2. amps-preamps
  3. 140029-80294

Does anyone care to ask an amplifier designer a technical question? My door is open.

I closed the cable and fuse thread because the trolls were making a mess of things. I hope they dont find me here.

I design Tube and Solid State power amps and preamps for Music Reference. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, have trained my ears keenly to hear frequency response differences, distortion and pretty good at guessing SPL. Ive spent 40 years doing that as a tech, store owner, and designer.
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Perhaps someone would like to ask a question about how one designs a successfull amplifier? What determines damping factor and what damping factor does besides damping the woofer. There is an entirely different, I feel better way to look at damping and call it Regulation , which is 1/damping.

I like to tell true stories of my experience with others in this industry.

I have started a school which you can visit at http://berkeleyhifischool.com/ There you can see some of my presentations.

On YouTube go to the Music Reference channel to see how to design and build your own tube linestage. The series has over 200,000 views. You have to hit the video tab to see all.

I am not here to advertise for MR. Soon I will be making and posting more videos on YouTube. I don’t make any money off the videos, I just want to share knowledge and I hope others will share knowledge. Asking a good question is actually a display of your knowledge because you know enough to formulate a decent question.

Starting in January I plan to make these videos and post them on the HiFi school site and hosted on a new YouTube channel belonging to the school.


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uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Now a novice question.

i have zero tube amp experience.

a lot of my equipment runs xlr connections 

i have not seen many tube integrated amps sporting xlr inputs.

is there a good reason for this?
nycjlee
286 posts
 
Roger, great advice!  When I owned a pair of Harbeth C7s, I ran into the same issue. The speakers were rated 6ohms. I was using a Rogue Cronus Magnum 2 and tested with both the 4ohms and 8ohms taps before deciding on 8ohms.  The bass was just better.  
djones51
4,947 posts
 
Sorry I deleted my question. I thought it might be to much of a novice question. I knew 6 Ohms would be harder than 8Ohms but easier than 4 Ohm which is why I thought a 6 Ohm speaker might be hard on the amp connected to the 8 Ohm tap and might blow a speaker connected to the 4 Ohm tap. Thanks for the answer.
geek101
284 posts
 
Hi Roger, thanks for the great offer. I would like to know what are all the measurable variables does one consider when manufacturing an amplifier.

I am guessing this list is most exhaustive then the spec sheet typically posted?. If not correct me.

For most of the lesser informed people buyers like me we only have spec sheet and most amps almost are always good with stated specs. So it is really hard to differentiate and choose.

assetmgrsc
58 posts
 
Roger; How do you feel about the design characteristics of hybrid amps, say with a tube preamp and a solid state power amp like the Rogue Pharaoh?  Does this approach offer advantages of both tube and SS, or does it compromise the best of both sides?  Thanks in advance.
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