Re S/N, This is to be a reference quality source, and better than any deck there is.... he says modestly. I have had very good experience putting tubes into DACs to eliminate any solid state audio circuit. The sound is noticeably improved. I want to try this with cassette, if only to put to rest and old itch, and it would be cool too.
It is considerably more challenging however in comparison to the DACs that just worked well first attempt.
I have ordered some of the 6GHz triodes as well. I am now rebuilding my noise testing jig, as it had issues, ready for a rematch.
picture of tube electronics with jFET head amp.
It is considerably more challenging however in comparison to the DACs that just worked well first attempt.
I have ordered some of the 6GHz triodes as well. I am now rebuilding my noise testing jig, as it had issues, ready for a rematch.
picture of tube electronics with jFET head amp.
Attachments
Just out of curiosity, I looked up a couple of well-known examples. The Advent 201 S/N spec was >54dB. The Nakamichi 600 achieved >60dB (weighted), without Dolby noise reduction in both cases. I believe that zero dB was positioned closer to overload in cassette-land, relative to open-reel technology, but those figures aren't shabby.
A cassette does indeed have a SNR of 45-60dB. however CD has a significant loss of finer detail and dithering has yet to be properly implemented.
CD chokes on two 5uS signals.
With vinyl and cassette the finer detail of audio is left intact. Quantization is inaudible on a properly biased tape.
Why does music recorded on analog tape sound so good?
To understand why, a professional tape recorder provides the most lifelike reproduction revolves around a couple of important factors. The key lies in the inherent technology of the tape itself. Audio tape in use during the 1950s and ’60s provided approximately 65,000,000 magnetic particles per second of recording a quarter inch format at 15 inches per second (ips) tape speed. Each magnetic oxide particle or groups of particles takes on either a north or south orientation after exiting the recording head. Starting to sound like digital bit stream? Well yes and no. However there is one huge difference between analog tape recordings and even the best digital recordings.
Resolution
The highest digital resolution today offers 4,608,000 bits switching per second. Not bad. Big improvement over the standard Red Book CD but it is not even close to sub-micron particle resolution of ATR Master Tape.
Nothing Sounds Like Tape | ATR Magnetics
Also CD is obsolete and will eventually be phased out in favor of streaming audio and digital downloads.
CD chokes on two 5uS signals.
With vinyl and cassette the finer detail of audio is left intact. Quantization is inaudible on a properly biased tape.
Why does music recorded on analog tape sound so good?
To understand why, a professional tape recorder provides the most lifelike reproduction revolves around a couple of important factors. The key lies in the inherent technology of the tape itself. Audio tape in use during the 1950s and ’60s provided approximately 65,000,000 magnetic particles per second of recording a quarter inch format at 15 inches per second (ips) tape speed. Each magnetic oxide particle or groups of particles takes on either a north or south orientation after exiting the recording head. Starting to sound like digital bit stream? Well yes and no. However there is one huge difference between analog tape recordings and even the best digital recordings.
Resolution
The highest digital resolution today offers 4,608,000 bits switching per second. Not bad. Big improvement over the standard Red Book CD but it is not even close to sub-micron particle resolution of ATR Master Tape.
Nothing Sounds Like Tape | ATR Magnetics
Also CD is obsolete and will eventually be phased out in favor of streaming audio and digital downloads.
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I got 62db with a very low noise transistor and op amp combo for playback in 1983.
I wish id thought of using a tube as the recording amplifier, It would have made the recordings sound better on any playback device.
Tubes in moderation do improve the sound quality of the signal, however I would never use one to amplify tiny signals as the heater and microphonic noise is to high.
I would try a 2N5210 or THAT1510 preamp before the Tube stage to provide a decent signal level of 50 to 100x higher flat gain.
Venus, 1950's to 60's tape gear used a tube based recording amp. back when I updated a sony tape deck with a record amp op amp, it replaced a single transistor amp. the output required to drive the circuitry to 0db at 15khz is about 8 v p-p on top of the 100khz 70v p-p recording bias circuit. The record amp is the playback amp in reverse.
I wish id thought of using a tube as the recording amplifier, It would have made the recordings sound better on any playback device.
Tubes in moderation do improve the sound quality of the signal, however I would never use one to amplify tiny signals as the heater and microphonic noise is to high.
I would try a 2N5210 or THAT1510 preamp before the Tube stage to provide a decent signal level of 50 to 100x higher flat gain.
Venus, 1950's to 60's tape gear used a tube based recording amp. back when I updated a sony tape deck with a record amp op amp, it replaced a single transistor amp. the output required to drive the circuitry to 0db at 15khz is about 8 v p-p on top of the 100khz 70v p-p recording bias circuit. The record amp is the playback amp in reverse.
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