Time to tell about the sound in my 4P1L
I am not shure, that i ever had better sound overall from a preamp
i will take an example ,,Hans Thessing- Mercury blues ..in this record i can hear what
front and behind is playing..
the voice is totally clear and with lovely sound
guitar,,everything is heard ,,dynamic with small detail from fingers
big room with echoes from wall
quality of bass is great..(not the best i have had) but allright
middle area--this must be the really strong area of the preamp...voices so lovely
top area,,very clear sound right to the ears..on pair with the best i have had
overall sound is nice ,a bit warm,,and a terrific tone ,i feel the sound crawling under my
skin,,goosebumps
I will not change this pre for a long time
Latest upgrade i have done,,Mundorf supreme caps in the Maida regulator ,,supreme over last film cap in supply to Maida
thanks to Mogliaa for sharing this pre with us
Very happy owner (sorry i can not write better in english)
Best Bjarne
I am not shure, that i ever had better sound overall from a preamp
i will take an example ,,Hans Thessing- Mercury blues ..in this record i can hear what
front and behind is playing..
the voice is totally clear and with lovely sound
guitar,,everything is heard ,,dynamic with small detail from fingers
big room with echoes from wall
quality of bass is great..(not the best i have had) but allright
middle area--this must be the really strong area of the preamp...voices so lovely
top area,,very clear sound right to the ears..on pair with the best i have had
overall sound is nice ,a bit warm,,and a terrific tone ,i feel the sound crawling under my
skin,,goosebumps
I will not change this pre for a long time
Latest upgrade i have done,,Mundorf supreme caps in the Maida regulator ,,supreme over last film cap in supply to Maida
thanks to Mogliaa for sharing this pre with us
Very happy owner (sorry i can not write better in english)
Best Bjarne
24/7 !
Can I ask some beginner questions please:
I wonder why you keep it running all the time?
Whats the watt load on your electricity bill?
How long does your filament starved 4P1L last?
Thanks for sharing your circuit.
Thank you Andy and Ale. I am novice so want to make sure I start from a good working implementation.
Andy, I believe your's is for amp, correct?
The preamp is in fact the first stage of my 2-stage PSE 4P1L amp. Same thing - just in the amp chassis. I use the LL1660 in 4:4.5 since I want to keep all the gain. I keep it running all the time because I can't be bothered to turn it off, and because I go to sleep listening to music so it's on all night. All my sound goes through the amp - it's fed by my Mac Mini so has Youtube, Spotify, online sites and also radio and TV programmes And I have 200 of 4P1L so I don't care about replacing them. They carry on for at least 6 months - tough little things. You can add up the drain on electricity - PSU plus filament supply. I haven't added it up but the whole amp is probably not much more than a 100 watt lightbulb.
Hi Kazap..
I'm on the version 1, on the 4P1L. Where I use 8 Ohm as
cathode resistor.
I use some big Filament Elma Transformer 90Va, and the total
power consumption is 73 watt.
The Filament part, 2 Trafo, 2 AC/DC board + Coleman ver 4 eats
in total 52-53 watt.
This will properly be a little lower with less greedy Transformers and
Rod Coleman ver 5 filament regulators...
/Michael.
Hello guys,
I want to give it a try!
But right now I only have available CCS from Garry Pimm as a load.
So my thought was a little MU-follower, whit 30mA, the ouptut impedance would
be less then 100ohms. In this way I could also make an ccs loaded parafeed whit
CM-2810 transformers. So any thoughts? And whats the difference in sound iron vs ccs used
on 4p1l????
Thanks...
I want to give it a try!
But right now I only have available CCS from Garry Pimm as a load.
So my thought was a little MU-follower, whit 30mA, the ouptut impedance would
be less then 100ohms. In this way I could also make an ccs loaded parafeed whit
CM-2810 transformers. So any thoughts? And whats the difference in sound iron vs ccs used
on 4p1l????
Thanks...
Ale can tell you more about active load versus transformer. I don't particularly like active loads - find them a bit sharp - and I avoid capacitors because they blur the sound subtly. I have always found transformer coupling to sound the most natural. It's just a question of getting the right transformer - the quality does make a difference. I find the LL1660 pretty good - better than the LL1692 for instance and the Hammond 126. Thomas Mayer says the Tango is audibly better than Lundahl but I don't think there's any new production of those. Don't know about Hashimoto - that's the usual suspect these days, though maybe Silk should be considered.
Hi!
I never made such a general statement. It depends on the application and use of the transformer. For example Tango had nothing which was as good as the LL1660 wired in 4.5:1 as line out transformer.
Also some of the new silver transformers from Lundahl outperform what Tango had, but obviously at higher cost.
When it comes to 1:1 or close to 1:1 interstage, the story is different. Tango NC20 is just about the best there is out there.
Lundahl developed some new interstate transformers based on my suggestions. The first one out of this new series is the LL2753 Which is good for tubes with plate resistances up to maybe 3k. Another one is in the works for tubes with higher plate resistances like the 10Y.
I have not tried the LL2753 in an amp yet, but measurements look very good. It is a 1:1 transformer and I expect it to sound significantly better then the LL1660 as interstage.
Best regards
Thomas
I never made such a general statement. It depends on the application and use of the transformer. For example Tango had nothing which was as good as the LL1660 wired in 4.5:1 as line out transformer.
Also some of the new silver transformers from Lundahl outperform what Tango had, but obviously at higher cost.
When it comes to 1:1 or close to 1:1 interstage, the story is different. Tango NC20 is just about the best there is out there.
Lundahl developed some new interstate transformers based on my suggestions. The first one out of this new series is the LL2753 Which is good for tubes with plate resistances up to maybe 3k. Another one is in the works for tubes with higher plate resistances like the 10Y.
I have not tried the LL2753 in an amp yet, but measurements look very good. It is a 1:1 transformer and I expect it to sound significantly better then the LL1660 as interstage.
Best regards
Thomas
Ah - Thomas, good to hear from you. Yes, you're correct - you advised me that in 1:1 the Tango sounded better. Bear in mind I've always used these interstages in 1:1 because they're physically in the same chassis as the amplifier, so that's the context in which we were talking.
In stepdown, Thomas, you're the expert here so readers should go by your experience and recommendations. Like I say my experience with interstages is all 1:1. It's a good thing that Lundahl is a good sounding option since it's current production. I'd also mention that I've bought all my Lundahl transformers directly from Thomas so bear that in mind if you're transformer hunting. It goes without saying that his support is absolutely first class.
Don't get me wrong about Lundahl - I use all Lundahl myself. The LL1660 is a great product, always has been. If Lundahl are now making anything better than the LL1660 then I'm pretty excited about it!
Don't forget, guys, the contribution Thomas has made (together with Ale and Rod) to all these projects we're building. He started us all off in filament bias with his designs and now he's helping Lundahl improve their already good designs for the applications we need. That's a pretty big contribution and he's always been a pioneer of inventive thinking. Respect!!
.
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Hi Andy,
The Hashimoto A-305 is also worth mentioning. Based on first results it seems on par with the Tango NC20. And of course there is Tribute which makes outstanding interstages as well. So far I have mainly used the line out OPTVCs but will also work more with Tribute interstage and output transformers in the future.
So as sad as it is that Tango stopped production, with Hashimoto, Tribute and the new line of Lundahl transformers there are plenty alternatives now. And there are surely more which I have not been able to try yet.
best regards
Thomas
The Hashimoto A-305 is also worth mentioning. Based on first results it seems on par with the Tango NC20. And of course there is Tribute which makes outstanding interstages as well. So far I have mainly used the line out OPTVCs but will also work more with Tribute interstage and output transformers in the future.
So as sad as it is that Tango stopped production, with Hashimoto, Tribute and the new line of Lundahl transformers there are plenty alternatives now. And there are surely more which I have not been able to try yet.
best regards
Thomas
Hello
Another well sounding trafo ,Lundahl 2745 40ma..sound very good in my preamp..
My latest update is Salas sshv2,,and a all film caps supply in front to the Salas and a new trafo ..
Those new things gave me a better bass ,,a little better dynamics..more hole true the music
Best parts is the better bass. (before i will give it 8 off 10..now 9 off 10)
Best Bjarne
Another well sounding trafo ,Lundahl 2745 40ma..sound very good in my preamp..
My latest update is Salas sshv2,,and a all film caps supply in front to the Salas and a new trafo ..
Those new things gave me a better bass ,,a little better dynamics..more hole true the music
Best parts is the better bass. (before i will give it 8 off 10..now 9 off 10)
Best Bjarne
Hi!
These are different. The intact audio is an autofromer, which the Tribute is a lienoutransformer with tapped secondary. So you can only compete the tribute with a AVC combined with a lie out transformer.
A comparison can be found here:
VinylSavor: 10Y Line Preamplifier Follow Up
Thomas
These are different. The intact audio is an autofromer, which the Tribute is a lienoutransformer with tapped secondary. So you can only compete the tribute with a AVC combined with a lie out transformer.
A comparison can be found here:
VinylSavor: 10Y Line Preamplifier Follow Up
Thomas
Andy, would you be willing to share the power supply schematics for your preamp and amp?