Initial Listening

sweet & juicy SE amp for 1626 Darlings and the 6L6 family

Initial Listening

Postby Thermion » Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:34 am

I brought the Clementine up from the bench yesterday and put it in my main listening system replacing my octal Ikes for the first time since last May. The rest of the equipment is a PS Audio 4.6 preamp, a Rotel RCD-965BX limited edition CD player and B&W 802 Series 80 loudspeakers. The Rotel is a limited edition because it has a factory modified discrete MOSFET analog output. The B&W speakers may be the most revealing speakers I've owned, but they always sound good even when you have crappy electronics or recordings. I also have a Luxman PD-121 turntable with a Grado cartridge and my computer with a Soundblaster Audigy sound card as source components.

The Clementine is dead quiet. I measured ~.3mv of noise on the output with the inputs shorted. With the volume all the way up, I could barely hear the noise with my ear next to the speaker. I started with a mix of Christmas music. I know, I know, but these are the only 3 days each year I listen to my Christmas CDs. The music is a mix of Manheim Steamroller, Rock, Jazz, big band, blues, and classical. This way I get to hear guitars, drums, horns, strings, vocals etc. Remember, this is preliminary listening. I plan to keep the amp in this setup for a few weeks before taking it to work as an office amp.

Overall impressions are positive. The amp sounds very good. There is a surprising amount of low end for a SE 6.5 watt amp. Detail is there on the horns and strings. Vocals sound natural. Overall very nice. However, there seemed to be something missing. Nothing specific, just that intangible emotion. The feeling that you just don't want to turn it off and keep listening. Perhaps because it replaced my Ikes which are the best sounding tube amps I have ever heard.

This morning when I got ready to turn them, on I realized that the coupling caps were still Solen metallized PP. So I dug through my boxes of parts looking for something to substitute. I found my Poseidon prototype boards in a box and they were stuffed with Angel SCR .27 uF film and foil caps. Cool!!! I pulled a couple and installed them in the Clementine. Powered it up and started listening again. The difference is remarkable. Again, nothing specific. The music just sounds right and involving. Got Brian Setzer's "Dig that Crazy Christmas" going right now and it sounds great!! I love this hobby. (lol)

Looks like another long day of tube listening. One more observation. After several hours yesterday, the power transformer never got too hot to touch, it's being operated at half of its rated capacity. The amp should last forever this way.

Merry Christmas,
JT
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Postby Shannon Parks » Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:38 am

Very cool, JT. Hope to be able to hear it before it goes to the office and the Ikes get hooked back up. You'll have to tube roll the 1625s and let me know what you think.

Merry Christmas!

Shannon
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Postby Thermion » Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:59 am

Right now I have NOS WWII vintage National Union 1625's and Sylvania 12SL7. There is definitely tube rolling in my near future. I have some other NOS National Union and tons of RCA 1625. I also have National Union, RCA, GE, Sylvania, and maybe some Ken-RAD 12SL7s.

There will be time for you to come over for a listen before the Clementine goes to work in the office.

JT
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