"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote


This sort of post never fails to amaze me - like ss kit *doesn't* distort
the signal FFS!!!

Good SS kit doesn't *audibly* distort the signal, which is what
matters. That of course is why all competent amps sound the same -
even valve ones.


Absolutely agree

on paper

but

in the real world

they

quite simply

dont......

"Trevor Wilson" wrote


**I suggest you do what I did: Subject yourself to a blind test, between
two
or three highly regarded amplifiers.


That's so not easy to do in Blighty.....


I chose two SS amps and one tube amp.
Through a modest load, the tube amp was impossible to choose from the
better
of the SS amps. The valve amp was an Audio Research VT100


OK, that's fekkin' impossible for a start....


and, IMO, was the
most accurate valve amp I have ever heard (and tested). Most other valve
amps are trivially easy to pick, because they distort far too much.


I still say there's plenty of people who ain't too bunched up about
distortion and just enjoy the music....

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote


Let's not forget Gringos!


You mean 'The Alamos' shorely??



and, er,
'Canadians' in 'Canada'...???

Canucks, shurely?


I thought those were 'kayaks'....???


Ah, the good old days of Beeb Beeb Ceeb English as she should be
spoke!


Yes, in Ye Olde Englande where I was taught that it was right to be decent,
generous, modest and self-effacing. (Not a flash, loud and fly as f*ck
rip-off artist and scammer....)


Well, negro is simply Spanish for black, and black is a generally
accepted term the se days. I wonder what's acceptable in
Spanish-speaking countries? :-)


US Dollars anywhere, Amex, Visa and Mastercard in most places...


BTW, there's really nothing so pathetically PC as 'African-American',
or indeed 'Native American'. Also, real Africans can't stand black
Americans! Or of course, each other...................


No argument from me on this one.....

**The term: "Pom", is a one of endearment. It should not be taken as an
offensive term. "Pommy *******" is also a term of great endearment. As in:

"Will ya have another beer, you Pommy *******?"

The term: "Whinging Pom" is a very severe insult.

The term: "Tight arsed Scot", is, like the term: "Miserable Scot", merely
a
perfectly accurate observation and cannot possibly be taken as terms which
are offensive.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au


Living in the Highlands for over 20 years I've learnt quite a bit about the
local population. "Tight arsed Scot" here is a bit of a misnomer as they
are exceedingly generous especially in local charity collections and
generally in a bar :-) "Miserable Scot" is accurate though, especially
with the older generation living in small 'close nit' communities. To live
here as a 'white settler' it goes with the territory that you will encounter
ongoing hatred in some areas (rarely open) and property damage - with
absolutely no recourse to the law (remember the police are 'local' also).
To quote a recent local newspaper letter:

"We all know of provinces within the catchment area where anglophobia is not
merely overt, it is mandatory. The truth is, Highlanders want to keep the
Highlands Highland: they are not against blacks, or homosexuals, or the
mentally ill, or the English. No, they are against all non-Highlanders.
Frequently, when the coat of so-called "Highland hospitality" meets with the
most superficial of scratches, it is exposed as a myth. So many of the
indigenous population want to fossilize their heritage and ancient notions
of their identity that all newcomers, tourists or otherwise, can expect to
be made to feel apologetic for merely being present on these shores."
How true. But with all that its still a great place to live, for stunning
scenery, clean air, fresh fish and good schools. (Don't mention midges)

There, I've hade my rant, now back to valves....

"Trevor Wilson" wrote

He accepted by cheap alternative. I dutifully repaired his amp and
returned
it. he LOVED it. "it sounds better than it ever has." he said. Cool,
everyone's happy.


Yep, just like someone with a valve amp who loves the sound and either
hasn't got a clue or doesn't give a rat's about

makes sign of the cross with both index fingers

*distortion*

hissing and spitting from all assembled.....


My repair involved the fitting of 4 SS power amp ICs, along with some HF
and
LF filtering, to simulate typical tube frwquency responses.

I never told him what I had done.


Iggrance is bliss, they dew say..... ;-)



Let's sum this up with an analogy:


**Your analogy is faulty.


Yes, seems I've got a bad batch on the go atm.....


Cheap Chinese valve amps are more expensive than
good quality, new SS amps (Rotel, Arcam, et al).


Yebbut, where's the sodding valves??? We're talking about people who want a
*valve* amp not some boring little slice of 5-star (for the month) brushed
aluminium, 'built down to a price'....yadda yadda yadda.....

Those pesky output
transformers ensure that valve amps will ALWAYS cost more than
approximately
equivalent SS amps.


Oooh! He said *transformers* :-)

Oooh! Suits you!

(I got Hammonds on my latest -
http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/keit...w/2a3amp01.jpg )

:-)

Keith G wrote:

(I got Hammonds on my latest -
http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/keit...w/2a3amp01.jpg )

Nice looking amp, that. Makes me think about straightening the bent bit on
mine and giving it some paint...

....but I can't be arsed.


--
Wally
www.artbywally.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

Keith G wrote:


'Canadians' in 'Canada'...???

Canucks, shurely?



I thought those were 'kayaks'....???

Not in England.
We kneel on Canadians and stroke on one side only,
whereas we sit in kayaks and stroke on both sides....

On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 18:49:20 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:


"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote


This sort of post never fails to amaze me - like ss kit *doesn't* distort
the signal FFS!!!

Good SS kit doesn't *audibly* distort the signal, which is what
matters. That of course is why all competent amps sound the same -
even valve ones.


Absolutely agree

on paper

but

in the real world

they

quite simply

dont......

Sorry Keith. If you shunt your prejudices and imagination to one side,
and run double-blind level-matched comparisons - they quite simply do.
Used below clipping, A Krell 700 sounds just like an ARC Reference
600, sounds just like an Arcam A85. The ones that sound *different*
(i.e. most SETs and other crappy valve amps), are basically broken.

As you might say - just *trust* your ears..................
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 21:09:00 +0100, Eiron wrote:

Keith G wrote:


'Canadians' in 'Canada'...???

Canucks, shurely?



I thought those were 'kayaks'....???

Not in England.
We kneel on Canadians and stroke on one side only,
whereas we sit in kayaks and stroke on both sides....

Curious little factoid - there are more people of Scots extraction in
Canada, than there are in Scotland. Personally, I've never stroked a
kayak, but OTOH........................
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 09:41:17 GMT, "Trevor Wilson"
wrote:


"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 20:57:23 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
Anything with a valve in it (including CRTs) shouldn't be
permanently
powered up,

It's not so very long ago that all broadcasting equipment was valve,
and
plenty was left powered up 24/7. Indeed, a power failure could result
in
lots of replacements after it was resumed.
But that equipment was designed for this task - I'm not convinced el
cheapo valve amps are.

Indeed, and early computers with up to 10,000 valves also ran 24/7,
although IIRC they required a valve change every ten minutes! Talk
about a job for life.... :-)

**My partner dragged out this quote from some computer guy in the 50's.
It
went (to paraphrase):
"Sometime, in the future, computers will weigh less than 1.5 Tons."

Well, he was right, wasn't he? :-)

**yup.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au