Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

OK! I'll join in :-) if we're talking Bass amps. I used to own and gig with a Mesa Boogie Bass 400+. It was all valve (excluding rectification) and ran 12 x 6L6 in push pull driven by 4 Ecc83's. It was a monster and in combo with 2 x Mesa Boogie 1516BE cab's was seriously 'HiFi' for my bassing duties in a Jazz Fusion Band I was gigging in at the time.

However, dotdotdot, I prefer my SWR Super-Redhead thesedays.

Jazz on my Face

http://www.howardmoon.com/images/howard.jpg

Turns out it's probably best I stay well clear of building one.

Work your way up to them if you get the bug. There was a suggestion earlier about Gainclone and Chip amps, a good choice there too, great starter projects and the results often sound very good. Cheap too compared to valve amps, transformers can be very expensive. DIY Hifi Valve amps are good fun to build and listen to but you end up with gigantic 'structures' and things can get out of hand quickly.... I speak from experience :-)

Its a 3 stage per channel stereo amp (the PSU's take up even more real estate) comprising of a choke loaded 76 cap coupled to a fixed bias 2A3 Interstage coupled to an 811A run in A2.

However, dotdotdot, I prefer my SWR Super-Redhead thesedays.

I almost exclusively play through the V-type pre/SS power into one little 2x10. Loud enough for stage monitoring, light enough to not break my spine and compact enough to fit in my car along with upright bass etc.

If I'm honest, I've only gigged the VA350 once since I bought it. Too scared of breaking it. Also too scared of having to pick it up.

Ha I'm familiar with that amp, re-valving cost must be eye-watering, but they sound good! I sold a Sunn 300T recently, heaviest amp I've ever had to lug anywhere. Jesus.

Why aren't you nerds in the guitar nerd thread? It needs a bit of rejuvenating.

Ha! duo-purpose contributors? I like cycling on bikes with only one gear too, anyone here into that sorta thing?!

Ha I'm familiar with that amp, re-valving cost must be eye-watering, but they sound good!

It sounded great at the time (early 90's) and fitted the bill, quite unlike the band's attempt to engage the audience with complex clever-arse Jazz/rock/funk fusion at the time.

I stopped proper gigging in 2006, at the time the SWR Combo and another 2 x 10" cab were all I needed and just at the point I 'retired' we were all going over to in-ear monitoring anyway, only the horns and drums were 'live' on stage.

They are really easy to build and there is lots of help to make them.

I like scavenging cambridge audio a1 as they burn chips and have a decent toroidal power supply and a fuck off heat sink.

I like scavenging cambridge audio a1 as they burn chips and have a decent toroidal power supply and a fuck off heat sink.

Is there a guide/tutorial to fixing these up? How straightforward is it?

I would embark on a kit before trying to hack something.

Fair point :)

^^^^I like fixehcycling too but i'm really not interested in talking about it.

I come here for teh square plate lelz.

Its a 3 stage per channel stereo amp (the PSU's take up even more real
estate) comprising of a choke loaded 76 cap coupled to a fixed bias
2A3 Interstage coupled to an 811A run in A2.

That massive homemade valve amp looks amazing. Would've commented earlier but work blocks most image hosting sites so the only inkling I had that it existed was the above text (which I don't understand).

Finally ordered my new system last week. Yamaha RN-500 & Q Acoustic's 3020 speakers. Still need to get cabling.

Read this first before you buy any audio cables.

However these are my cable manufacturers of choice.

But this is because I use them all the time at work and I know they are reliable.

FWIW, my fave speaker cable (so far) is 1 twisted pair of solid copper core conductors stripped from a length of CAT5e network cable. Cheap, also excellent on the low power stuff I use/build at home and work.

Ah, one of my colleagues recommended them too. Will have a look.

I use CAT5e too, but found 1 pair sounds thin and weedy, so braid together a few. You want the teflon dielectric not PVC. There are some really geeky braiding patterns on t'web (so they tell me).

Really? Cat5e solid core is so fragile.

I understand the idea of solid copper for speaker wire but surely 1.5mm T&E would be more robust?

This is pretty much the standard for live music and studio wiring.

Cat 5e is higher purity copper I believe, and the teflon dielectric is supposed to help... never had one break on me

Teflon v PVC is mentioned in the article posted up there by Mr Sworld. Debunked in fact.

Ah, well as long as its the internet that's de-bunked it, that's fine ;-)
#haventreadit

Cable talk is largely a load of marketing cack. Just needs to have a low enough resistance for a given wattage. So, for domestic use, two-core mains is more than enough.