Depending on the input sensitivity/gain of the Cherry amps with the 18db gain of the Sachs and the 91db efficiency of your speakers what you are hearing is normal. Especially if the input sensitivity of the amp is under 2 volts.
Don Sachs Owners Thread
A place to discuss amps, preamps, and phono stages from Don Sachs.
I just purchased a like new D2 linestage. It has 2 gain controls, 64 step volume control, and digital volume readout. It is set up for the new rectifier. This is my first 6sn7 based linestage. It came with Ken-Rad Vt 231and gray RCA tubes. There are 3 rectifier tubes. A huge Philco 6BY5G, a Tung-Sol 6BY5G, and a Bendix 5852. There is also an Ice Age Audio power cord. With 2 different sounding outputs there are a lot of options. I need to find out what value the output caps are. I have the D2 connected at the moment to a VTL ST150. Input impedance is 125K and 2v in for maximum gain.
I placed the RCA tubes in left front and rear and Ken-Rad in the right. Used Philco rectifier. Plugged VTL amp into output 1. The brightest sounding preamp I've ever heard. It was comical, bass drums sounded more like cymbals. Output 2 sounds like normal music. This surprises me. With 125K input, I thought there would be no problem getting bass response.
Some questions.
1. Are the 6Sn7's in the right locations? I guessed by looking at the sellers photograph.
2. Is the Ice Age Audio the AC cord the brand Don offers as an option?
3. I'll audition all 3 but which rectifier would be considered tops?
The linestage sounds amazing.
Thanks,
aldnorab
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And that is the difference between the two combos. When you are matching tube preamps with amps and speakers you have to take into account the total gain of the combo or you will get hiss. If you have to get to that close a distance to hear it then it shouldn’t be a problem since we don’t listen at 15 inches. It’s not just your Wilson’s it would be most any speaker close to or over 90 db. Ran into the same issues with my Sachs matched to certain amps with my 90+db Verity’s. You can always contact Don and see if he can lower the gain. |
I have 2 outputs of different levels. The Mytek output which I prefer is rated higher for a broader range of amps and is for >30k amps. The Mundorf Silver cap output is for SS amps around 10k. My DAC Cherry 2 is 20k. Either output has the same hiss and it does not matter if the gains for each channel are at zero or pegged. Still the same. Anyway, the Miflex caps sound wayyyy better so I am going to stay with that. I also changed out some tubes today. Good sound, same hiss. But again, it is putting your ear at 12 to 15 inches away at idle. Not something you can detect at the chair and certainly out of the scene during playback. I may pick up a SS pre just for experimentation. I'm not excited about trying to find another amp. I am intrigued by Atma Sphere or Arion Class D's however.
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@bugredmachine my Model 2 also has some noise at 15" away from the drivers. I have the dual gain control model and the hiss volume doesn't change with setting. Think they work on the input instead of the output. Just ordered 2 more Linlai E6sn7 tubes. Looking forward to hearing the Don Sachs preamp with all Linlai. I need to mark the tubes to keep from mixing up the sets. Any recommendations on how to mark them?
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- 138 posts total