It's mostly a matter of not letting the 'surgery' get out of hand.
That would be 'bad'… hahahahahahahahaha

But really it's more a matter of figuring out what experiments might yield potential benefits, and why I should pursue them.
This is where experience pays off along with figuring out how to implement them AND keep them reversible.

I still have plans to modify my Rok Amp but these DHT amps have taken most of the wind out of that project's sails.
And I have a slew of new projects on the horizon to keep me occupied as well.
Not to mention a re-build of portions of the Purp-Amp's circuitry to deal with it's 'wear and tare' issues.

Slinging hot solder is not for the squeemish, but then it's not rocket surgery nor brain science either…
hahahahahahahahahha

JJ

But most folks don’t ”solder sling” at head-fi meets in public places!

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

But most folks don’t ”solder sling” at head-fi meets in public places!

 

[johnjen]

But most folks don’t ”solder sling” at head-fi meets in public places!

In my estimation you haven't lived a full life until you have slung a sufficient amount of solder.
And while I have 'exceeded the need' what with my public display of solder slinging et. al, I figure it’s a public service so that the public's fear of slinging is ameliorated.

I'm just here to help.
hahahahahahahahahahaha

JJ

 

[gefski]

In my estimation you haven't lived a full life until you have slung a sufficient amount of solder.
And while I have 'exceeded the need' what with my public display of solder slinging et. al, I figure it’s a public service so that the public's fear of slinging is ameliorated.

I'm just here to help.
hahahahahahahahahahaha

JJ

...and as in motorsports, if (when) it breaks, you fix it there and keep racing, or pack up and go home!

 

[johnjen]

As in been there, done that?
AND lived to tell (or not) about it !

hahahahahahahaha

JJ

 

[johnjen]

...and as in motorsports, if (when) it breaks, you fix it there and keep racing, or pack up and go home!

Yes!!!

And besides slinging solder in public might give me a chance to use the distictive DIY'rs perennial one liner…
"Here, hold these 2 wires…"
hahahahahahahahahahaha

JJ

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

As in been there, done that?
AND lived to tell (or not) about it !

hahahahahahahaha

JJ

More like I plead the 5th

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

Coming to a John Jen near you.

 

[johnjen]

Oh my, OOooooOOOOoOoOOOOOOoooOOoOooOOoOOooOOoOoo

The ƒ'124 WE amp
≈ 20watts of Western Electric amplifier goodness in a mono block…

This is gunna be a milestone, as in the old (1940's design) and the new (better voltage and current regulation) all wrapped up in a 'suitable' for high efficiency speakers amp…

It should be a veritable 'power house' with ≈20w available playing into 90-100dB efficient speakers.

JJ

 

[johnjen]

So yet another (older) saga continues.

I think I just found Gen-7 for my J-mods.
And I'm kinda surprised I didn't think of this before now.
And I have another Audiophool to thank for drawing my attention to this.

The net effect is subtle and yields far less noticeable change than any of the other HD800 mods I have made.
And it may not even be discernible on some systems it's that slight.

So far (and it will take more time to fully discern just what has changed) there is an increase in LEDI (Leading Edge Dynamic Impact).
As in there is a greater amount of energy being delivered on impacts like drums, cymbals, and 'sharp' leading edged 'voices' of all kinds.
It's not as if the slew rate increased, but the delivery of the power of the created acoustic wave front, has stepped up a tad, or 2.

I do have to say though that the material Senn used as a 'dust cover' over the 'face' of the driver is FAR more neutral and acoustically transparent than I had originally figured it would be.

Even so the differences are welcome.
It seems especially noticeable on well recorded solo piano, where each key strike has just a bit more 'bite' to it, just a bit more 'presence' if you will.
I don't ever remember hearing such power from key stroke impacts before.

So what did I do?

I removed the dust cover that sits directly in line between the driver's diaphragm and my ears.
It’s a rather sturdy piece of 'fabric' that is an extremely fine mesh material, made from something I can't really identify.
I used to think it was metal but this set of 800's doesn't appear to use that.

It's like a veil has lifted but mostly it seems that it affects the LEDI more than anything else.
Which makes sense if a VERY fine mesh 'barrier' is removed, the acoustic pressure wave will travel unimpeded straight into my ears.
Just like we usually remove the front cover on speakers, because we don't want the fabric to be between us and the drivers.

Same thing here, only the distance is MUCH shorter, which means the acoustic wave front has much more resolution when we hear it.
Because as any acoustic wave front travels away from the driver, it immediately begins to lose inner resolution and become more cohesive and coherent.
So by removing the dust cover, I have effectively retained as much of the original waveform resolution as possible.

Now I just need to figure if this is a keeper or not.

JJ

 

[johnjen]

And another tweak has been applied to the Purp-Amp with similar results in terms of SQ changes, to the dust cover removal mentioned ^^^.

But this time I made a parts swap by substituting 2) 330Ω resistors for the LED's I was using to bias the 6BQ7A driver tube.

And again the changes while immediately apparent that there was a difference, being able to adaquately describe them is a whole nuther deal.

To take a stab at it…
The degree of 'realness' has stepped up, as has the LEDI and C3 (Coherence, Cohesion, Coupling) along with I5 (Intelligibility) and others.

These are traits of less 'smearing' of the analog signal, and are somewhat analogous to either greatly improving a cap in the signal path, or removing it entirely.
All by swapping out LED's for straight resistors.

And I noticed that the power supply 'acted' more 'properly' by tracking more adroitly as I made changes to the bias voltages.
A positive sign.

All in all I need to give it some time to fully settle in and to stabilize the voltages here and there.

But these 2 mods/tweaks are definitely keepers.

JJ

 

[johnjen]

So tomorrow, or the day after, I should be installing 'new' DHT filament regulators in the Purp-Amp which will help stabilize this portion of the circuit. And the next step is to build all new CCS's used to dial in the 71A bias (which actually directly adjust the bias current on 6BQ7A driver tube).
Direct coupled amps are a bit 'odd' in that way.

Right now the SQ has reached a another level of detailed, engaging, articulate, focused, SQ.
There is Ø (null) edgyness at all, and along with a soundstage with depth, that is stable and precise, what's not to like, right?
I'm listening to Led Zepp and it's sucking me into the their music like never before.

I'm hearing voices and nuances that have always been obscured by some form of 'unpleasant' distortion that is now missing, as in gone, by-by…
For really only the 2nd time, is Led Zepp intriguing and enticing, along with T3 (Toe Tapping Time) and HB&W (Head Bobbing & Weaving) etc.

I think I'm on to something here…
hahahahahahahahaha

JJ