Crystal cartridge, likely with hefty output, and step-down transformer driven by a 211. Should have some grunt
I wasn't joking about the lamp cord interconnect. I saw it for myself at the VSAC where the Direct Heating team brought a complete system from Japan, including massive Altecs. Sakuma takes everything down to a 8 or 16-ohm impedance, runs it through lamp cord, and bumps it up again in the next component. All via custom Tamura transformers.
I thought my amps were unusual until I saw the complete Direct Heating rig with the ultra-low impedance interconnects. Why? Sheesh, don't ask me. Sakuma's English is kind of marginal, and my knowledge of Japanese is no more than a few words. The Direct Heating club president, a much younger guy, was my main interface with them.
The electronics often have a strange architecture, like an integrated RIAA phono preamp that is also a linestage and power amp, all in one massive chassis. In mono, with not-quite-standard RIAA equalization, tuned for certain records.
For other records, he'd use a totally different amp with different tubes. They must have had at least three different amps with very different sound signatures. One of the truly gigantic amps had an internal crossover and two completely different output sections, one for the LF, and one for the HF. It's not hi-fi as we know it.
The public demo in the hotel auditorium at the show was entertaining. You don't usually see a hundred audiophiles drop-jawed, some with looks of horror, and others with complete bafflement. If they were dogs, the whole room would have been heads tilted this way and that.
I haven't gotten to the best part. After the VSAC, the president of the Direct Heating Society wanted me to write a show report. That wasn't easy, and he rejected my first evasive report, mostly avoiding the subject by discussing the history of audio. The second, more truthful report mainly talked about Japanese and American audiophiles having very different expectations (which of course is true). Also, since the Japanese have been listening to triodes, the more exotic the better, for decades, they are not bothered by wildly different sound signatures. By contrast, most Americans are chasing the chimera of Perfect Sound (or Absolute Sound).
I thought my amps were unusual until I saw the complete Direct Heating rig with the ultra-low impedance interconnects. Why? Sheesh, don't ask me. Sakuma's English is kind of marginal, and my knowledge of Japanese is no more than a few words. The Direct Heating club president, a much younger guy, was my main interface with them.
The electronics often have a strange architecture, like an integrated RIAA phono preamp that is also a linestage and power amp, all in one massive chassis. In mono, with not-quite-standard RIAA equalization, tuned for certain records.
For other records, he'd use a totally different amp with different tubes. They must have had at least three different amps with very different sound signatures. One of the truly gigantic amps had an internal crossover and two completely different output sections, one for the LF, and one for the HF. It's not hi-fi as we know it.
The public demo in the hotel auditorium at the show was entertaining. You don't usually see a hundred audiophiles drop-jawed, some with looks of horror, and others with complete bafflement. If they were dogs, the whole room would have been heads tilted this way and that.
I haven't gotten to the best part. After the VSAC, the president of the Direct Heating Society wanted me to write a show report. That wasn't easy, and he rejected my first evasive report, mostly avoiding the subject by discussing the history of audio. The second, more truthful report mainly talked about Japanese and American audiophiles having very different expectations (which of course is true). Also, since the Japanese have been listening to triodes, the more exotic the better, for decades, they are not bothered by wildly different sound signatures. By contrast, most Americans are chasing the chimera of Perfect Sound (or Absolute Sound).
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FlaCharlie,
There are lots of differences with replacing coupling caps with DC coupled circuits.
Likewise, There are lots of differences with replacing interstage transformers with DC coupled circuits.
I will list what are possibly the most common differences, whenever you DC couple.
The design complexity required to get the quiescent voltages and currents right; and preventing power up voltages and currents from doing damage to parts; and keeping drift from degrading the performance of the amplifier.
Solve all of those three . . . and then ask how it sounds.
There are lots of differences with replacing coupling caps with DC coupled circuits.
Likewise, There are lots of differences with replacing interstage transformers with DC coupled circuits.
I will list what are possibly the most common differences, whenever you DC couple.
The design complexity required to get the quiescent voltages and currents right; and preventing power up voltages and currents from doing damage to parts; and keeping drift from degrading the performance of the amplifier.
Solve all of those three . . . and then ask how it sounds.
walltube,
I only remember a few details of a concert I attended when I was in Munich in 2002.
The concert hall was superbly designed, and I had a good seat.
The orchestra was German.
One symphony was by Beethoven.
What I really remember, was I thought to myself . . . NOW THAT'S BEETHOVEN!
Nothing more needs to be said.
I only remember a few details of a concert I attended when I was in Munich in 2002.
The concert hall was superbly designed, and I had a good seat.
The orchestra was German.
One symphony was by Beethoven.
What I really remember, was I thought to myself . . . NOW THAT'S BEETHOVEN!
Nothing more needs to be said.
To Steven
Also Wilma Cozart
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Cozart_Fine
probably one of the best in absolute
To Larry Olson
Normally I don't discuss, during the listen session, the quality of the sound. But I ask for a feeling about what we are listen and this is different.
Of course some consideration are done but just for fun.
About the irons in the circuit, in attach you can find a proto that will be presented soon on Audioreview magazine in Italy.
It is a LCR phono, full trafo
The total iron are 14 pcs in two chassis. Six inside in the right chassis
All custom made for me ( of course there are details on two articles)
And this circuit is certified by test lab as usual I do.
So if someone want to built it knows exactly what is the finale results under the technical aspect.
Walter
Also Wilma Cozart
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Cozart_Fine
probably one of the best in absolute
To Larry Olson
Normally I don't discuss, during the listen session, the quality of the sound. But I ask for a feeling about what we are listen and this is different.
Of course some consideration are done but just for fun.
About the irons in the circuit, in attach you can find a proto that will be presented soon on Audioreview magazine in Italy.
It is a LCR phono, full trafo
The total iron are 14 pcs in two chassis. Six inside in the right chassis
All custom made for me ( of course there are details on two articles)
And this circuit is certified by test lab as usual I do.
So if someone want to built it knows exactly what is the finale results under the technical aspect.
Walter
Attachments
Sakuma never used crystal cartridge. It was moving coil denon 3mV.Crystal cartridge, likely with hefty output, and step-down transformer driven by a 211. Should have some grunt
Attachments
OK - the schematic for the 841/211 phono pre at post #118 shows the input source as "Crystal turnover cartridge input".
Aha!
I think some of you caught one of the few, if perhaps the only time, that Sakuma San used a crystal phono cartridge.
I certainly have not seen all of Sakuma San's schematics, but did see a lot more of them than I can remember.
He really liked low impedance devices every where, as has previously been stated, even if he had to transform down, 'process at that impedance', and then transform up again if needed.
I was lucky enough to be at VSAC for what I think was the only time (at least the first time) that Sakuma's amplifiers were heard in the US.
1997 VSAC was during the time Lady Di died from that horrible accident.
All the VSACs in Silverdale, Washington were wonderful;
unfortunately the last one ever was in 2008 in Vancouver, Washington, and with another show sponsor.
It was great too!
I think some of you caught one of the few, if perhaps the only time, that Sakuma San used a crystal phono cartridge.
I certainly have not seen all of Sakuma San's schematics, but did see a lot more of them than I can remember.
He really liked low impedance devices every where, as has previously been stated, even if he had to transform down, 'process at that impedance', and then transform up again if needed.
I was lucky enough to be at VSAC for what I think was the only time (at least the first time) that Sakuma's amplifiers were heard in the US.
1997 VSAC was during the time Lady Di died from that horrible accident.
All the VSACs in Silverdale, Washington were wonderful;
unfortunately the last one ever was in 2008 in Vancouver, Washington, and with another show sponsor.
It was great too!
The big Sakuma system I heard at the Seattle VSAC had big Altec speakers, but sounding very different than the Altec A5's I'd heard a few years before on San Francisco. Those Altecs were powered by my first-generation Karna amplifier and Gary Pimm's PP 47 amplifier.
I was entertained by the VSAC audience reaction. They were expecting Golden Age sound, and got something very very different. I'd already spent many hours in the Direct Heating demo room, so I wasn't as surprised. And of course I had an agenda; I was partly responsible for the Direct Heating Society being at the show, and I was listening very carefully for points of similarity between my amps and Sakuma's. At the time, I was about the only American in the DHT scene advocating transformer coupling. Everyone else thought I was nuts.
As for national preferences, having been to the 2004 European Triode Festival, yes, German music definitely sounds better on German hi-fi. We switched between German techno and big symphonic stuff, about half and half. It all sounded great. Those ETF folks don't mess around. Some of the best sound I've ever heard.
Direct coupling has never appealed to me. I've seen the destruction it wreaks on solid-state equipment ... I've been on the bench and had to yank out scorched circuit boards ... and the prospect of doing it at hundreds of volts is unnerving. And by the time all the DC servo circuits and current sources are up and running, the amp is already half solid-state. Direct coupling is inherently unstable at the voltages tubes run at, so precise heating and B+ control is required, and DC servos are often required. And if one op-amp fails, smoke and fire result.
And for what? Modern transformers are really really good, and with correct engineering, they can be used as problem solvers ... balancing a circuit, removing RFI, rejecting common-mode noise, providing A2 operating region for the power tubes, replacing a solid-state current source, etc. etc. So I prefer to work with transformer designers, and they tell me what their designs can and cannot do.
As for getting measurements on Sakuma gear ... good luck. Maybe there might be something in MJ magazine, if they're still around. Sakuma gear is NOT meant to sound neutral; it's meant to evoke a feeling, a certain kind of mood.
I was entertained by the VSAC audience reaction. They were expecting Golden Age sound, and got something very very different. I'd already spent many hours in the Direct Heating demo room, so I wasn't as surprised. And of course I had an agenda; I was partly responsible for the Direct Heating Society being at the show, and I was listening very carefully for points of similarity between my amps and Sakuma's. At the time, I was about the only American in the DHT scene advocating transformer coupling. Everyone else thought I was nuts.
As for national preferences, having been to the 2004 European Triode Festival, yes, German music definitely sounds better on German hi-fi. We switched between German techno and big symphonic stuff, about half and half. It all sounded great. Those ETF folks don't mess around. Some of the best sound I've ever heard.
Direct coupling has never appealed to me. I've seen the destruction it wreaks on solid-state equipment ... I've been on the bench and had to yank out scorched circuit boards ... and the prospect of doing it at hundreds of volts is unnerving. And by the time all the DC servo circuits and current sources are up and running, the amp is already half solid-state. Direct coupling is inherently unstable at the voltages tubes run at, so precise heating and B+ control is required, and DC servos are often required. And if one op-amp fails, smoke and fire result.
And for what? Modern transformers are really really good, and with correct engineering, they can be used as problem solvers ... balancing a circuit, removing RFI, rejecting common-mode noise, providing A2 operating region for the power tubes, replacing a solid-state current source, etc. etc. So I prefer to work with transformer designers, and they tell me what their designs can and cannot do.
As for getting measurements on Sakuma gear ... good luck. Maybe there might be something in MJ magazine, if they're still around. Sakuma gear is NOT meant to sound neutral; it's meant to evoke a feeling, a certain kind of mood.
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Ah! Hi there, 6A3sUMMER, yes, I remember the 1997 VSAC conference with the Direct Heating team showing their wares, and the shocking news at the end of the conference. I hadn't moved to Silverdale yet, so I was still in Portland, Oregon, so I was either staying at the Silverdale hotel or at Gary Dahl's place.
My, that was a long time ago. The Amity was up and running, and the more complex Karna was still in the future. I was in touch with the folks at Vacuum Tube Valley, and doing research on old-timey Western Electric stuff with John Atwood.
A moment of silence ... Hiroshi Ito, Harvey Rosenberg, and Charlie Kittleson were still with us. I thought that long summer of Happy Triode Life would last forever. I don't think any of us were ready for what the 21st Century would spring on us.
My, that was a long time ago. The Amity was up and running, and the more complex Karna was still in the future. I was in touch with the folks at Vacuum Tube Valley, and doing research on old-timey Western Electric stuff with John Atwood.
A moment of silence ... Hiroshi Ito, Harvey Rosenberg, and Charlie Kittleson were still with us. I thought that long summer of Happy Triode Life would last forever. I don't think any of us were ready for what the 21st Century would spring on us.
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Lynn O.,
Matt and I came together to your home in Aloha.
I designed and built a single ended stereo 300B amplifier. It had a couple of relays that Matt put inside, and an umbilical cord with 2 switches.
We applied the Left channel output from a music signal source to a hard wired combiner, to both amplifier channel inputs.
The two channel drivers and the two channel output stages, were very well gain matched.
The single ended 300B outputs were connected individually as normal to your beautiful sounding MTM floor-standing speakers.
(mono left channel music to both amp channel inputs, with one speaker per channel output).
Switch 1: set relay 1 to either open, or to short the driver plates together.
Switch 2: set relay 2 to either open, or to short the 300B output plates together.
You were not told what the switches did, only to listen for any similarities or differences.
00, 01, 10, 11 Were the switch settings.
That double blindfold test, was part of 3 venue double blindfold testing for the cover article, "Paralleling Tubes Effects", of the very last issue of Glass Audio (which then combined several magazines)
I hope you can dig into your memory of that very old double blindfold test.
While there, I purchased a pair of fairly efficient Japanese (Fostex?) 7 or 8 inch drivers with whizzer cones; and got some sheep's wool for enclosure stuffing.
I tried taming the Fostex whizzers with cotton, wool, etc. Did not work for me. I did not want to use the parallel LCR network in series with the signal source. So later, I very carefully circumcised the whizzers to 1/4 inch, Whew!
That worked pretty well. I am less particular than some.
Then I sold the modified KLH cabinet with an added front panel over the old one, and the guy from Tek loved those full range drivers.
Those were the good old days.
As the late great Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn in the 1960s once said: "The good old days are the ones you are living now".
Then there was a Senator, Everett Dirksen, who said: "A Billion here and a Billion there, and pretty soon you are talking Real Money".
Matt and I came together to your home in Aloha.
I designed and built a single ended stereo 300B amplifier. It had a couple of relays that Matt put inside, and an umbilical cord with 2 switches.
We applied the Left channel output from a music signal source to a hard wired combiner, to both amplifier channel inputs.
The two channel drivers and the two channel output stages, were very well gain matched.
The single ended 300B outputs were connected individually as normal to your beautiful sounding MTM floor-standing speakers.
(mono left channel music to both amp channel inputs, with one speaker per channel output).
Switch 1: set relay 1 to either open, or to short the driver plates together.
Switch 2: set relay 2 to either open, or to short the 300B output plates together.
You were not told what the switches did, only to listen for any similarities or differences.
00, 01, 10, 11 Were the switch settings.
That double blindfold test, was part of 3 venue double blindfold testing for the cover article, "Paralleling Tubes Effects", of the very last issue of Glass Audio (which then combined several magazines)
I hope you can dig into your memory of that very old double blindfold test.
While there, I purchased a pair of fairly efficient Japanese (Fostex?) 7 or 8 inch drivers with whizzer cones; and got some sheep's wool for enclosure stuffing.
I tried taming the Fostex whizzers with cotton, wool, etc. Did not work for me. I did not want to use the parallel LCR network in series with the signal source. So later, I very carefully circumcised the whizzers to 1/4 inch, Whew!
That worked pretty well. I am less particular than some.
Then I sold the modified KLH cabinet with an added front panel over the old one, and the guy from Tek loved those full range drivers.
Those were the good old days.
As the late great Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn in the 1960s once said: "The good old days are the ones you are living now".
Then there was a Senator, Everett Dirksen, who said: "A Billion here and a Billion there, and pretty soon you are talking Real Money".
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Well, I still have the MTM (Ariel) speakers, now on their second set of drivers. They've certainly seen a lot of amplifiers come and go ... Audionics CC-2, Dyna Stereo 70, many amps for review, the Amity, the Karna Mk I, the Karna Mk II, and now the Blackbird. DACs have come and gone too, but I still have the Monarchy with Burr-Brown PCM-63K (true R2R) converters, passive I/V conversion, and 6DJ8 outputs. Just picked up a Marantz SA-KI Ruby that upconverts all PCM (and SACD's) to DSD256, as an alternative to R2R PCM.
Still on the transformer coupled DHT bandwagon. Good to see that Thomas Meyer is still there too. As for the Sakuma thing, if you want to optimize your system for early mono jazz LP's, more power to you! My tastes run more to rock-n-roll, London Sound, and German techno.
Considering the original question that started this thread, I cannot stress enough that the Direct Heating folks do NOT believe in one-size-fits-all audio systems. They design subjectively tuned systems that complement a select group of vintage recordings. The transformers and certain DHTs, often long-discontinued NOS types, are the way they get there. From where I sit, the sound of their favorite old-school DHTs, often run at very nonstandard operating points, are a really important part of the intended sound. These are not the usual mix-and-match DIY projects.
Still on the transformer coupled DHT bandwagon. Good to see that Thomas Meyer is still there too. As for the Sakuma thing, if you want to optimize your system for early mono jazz LP's, more power to you! My tastes run more to rock-n-roll, London Sound, and German techno.
Considering the original question that started this thread, I cannot stress enough that the Direct Heating folks do NOT believe in one-size-fits-all audio systems. They design subjectively tuned systems that complement a select group of vintage recordings. The transformers and certain DHTs, often long-discontinued NOS types, are the way they get there. From where I sit, the sound of their favorite old-school DHTs, often run at very nonstandard operating points, are a really important part of the intended sound. These are not the usual mix-and-match DIY projects.
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This is MY HiFi
And it reasonable, of course
But if we speaking around the possibility ( that is, even is far to reach) to reproduce a reality we have to look in different way.
Then, the old jazz ( or something other different music) in which way they are recorded?
We are sure that what we are listening is compliant (electrically) with the origin ?
If I have a Lowther ( or similar ) speaker when I have to listen the "pling" or "plong" they are good.
I have met many times different types of Fostex, Lowther and something other and the limits are evident.
And also met (rarely ) the Audiotekne or similar stuff.
BUT they are good for one, and only one, type of reproduction.
I spoke about Wagner but if I need to listen a "Fanfare for a common man" this is not the way.
But also Keith Jarrett or Chet Baker or Miles Davis or Metallica and Depeche Mode, just for say something.
Walter
I agree about the danger of DC output. But I prefer to have input and output transformers in every device, preamp and power amp like most professional gears, and have as much direct coupling as possible in between. I'm partial to the type of circuits favored JC Morrison and Komuro. Having output transformer certainly eliminates the danger of toasting the next device in line.
Thanks for allowing us to eavesdrop on your audio adventure.
Modern bandwidths of 30 Hz to 15 kHz date from the mid-Fifties, but not much earlier. In 1950, 12 kHz was considered a great achievement, and the earliest tape recorders, like the Ampex 200, struggled to reach that. And S/N ratios were quite low by modern, or even mid-Fifties, standards. It was the dawn of what would later become High Fidelity.
Recordings from the early Fifties still sound quite good, but they are not wideband. Since equalization curves on LP's and 78's were all over the place, listeners were encouraged to try multiple equalizations and use tone controls freely.
Here's a link to the August 1948 issue of Audio magazine. Page 24 announces the birth of the Columbia 33.3 rpm LP. The RCA 45 rpm 7" record would be debuted one year later. The lightest phono pickups tracked at 6 to 8 grams, and there was no standardization of equalization on 78's, LP's, or magnetic tape recorders. 15 kHz on loudspeakers was aspirational, but not easily measured, and the 78's you could buy in a store topped out at 8 kHz.
July 1958 Audio magazine. Just ten years later, and the dawn of the stereo LP. Look how far the industry has progressed.
Sakuma equipment is not wideband, and not designed for low distortion, even in the context of zero-feedback SET amplifiers. It is designed for tone, and Sakuma definitely favors vintage jazz. In my experience, symphonic playback is a no-go, unless you are a fan of "historic" 78 rpm recordings. I have heard a full Sakuma system ... it's good at what it does, but listening to symphonic recordings made after 1953 (compared to restored vintage Golden Age equipment) is going to be disappointing.
If you seek the charms of transformer coupling, and like modern music, look to Thomas Meyer in Germany. Very wideband, ultra low distortion, and super vivid tone colors.
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Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
I am a fan of Sakuma and have an 845 tube waiting in my parts bin, some PIO caps, an interstage, a chassis drilled and painted -all on the shelf waiting for a design to be developed into it.
I find the tone of modern recordings and equipment to be very variable and although much of the music is clear, dynamic and exciting at first, fatigue is common. I have for too long chased the consensus need for wideband ultra-clean to my detriment as I listen to music less today than when I was younger. You mention older recordings and you have my curiosity peaked as I now wonder if this is what I should seek out - but this limits my choices of music considerably. Could my 845 amp be designed in a way to get me 90% of the way back to good sound with modern recordings ?
I find the tone of modern recordings and equipment to be very variable and although much of the music is clear, dynamic and exciting at first, fatigue is common. I have for too long chased the consensus need for wideband ultra-clean to my detriment as I listen to music less today than when I was younger. You mention older recordings and you have my curiosity peaked as I now wonder if this is what I should seek out - but this limits my choices of music considerably. Could my 845 amp be designed in a way to get me 90% of the way back to good sound with modern recordings ?
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