AudioAficionado.org - Dennis Had Inspire Amps

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- Inspire by Dennis Had (https://www.audioaficionado.org/forumdisplay.php?f=184)

- - Dennis Had Inspire Amps (https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=24170)

And now for something completely different:

Knobs for the Inspire. They are $2.50 per knob plus small shipping amount from China. They come in black with red, black, or blue rubber accent/grip or silver with black, blue, or gray rubber. Machined aluminum. Heavy feel and nicely made. If you like, search ebay for "1PC Aluminum Potentiometer Knob". Seller is czhstore2013.

You can see the Tung Sol 6AR6WA's in adapters in the amp to the right of the preamp. I also have all tubes except the preamp input tubes in socket savers given the amount of tube rollin' goin' on 'round here!

http://i.imgur.com/5L7fljp.jpg

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Do you know a good source for the tube socket savers?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimi55 (Post 721716)

Do you know a good source for the tube socket savers?

Again, Chinese sellers on ebay. Pretty cheap. Usually between $5 and $15 each.

Sorry, Tung Sol 6AR6. I have not used the Bendix 6384 and don't think I will. This tube was not intended for audio and has a few variations. Mine are 6098/6AR6WA. I have no clue if they sound different.

Peter, which version do you have?

Opinions? I'm considering the 80 but I'm not sure if these are just nice hand made items or if there is sonic merit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy (Post 721835)

Opinions? I'm considering the 80 but I'm not sure if these are just nice hand made items or if there is sonic merit.

I've never tried it. Interesting history. Some info:

80 @ The National Valve Museum

Quote:

It would be correct to say that the type 80 led standard practice since in its earlier, more bulbous form, it was the landmark full-wave rectifier and (we think) the first mass-produced rectifier to use oxide-coated tape filaments.

Consider the ratings of the type 80. Put a B4 base on it and drop its filament voltage slightly and it becomes the standard pre-war British/European rectifier for all types of domestic AC radio. Put an octal base on and it becomes the standard 1940s rectifier throughout the world. Replace the tape filaments by heater/cathode assemblies (80S) and you have the international bog-standard post-war rectifier. Only where much higher ratings, or much smaller size, were essential was it necessary to change the design. It took a decade to design miniature equivalents which worked as well or lasted as long.
This is not to say that the type 80 was easy to design or, at first, easy to manufacture satisfactorily. When introduced by RCA in the late 1920s its PIV rating (1000V) was considered impossibly high for an oxide-coated valve. Part of the secret was a really good vacuum and this in turn depended on the elimination of contaminants by using only high-purity materials and clean-room assembly techniques. Widely copied by other manufacturers, surviving early specimens often exhibit arc-damaged electrodes, flaking oxide coatings and poor emission. Manufacturers who surmounted the 'learning curve' with type 80 went on to become 'big names' in the 1930s and 1940s. The rest simply faded.

The maximum reservoir capacitor is 32 µF and the minimum series resistance, to limit current, is 30 Ohms.

The classic envelope is 42 mm in diameter and, excluding the UX4 base pins, is 99 mm tall.

And.....
80, Tube 80; Röhre 80 ID2861, Full-Wave Vacuum Rectifier

Quote:

The full-wave recitfier tube 80 is just a short name for the UX280, sometimes also named 280 or VT-80, KX-80, R80 or 80G.

History (Tyne 324): In 1925 two small full-wave rectifiers came on the market, the Westinghouse UV196, and the GE UX213. The UX213 was the first full-wave rectifier offered for sale by RCA. Work on this tube was started late in 1923. In December 1923 the designation Rectron UV213 was assigned. The final design was arrived at in the summer 1924 and was annunced as UX213 in September 1925. It was superseded in May 1927 by the UX280.

Westinghouse was working on a full-wave rectifier with a higher capacity than the UX213. The work was completed in April 1927 and anounced in May 1927.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstrisik (Post 721694)

When you say 6384, do you mean Bendix, or are you referring to the TS 6AR6?

You were referring to the 5W4G rectifier for the 6K6 earlier. The 5Z4GY/CV1863 is a different low power option or different numbers for the same? All these numbers are making my head hurt!

I got the 6BG6G (I can't stop thinking about the talking heads with this tube number - CBGB's) from debscows not singerhouse. They are supposedly NOS, so they may ease a bit with some time on them.

Edit: I have to wait a bit before replying. You keep adding something while I compose!

Looking at Tubeworld, Brendan charges something like $20 for a pair of the TS6AR6, but more like $140 for TS6384, so I guess they are considered different.

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Sorry, I was recomposing for better clarity.

1) The 5W4GT is a low power 5Y3. I find it better suited with the 6K6. I'm good to work this combo once I have the 6AR4's settled in. My initial take on the 6K6's was very good. It is a low power 6V6 variant. Dennis said he had a phono when he was 12 that used this tube and burned his finger changing one.
A 12 Y.O. tube roller. :D

2) The 5Z4GY is a 5Y3 with low voltage drop. If you have one try it with the 6K6 and trust your ears. Lower voltage drop tightens thing up.

3) The Bendix 6384 is a bomb proof version of the 6AR6 and I have not heard it. At 7x the price of the Tung Sol I am going to pass. Bendix Red Bank tubes were designed to be used in rockets and are industrial art and priced as such.

Bendix Red Bank:

NOS NIB Bendix Red Bank New Jersey NJ 6900 5687 Vacuum Tubes WWII testing Tester Nike Ajax Missile Computer Data Ebay

4) The ST 6BG6G's, National Union & RCA, I recently purchased were unlistenable. You may have a good pair that needs more hours. I would like a pair of RCA's because they are the coveted black plate 6L6G with an anode cap. I'll likely get a pair from singer, the other tubes I bought there were excellent.

I'm just messing with some inexpensive off the radar tubes because these amps allow it. :thumbsup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstrisik (Post 721839)

I've never tried it. Interesting history. Some info:

80 @ The National Valve Museum

And.....
80, Tube 80; Röhre 80 ID2861, Full-Wave Vacuum Rectifier

The 80 tube is the forerunner of the 5Y3...same tube electrically..with a UX 4 base. It's a little cheaper that 5Y3's. You can get an adapter. My amp has a 4 prong UX-4 socket so I have an adapter for 5Y3/GZ37/GZ34/274B etc. UX-280's are globe rectifiers from the 20's and 30's. I have not used one.

I have read positive comments on the EML 80 but it was being used in a Yamamoto A08 45 triode amp. At $272 I may have to pass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy (Post 721846)

I'm not tempted to try the 80 (a sign of growth! :banana:).

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy (Post 721844)

1) I still don't know about the 6K6 since one of the RCA's was considerably brighter and hotter than the other. Too nervous to let them run that way. I only paid $20 for the pair. I have more expensive Visseaux 6K6 on the way and am looking forward to checking these out since the Visseaux 6V6 are so nice.

2) Don't have one. We'll see how the Visseaux' sound with the 5W4GT.

3) I briefly had a pair of Bendix "red bank" 6V6 equivalents (whatever that number was) and found them surprisingly harsh. I resold them. This discourages me from trying the expensive Bendix/Tung Sol 6AR6 equivalents, particularly since the TS6AR6 is soo nice! I will probably pick up another pair of the TS6AR6 as backup and will look for a different variant from the JAN, green print I do have.

If I'm currently tempted about something expensive, it is the "Hot Rod" 6AR6 SET that Dennis is now selling. At $1495, plus a little extra for my Jaguar Carnival Red paint choice and shipping, I SHALL RESIST!