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Jack's one of the most talented, underrated, unknown, audio designers out there. He is based in New Zealand and fronts Ecofan Audio and I have been blessed to hear a number of his designs and review them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Folkboy
Hope you're keeping well Jack.
Regards D S D L
hi all,
an interesting development down here - a batch of 'ten tube' and 'eight tube' ecofan preamps will be completed this quarter, please feel free to make contact if anyone is interested. spanking new valve rectified power supplies on the way too...
regards,
adam
p.s. thanks dalek supreme, m cuts his own path...
Adam: Please use the "caps-lock"!
Amps coming: 6A3 ones (single-ended, direct coupled) and pre-prodution BSEA small and bigger monoblocks.
Got the steam turntable platter back from expert machining by a good friend of mine the other day.
Stripped and perfectly centred here it is with Garrard bearing, Audioquest Sorbothane mat and 12v DC brushless motor. A good idea to get the hum away. Go camping with a car battery.
I lived on a beach away fom the grid at one time.
It was interesting when checking if the mike input was working on my battery reel to reel tape recorder. Put finger on input. No hum. Not that the input isn't working, but that there is just no hum.
Is this constant living in a hum field benificial or not??
Hope you are keeping well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Williams
That is an interesting question. I suspect not (gut feeling) but I don't know enough to say more than that.
Regards D S D L
This is progressing. A stereo chassis a-la single-endeds. Fourteen valves including four of 6A3 in outputs. As I am using at present with 2A3s, but as for type 45s, in "lash-up" form. Tranny will be altered for the 6A3s this very morrow.
Chassis is ordered.
hi,
have recently listened to the revised BSEA amp, very smooth and musical, good frequency extension, an 'effortless' sound...
murray is certainly onto something good
cheers,
a
The amp has been operating for a while now with the 6A3s and new power transformer tailored for them. I have to say, now it is "burned in" and after an hour, say, of warm up it has great depth and presence.
I have had a comment about the 6A3 single-endeds being a bit hummy on big sensitive horns. The BSEA of course gets over all that with the balanced output, but no phase splitter. Transformer magnetising current also balanced out of course, so no gap, and extended bass. I have the OPTs rated over three times power of amp.
Although this amp does not show hugely more power than single 6A3 one on instruments, it gives the impression of effortless power on these 94db speakers.
Definitely the best of both worlds! Getting three chassis made and will have couple of these machines for sale and maybe even review.
hi,
all go in this hemisphere - cup fever in the wider populace and plenty of action at ecofan... stay tuned for further news.
we will be shipping a new 'balanced single-ended' amplifier to the uk within the next month or so - feel free to get in touch if you are interested hearing it.
regards,
a
hi,
new to the ecofan family are a pair of altec lansing A700's (with altec electronic crossover and very serious ss amps...) - should ease the development of the 'super low noise' triode equipment,
more news as it happens,
a
Not a follower of rugby as such, but the Kiwis will overcome all opposition (or not!) so it remains to be seen. We do have a reputation for "punching above our weight" here, probably spurred by our smallness and isolation. We have to be larger than life to be even noticed on the croweded world stage.
Looking into the bigger monoblocks using four of 6550, I have come to the conclusion that the best sustem there is still the parallel single-ended system. The most power, and lovely elegant design amps, worthy of carring forward. Expect more of these shortly.
On BSEA amps: Five chassis are being ordered, two for a couple of four times 6A3 ones, and two of same with 2A3s.
Exra chassis is experimenal to try such as SV-811-10s or what about type 50??
A bit of interest in preamps lately, so am revamping some earlier ones and looking into a couple of new ideas.
Alongside power amps of course, and while the blokes get on with the amp chassis.
Should have been a couple more dots after "chassis".Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Williams
Big interest in another batch of the circlotron monoblocks, of which another three pairs are also being concocted.
Adam showed photos of high end gear ten times the price of Ecofan equivalent.
What sort of circuitry and transformers are under those bizarre cosmetics?
Makes one wonder if there's room in "HiFi" for sensible products at believable prices.
I think I've just about cleaned out the posibilities of amplifiers. Direct coupled, no phase splitter, balanced output as in push-pull?
No output transformer at all as in the circlotron OTLs. (But still a phase splitter)?
Then there is the SEOTL, which has no phase splitter OR OPT.
That has been in use for some time last year or so, and is being upgraded with upsized power transformer and more grunty front end as in BSEAs. That's a pretty ultimate amp, but is pretty inefficient and hardly "eco"!
It also doesn't sound like an amp at all.
Here is a merry blaze of perfectly good transformer windings!
For many years I have saved the core laminations from surplus transformers and used them in various amps and projects. I have kept any good windings in case one is needed to replace a burned out one of the same type.
These have piled up in nail boxes and never been needed. Also, if one is in fact ever needed I can easily wind a nice brand new better one.
Copper is some $7.00 a kilo right now.
Two of those bins is worth more than a $250 melted down $20,000 work of art in the news.
It's really neat actually. The lamination size of the power trannies on the above amp and also the 20w OTLs are the most common old valve radio ones. The covers are too off them.
So those have already entertained people for decades, and are now away again in a new life. Generations of entertainment from them! Modern ones in the OPTs though.
This is, after all, Ecology Fanatic Sound Ltd.
hi,
the ecofan altec-lansing a700 system is going to be housed at nz's 'audio foundation' hq.
the a.f. is a not for profit org that runs exhibitions and concerts of avant-garde and experimental music - as well as an annual festival that attracts prominent composers and performers from around the world.
http://audiofoundation.org.nz/
the rig will be serving as high intensity sound reinforcement for the next few months before becoming the ecofan 100db/w test rig,
regards,
adam
Hi all,
I've recently been fortunate enough to be able to compare the Ecofan 6a3 and Ecofan OTL monos in my system.
The 6a3 produced a warm, but not overly lush, sound. Bass and treble were balanced and extended, and images were well defined and three dimensional. The Almarro A318B sounded warmer in comparison, with greater low end weight, but subjectively less extension and control. The 6a3 just sounded familiar and right.
The OTL's most impressive trait was the bass. Forward, controlled and detailed. Possibly too forward in some systems, with certain material, but very impressive with the Musical Affairs Grand Crescendos.
Treble was extended and detailed, but not at all bright. Mid-range was cool yet textured and holographic. The OTLs produced a room filling sound that was like a cool breeze on a hot day.
I didn't prefer one amp over the other. They are both great amps, but in very different ways. The 6a3 was immensely pleasing to listen to, the OTLs extremely refreshing.
I used a Silk TVC and an Intact Audio AVC. Both very pure, but both sounded rather lifeless compared to Murrays Linestage.
Photos to follow.
Here is a fun quiz:
The below circuit is part of a product by a well known maker of HiFi audio.
What can you find wrong with this circuit, and what are it's advantages?
Not much interest in that, but meanwhile last Sunday I painted up this skirt.:)
Afraid I don't know my diodes from my thyristors when it comes to electrical circuits Jack, but the skirt's nice! :)
Decided it needed some white acrylic. Photo soon.
hi all,
here are a couple of pictures for you - nikos and murray having a chat and nikos' 30W OTL - a seriously big amp - a two man job to move it or turn it over safely....
cheers,
adam
the pic of the OTL
Wow, 8 power tubes per channel :stalks: Nice work on getting an OTL going & it looks to be dual mono as well if I'm not mistaken, the whole amp looks a bit of a beast :eyebrows:
I'm guessing it's not exactly small? :scratch:
:eyebrows:
hi,
the stereo otl is very substantial - though as you'll see from the picture below, the otl monoblocks are no light weights either - the wooden bases are by wayne, the current owner...
cheers,
adam
Looking very interesting Adam and Murray.
Happy Christmas to you both.
Regards D S D L
hi, this is adam on murray's login....
seasons greets to you d.s. and to all the forum members,
here is the link to photos of the current ecofan OTL
http://www.ecofansound.com/30w-otl/
cheers,
a
Yes, that big OTL is not a one man lift. A bit ridiculous really, but two of them were made and both alive and well.
Was putting new cathode caps on the EL34s of this amp, one of the earlier efforts, seen here with "bookshelf" preamp.
What more is there to say?
Expect more interesting products in the inimitable 2012!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Williams
Happy New Year to you Murray and to Adam as well.
Regards D S D L
Having the actual items that mount on the chassis enables a correct drawing to be made where everything will then fit! We may have metric, and we may have Imperial, (Transformers are resolutely in inches!) but in fact things like pilot lights, fuse holders etc have a planet of their own! Everything gets reduced to millimetres!
Progress will be noticed between first and second photos. Two versions of the amp accommodated, the 6A3 one and SV-811-10s. (Bigger OPTs)
I'll get four of each made, enough to be getting on with for now.
Well this is probably not relevant, but this cafe's got sound. Not on at this moment that I could hear, but there is the speaker.
Looks like quite a respectable one.
Well that was a bit of frivolity, but here are a few observations in the field of audio:
At present I have the BSEA6A3 into the "ESL" (Ecofan Sound Ltd!) speakers (all British) without a line amp. Radio is all valve: Quad FM tuner (Foster-Sealy detector) to Murray Dick reinvented multiplex decoder with straight-wire mono (ten valves). I hear a really clear concerto with zero percepted noise floor in wonderful wide-screen stereo. As good as any LP or digital source, against which I have set it up of course.
Being summer here, at present there is the ball-by-ball cricket, which is on AM Radio Sport for a lot of hours per day.
I wanted to along to the shops about a kilometer away, so waited till between innings (lunch) at the cricket before going along, (on foot or bus if one was soon enough coming). So I thought I might visit Dick Smiths electronic outlet to see what little pocket radios they might have to follow cricket on while walking or bussing. And yes, from a selection I got the Sony walkman version with little black phones for $50.00.
It uses one of size AA battery (cell!) That is a plus over the other ones which use AAA ones for me, because I have standardized my battery devices on that size and have very good solar powered charger for the rechargeable ones. It does do AAAs too but. AAs open cans and run the ohms ranges on my FETVOM for instance. The rechargeables (NH-AA HR6 Mignon 1.2v 1000mAh) Is that an ampere-hour? I find that hard to believe, have a much lower internal resistance than the others, which is just what one wants for ohms range, and anything else really.
So tonight I was listening to live concert on Concert FM on the above mentioned Murray Dick stereo, and I then put in the little earbuds and tuned in on the Sony at the same time. The phone leads are the antenna, and I found that if I held the set (smaller than a cigarette packet) in my right hand I got the best signal.
It sounded really spectacular at first hearing, but you realize very soon that it sounds as if you haven't got the FM de-emphasis on. Very toppy and audience clapping very over crisp. Also very big hiss level. Two reasons for this. El cheapo decoders use swiching method rather than proper multiplexing. Result: much higher hiss level. OK I guess in a $50 radio, but it does need de-emphasizing.
I can improve the sound by a little unit between the socket (standard mini-jack) and phones with bypass cap. I think that will make world of difference.
Younger people are perpetually plugged in these days, on the bus or anywhere. So I reckon a good thing to do is get a really good pair of HiFi phones plugged into my little Walkman on the bus. That sort of sticks it to the younger bods even if I'm only listening to the cricket on AM.
PS: Are these things so toppy because the young people have destroyed their hearing with them? It does come with a warning about volume level.
I guess that's the case, but nobody gives a hoot against the much larger challenges that confront Mankind!
Experimenting with type 50s, which are a whole something else again.
Certainly outsound the compromised 6A3s
I've been hearing some live bands outdoors at the weekend.
Here's a few photos, but I did video several songs on my camera, and it's surprising how good they sound. I'll try and put some up on YouTube, but it's not easy.
Here're are a few more shots.
Jack,
It was nice talking to you yesterday from Minnesota, USA. I'm in the market for the Boost it. I hope Adam still has the 120 volt transformers for the Boost-It that you had wound...
Hi Andy, would you mind popping into the welcome area of the forum & introducing yourself please? Perhaps you didn't see that it is required of all new members in the activation email you received....
Thanks in advance :)
Hi Andy,
Nice to talk with you the other day. Yes, we have 120v transformers. Boost-its in both voltages coming up. Check with Adam on progress. They have one megohm in, and 3500 ohms out with some 12db gain. 6DJ8 valves.
The amps do all have 120/240v changeover.
Reid,
Sorry I missed the Welcome. I took a moment to say hi and introduce myself. Nice forum
Murray,
I'm a little new to tube audio but enjoying the learning experience. If a source has 2v signal and that 2v signal runs thru the Boost-It having 12 dB gain.. What is the approximate voltage on the signal out?
This is more a curious question... I'm not fully getting gain/dB and I'm wondering if my thought is off that "gain" just means a slightly stronger voltage out. So one question was what the approx voltage would be out if the 2 volt in example were in play?
I have a freind who has a Decware ZSTAGE which is somewhat similar to what you have in the Boost-It.
ZSTAGE -http://www.decware.com/newsite/zstage.html
I like the use to two 6DJ8 over the single 12AU7 and I like the BoostIt not having the volume knob.... I have the passive pre for that.
Question 2
Each channel is driven by a 6DJ8/E88CC. One triode for Impedance buffering and then the next triode section of the same tube for the Gain on a given channel?
Thanks for the time
Andy
Hi Andy,
No you would need the nill gain "Bufferzone" for that. It would then present the player with 1.5 megohms. Otput is 2500 ohms.
The "Boost-it" is for inputs up to about 600mv.
Re other question, yes, that is correct.
Murray.
A bunch of BSEA2A3 and BSEA6A3 amps are being concentrated on at present.
Jack,
Just checking in... I purchased a BoostIt wired for 120V AC US. I know you have some amps in the works... The excited guy I am thought I'd write to check in.
Thanks,
Andy of Minnesota
Just a distraction. I made some lo-fo music and other videos with my little Canon IXUS70 camera recently and have them on YouTube.
Have a look at MrMdick and enjoy the show!
Hi,
I am hearing some progress is being made on the Boost It on the way for me. I'm excited to hear it in my system. Learning about the 6DJ8/E88CC/6922 tube family I am really liking the tube. I also am learning more about direct coupled components and like that design over coupling caps.
I hear a newer Boost It chassis is on the horizon... Any photos?
Thanks,
Andy
Hi Andy,
Yes indeed I did see a 115v Boost-it the other day with Mike, so will keep you posted.
Murray.