So what frivolous things have you bought lately? Why?

smib

smib

Legendary Knight
MartytheMartian said:
There is definitely no competition between Valve and Tranny amps for warmth. Over the years I have had a number of valve guitar amps that have been used and abused and never given me any trouble and I have only ever had to replace one pair of valves (on an amp I got from a mate that wasn't working). You'd be surprised at some of the marine equipment from 'back in the day' that I worked on with valves and it was judged suitable for use on life boats etc. with no special protection required for the valves. Once in circuit the things are as tough as transistors if not tougher and it generally takes a failure of some other component or abuse and incorrect operation to kill them. One thing to remember now is that, no matter what the brand name is on the bottles, all new valves are made in China (Shenzhen if I recall correctly where just about every valve amp made in China originates) and they are made on old Soviet era machinery (I think they bought the innards of the Sovtek factory) so it's simply not worth paying through the nose for 'branded' valves. There simply aren't any other valves being made in the world today. It's hard to say whether 'New Old Stock' valves are better than 'New Rinky Dinky' one's but folks definitely believe there is and I suppose that, given that the equipment making new valves is the same machinery that was making valves for Russian equipment in the 50's and 60's and has 60-70+ years of wear in it they might be right but I'm not convinced. The beauty of valves is that, as long as the bottle is airtight and the innards are wired right it will work. No tiny little bundles of semi-conductor trannies to worry about and, if it ain't glowing pull it out, plug in another and away you go.
Click to expand...
Have to agree Marty, valves rule.
The debate on N.O.S, or new chinkyrusky ones, I think depends on your application.
All I can say is you can tell the difference for HiFi, particularly when amplifying vinyl LP as a source!

Don't get me wrong, some chinkyrusky valves are very good and can be very expensive.
But a lot are aimed at the instrument amp market, where sonic definition is not the aim.
Certain N.O.S brands had specific internal construction more suited to HiFi of the day, and still run true today.

In HiFi ,there is a lot of "Snake oil".
All I know is, which valve brands / types from the 1950-60s work and sounds good for me.

As you say valves are bombproof, you just have to wait for them to warm up, don't rush.
Just like most things made in the 50s........ including me!:giggle:
 
chas

chas

Legendary Knight
smib said:
Have to agree Marty, valves rule.
The debate on N.O.S, or new chinkyrusky ones, I think depends on your application.
All I can say is you can tell the difference for HiFi, particularly when amplifying vinyl LP as a source!

Don't get me wrong, some chinkyrusky valves are very good and can be very expensive.
But a lot are aimed at the instrument amp market, where sonic definition is not the aim.
Certain N.O.S brands had specific internal construction more suited to HiFi of the day, and still run true today.

In HiFi ,there is a lot of "Snake oil".
All I know is, which valve brands / types from the 1950-60s work and sounds good for me.

As you say valves are bombproof, you just have to wait for them to warm up, don't rush.
Just like most things made in the 50s........ including me!:giggle:
Click to expand...
Have you got something like a vintage Quad or a newer valve amp? You said the new valves were for the preamp, do you use a tranny power?
Show us (me) the setup please ;)
 
GaleForceEight

GaleForceEight

Legendary Knight
MICK 56 said:
£425 for a hat ? jesus!!
Click to expand...
That is what they charge for a new one yes, custom fitted.

I don’t have many hats, but if I am going to get one….

Lock and Co made hats for folks like Lord Admiral Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, and more recently the late Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip. They’ve been going since the 17th century so they know a thing or two about hats!

My cheapest one (excluding my berets, now I think about it) was £35 second hand, a brown Bowler made by Baileys of Hollywood - they made hats for folks like Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, and Gary Cooper.

I wouldn’t say I have a fetish, but I do like my hats!
 
GaleForceEight

GaleForceEight

Legendary Knight
MICK 56 said:
You are right. Look at this ffs £5,550 !!! How the fuck can they justify that ? https://www.bootbarn.com/stetson-me...lor=001#srule=price-high-to-low&start=1&sz=48
Click to expand...
Beaver and chinchilla fur mix, 1000x, gold and diamonds on the band - rather exclusive I would say. The X rating for hats USED to be a mark of the quality of felt, and ranged from 1x for cheaply made low quality rabbit fur felt of low density and relatively thin felt - so wouldn’t last but would serve. Conversely a 10x would be of a thick highly processed pure beaver fur felt and would be so durable as being passed down through generations. Different manufacturers then warped the grading system so all things were no longer equal - do one manufacturers 4x might be superior to another’s 6 or 8x felt. Modern processes mean some 4x hats are actually better quality than old 8x hats but again, the established hatters will have mostly kept the quality standards the same but with modern processes speed of manufacture has increased (and less labour intensive).

1000x is a fanciful grade but is indicative that they believe this to be the ultimate in fur felt and it not only will have been made with the best available fur, and been processed many times in manufacture, but will if cared for last several lifetimes!
 
smib

smib

Legendary Knight
chas said:
Have you got something like a vintage Quad or a newer valve amp? You said the new valves were for the preamp, do you use a tranny power?
Show us (me) the setup please ;)
Click to expand...
Hiya Chas, I have spent a fortune on "HiFi", since dipping my (audio) toe in the water in the early 80's.

My valve amps are "homebrew", but professionally finished.
Built up as "Mono-blocks" (One pre/power amp per channel). Currently undergoing a refurb / upgrade / ongoing refinement?
They are a combination valve pre / solid state power. (Double Triode [Valve]Pre / MosFET [Solid State]Power out.
So class AB. True 70 watts per channel
Saying that they have a lovely warm valve sound.
IMG_20220309_141943.jpg
IMG_20220309_142021.jpg
IMG_20220309_141620.jpg
Currently around the house I have either in boxes or being used in rotation.
IMG_20220309_112222.jpg
Pro-Ject T1 Phono Turntable. Ortofon 2M Silver cartridge
Acoustic Research AR - XD Turntable (Renovating, as bought new in 1982ish). Old 80's Shure cartridge.
Creek CAS 4040 Amplifier (Again bought it in 1980 something? Fully renovated)
IMG_20220309_112652.jpg
Trio KR-5340. Two-Four Quadraphonic Receiver. Got the receipt for this £165 (dated 22/12/74)
IMG_20220309_144557.jpg
Cambridge Audio CXA80 Amplifier. Fully digital. Using as amplification for both audio and visual duties. No pre-amp so no connectivity for turntables. Hence valve monoblocks!
Cambridge Audio MINX X201 Subwoofer (For the reggae sessions)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus (For up-streaming Hi Def files from laptop). Nice sounding, as has XLR connectivity.
Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 (Test rig for new amps)
Marantz CD6003 Cd player with upgraded DAC internals.
IMG_20220309_142525.jpg
Yamaha WXAD 10 Streamer (Spotify duties).
Schitt Fulla 2 Dac (For streaming Hi Def files from desktop PC)
Schiit Modi 3 DAC (Bought as it has a lot of digital inputs)
Schiit Magni Headphone Amplifier
Roth Oli 2 Speakers (Two sets. One lot sacrificial for testing amps!).
Roth Oli 1 speakers
Monitor Audio Gold Speakers - Standmounted. Main listeners!
IMG_20220309_142553.jpg
Gale Gold (Bi wired) Monitors.
Adam Audio T5V active studio monitors.
IMG_20220309_112845.jpg
Various Raspberry Pi powered Volumio Streamers dotted around the house.
IMG_20220309_122115.jpg
AKG92 Heaphones.
Grado SR80e Headphones.
Homemade - FET Headphone amplifier.

12 Terrabyte - Raid array server (In the roof space) For Hi Def audio file storage.
Which is kept company with a 20 Terrabyte - Raid array server for video file storage.
Whole house is on a CAT6 wire network, and a 5 GHz meshed WiFi system.
** I was in the IT industry for nearly 30 years, amazing what you accumalate? Innit!**
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top