what recent changes have you made to your system?

[steve]

Sorry to hear of your loss Don. My mom just died last sunday evening at 96. Will take a while to get the
equilibrium back, so hang in there my friend.

steve

[Nick B]

Steve,

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's passing.

Nick

[P.I.]

Sorry to hear of your loss Don. My mom just died last sunday evening at 96. Will take a while to get the
equilibrium back, so hang in there my friend.

steve

Losing family is unlike any other loss.  Condolences, Steve. 😔

[dflee]

Sincere condolences Steve.
May your memories be good ones.
To a certain degree I am glad for my ignorance in audiophilia. I've got a really good sounding system
put together (to my ears anyway) and without the knowledge that a lot of you (Steve and Dave for example) have on how to make things sound better and what the innerds of a piece are made of will say in my case ignorance truly is bliss. Gotta admit I actually miss the scrutiny I got when bringing in new equipment and
her really good ear of sound. Had a piano tuner come in to work on the Mason and Hamlin grand that hasn't been touched once Shirley lost her sight to the point she couldn't read tablature. Found out it was built in
1923 and when he was done he played some on it. It reminded me that there is nothing that can compare.
All we can do is enjoy the music through whatever means possible. And ya, I hope to find that enjoyment
again. If not than I've put a great deal of money into nothing.

[steve]

Thank you Gentlemen. I appreciate your friendship and prayers, especially at this time.

Music can do wonders for the soul, like a good medicine.

All the best to you, my friends.

steve

ps. Let's get back to Nick's topic of changes.

[steve]

Something I changed, actually testing right now is lowering the filament voltage and checking
tube life of the JJ E88cc tube. With today's tube prices, would like to obtain maximum tube life.

Lowering filament voltage too much will cause premature tube failure. I am thinking that the
ratio of actual idling plate current vs the maximum listed in the particular tube specs will
determine how low the filament can go. However, this could be wrong due to an assumption
I am making.

A 12ax7 has a maximum plate current of 9ma while typical idle is listed as 1.2ma.
or 13.3%

A 6dj8, E88cc has typical idle plate current of 15ma while maximum of 20ma, or
75%.

Both are running the plate current and other characteristics in the linear region.

I have seen an ARC SP-3 preamp running the 12ax7 filaments nearly dark with
low filament voltage as there is plenty of reserve cathode current capability according
to the specs in the manuals.

I am testing the JJ E88cc for optimum tube life at ~8.6ma, plate current each section
or 43% of the maximum listed plate current.

cheers

steve

Rewrote this post due to parts on hand for a small test chassis. The 11A preamp will take
much longer to evaluate while the small chassis will be on 24/7.

[Nick B]

Something I changed, actually testing right now is lowering the filament voltage and checking
tube life of the JJ E88cc tube. With today's tube prices, would like to obtain maximum tube life.

Lowering tube life vs filament voltage will most likely vary with descent tube type. For instance:

A 12ax7 has a maximum plate current of 9ma while typical is 1.2ma.

A 6dj8, E88cc has typical plate current of 15ma while maximum of 20ma.

Both are running the plate current and other characteristics in a nice region.

I have seen an ARC SP-3 preamp running the 12ax7 filaments nearly dark with
low filament voltage as there is plenty of reserve cathode current capability.

I am testing the JJ E88cc at low, and lower filament voltage to check for optimum
tube life. Too low and the cathode will be depleted and short life. 

cheers

steve

Fascinating test, Steve. Keep us posted
Nick

[steve]

This is not a truly representative test as only 1 used JJ E88cc tube with two sections,
A, B are being tested. I will have to perform more tests with more JJ E88cc tubes for
better overall accuracy but should give us a good indication. Tube has been turned
off just a couple of times so far.

Test started on 8-11-24, measurements below are from 8-15-24.
Very early on, approximately 90 hours, the tube appears stable.

I did make a change from 2 watt to dual 12 watt plate resistors on 8-11-24
for increased heat related stability. Different RL resistance values A and B
are due to availability from the old parts box.

RL A are two Mills 12 watt resistors in parallel for 7.11K ohms
RL B are two Mills 12 watt resistors in parallel for 7.71K ohms

Voltages and currents are approximates.
           
Filament                  5.85 volts dc

B+ voltage              142
Plate A voltage        71.8 volts
Plate B voltage        63.8 volts

Plate A current         9.86ma
Plate B current         10.13 ma         

We'll see how the tube acts over time.

cheers

steve

[steve]

Missing a couple of posts, but if I can recall, at the voltages presented in
my last post, I believe and plate voltage rose only 1-2% after nearly 800
hours. Please correct me if I am off.

That is incredible since at 6.3 volts filament, the plate voltage change was dramatically more with fewer hours. So it appears that gas is not degrading the cathode, but the cathode temperature is limiting the hours of usefulness.

The TS 6550 output tubes seem to be doing well with reduced filament voltage. After hundreds of hours,
I could not tell the sonic difference between the used tubes and brand new tubes I have in the boxes.
The plate current is also very very close as the octet were matched when new.

cheers

steve

[Nick B]

Missing a couple of posts, but if I can recall, at the voltages presented in
my last post, I believe and plate voltage rose only 1-2% after nearly 800
hours. Please correct me if I am off.

That is incredible since at 6.3 volts filament, the plate voltage change was dramatically more with fewer hours. So it appears that gas is not degrading the cathode, but the cathode temperature is limiting the hours of usefulness.

The TS 6550 output tubes seem to be doing well with reduced filament voltage. After hundreds of hours,
I could not tell the sonic difference between the used tubes and brand new tubes I have in the boxes.
The plate current is also very very close as the octet were matched when new.

cheers

steve

Steve,

I have noticed a few small errors as well. We went from a 2017 SMF version to a 2023 version. Whether or not that's the cause, I really don't know. Our tech, Jean aka JB, backed up the data and handled some BS from the previous web hosting company. He really did a nice job for us considering all that.

I am just trying to get used to the different layout and version changes. I still can't find how we can post a simple photo. I might have to ask JB. That was one of the things I wanted improved. JB can change, add things etc. But there will be a fee, although I consider his fees to be very reasonable.

Nick

[steve]

Missing a couple of posts, but if I can recall, at the voltages presented in
my last post, I believe and plate voltage rose only 1-2% after nearly 800
hours. Please correct me if I am off.

That is incredible since at 6.3 volts filament, the plate voltage change was dramatically more with fewer hours. So it appears that gas is not degrading the cathode, but the cathode temperature is limiting the hours of usefulness.

The TS 6550 output tubes seem to be doing well with reduced filament voltage. After hundreds of hours,
I could not tell the sonic difference between the used tubes and brand new tubes I have in the boxes.
The plate current is also very very close as the octet were matched when new.

cheers

steve

Steve,

I have noticed a few small errors as well. We went from a 2017 SMF version to a 2023 version. Whether or not that's the cause, I really don't know. Our tech, Jean aka JB, backed up the data and handled some BS from the previous web hosting company. He really did a nice job for us considering all that.

I am just trying to get used to the different layout and version changes. I still can't find how we can post a simple photo. I might have to ask JB. That was one of the things I wanted improved. JB can change, add things etc. But there will be a fee, although I consider his fees to be very reasonable.

Nick

Hi Nick,

I like the new site, pretty cool. I am not worried, my simple reply is fine.

Have not really looked, but yes, it would be nice to upload photos,
files etc, especially for technical discussions. I am sure things will be ironed
out.

If donations are appreciated, please let us know. I can donate a bit if needed.

Cheers

steve

[Nick B]

Missing a couple of posts, but if I can recall, at the voltages presented in
my last post, I believe and plate voltage rose only 1-2% after nearly 800
hours. Please correct me if I am off.

That is incredible since at 6.3 volts filament, the plate voltage change was dramatically more with fewer hours. So it appears that gas is not degrading the cathode, but the cathode temperature is limiting the hours of usefulness.

The TS 6550 output tubes seem to be doing well with reduced filament voltage. After hundreds of hours,
I could not tell the sonic difference between the used tubes and brand new tubes I have in the boxes.
The plate current is also very very close as the octet were matched when new.

cheers

steve

Steve,

I have noticed a few small errors as well. We went from a 2017 SMF version to a 2023 version. Whether or not that's the cause, I really don't know. Our tech, Jean aka JB, backed up the data and handled some BS from the previous web hosting company. He really did a nice job for us considering all that.

I am just trying to get used to the different layout and version changes. I still can't find how we can post a simple photo. I might have to ask JB. That was one of the things I wanted improved. JB can change, add things etc. But there will be a fee, although I consider his fees to be very reasonable.

Nick

Hi Nick,

I like the new site, pretty cool. I am not worried, my simple reply is fine.

Have not really looked, but yes, it would be nice to upload photos,
files etc, especially for technical discussions. I am sure things will be ironed
out.

If donations are appreciated, please let us know. I can donate a bit if needed.

Cheers

steve

Thanks, Steve. We are good right now.

[James Edward]

First off, thumbs up on the new site look.

I recently picked up a Bluesound Node Icon- I fell for the hype of the 'dual DAC' that was going to change my life sound wise. It sounded good, but not over the top good. It works flawlessly and I love the user interface.

So... I picked up a Chord Qutest DAC. WOW. I love the sound of this piece.
In retrospect, I could have gotten a less expensive streamer since I'm using an external DAC. Live and learn...

I also picked up a digital interconnect from TWL, so my cd player just got a major sound upgrade.

All good here.

Jim

[Nick B]

First off, thumbs up on the new site look.

I recently picked up a Bluesound Node Icon- I fell for the hype of the 'dual DAC' that was going to change my life sound wise. It sounded good, but not over the top good. It works flawlessly and I love the user interface.

So... I picked up a Chord Qutest DAC. WOW. I love the sound of this piece.
In retrospect, I could have gotten a less expensive streamer since I'm using an external DAC. Live and learn...

I also picked up a digital interconnect from TWL, so my cd player just got a major sound upgrade.

All good here.

Jim

Thanks, Jim. Glad you like it.

One of the guys at the old Vegas audio club I was a member of had the Qutest and we quite liked it. As to the Bluesound, it has an internal or external power supply? I ask as some diy guys upgraded the power supplies and got a nice bump in performance. Glad you got a good usb cable! I might need another power cord from Pete one of these days