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December 03, 2022, 10:06:44 PM

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21
Kaiju Stereo 300B amp / Re: 300b upgrade?
« Last post by johnsonad on Yesterday at 09:05:25 AM »
I hope the originator doesn’t mind taking this thread on a detour.

Gerry is the only guy i know who has had all of the top end tubes and he has a nice audio set up.

Sound quality, build quality, warranty and ultimately cost performance is how I buy fancy tubes now. But when a pair of tubes costs as much as a new amp, I find a compromise that my wallet and listening enjoyment can both be happy with.

300Bs, even the affordable Russian made EH last a long time when used with a conservative operating point. My EML’s are eight years old and test nearly new. Hell, they may outlast me.
22
Kaiju Stereo 300B amp / Re: 300b upgrade?
« Last post by Larpy on Yesterday at 07:22:04 AM »
I've been using new-production WE 300Bs in my Kaiju for about a year and a half.  I think they sound great, but the only other 300Bs I've tried are the stock EH and Gold Lion Genalex.  The Genalexes sounded a bit better than the EHs but it wasn't a dramatic upgrade.  The WEs, on the other hand, were clearly an upgrade, noticeable from the first seconds of firing them up and listening to them:  clearer, smoother, and more vivid-sounding (something like the sonic equivalent of color saturation in photography/cinematography).

Is the improvement commensurate with the price difference?  The WEs cost roughly 5 times more than the Genalexes.  Honestly, they don't sound 5 times better, but what with "diminishing returns" and all that, I'm not sorry I spent the money.

Were I wealthy, I'd try Elrog, EML, and Takatsuki 300Bs as well.  Maybe some day.
23
Crack-a-two-a / Re: Disaster struck!
« Last post by Skipperrik on Yesterday at 06:26:38 AM »
bB was 162.5 but it has also come down to 150.

I'll give everything another round of checks. Thanks for your help!

24
Crack-a-two-a / Re: Disaster struck!
« Last post by Paul Birkeland on Yesterday at 06:14:40 AM »
Which other value would be high?

I would triple check your 7 pin sockets, as you may still have a loose connection.
25
Crack-a-two-a / Re: Disaster struck!
« Last post by Skipperrik on Yesterday at 06:13:32 AM »
That's interesting. I swapped the tubes and now both OA values are 150V.

Are the other high values ok?
26
Crack-a-two-a / Re: Disaster struck!
« Last post by Paul Birkeland on Yesterday at 06:05:50 AM »
I would swap the 6AQ5 tubes to see if the high regulated voltage switches sides.  If it doesn't, I would suspect the 431 regulator to be damaged on the side that's not pulling down properly. If the problematic voltage swaps sides, then a replacement 6AQ5 would be in order.
27
Crack-a-two-a / Re: Disaster struck!
« Last post by Skipperrik on Yesterday at 06:00:57 AM »
The fuses arrived so I took the amp back to the workbench. I looked carefully at all of the connections at the terminal strips like you suggested and couldn't find anything that would cause a short. I replaced the blown fuse, plugged it in and it immediately blew the fuse. It was really puzzling me until I noticed that the base of the capacitors were actually touching the terminal strips. I had cut the leads a little short and they weren't standing clear of the strips. I bent them at an angle to the strips, replaced the fuse and powered on the amp again. That was apparently the problem. No blown fuse this time. See the before and after photos.

I also looked at the connections around the left 6AQ5 socket that might cause the low bRegA value. I found that the resistor connection at 18U had a tight connection but I had missed soldering it. I remedied that issue and re-flowed several other connections.

Below are the new voltage test results:

Low Current
IA 150 / 163.3
OA 60-90 / 63.6
KregA 3-6 / 7.5
bRegA 150 / 163.1 (111 previously)
IB 150 / 150
OB 60-90 / 63.1
KregB 3-6 / 5.39
bRegB 150 / 150

High Current (left)
IA 190 /198.3
OA 150 /162.6
bA 0 / 0
IB 0 / 0
OB 90-110 / 94.3
bB 150 / 162.5

High Current (right)
IA 190 / 196.3
OA 150 / 150
bA 0 / 0
IB 0 / 0
OB 90-110 / 86.7
bB 150 / 150

Other than bRegA, the rest of the values are almost identical to the previous test.

The problems seem to have been solved but I have one additional question. There are several values that are higher than spec. Are any of those a problem?

Thanks.
28
Kaiju Stereo 300B amp / Re: 300b upgrade?
« Last post by kgoss on Yesterday at 05:35:17 AM »
I have new production WE 300B tubes in a Dennis Has Inspire 300B-V.  I have been using it as my desktop amp driving a pair of Blumenstein Minis..  It gets 9+ hours a day M-F and it's been going almost a year and a half.  The tubes came with the amp and I have not tried any others.  But they sound great and I have had no issues.  If I ever wear these out I won't hesitate to buy more WE300Bs.
29
Eros Phono / Re: Denon DL-S1
« Last post by Thermioniclife on December 01, 2022, 06:34:48 PM »
Well stated John.
30
Eros Phono / Re: Denon DL-S1
« Last post by 2wo on December 01, 2022, 06:08:18 PM »
IMHO, it makes sense to set up with a higher output cartridge and get yourself situated. From there you can try a lower level cartridge and  whether you need to explore transformer options.

There are a lot of  variables best to divide and conquer...John
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