A somewhat historic occasion - Foreplay III retires

[Jim R.]

Wow, and I was so close... :-)

So, what's this about upgraded signal path wiring?  Just curious. ;-)

-- Jim

[dw]

I'll build one.

[corndog71]

over $1K!

yikes!

I never got the Foreplay 3 because with upgrades it was almost that much.  That's why I love my Quickie!  Truly one of the best audio bargains out there.

Still, I would like something better if possible.  I guess we'll see how things go.

[Laudanum]

Glad I bought the FPIII last year.  Really glad actually.   Ive got another hobby that isnt exactly cheap and $1K+ preamp wouldnt be in the cards right now, especially one that uses the expensive 300B tubes.  I understand the decision, not griping about it.  Im sure Bottlehead wouldnt do it if they didnt think the sonics merited the price and the discontinuation of the FP.  Just saying that I think the FPIII is a great sounding piece and Im glad I was able to buy and build one before they were retired.  Not all of us are in a continuous search for the holy grail.  For some of us, very good is more than enough.  I havent even added the extended upgrade.  Quite happy with the stock FPIII and the system as it is.  But I have no doubt that the new 300B pre will be a big hit.   And who knows ... maybe the FPIII or a newly designed pre at the FPIII price point will make an appearance down the road due to heavy demand    But Im pretty much set.  Maybe the etended upgrade down the road, maybe not.  I do feel for those who wanted a FPIII but missed out before retirement.

[debk]

looking forward to the 300b preamp.  Hopefully we can get it without tubes at a reduced price.  I have a few pairs of 300b's at home

Deb

[denti alligator]

Doc,
would the new one work well with the Seduction and SEX?

s

[BNAL]

Will the attenuators be available as a kit for other projects?

[Tickwomp]

Not to be a total d*ck, but are we talking "earth" months for availability?  I gave up waiting for the DAC about this time last year...

[Grainger49]

Will the attenuators be available as a kit for other projects?

The Sweetest Whispers used to be on the Parts Page.  I don't see them today.  But I suspect they are still available.

[Doc B.]

Not to be a total d*ck, but are we talking "earth" months for availability?  I gave up waiting for the DAC about this time last year...

Yeah, I understand folks giving up on the DAC. It's been three years now since we initiated the project and I still don't have the functional prototype. It seems it is a goal that is always a little too far for the time and money resources we have on hand. The next month or two we will probably come to the point of s*** or get off the pot, so we will see what happens.

Regarding the 300B preamp, we are at the proof of concept prototype stage. We had another great breakthrough today that seemed to be the main sticking point, and in the process we all agreed that the realism of the presentation stepped up a notch. We plan to start working up a layout next, for the functional prototype. I would liken this development process more to Tode than the DAC in terms of the project calendar. We showed the POC prototype of Tode in March, and they start shipping tomorrow.

[2wo]

Wow, I have been waiting a very long time for DAC. I sure hope it makes the cut. If not would you consider selling the digital PCB alone?

 We could work out power supply's and output stages as a group project. Might be fun...John

[Gerry E.]

Hi:

At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, I have a question about the 300B preamp.  I know that EML mesh-plate 300Bs are generally (or is it it specifically?) NOT recommended for Paramount amps.  Putting aside the cost issue, would it be correct to assume that they would work just fine in the 300B preamp?  Thanks.

Gerry 

[Hank Murrow]

Actually, the problem occurred with the previous version of Paramount. With the new Paramount soft-start circuit the EML 300B's are fine as it says on the EML site. I assume that the preamp will include the soft-start circuit.

Cheers, Hank

[Jim R.]

Guys,

This has been gone over several times recently -- there never was any problem with the paramounts in 300b configuration and the EML tubes -- it was only in the direct-coupled 2a3 version that the problem would happen, and that is what has been remedied by the soft-start board.

-- Jim

[Doc B.]

Thanks Jim, you beat me to the punch and said it in a less crabby fashion that I was going to. The preamp is a completely different product and there will not be any problem using various 300Bs since they are running at quite low voltage and dissipation.