i'm a MOSFET convert myself.
Thats exactly right.Originally Posted by Elitopus1
I have attended numerous CES shows since the 1980s, and have attended RMAF , Denver audio show, each of the last nine years, to hear whats out there, and sample the best possible gear.
I TRUST what I hear, think I am a fairly good judge, after all this experience obtained.
My first ALTEC listening experience, at home, began 64 years ago, Trenton, NJ, my Dad's 604Bs.
Jeff Medwin
Last edited by LowOhms; January 24th, 2017 at 01:11 AM.
i'm a MOSFET convert myself.
Sonic Barbarian
+1 for Mosfet.
I have Tom to thank (or blame) for introducing me to Ashly
Hi Jeff,
For me part of the enjoyment of the Audio and Music hobby has been the journey through experimentation. Right now I?m pleased to be on the ALTEC path.
I haven?t spent much time sitting down to critically listen and contemplate how I can squeeze improvements from the signal chain.
I primarily use my audio gear for backing playback while I hack away on the guitar. So far I?ve invested my efforts to evolve the system towards the sound I?m seeking that inspires me to improve. The dynamics of the ALTEC sound in the mix has been a noteworthy step in that direction.
I?ve had fun spending too much money on the best possible sounding guitar amps. I don?t think my wallet can tolerate churning through playback amps. So I?d be interested to get any opinions on the ?best possible sounding amplifiers to run the ALTEC??
You?ve had much more experience on the ALTEC road than me and I appreciate the direction you?ve given me. I?m too far into the current build for a redirect but I will apply your approach to 878B XO MKII.
Thanks,
Greg
Hey Greg,
Sounds logical. If there is any way I can assist, as time goes by, feel free to ring me.
Jeff
It would be instructive ( to both of us ) to have a vinatge Ashley Mosfet amp and a Dennis Fraker Serious Stereo direct coupled 2A3 amp, on a well-set-up Altec speaker system ( 604 or VOTT ) so as to be able to compare them .
See recent ( Oct 2016 ) Stereophile comments, two URLs : Reichert, Herb :
(1) Right after the ELAC report, starts with a picture of two of Dennis’RED monoblock amps :
RMAF 2016: Sunday at the Show with Herb | Stereophile.com
(2) Next, go to this URL
RMAF 2016: An Assessment | Stereophile.com
scroll down till you see in a darker ( bolder lettering ) FAVORITE ROOMS
Read first three paragraphs, Dennis was the third paragraph..
Have fun, I do. I use such an amp as Dennis' on my VOTTs, but not quite as good. No one, past or present, equals his SET build.
Jeff Medwin ..... Low Ohms
Last edited by LowOhms; January 24th, 2017 at 01:15 AM.
If I had the patience for a tube setup or the spare cash I'd love to. But, the ashlys are strong, uncolored, and dependable.
Sonic Barbarian
+1 to what Phil said.
Also I have always had to tinker with my tube amps. The vintage ones I was using can only go for so long without something going wrong. I guess if you built something new from scratch, or totally rebuilt a vintage unit you wouldn't have that problem.
I can get a 250wpc Ashly amp for around 125$. And it will go strong for another 20 years. And they sound damn good. It lets me focus more on the speakers and changes in the preamp/source.
Well, you guys are following Bowtie / Tom, and I think that is good. From everything I see about him, I have to say, he is most knowledgeable, mature, and has my full respect.
Tom comes out of the Pro Sound industry, from what I gather. I don't doubt the Ashley amps sound good.
I have a different background, than many of you. I have been chasing good sonics, ever since my Dad brought home that second 604B when I was eight years old. That was 64 years ago !
Lets talk ALTEC for a moment.
They were designed to be efficient. IF ( a big word ) you pay attention to amp-to-speaker wiring, and crossover wiring, and crossover-to-driver wiring, to IMPROVE the transfer efficiency of the entire chain, you have a speaker that seldom needs more than about 3/4 s of a Watt in a home / living room environment, to play VERY loud. I have a 2A3 SET amp, well made, and I never have a " want " for more power than what it produces.
A Manufacturer and long time audio-friend, Dennis Fraker, of Serious Stereo, used eight VOTTs in each movie theatre he owned, but at home - a JBL Paragon was his reference speaker. Dennis spent $10,000 on Ensemble wire, to make it "go", NOT the stock JBL wiring at all. When he rewired, he was able to go from his 30 Watt Jadis Push-Pull tube amp, to his newly designed ( 1989 ) 2A3 SET amp, operating at a single Watt or less, 90% of the time.
An Ashley amp, made some time ago, is designed for pro sound and HIGH power applications. The ALTEC, when well-wired internally, ( just like Dennis' rewired Paragon ), needs ONLY a low powered amp, one that is FABULOUS, optimized for the first Watt of playback.
If you run ALTECS with less than optimized wiring, then likely you may need a high-powered amp, to make up for the poor Transfer Efficiency, of the ENTIRE chain. But if you TRY to optimize the transfer efficiency, of the ENTIRE chain, I would think, on such a optimized speaker, an amp optimized for the FIRST Watt, will murder a 200 Watt Mosfet amp, in all parameters.
Let me give you an axample,
I have in my 2A3 SET DC amp, a set of bypass caps, experimentally used, that can do 64 A. continuous, but can do about 1500 Amperes instantaneous. It is in a L1/C1/L2/C2 B+ filter, leading to my Finals, bypassing C1 and C2.. It does the leading edge of a transient, starting with the bass, quicker and better than ANYTHING I have heard anywhere. I am guessing, six years ago, this technology did not exist.
But, my Altec friends, it gets better, I also use this cap experimentally, as a bypass cap in my home-brew 800 HZ 12 dB VOTT crossover, for both the the tweeter and the woofer capacitor bundles.
Likely, I am the only person, world-wide, having such caps, in the amps and also in the speaker crossovers
So, if we were to A-B amps , with my experimental set up, on my system, with my wiring, I think there will be "no contest ". On someone else's system, with less-than-optimized wiring, poor transfer efficiency, and a stock crossover of the " normal" variety, the special caps in my amp, may never be heard as they were designed to be heard, in my optimized system.
This is just some of MY audio system thinking, as of January 2017.
I am currently rebuilding my dual-mono 2A3 amp, into two pure monoblocjks, this month and next. The sole purpose for this rebuild is a true mono amp will allow me to execute a better layout, easier than a dual mono amp, and lay out is critical on such a piece.
I intend to get my system up and running, with a new passive attenuator, so I can use my Blu Ray player ( Pioneer BDP-09FD ) and my Phono system ( Sutherland battery powered PH3D ) for the rest of this year, and " happily ever after". I plan to "go out" with what I came in with, " ALTEC ". Its been a long journey in audio for me.
Now you may have a better unbderstanding, from where I am coming from. Hopefully, my posts may make more sense to some now. Its FUN to be back into the ALTEC camp. If anyone has any legitimate questions, ( other than the experimental cap, too soon ) contact me. Regards and best wishes, have FUN.
Jeff Medwin .... LowOhms.
Last edited by LowOhms; January 25th, 2017 at 02:53 AM.
Hi Jeff,
Can you share a 2A3 SET DC amp schematic or maker of the type you are referring to? I don?t understand how bypassing power supply filter caps C1 and C2 would increase or enable more energy storage for transients.
My 878B Santiagos are not nearly as efficient as 604Bs or VOTTs. I doubt a low wattage SET amp, even with incredible transient energy transfer, would have the continuous gusto to drive these guys to acceptable SPLs for my listening needs.
Yes, now I?m understanding the context of your LowOhms rational (obsession?)
Greg
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