Leaderboard

I don't often find myself in this thread, but for whatever reason wandered this way today. Condolences to all of you that have lost a loved one recently. As Todd said, some times the right thing is hard and for me, whenever a pet passes, I try to remember just how much better a life it had being with one of you than it would have in some other circumstance.

Installed the carcasses. Picking up acacia butcher block for the top tomorrow. Then I need to put together 17 drawer boxes/pull out trays.

posted for the owner who will comment much further. (for some reason he cannot publish high res pictures)

Sometimes the humane thing is hard to do.....sorry again, Jacob.....

The sound: it’s spectacular! Compared to a Stax SRM-007tii with 60’s Mazda Brimar 6CG7’s or 50’s RCA long black plates with D getters, the sound is far more relaxed, analog, detailed, expansive, dynamic and musically involving. I can’t wait to get some NOS EL34’s in here. The Berkeley Reference DAC shows off the Megatron’s speed and transparency; the DAC and Megatron are both detail monsters. The Megatron is a far more capable amp when connected to the Berkeley Reference DAC than a current low-noise, low-distortion reference amp, such as the Topping A90, which I also have. The balanced inputs: dead quiet - perfect with the Wireworld Platinum 8 series XLR interconnects. The voltage gain: I can’t imagine needing any more gain than I’m getting with the 1958 Holland D foil getter E180CC’s (thanks to the community for the tip on these) and the 1948 RCA 5751 triple mica black plates. I will say that this amp takes a solid hour to warm up, however. Temperature: just touched 126F on the exterior of the right transformer case after a couple of hours - the internal temperature was typically within a couple of degrees when previously measured, likely due to the machined vents around the tubes. SMALL UPDATE: Kevin suggested some whisper fans to deal with the heat buildup; this is an excellent idea. Hum: there is none whatsoever, there is only dead silence, irrespective of where the pot is positioned - it’s absolutely impossible to tell whether the Megatron is on, when powered from a current-gen PS Audio regenerator set to 120V. Definitely T2 level stuff! I CANNOT THANK KEVIN ENOUGH

Interesting local interview with Lee Child where he mentions Reacher's analytical nature Worth it for "Sherlock Homeless" And an earlier longer form discussion

Cruise did a passable job at the attitude of Reacher but the book’s character is quite literally (and as depicted in the new TV series) larger than life. But he’s also an intellectual, something that the TV series hasn’t really shown yet and may not get to as it’s an incredibly complex character. The books are enjoyable easy reads with moderate suspense and compelling stories and characters. Nothing that’s going to change your life perspective or anything like that, but firmly planted in the entertaining category. In a similar vein, I wish someone would take a stab at a series about the Virgil Flowers stories. They seem pretty much ready-made for adaptation with enough CSI-like elements to attract that crowd but enough to set them apart based on the characters roots/motivation. I’d watch the heck out of that too.

I pulled a truly wonderful shot. Last of an Ethiopian Guji I got in NC in the fall (remember I freeze beans). I can’t complain about it at all, which is rare for me. Bright, complex, sweet, smoky. 1:2 (19.5 in) peak 6, slow pressure draw down. I’m finally dialing in the Flair, I think.

Oh dear - so sorry about Dunhill. It is tough having to be kind by saying goodbye to cat when it's their time. But it was the right decision Jacob. He had a great life with you and was absolutely well loved.

I like to make my purchases in reverse order. I bought the VST, then the Flair 58, then this tamper. Next will be the grinder then...oh yeah the coffee.

I started watching Reacher over the weekend after reading a couple of favorable (but not great) reviews online. Two episodes in and I’d rate it exactly the kind of mindless entertainment that I look for a lot of the time. It’s a far better take on the character than the abysmal Tom Cruise based films, so in that regard it’s light years better. I also enjoy that they’re adapting one novel per season, which seems like the right balance of action/pace considering how complex the stories are (not overly so, but not great condensed into a 2hr time slot).

there are already tube input versions. but this version does not have a servo on the output board, so it would need that. there is a version of that too, outputbuf2020 and outputbuf2020m

so split versions of the cfa3 board. stack the boards together and put on the heatsink (minimum heatsink vertical dimension 83mm) stack the boards together, use angle bracket mount horizontally for low profile chassis etc cfp3smt2splitamp - CADCAM.ZIP cfp3smt2splitpre - CADCAM.ZIP

Late to the party, but here goes. Lured a nice small case off of MLA for a cheap penny, wanted a compact CFA (SE). Took some time for my slow mind to figure out how to best use the space in three dimensions, but I found a solution that works fine so far, if you're planning something similar. No interfering leads or unwanted nearness of critical components, and bias can be set without problem. In reality, I'm surprised it turned out quite airy and spacious, considering the limitations. Note the Müller Rhombus transformer device ("Konzept Raute"). This romboid plate interacts wit the circular toroid shape and the electromagnetic waves are forced through the four holes in an endless loop in this electronically confined space, and thus traps all hum in an existant/nonexistant void. This amp is noise and hum free. I'm particulary happy with the volume control, a 24-position Swiss Elma switch that's been lying in a drawer for 35 years. 15K (why not?), shunt coupled and making as little contribution to the signal as possible. I think this plays a part in the clean, revealing sound of the CFA design. The odd resistor out is in the position I mostly listen to, a hand selected Syldavian military plutonium component (0,01%) from 1953, made in a numbered series of three of each value (I own the third one as well) and these days sold on ebay in Hong Kong for not less than $1200, if available at all (only one for sale during the last nine years). Set the bias at first to 150mA, it sank to 135 after some time, which was to be expected. Decided too raise it (why not?) to 200mA. Put the lid on and after three hours it was stable at 175mA after a last fine-tuning. Gets warm, but not too hot. Like all successful, completed builds it sounds wonderful , but if that lasts only time will tell. If so, I may be tempted to follow up with a CFA3.

I’ll have to supervise my coffee routine myself in the morning, I guess.

RIP Douglas Trumbull.

Dunhill is riddled with cancer. I’ll be putting him down at 1.

there is no way this is going to be a diy product.

Dobie Gillis. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/obituaries/dwayne-hickman-dead.html