Aesthetix Io Users Group

[DasguteOhr]

If you still have enough gain, i.e. you are not yet at the right limit of the potentiometer, you can also use a 5751 tube in V 5/V 6 instead of an ecc83, which reduces the noise/gain of the last phono stage by 30%. I think the RIAA equalization is between the first ECC83 and the second ECC83 stage has no influence on the RIAA characteristics.
you will lose 8-9db total gain but win signal to noise
Then you~70db gain works for every cartridge in the world

 

[audioquest4life]

Thank you, gentlemen. To keep noise low I long ago abandoned all NOS in the early gain stages. Noise-tested Sovtek 12AX7LPs seem very quiet.

I am fox-hunting a crackling tube noise issue presently. I swapped out the right channel's V2, V2, V3 and V4 and the noise is still there! I am going to swap out the 6SN7 next.

Hi Ron,

Have you isolated the crackling noise to the phono stage only? Do you have a tube preamp? Perhaps, you might want to try another source, streamer, CD, SACD, etc., through the tube preamp, if you own one, and conduct a test to see if the crackle still occurs with the tube preamp only.


Agree about the use of NOS in the first stages. The Sovtek 12AX7LPS seem like a safe bet for reliability, low noise, and really great musical quality in the first stages.

 

[Ron Resnick]

If you still have enough gain, i.e. you are not yet at the right limit of the potentiometer, you can also use a 5751 tube in V 5/V 6 instead of an ecc83, which reduces the noise/gain of the last phono stage by 30%. I think the RIAA equalization is between the first ECC83 and the second ECC83 stage has no influence on the RIAA characteristics.
you will lose 8-9db total gain but win signal to noiseView attachment 145160
Then you~70db gain works for every cartridge in the world

Thank you, but I am usually at 3 o'clock on the dial as it is.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Well, that was frustrating! I replaced every tube in the right channel, and I still have the crackling noise. So I screwed up.

 

[DasguteOhr]

Thank you, but I am usually at 3 o'clock on the dial as it is.

At max. 80db gain ?
I would clean the tube sockets, unplug the device and wait a few hours. Clean the contacts with interdental brushes and alcohol. Maybe that's the problem.

 

[Argonaut]

Could be a dry solder joint on one or more valve sockets … seems like these things are as reliable as a DeLorean

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

Could be a dry solder joint on one or more valve sockets … seems like these things are as reliable as a DeLorean

or Lucas; The company that invented darkness

 

[Kcin]

Swap your power supplies Ron - left to right. To eliminate that possibility.

 

[Ron Resnick]

My right Io channel has crackling tube noise. After swapping what I thought was every tube, the noise did not go away.

This morning I swapped the right channel tubes and the left channel tubes en masse. The crackling noise still appears in my right channel. (Yes, a few days ago I swapped the right channel input and left channel input going into the preamp and the crackling noise switched to the left speaker.) (I also swapped the Io power supplies and the noise stayed on the right channel.)

Either my listening room poltergeist has returned or I am an impatient idiot, and I screwed something up in the tube swaps by not paying close enough attention to what I was doing.

Could anything in the Io other than tubes be causing a noise that sounds like tube crackling?

 

[oldvinyl]

Could anything in the Io other than tubes be causing a noise that sounds like tube crackling?

Static electricity (check the room humidity).
Cell phone too close to the phono stage or cartridge.
Loose connection.

 

[XV-1]

My right Io channel has crackling tube noise. After swapping what I thought was every tube, the noise did not go away.

This morning I swapped the right channel tubes and the left channel tubes en masse. The crackling noise still appears in my right channel. (Yes, a few days ago I swapped the right channel input and left channel input going into the preamp and the crackling noise switched to the left speaker.) (I also swapped the Io power supplies and the noise stayed on the right channel.)

Either my listening room poltergeist has returned or I am an impatient idiot, and I screwed something up in the tube swaps by not paying close enough attention to what I was doing.

Could anything in the Io other than tubes be causing a noise that sounds like tube crackling?

Ron

Get rid of the noisy phono stage and get a new silent one.
There is multiple choices of silent tube phono stages.

Life is too short

 

[Ron Resnick]

Static electricity (check the room humidity).
Cell phone too close to the phono stage or cartridge.
Loose connection.

Thank you.

Static electricity (check the room humidity): very low humidity here

Cell phone: not near the phono stage or cartridge, and cell phone has never been a problem before. On January 11, with 12 audiophiles with cell phones in the room, there was no crackling noise whatsoever.

Loose connection: definitely possible

 

[Ron Resnick]

Ron

Get rid of the noisy phono stage and get a new silent one.
There is multiple choices of silent tube phono stages.

Life is too short

I love the Io sonically. Prior to this the Io was amazingly quiet.

 

[bonzo75]

I love the Io sonically. Prior to this the Io was amazingly quiet.

Well you can literally drive over to the factory to fix it

 

[Ron Resnick]

Well you can literally drive over to the factory to fix it

Yes, but I'm not going to drive over to Jim and ask him to swap tubes while I watch.

 

[Lagonda]

Well you can literally drive over to the factory to fix it

He still has to wait 6 months till they have time for repair, especially if he is still under warranty !

 

[Johan K]

That IO path seem a bit scary .. ??!!
I almost fell for it myself 5-6 years ago.

 

[Lagonda]

That IO path seem a bit scary .. ??!!
I almost fell for it myself 5-6 years ago.

You chose wise by going SS phono Johan, the Io is my biggest audio mistake.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I swapped all the tubes. It's not the Io.

 

[Mr.Rios]

I swapped all the tubes. It's not the Io.

How about the right side Jadis ?