Gromit's music centre...

[Gromit]

Hi Richard,
Looking at the earlier pic of the WAD amp,it's sound could be vastly improved with some NOS valves.Those Edicron 5u4's in particular are pants IMHO.

Hi AT - I've been having a play with some ECF80's which were very kindly loaned me be someone on the 'Wam. I had a pair of Telefunkens in my old KEL84 which worked very well - the same can be said here, and more interestingly there's a pair of old Brimars which are also excellent. A very noticable improvement on the std Edicrons and the CVC's I've got lying around.

The problem though I feel is that the KaT doesn't really like the Royds - they really need a good dose of solid state power to wake them up, and sound somewhat sluggish and diffuse when the KaT's asked to deliver at higher volumes. That's not the amp's fault of course (my friend uses this 34 to drive ESL63's into which it sounds truly wonderful) but more a speaker-amp mismatch. I'm looking forward to trying Mike's 88VA soon so we'll see how that goes. If that floats my boat I'm going to have a go at building my own one.

[Ali Tait]

Interesting,are the Royds a particularly difficult load?

[Gromit]

Interesting,are the Royds a particularly difficult load?

I'm pretty sure that they aren't, but they're only something like 86db/1w. When I had my Puresound A30 it also tended to display the same behaviour into them which is why I sold it on - had I been using more efficient speakers I'd have kept it as it sounded superb into my previous Audio Note AX2's, but being rear-ported they tended to react badly with the room.

[Marco]

Richard,

How did you cope with the SPU's very low output - are you using a matching transformer?

Marco.

[Gromit]

Richard,

How did you cope with the SPU's very low output - are you using a matching transformer?

Marco.

It seems fine - the Phono2's got loads of gain for it and is certainly quiet enough in terms of noise. It needs approx one more 'hour' on the volume control for the same level as the 103.

[Marco]

That's good then because it is very low output. What about loading and impedance - can you adjust that on your Phono2? The SPU has a very low impedance rating.

When you feel like experimenting again sometime you should try it with a dedicated SPU transformer (such as the SPU version of my A23 or those from Ortofon specifically designed to match the SPU) through the MM input on your Phono2. I guarantee you'll like the results, which will be very different to what you're hearing now

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

Do the amps have 4-ohm tappings? Might be worth trying the speakers on these,they may be happier.

[Gromit]

That's good then because it is very low output. What about loading and impedance - can you adjust that on your Phono2? The SPU has a very low impedance rating.

When you feel like experimenting again sometime you should try it with a dedicated SPU transformer (such as the SPU version of my A23 or those from Ortofon specifically designed to match the SPU) through the MM input on your Phono2. I guarantee you'll like the results, which will be very different to what you're hearing now

Marco.

The Phono2 doesn't have an MM input as it's MC only. I tried several transformers when I had my old 103R (which had a dedicated/matched tranny) and the Dorian - they all sounded great but I could never get rid of the problem of hum. Tried absolutely every trick in the book but to no avail. Ended up getting pissed off with it all and went to the Phono2 which sounds just as good, if not better, than all of them.

[Gromit]

Do the amps have 4-ohm tappings? Might be worth trying the speakers on these,they may be happier.

Just one set of speaker terminals unfortunately (presumably 8 ohm).

[Marco]

Interesting. Hum can be a problem with transformers - I have that very challenge myself at the moment since fitting the Jelco arm, as the interconnects Dave supplies, whilst sounding excellent, do seem to be hum magnets, but that'll be fixed when I visit him shortly. Hum wasn't a problem before when I had the Techy arm and the same cartridge and transformer.

Correct positioning, and eliminating earth loops seems to be the key with transformers. Get that right and generally there's no problem.

I've not heard the Phono2 so can't comment but I've tried loads of other active MC phono stages, some pretty expensive ones, with the 103 and none of them come close to emulating the performance I get with the A23 through the Croft's valve MM stage. Perhaps results are different through a valve phono stage? Since you're thinking about building a valve amp, why not build one with an all-valve MM phono stage and revisit the transformer thing to see what happens?

I'd be curious to know your thoughts and would willingly lend you my A23 for trial purposes

There's so much to learn with this hi-fi malarkey!

Marco.