Leaderboard

2.1 system with a self-powered woofer.

Just a follow up on my SS Mini build where I used the MPSW thru-hole transistors instead of the PZTA SMD version. Listening tonight, after 1 hour or so, the chassis top measured a max of 46°C, and scanning inside with the IR gun showed a max of 66°C. I did not remove the top to scan individual devices, but placing my hand on the top ( after 1 hour and 2 hours), it seems like it runs considerably cooler than I remember the SMD versions that I built. Sounds great as well, though I think the same as the SMD version.

A radioactive one, I'd say.

Still on the Catherine Wheel kick (and Curve...) My son got CDs for me of: Pretty damn good. Not a fan of the close miked technique vs. their previous whole band in the studio approach (Ferment and Chrome), but very clean. I'd heard some of these on a youtube video live at the Bowery in NYC. I like the live a bit better, but not bad. My son also got me this: I like (got this from this thread I think, maybe Stretch posting a track?). Very '80s-ish with analog synth (Prophet?). And then I had to scratch an itch I've had for awhile and listen to ELP live at Isle of Wight almost 50 years ago doing Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition... pretentious as hell? Check. Enjoyable? Check. Still love listening to Greg Lake. What a voice! Still wish I had the CD of whichever album they had out which had the live Tarkus where Lake launched into the King Crimson "Epitaph". I know I have it on vinyl, but need to set my Thorens up again It's been years.

A couple of albums for Wilco's favorites of 2019

Nice green LED power indicators - must mean both channels are on!

Vinyl...

If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy!" Santa sure took care of me this year! One of the craziest things about re-watching the old seasons on the cusp of 2020 is that back in 1990 no one had cell phones and almost no one in the show uses a computer. How quickly things change. We are getting old!

It's winter time again - the prime time to bring out this space heater. I have forgotten how glorious this amp sounds and am reminded again how much tube choices affect the sound of this all-tube circuit - especially the front end tubes.

Proof that there are plenty of ways to earn a living as a musician left (particularly if you play a large 10th century instrument). https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/31/carlos-ghosn-escaped-japan-hiding-in-a-musical-instrument-case Carlos Ghosn reportedly fled house arrest in Japan in a musical instrument case, in an audacious Hollywood movie-style escape masterminded by his wife with the assistance of a Gregorian music band and a team of ex-special forces officers. The escape began when the band arrived at his home in Tokyo, where Ghosn has been held under house arrest and strict police surveillance, according to Lebanese TV news channel MTV. At the end of the performance, as the musicians packed up their instruments, Ghosn – whose height is stated at 1.7m, or just under 5ft 6in, in his Wikipedia entry – apparently slipped into one of the larger cases and was taken to a small local airport.

The trouble is with the non-standard pin out of JJ beam power “pentode” tubes (6CA7 and KT77) as seen in the DIY T2 circuit . In the DIY T2 (as well as the original T2), G3 (pin1) on the PCB are connected to the plate (B+). Using the big bottle JJ 6CA7 with its G3 brought out to pin 1, effectively makes the beam forming plates the anode. They were not designed to take the full plate load current. On all other Kevin Gilmore amps (except the all tube Grounded Grid amps which no one has built) connect G3 to the cathode (G1) on the PCBs. Using true pentode EL34/6CA7 or G3 internally cathode connected beam power tetrodes work fine here. Using JJ 6CA7s or JJ KT77s are the problem. In the DIY T2, true pentode= OK, JJ Beam power = problem, all other Beam power = OK. It’s easy to visually verify if pin 1 on the JJs is internally connected or not. Justin has his own customer histories that makes him advise not to use KT77s in his amps. So don’t do it there!

Okay, that was pretty terrible. Switched to this, and then moving on:

We are certainly getting old and congrats on the discs, but to be fair, most TV and movie characters still don't use the internet. Writers haven't found their footing in the world of instantaneous knowledge. ?

Liam Gallagher, absolute twat, but one does have to admire his continued commitment to what it says on the sign.

Great breakdown (with isolation tracks) of a great track..

RIP to Vaughan Oliver, designer/artist responsible for a bunch of the 4AD album covers of the past years that I loved.... https://boingboing.net/2019/12/30/vaughan-oliver-graphic-desi.html https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/30/vaughan-oliver-album-sleeve-design-4ad-label-pixies-cocteau-twins