#151
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Because of a system reconfiguration related to turntable issues, the Aragon 47k phono preamp is being removed from the system, and my TT will go into the C2300 directly. Tonight I completed the first stage of that, as I have disconnected the Aragon and re-tubed the 2300. I've re-installed the Telefunken (JJ) Black Diamond tubes in the line section that were there before and put a second, unused pair in the MM phono section; a new pair of regular JJ ECC83s tubes is in the MC section, so now the original tubes are all removed from the preamp. I chose the BDs because I remembered liking them and thinking I could live with them; they were removed after about 43 hours or so because some bright recordings were harder to take, compared to the warmer JJ ECC803s High Performance Gold Pin tubes.
I don't know if the line stage BDs have to break in again or not, but in a small sample (about an hour) the BDs are a bit cleaner-sounding, and I noticed a few details here and there I don't recall with the JJs. On a track from my usual Yes test DVD, Steve Howe's guitar was more prominent in the mix, for example. It will be interesting to see how this goes, as this time there are Transparent ICs and PCs in the system that weren't there the first go-round. When there's time I'll get around to playing some LPs.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks |
#152
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It's a small sample, but Sunday I was in the mood for Deep Purple, and used that to try out, for the first time, the new set up with my VPI going directly to the C2300 with the Black Diamond tubes in the phono stage. Unlike those in the line stage, these were unused. But it's been so long since the line stage tubes were in there, maybe they need break-in again?
First, Burn, from the album of the same name. This is a high-energy track; even more so, if you've ever seen the California Jam version. In fact, why not see it here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MLg...=RD8MLgxhqWLHo It's not the best recording, not that dynamic, and I'm thinking I need to crank the volume a bit more to compensate. But what it sounded like was a bit cleaner sound compared to my previous setup (the Aragon 47k phono preamp and JJ ECC803s Gold Pin tubes in the 2300's line section). Then Machine Head, a better recording with improved dynamics. Much better. Again, clean and more open than before. I enjoyed it! Smoke on the Water was its usual bad self, and Lazy was notable as well. A striking (to me) feature of all this, including the classical and jazz CDs played prior to the LPs, is that instruments are sounding more like themselves. Sound overall is more open; this could be due to the Black Diamonds being less warm than the JJs before them, I guess, but there's decay I don't remember hearing; cymbals and vibes on the Modern Jazz Quartet box set from Mosaic sounded quite authentic, and I like it. The one hint of potential difficulty was when I played one of my go-to CDs For God and Country, which is a organ/brass/percussion rendition of various Christian hymns. On some of those the brass bit pretty hard, giving an indication that bright recordings will be a challenge; that was the reason I went back to the JJs before. We'll see how that goes when I get around to brighter recordings. For now, the BDs will stay. Overall, I get an improved sense of musicians playing together.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks Last edited by prepress; 02-06-2018 at 02:16 PM. |
#153
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Last night I was watching some DVD clips and realized something I may have reported before. I was watching Jeff Beck Rock 'n' Roll Party and began paying attention to the bass. There were times the acoustic bass didn't seem to be as prominent or full with the Black Diamonds as with the JJ High Performance Gold Pins previously, but it didn't take long to get past that and enjoy the music. I recalled that when I attend the Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts, the acoustic bass is barely audible in the mix of instruments but that doesn't detract from the music. Then I recalled the description of the JJ tubes from Tube Depot's website, quoted in post 131 of this thread, which says the JJs have a forward-sounding bass. That may be the difference here. With the switch to an electric bass, the bass is more prominent, of course, but perhaps not quite what I hear with the JJs. I think what I hear isn't more bass, but louder bass in such cases.
However, put on a basher like the bass drum of "Fanfare for the Common Man" by the Atlanta Symphony and the weight and impact of the drum seems equal to the JJs. And in all cases the BDs have a more open top, and instruments sound more "live" than with the JJs (not to say the JJs sound bad; they don't). I noticed that with the Jeff Beck DVD most definitely. And I heard Jason Rebello's piano better on "Rockin' is Our Business." So the BDs will stay in my C2300 longer. I did have a small tweak to my thoughts last night that I might consider putting the JJs back in, but that died down after listening further. This is a different presentation, that's all, and I am learning to live with it going forward. I still have the JJs if I want to reverse course, so no rush or worries.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks |
#154
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Charles.......Thanks for the update on using the Black Diamond's versus the standard JJ tubes. From what you describe it sounds like the Black Diamond tube may be a more neutral sounding tube than the JJ's.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#155
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Quote:
Maybe I'm hearing all these things at once, meaning the difference in tubes and in how recordings vary in their engineering and mixes? The BD's less warm character pulls the upper frequencies away from the bottom ones some, to make a more balanced offering. Or something like that. It may be why the acoustic guitars from the Heart CD sounded so much like the real thing. With that, I'm also hearing these recordings on a relatively new SACD player, another factor; the MCD500 is different from the MCD301 it replaced.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks |
#156
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Taking advantage of a sale at Tube Depot last week, I ordered one of their t-shirts and a pair of Telefunken Black Diamond tubes for back-up. To my mild surprise, the Black Diamonds are back-ordered. I guess Tube Depot is doing okay with them. I like them certainly, and a bit more, perhaps, since the MCD500 hit my shelf. I haven't spent much time with my turntable, but I hope to change that at some point. IT might be really nice to see how the Black Diamonds and the C2300's phono section work together over extended listening with familiar LPs.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks |
#157
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A bit late, but for any who are interested, Tube Depot has a NOS sale on. It ends at noon tomorrow, CST (maybe that should be CDT?).
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks |
#158
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Finally, the new pair of Black Diamonds are on their way. These will serve as a back-up pair should I need them.
And, I have decided to put all my speaker cables on the 4-ohm tap of my 501s; a custom-terminated pair of Kimber 12TC was ordered to facilitate that. Until now, the bass was on the 2-ohm tap, mids/highs on the 4-ohm tap. I will write something if the new sound leads me to re-evaluate any of the tubes I tried before; even though I've pretty much settled on the Black Diamonds, I won't rule out revisiting any of the other tubes completely.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks |
#159
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I did move my speaker cables to the 4-ohm taps on my MC501s as threatened, and it has been great! It's as though I upgraded a component almost. I did replace one pair of my banana-terminated Kimber 12TC with one having spade terminations to accomplish this, however.
The lower frequency sound has filled in without affecting the highs in any discernible (to me) way. The sound is fuller, the bottom has good weight, and I'm pleased. I even hear more detail in the lower frequencies than before in some material. With that, the idea to revisit the other tubes I have here has arisen again. I've started going back to read what I said in previous posts about other tubes I tried before the Black Diamonds I use now, trying to gain some insight on whether to leave things alone or not. What this tube experimenting has been about is getting a sound I liked, not the most "accurate" one as such. I have six tube varieties here, but will not go though all six, that's unnecessary in my view. Meantime, while I review previous comments, both mine and others', what is it about the Gold Lion 12AX7 tubes that make them so popular in particular? I did make comments about them having a more balanced sound frequency-wise in my previous setup, but welcome other opinions, since others will have different ears and systems. The main differences in my system now are the power cord changes, the pre/power interconnects, and running the speakers off the same 501 tap. It's possible a different result will come.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks |
#160
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Quote:
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A Last edited by jdandy; 10-13-2018 at 01:17 PM. |
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