John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part II

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Just don't try to tell me that you've found new detail in your music and that the highs feel more breathless without mentioning that, honestly, this is probably all up in your head.
It isn't omission that troubles me, it's the addition of false or questionable objectivity.

Of yesterday's synethesia, I noticed none of the musicians claiming "Listen to my music and you can see it too."
 
A proper solar installation does a credible job if the panels are kept clean and the batteries maintained.

These free energy folks are not talking energy harvesting that would only be involved to engage the marks.

And how often do you see hailstorms? Around here every three years or so we get a golf ball sized batch of hail stones. Largest I have seen was just under a tennis ball size.

The flip side is there are commercial sized wind turbines in growing numbers.
 
And how often do you see hailstorms? Around here every three years or so we get a golf ball sized batch of hail stones. Largest I have seen was just under a tennis ball size.

The flip side is there are commercial sized wind turbines in growing numbers.

You always have something to say :), we have not had a hail storm over pea size in decades. Golf ball size does not seem a problem.

Hail Impact Test. Replicates a natural hail storm by dropping a 1.1-pound, one-inch steel ball onto solar panels from a height of 13 feet. Then we repeat this up to 20 times in the same place on at least 11 different points of impacts.

The terminal velocity of an 8-centimeter hail stone is 110 mph — more than 50% less than what the highest quality solar panels can tolerate
 
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Hail Impact Test. Replicates a natural hail storm by dropping a 1.1-pound, one-inch steel ball onto solar panels from a height of 13 feet. Then we repeat this up to 20 times in the same place on at least 11 different points of impacts.

A 1 inch steel ball weighs 1.1 pounds? Seems a bit heavy. But I don't have any 1 inch steel balls laying around. Where's Captain Queeg when you need him? :D

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You always have something to say :), we have not had a hail storm over pea size in decades. Golf ball size does not seem a problem.

I suspected as much. The reason why I tried a small panel was the design payback quoted was 20 years before tax credits. Friends who did install panels seemed to think they were replacing them on a 10 year basis due to damage. So I put up a single panel and used it to recharge the battery tools. Lasted about 5 years.

A. Milnes used to have a bit about the limit to solar cells was not the silicon, but the rare earth dopants.

Wind has the advantage but seeing as this is a river town hydro electric is often proposed and will eventually go in. In the meantime we have lots of local hard coal and natural gas along with the windmills.
 
Likewise don't try to pass off that one opamp sounds like this and another sounds like that unless you provide a whole lot more details (measurements, DBTs). The ear/brain is simply not as good a measurement instrument as you're suggesting. It's playing off unblinded opinions as objective truths that gets me.
Ok, so, its cool for you. Use the very cheap TL072 everywhere, and you will have a PERFECT system... for you.
For me, > 95% of the system i listen to in audio shows or show rooms, i would not spend a single penny for them.

Btw, it is not "sound like this/sound like that". It is subtle details like basses consistency, precise localization of the kick drum, as an example, little details more or less revealed and easy to discover, like nails on the guitar chords, sticks on the cymbals and their size/metal, hammers on the piano chords, separation between instruments, fluidity or harshness of some trebles, spacial stability, space between instruments, sound stage, depth of the spacial image, absence of fatigue during long listening...
 
Who said that? Fact - there are several IC based pre-amps considered top end by folks that care about all those things you mentioned, even ones with the stupid prices to go along with high end.
scott, The only things witch can have a commercial "Hi end" label in my personal system are my wooden horns and their JBL drivers.
My preamp is a cheap modified ROTEL (with OP260s inside), my CD player is a Marantz, my power amps CFAs home made, etc..
My active Digital filter is a modified Behringer DCX2496. but a lot of "hi end" work on every detail including lot of CI's replacements ;-)
 
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Don't be so pessimistic. I think that a mini DSP, in conjuction with a flat loudspear response reaching down to say 40 Hz at its -3 dB point, will open new venues of sound for you.
I meant send me mad in terms of spending 25 minutes optimising the low end for each album I play!
And while it's true that the smallest room size value will determine your low end probaby before te loudspekr will on its own, do not be fooled - you actually do hear sounds below it, albeit it's all mucked up, it's still there. Ultimazely, even if this does not happen, what you do have will sound cleaner and more coherent than with some dinly li'l boxie with a mid/bass driver of say 16 cm working all the way up to 2.5 kHz or higher.
I have a plan. The dinky lil boxes are in the kitchen now. Their replacements will be enhanced...

Kidding aside, do go for a decent 3 way speaker.

It'll be 4 way by the time I've finished.
 
In the late 90's I did the I/V for our D1 DAC which used a Mosfet in
Common Drain mode, and I was informed by several members of the
audio community that it couldn't possibly work.

This was later used in the Zen I/V converter (attached), and is the
approach exemplified (dare I say improved?) by EUVL's project.

I think I first saw similar I/V stage in Counterpoint DA-10 DAC by Peter Madnick, way before Nelson or EUVL did theirs.
 
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