Well then you need one of these Paul! :)
91 E — Western Electric - Maker of electron tubes and high fidelity
<https://www.westernelectric.com/91e>
Thanks, 73, Jim W7RY
On 3/23/2022 11:34 AM, Paul Christensen wrote:
I often see an inverse relationship between money spent on high-end audio gear
and one's technical knowledge concerning audio engineering and acoustics.
It's amazing to see matched pairs of 5U4 rectifier tubes selling for twice the
price of an unmatched pair. Or, $1K+ AC line cords marketed as a design
derived from a DNA double-helix when home AC wiring between the receptacle and
service panel contains common Romex and builder-grade receptacles, some of
which are shared with other receptacles on a common branch circuit. But
somehow, none of that matters with the expensive line cord.
I recently saw several beat-up Gates Sta-Level compressors sell in excess of
USD $3K each. If any of you spent time in broadcast engineering, you know what
these are. We junked them decades ago but now they're the Holy Grail of audio
compressors.
I pay no attention to the tube v. solid-state debates and how colorful adjectives are
used to describe an audio experience. If there's some attribute that can’t be
measured, I consider it non-existent and a figment of one's imagination.
Of all the audio amp parameters I deem important, it's the damping factor.
Interestingly, few vacuum tube amps offer high damping factor owing to the ESR of
transformer secondaries. Many audio systems can be substantially improved by choosing
an amp with a high damping factor. Combine it with big copper conductor size Romex
for speaker cabling and be done with it. We don’t need expensive deoxygenation
nor hyper-stranding to improve skin effect.
FWIW, my home amps are 1970s vintage Marantz. They offer good performance,
have a high damping factor, and are still easy to repair.
Paul, W9AC
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