Golden Gate DAC arrives.
- Thread starter Blue58
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You are completely right Wisnon. Btw, dsd 128 with the GG is something very special but you knew that already ...
AC, unless something has changed, I don't think Miguel will be developing a commercially averrable stand. BTW, all Starsound stands are groundable. They are an engineering group and have been using their current technology for some time. They also had a hand in designing my room. That being said, if you like what you own, fine.....
So far, 101D (standard issue Sino), 2A3 (Sovtek), Cunninghams, Kenrad 6A3s, and EML 45s. I am still circling 300Bs (maybe the Sophia Carbons....?). To date, the Kenrads are the most balanced with good dynamics and bass. Cunningham were sweet sounding (maybe a little murky) but croaked on me. To date, nothing sonically revelatory. In the venerable words of of our fearless leader Fikus:
taken from: http://lampizator.eu/AMPLIFIERS/GM-70/GM70amplifier_mono.html
Nothing like that yet. The sound improved markedly on my Sistrum stand as I mentioned. I am also going to fuse roll....
OK, it seems you are feeling the same way like most of us.
I humbly submit that you try some recti rolling as well. For DHT outputs, try the National Union brand 45 triode, ST shape from the 1950s. They are quite affordable. Tungsol 6A3, though they are kinda hard to get. WE replica 101d should be better, but I still have to try. I swapped with a pal for this, as he didnt like them (he likes lush midrange) and so was happy to scoop up my NU 45s and Hytron/Kenrad 6A3s. He was not moved by the EML 45 solid plates, as they sounded too much like his SE Royal Princess 300B. To me the EML 45 mesh is better, though nearly double the price of the solid.
Others to try are the VERY cheap vintage CX301 (Ebay), Kron KR 300b, Shuguang black treasure 300b-z, and the pricier Psvane WE replica 300b (circa $800 a pair). For rectis, the double mica Fivre/Haltron/Zaerix 5R4gy (quite cheap), philips/Amperex GZ34 (cheap to very expensive for metal base), pre-1946 5R4gy ie WW2 (pre 1946 versions are reputed to threaten vintage WE 274b) and the expensive GEC/Cossor/OSRAM U52 and the fat bottle Mullard GZ37. I wont mention the WE vintage stuff, nor the Elrog/Takatsuki expensive stuff.
See whatever hits your fancy/wallet and start there.
I humbly submit that you try some recti rolling as well. For DHT outputs, try the National Union brand 45 triode, ST shape from the 1950s. They are quite affordable. Tungsol 6A3, though they are kinda hard to get. WE replica 101d should be better, but I still have to try. I swapped with a pal for this, as he didnt like them (he likes lush midrange) and so was happy to scoop up my NU 45s and Hytron/Kenrad 6A3s. He was not moved by the EML 45 solid plates, as they sounded too much like his SE Royal Princess 300B. To me the EML 45 mesh is better, though nearly double the price of the solid.
Others to try are the VERY cheap vintage CX301 (Ebay), Kron KR 300b, Shuguang black treasure 300b-z, and the pricier Psvane WE replica 300b (circa $800 a pair). For rectis, the double mica Fivre/Haltron/Zaerix 5R4gy (quite cheap), philips/Amperex GZ34 (cheap to very expensive for metal base), pre-1946 5R4gy ie WW2 (pre 1946 versions are reputed to threaten vintage WE 274b) and the expensive GEC/Cossor/OSRAM U52 and the fat bottle Mullard GZ37. I wont mention the WE vintage stuff, nor the Elrog/Takatsuki expensive stuff.
See whatever hits your fancy/wallet and start there.
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I have the National Union recti, and again, no Jacob's ladder experience. I do plan on trying a Mullard fat bottle and some 300Bs (as long as they don't cost as much as some people's dacs....silly...I would rather put that $ towards electrical grounding).
That being said, the dac sounds good and I listen mostly to PCM. All the music I care about is PCM.
Audiocrack, how does the GG sound with and without Tripoint grounding? As I mentioned previously, I have a grounding post linked to my dedicated Ionic grounding unit, and I can hear a change in the noise floor with and without it. More efficacious than the schizophrenia of tubing rolling so far. You really need to get one of Miguel's power conditioners. They have even more impact (based on what I heard at a show) especially if you have dirty power.
That being said, the dac sounds good and I listen mostly to PCM. All the music I care about is PCM.
Audiocrack, how does the GG sound with and without Tripoint grounding? As I mentioned previously, I have a grounding post linked to my dedicated Ionic grounding unit, and I can hear a change in the noise floor with and without it. More efficacious than the schizophrenia of tubing rolling so far. You really need to get one of Miguel's power conditioners. They have even more impact (based on what I heard at a show) especially if you have dirty power.
What NU recti are you speaking about?
The only rectis I mentioned were: For rectis, the double mica Fivre/Haltron/Zaerix 5R4gy (quite cheap), philips/Amperex GZ34 (cheap to very expensive for metal base), pre-1946 5R4gy ie WW2 (pre 1946 versions are reputed to threaten vintage WE 274b) and the expensive GEC/Cossor/OSRAM U52 and the fat bottle Mullard GZ37.
I did mention NU 45 DHT output tubes and many other output tubes. The NU are a clear sleeper and very cheap.
I dont have dirty power, so not a top priority for me. Grid here is very stable ad clean. I wish the same could be said for our Internet lines…
David, I will try to find what I used as adapter for 6b4g...
The second link is where I got a set and they didn't work.
How about these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/391269361284?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
How about these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/391269361284?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
NU 5U4G Fat bottle. Its good. I have to experiment more. I will try the 45s. How is the bass? When switching from the 6A3s to the Cunninghams, the different in bass output was significant.
Of course you don't have dirty power. I would expect nothing less from Switzerland....
but that being said, if you share power with your neighbors, its dirty by definition.
NU 5U4G Fat bottle. Its good. I have to experiment more. I will try the 45s. How is the bass? When switching from the 6A3s to the Cunninghams, the different in bass output was significant.
Of course you don't have dirty power. I would expect nothing less from Switzerland....
Bsss better than Cunn 345. 6A3 is more extended at the extremes though. 45 is more lush in the middle but a shade or so. All checked on a Lite 7 which is easier as the recti is SS.
I like trying the vintage inexpensive champs, like the WW2 RCA Jan 5r4gy, GZ34 phillips/Mullard,double mica 5r4gy, NU 45 ST shape, and I will try 6lL6 if I get a cheap set from the Barn.
I agree with that sentiment. 6L6 as recti? Hmmm. I have some lying around from an old tube used to own...
Tripoint grounding benefits the GG as it does the other devices that are connected to it. Of course a Tripoint emperor ground would even have a greater positive effect. And I am sure that indeed adding Tripoint ac components would add a lot to both my systems but .... I have invested great amounts of money in the systems lately. In particular the Tidal LA loudspeakers - although worth every penny I spend on them - drained my financial resources. So hopefully sometime in the future I will be able to add additional Tripoint products. In an ideal world I would add (i) an emperor ac to the Genesis 1.1 set up, (ii) both an emperor ground and ac to the Tidal LA set up and (iii) Tripoint emperor pc's and emperor grounding cables. Then of course the additional Tidal LA woofer towers, an active xover, additional (solid state?) power amps fot these woofers, etc. Realizing all these audio dreams will propably end up in a divorce although my wife has been very, very tolerant so far but I do not want to push my luck.
All kidding aside, I love the Tripoint stuff, Miguel deserves in my opinion much more credit than he actually gets and I am sure somewhere in the future one or more Tripoint power conditioners will be added to my systems but I do not know yet when this will happen.
That is one of the aspects I need to discuss with Jorn of Tidal when he visits me at the end of this month, Wisnon. But as we both know, it is not only a matter of lacking bass or getting more bass but also laying the foundation of an audio system and the space it is capable to create. A solid bass foundation is imho crucial for the realism and space an audio system can create.
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