John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier

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I can't talk to you right now, i think i'm monitored by the feds,.....and they've also seen me naked.

(i just hope i didn't flush the viagra stash as well)
 

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I think that's pretty on topic for this thread.

Seriously though, that's really sad about Michael Jackson. And, just before he was starting his comeback tour. Regardless of his troubles, he was a wonderfully talented person, and brought a lot joy to others, and he will be very missed. Rest in Peace Micheal. :angel:
 
ostripper said:
hong kong kits

As for cloning, i'm sure plenty of rogue diyA gentlemen have assembled the various UGS versions from Papa-laboratories for fun and games.
The web still doesn't seem to be flushing down UGS clones by the bucketloads.
Same goes for the X600/X1000 poweramps, even with a schematic they are way too costly to clone 1-on-1.

Mr C never stated that the BT is the best, but the best he can do, so it's definitely legacy item grade imo.
The CTC preamp is like a Rolls, a limited edition for folks who appreciate 1st Class build quality and exclusivity.
Neither is the set of all-side locking cases that hold the BT standard issue, equal priced gear still often travels in a wooden crate that looks like it arrived out of deep jungle Africa.

(btw, the powersupply case of the BT looks very neat and wireless inside, the piccy i posted yesterday is an interior shot)
 
JC sent me in 1982 or so the complete JC-80 schematic with all components and values even though it was his current SOTA (or nearly so). I don't think he has departed dramatically from this approach and he likes to repeatedly say that he doesn't need one anyway. I'm sure cloning even this and obsessing over the appropriate details would get you so close it would not matter. I can't see a viable business there, a clone kit would simply cost too much.

Personally I can't judge since once you nail the noise, basic linearity, RFI, and dynamic headroom issues, I can't tell any difference.
 
scott wurcer said:
JC sent me in 1982 or so the complete JC-80 schematic with all components and values even though it was his current SOTA (or nearly so). I don't think he has departed dramatically from this approach and he likes to repeatedly say that he doesn't need one anyway. I'm sure cloning even this and obsessing over the appropriate details would get you so close it would not matter. I can't see a viable business there, a clone kit would simply cost too much.

Personally I can't judge since once you nail the noise, basic linearity, RFI, and dynamic headroom issues, I can't tell any difference.

The underlying assumption of course is that it is so much better than anything else or any clone that could be made of it.

It sort of reminds of the way that nobody can supposedly clone a Naim amplifier which has as its roots a design that has been hatched up from the back pages of a 1965 RCA transistor data book 😉

Also it's funny that the noise spec of this preamp is 113dB but the distortion products sit 30 dB above it !! Sort of defeats the purpose of boasting about a super low noise performance whilst ignoring the other artifacts !!

regards
trev
 
Trevor White said:


Then what makes this design so much better than anything else, and how do you justify the hefty price tag ??



Very simple: how small are sound distortions. 🙂
Let me cite myself once more (sorry for being boring): Signal distortions don't correlate with sound distortions because measurements ignore some distortions that hearing does not, but hearing ignores other distortions that measurement does not.
 
Trevor White said:


Then what makes this design so much better than anything else, and how do you justify the hefty price tag ??

regards
trev

It is a matter of personal choice. Beauty being in the eye of... etc.
Price? Don't have to justify it....it is what it says on the tag - it was still low enough for the full (slightly shortened) production to be sold out.
 
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