manthik

Responses from manthik

M900U vs the world
How close is m900u to any tube amp sound?  Which tube amps (if any) does it sound the most like?  These would be good to know.  
Low gain dac!
@ggc, hello, sorry.  I think your best bet is to contact Slagle himself.  He has a variety of options that might work in your case.  He could probably help you figure out if his AVC would fit in place of your existing pot.  Another option is to by... 
Low gain dac!
If you want to keep all of your gear, then try reducing the signal level between your DAC and preamp by using an autoformer with a fixed attenuation.  Technically speaking (and in practice), an autoformer will sound much better than reducing the s... 
Tube DAC without output transformer?
roberjerman, yes, you are right.  So I guess most tube DACs are configured this way.  Thanks for clarifying. 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
That is true.  My preamp puts out about 6v DC, and the AC signal component would have to exceed 2Vrms to cause the polarity to flip on the cap.  That kind of level would exceed my amplifier sensitivity by 2x.  Needless to say, I dont listen very l... 
Speakers under $50k that rival $200k+ speakers?
Will do.  Give me a couple weeks at least. 
Speakers under $50k that rival $200k+ speakers?
@smodtactical, sorry I just took one of the speakers off your short list under consideration :)  We were probably looking at the same used pair of Nola CGRG.  Good luck on your journey! 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
Hi @atmasphere , the cap I was discussing was actually being used for output coupling in an amp/preamp.  Stock value is very large, because the circuit is meant to drive a speaker load.  I noticed the Mundorf EL cap in this location was inherently... 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
After sorting through all the choices, I finally settled on a huge pair of polypropylene 1000uF caps made for commercial power supply applications (solar power).  I found them cheap on ebay.  I got them custom mounted.  All the highs and the detai... 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
Sorry for the slow reply guys.  I see there are differing viewpoints as to how to properly form an electrolytic capacitor.  I have done some slow rate power cycling, but that didn't really help either.  However, I didn't do much, and I'm not sure ... 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
OK, per suggestions here, I let the amp run continuous for about 48hrs.  If you add in my listening hours, the total time would be somewhere about 55hrs.  There is very little change in the sound.  The bass is still there, mids are nice, but the t... 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
No update yet.  I just plugged in the unit in the last hour.  I'm going to keep it on.  I'll recheck the sound this weekend.  Should be a solid 48hrs. 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
@roberjerman, I am using the stock value.  There is nothing to second guess here.  It is a simple high pass filter network with a primary function to block DC.  The value could be changed according to the implementation, if desired.  The designer'... 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
@atmasphere , thanks for the tip.  How many hours do you think it takes to form an electrolytic?  Patience seems to be key..From Stevecham's comments, it looks like power cycling does the best job of forming the dielectric.  I'll put some "don't c... 
Do electrolytic caps need burn in?
@erik_squires , the preamp is also a 1W power amp, meant to drive 4ohm loads, thus the large cap value.  It is the LTA MZ2.  Since it was primarily designed as a smallish power amp or headphone amp, in preamp mode, it still likes to be loaded some...