Some of the best pre-amps or phonos had the simplest circuits, do not discard a design because it doesn't have all the bells and whistles.
I could remove battery bias, use cheaper coupling caps, remove regulators and my phono would still be great. The quality of the tubes inside is what makes most of the sound imo.
I could remove battery bias, use cheaper coupling caps, remove regulators and my phono would still be great. The quality of the tubes inside is what makes most of the sound imo.
I did that one in Agilent's ADS design software, where you start with a simulation and wind up with a PCB layout. There is another one with a different RF power IC for 2400 - 2500 MHz. There were three versions of each to test the effects of different PCB materials from cheap FR4 (pictured), to high $$ Rogers Duroid. I had out in house PCB lab make me a 4 layer sandwich with one layer of Rogers for the RF. The differences were very small at 915 MHz, but significant at 2450 Mhz. This was done about 8 years ago.
This is what I did at home in the early 80's. It is a two stage broadband RF amp covering 50 MHz to 2 GHz. The first stage is a GaAs mesfet made in Japan! The PCB was custom etched at home with a Dremel and an Xacto knife. The amp wad hand tweaked on a network analyzer and noise figure meter at work for low noise in the 902 MHz and 1296 MHz ham radio bands. The noise figure was below 1db from 900 MHz to 1300 MHz. not bad for 1983. It still works today.
Attachments
This also isn't the current design as far as I know. It looks like the schematic of one of the many knockoffs that exist.
I designed and built a six tube hybrid phono stage for my own use based on a design I licensed to someone else, that prototype unit nicely finished and built on PCB of my own design (and furnished in a private GB to members of my local group) cost me over $1K in parts and other materials to complete. Even in significant volume the parts cost would come to over $400. (The case work alone was $130)
I am not a big fan of the EAR pre-amp but I think it offers fair value for what it is based on what it actually costs to make things in small quantities these days.
So, please sell me 100 pieces of this preamplifier (with fancy box and a MC step-up transformers, remind you!) for $400 a piece.
Well?
Pray tell, why?
I'm not in the mass design and distribution business.
I'm in the consumer electronics repair business.
Because you obviously don't have a clue what is the real manufacturing price of this (or any!) preamplifier!
I'm not sure if it's intentional or not but you are sidestepping my argument against directdriver which was about high end components making difference when compared to average priced ones in audio electronics and cars. I pointed out that cars cited (Lamborghini & Ferrari) are not equivalent examples to DACs, preamps, amps and cables. Instead of direct rebuttal on those electronics like I made direct rebuttal on cars (0-60mph time, cornering (g-force), braking distance), you brought up "perspective of what is subjectively experienced". That is sidestepping.
Yeah, such as in mastering and speaker design. Then there are small percentage of esoteric companies producing DACs, amps and cables to their own taste which do not fit the definition of "hi fi".
If this is about audio cable, did it make real audible difference or made the observer think that there was audible difference?
Not even a proof. I'm surprised that you try to tie it to such domain. 😱
If the answer to the question above is the former one, then it would be worth a pursuit. If latter, then what for?
You're right, it's not the original. I have a copy, but can't be bothered to post it.😀
It seems some are buried in the past, and refuse to dig out of it.😕
jeff
no car talk
I said NOTHING about cars. I don't like cars and I don't know anything about cars and I don't like talking about cars. I reference post#48 only to echo what member ndcraig says in the first paragraph. I wish I was more specific.
I hope that clarifies the confusion. Again, I do NOT want to get involved in talking about cars or anything related to cars. I'm a city boy. I prefer to take the bus or train.
Also, there really are so many silly priced items out there to target but not this one. Why he continues to pick on this specific brand is bewildering to me. Go after those garden hose cables!
I said NOTHING about cars. I don't like cars and I don't know anything about cars and I don't like talking about cars. I reference post#48 only to echo what member ndcraig says in the first paragraph. I wish I was more specific.
I hope that clarifies the confusion. Again, I do NOT want to get involved in talking about cars or anything related to cars. I'm a city boy. I prefer to take the bus or train.
Also, there really are so many silly priced items out there to target but not this one. Why he continues to pick on this specific brand is bewildering to me. Go after those garden hose cables!
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I'm talking about the customers kind of listeners. It's also a reason of sonic taste that so many audio components exist on the market.
For personal science and fun times, I've participated in small scale blind tests of many components. I have also conducted unsighted, unbiased tests where even some of the listeners were unaware of a change, but detected it, asking about it. Power cables, interconnects, magnet wires, and more.
Now, if you want the big slice, which means results with a documented protocol of data, I'm working on my own project of that, it will take some time for results.
I wasn't specific enough, my bad. But from a pragmatic POV, it can be considered as a proof to one's personal scientific research, but definitely not a public proof.
Indeed. What something is "worth" is whatever the market will bear or whatever someone wants to pay for it. I won't buy those 50 dollar film coupling caps because I find the ones I pay 20 cents for work just as well. For others it's a blend of psychosomatics and bragging rights. C'est la vie.
I would never go out and buy a brand new BMW M3 for 80,000$ but I did buy a used 2011 328xi for 6,000$. I don't believe the M3 is 13+ times better value for my money, but it's "worth" 80,000$ and people buy them all the time apparently 🙂
I would never go out and buy a brand new BMW M3 for 80,000$ but I did buy a used 2011 328xi for 6,000$. I don't believe the M3 is 13+ times better value for my money, but it's "worth" 80,000$ and people buy them all the time apparently 🙂
Again someone arrogates the pseudo right or privilege of giving his long speech and then advising that "continuing with this does not make much sense"
Wouldn't it be more democratic to let everyone express their opinion and if you are not interested in the thread, simply not answer?
Speakers are, and the measurements show it. If you know of DACs, preamps, amps and cables that deviate from hi fi so much to the point of making audible difference, please share what those are and how you found out.
What kind of blind test, double, single or something else? Were those tests level matched? If so, how was it matched?
Proof to one's personal scientific research would be called anecdote and whether it was really scientific or pseudo scientific, it would have to be verified (peer review for example) in order to conclude.
So what? I'm curious if you can describe a specific taste by reading measurements. Do you have the data of a specific double blind test, where the listener can guess the nature of the measurement abnormally?
I'll answer you the other way around. I never know of an audio component which doesn't make an audible difference from the other. So, I'm just curious. What kind of criteria/measurements should an audio component fulfill to be transparently inaudible?
All the blind tests I've participated in were level matched, because power cord, speaker cables and interconnects were tested and the rest of the equipment would remain untouched. Mostly we would do single blind tests, sometimes double, with only a few swaps, then a break would follow. Then, another few swaps, etc. Warming up in order to familiarize the listeners with the components being tested on the specific music tracks being played was of extreme importance. Otherwize beating a blind test was always hard to impossible, most of the listeners being unaware of the sound features to listen to.
From your POV only.
It's my last post in this thread. Others are getting angry.
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