anatech said:
For sheer sonics, 2" 16track was widely regarded as the best
analog multitrack format ever.
Ampex tape machines were also regarded as probably the best
sounding, although not as reliable or good at handling tape as
Studers.
WRT tape, I believe it is being made again by atr services and at
better quality than ever.
So there is still life in analog.
WRT tape baking, some engineers use certain types of fruit dryers.
Most kids with Protools these days would probably get a shock if
they heard a good mix coming straight of a well set up 2" 16tr Ampex.
T
Hi Terry,
A Studer 24T machine with Dolby SR has a wider SN ratio than the CD format. That would blow their minds!
Any properly set up Tascam on a 2" 24T, 1" 16T or 1/2" 8T can sound very good. Better than many other things. A Studer in any of these formats walks away with the prize for sound quality and tape handling. Half track 1/4" is another show stopper.
I've also seen people running with no noise reduction, relying on 30 ips for that extra 2 dB. Less oddness in the midrange and highs.
As far as tape is concerned, yes. It is much better now that the binder issues are not nearly as bad. I'm guessing you buy pancakes?
-Chris
A Studer 24T machine with Dolby SR has a wider SN ratio than the CD format. That would blow their minds!
Any properly set up Tascam on a 2" 24T, 1" 16T or 1/2" 8T can sound very good. Better than many other things. A Studer in any of these formats walks away with the prize for sound quality and tape handling. Half track 1/4" is another show stopper.
I've also seen people running with no noise reduction, relying on 30 ips for that extra 2 dB. Less oddness in the midrange and highs.
As far as tape is concerned, yes. It is much better now that the binder issues are not nearly as bad. I'm guessing you buy pancakes?
-Chris
Wow, this is one f*cking long thread and that's just about one particular preamp 
It should be a hell of a preamp...
Please allow me some off topic questions: does anyone know the Accuphase C-290V preamplifier with the dedicated phono unit? How does this preamp sound in comparison with the Blowtorch?
I'm not a technician but why spending so much attention to the subject of preamps and (with due respect) to this particular preamp design (CTC). Imho a preamp should be neutral and transparent sounding: it should sound as if it is not present in the chain. Imho source, poweramp and speakers are the most determining with regard to the final sound, not the preamp. Of course I'm wrong...
Chris
It should be a hell of a preamp...Please allow me some off topic questions: does anyone know the Accuphase C-290V preamplifier with the dedicated phono unit? How does this preamp sound in comparison with the Blowtorch?
I'm not a technician but why spending so much attention to the subject of preamps and (with due respect) to this particular preamp design (CTC). Imho a preamp should be neutral and transparent sounding: it should sound as if it is not present in the chain. Imho source, poweramp and speakers are the most determining with regard to the final sound, not the preamp. Of course I'm wrong...
Chris
Actually, speakers and whatever you use for a source are the most crucial in terms of determining the sound of the system, which is not to say that the preamp and amp don't matter. They do. I must say I'm curious as to why someone who doesn't think preamps matter would read a thread about a preamp, but that's just me being silly again.
The reason that threads about John's stuff tend to get long is because he doesn't necessarily "get out in public" much and people, understandably, tend to start in with the "While you're here, John, let me ask you about [topic du jour]" sort of thing.
Myself included...just not today.
(Actually I have a question or two, but I'm going to pound on the circuit on my own for a while longer before asking John anything. I can probably handle this myself if I just stare at it a little longer.)
Grey
The reason that threads about John's stuff tend to get long is because he doesn't necessarily "get out in public" much and people, understandably, tend to start in with the "While you're here, John, let me ask you about [topic du jour]" sort of thing.
Myself included...just not today.
(Actually I have a question or two, but I'm going to pound on the circuit on my own for a while longer before asking John anything. I can probably handle this myself if I just stare at it a little longer.)
Grey
dazzdax said:
With arguable exception of damping factor, that's simply not true. And even damping factor is not a good indicator of bass dynamics...my old Conrad Johnson Premier One (tubes, nothing to write home about in terms of damping factor) would whomp all but the cream of the crop solid state amplifiers in the low end. Damping factor, at least as it relates to control in the bass, is vastly overrated.
Grey
Hi Grey, I'm not talking about damping factor. In general the power amp is of far greater influence on the final sound than the preamp (presumed that the preamp is a good design). The power amp (and of course it's interaction with the speaker) determines how your music will sound: with plenty (bass) dynamics or not, with silky and unfatiguing treble or not, with authority or not, etc., etc.
Chris
Chris
dazzdax said:
20 years ago, Yamaha manufactured the Centennial series to celebrate 100 years of existence.
The CentennialX 10K is likely the most expensive preamplifier ever made.
Even combined with poweramps of various manufacture it still produced that typical Yamaha sound in the upper range, which many enjoy and some find appalling.
The BatteryPhase 290V is a classical design, loaded with small signal bjt's and top dollar hardware like a megabuck RK50.
A Maybach AMG with matching Bvlgari clock.
I gathered this is a Porsche thread.
hi dazzdax,
I'll stick my neck out in moral support.
My personal preference is not to use a pre-amp on my system, but that is just peronal taste. With the pre-amps I have tried, I have found they detroy more than they improve.
But....just a few days ago, in a friend's system, he experimented bypassing his preamp and the special quality of his system disappeared. It was obvious that his preamp made a big difference, and a positive difference.
So dazzdax, you need to do what is best for you, keep an eye on impedance matching though. And never dismiss the advice from the "learned ones", these blokes know what they are talking about. I can easily accept that pre-amps make a postive difference 99% of the time.
regards
I'll stick my neck out in moral support.
My personal preference is not to use a pre-amp on my system, but that is just peronal taste. With the pre-amps I have tried, I have found they detroy more than they improve.
But....just a few days ago, in a friend's system, he experimented bypassing his preamp and the special quality of his system disappeared. It was obvious that his preamp made a big difference, and a positive difference.
So dazzdax, you need to do what is best for you, keep an eye on impedance matching though. And never dismiss the advice from the "learned ones", these blokes know what they are talking about. I can easily accept that pre-amps make a postive difference 99% of the time.
regards
John, I've just been reading TAS summer 1993 where Frank Doris interviews Dan Healy, the Grateful Dead's sound man.
This made me smile:
DH says about you "He's probably the papa of all picky audiophiles! That guy scrubs the resistor leads on resistors before he solders them into a circuit card! He claims the [oxidation on the leads] make the sound distort. And he's probably right!"
But this cracked me up:
FD responded with "His equipment is quite good."
This made me smile:
DH says about you "He's probably the papa of all picky audiophiles! That guy scrubs the resistor leads on resistors before he solders them into a circuit card! He claims the [oxidation on the leads] make the sound distort. And he's probably right!"
But this cracked me up:
FD responded with "His equipment is quite good."
dazzdax said:
That's one reason I love this site...if you hang around here long enough, you'll hear every possible permutation of opinions possible.
But that doesn't make them all right.
Even Greg Erskine's support story proves that preamps are important in that a bad one has the power to screw up the sound of your system. You guys need to jettison the door stops and spend more time with good preamp circuits.
Obviously, if your source has enough gain to drive your amp, then you can skip having a preamp in your system as long as you have some way to control the volume. Note that so-called passive preamps generally cause at least as many problems as they solve. On the other hand, having enough gain (particularly in the case of some CD players stuffed to the gills with junk opamps) can be a double-edged sword. In that case, you'd be better off with a different player and a good preamp....which brings us right back where we started--preamps matter.
Grey
P.S.: I burnish the leads of parts before I solder them into the circuit. If nothing else, I can say that I've never had a cold solder joint in anything that I've built.
And I'll bet that professional outfits never use scavenged parts in their commercial product, either...something I have been known to do in my circuits at home.
Yeah, trying to balance the time spent cleaning the leads against the price of fresh parts doesn't make sense in some cases. And yes, I stop to pick up parts off the floor...
(This to forestall the inevitable post about firms that tell their employees not to bend over to pick up dropped parts, as it costs more time to pick it up than the part is worth. Tells you something about the value of the parts used.)
Grey
Yeah, trying to balance the time spent cleaning the leads against the price of fresh parts doesn't make sense in some cases. And yes, I stop to pick up parts off the floor...
(This to forestall the inevitable post about firms that tell their employees not to bend over to pick up dropped parts, as it costs more time to pick it up than the part is worth. Tells you something about the value of the parts used.)
Grey
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