Hachidori Fukami Tape/Phono Preamplifier

[Zeotrope]

BTW, you may want to try a Photovox head in your Studer A820. Recent comparison showed better frequency response, half the inductance and nearly the same output. Because of the low inductance, the resonant frequency is very high - on the order of 40 kHz. This was done by Jonathan, BTW. There's a report but I don't want to post it without his permission.

 

[Zeotrope]

I agree with you that without auditioning in your own system and room, auditions are irrelevant. It's almost impossible to get a dealer to loan an ultra expensive component, so you have to do your own research and develop an understanding for how something sounds based on its design objectives, and others' feedback.

 

[Zeotrope]

Finally, here's a way I evaluate companies which is just as important as sound quality: level of knowledge about the product they are selling and willingness to learn about how to best integrate it with the rest of the system.
I actually asked the same question to both Doshi and Jonathan: have you had experience with a lower impedance playback head, specifically the ~80mH Photovox?
Nick replied with literally a one-word answer: "No".
Johanthan went out of his way to not only procure the same head but test it and compare it to his benchmark. He prepared Excel and PowerPoint comparisons and we've exchanged at least a dozen emails on the subject. He has even reached out to Metaxas to discuss and share findings. And I have not paid him a single cent!

Whether the component is $10k or $75k, this is the level of commitment I expect, and I simply won't work with anyone who has the ego or lack of knowledge or desire to go the extra mile. That's why I really don't care if the Doshi v4 is the best thing to ever grace an tape machine's output, I won't be entertaining it in my system.

Emile at Taiko has a similar (to Hachidori's) attitude and approach. Emile made a custom rack for my Extreme when I told him I couldn't fit it on my component rack. This, after initially recommending other brands because the Extreme was too large. I can give you similar examples about DarTZeel, Nagra, Trinnov, and probably all the components I have in my system.

This matters because when something goes wrong, you want a vendor who will work with you to find a solution that is best for your system, not point fingers or shrug his shoulders and place blame on the next component in the signal path.

 

[Foxbat]

I have no affiliation or connection to Nick professionally or otherwise, but I know there are usually two parts to a conversation and just dumping one line here may or may not represent the true scope of the conversation. As a customer you have the right to form your opinion, but apparently many people hold very positive ones on Nick. So I would ask the jury to disregard that remark.

Something clearly went wrong, but we don't know why.

BTW... the true level of commitment is not how someone treats his first customer... but how he treats the #1001.

 

[dminches]

I am not going to comment further on Nick but you are basing your entire view of him off one conversation. I hope people give you more rope than to write you off after 1 interaction. Your views of him are incredibly shortsighted especially given that others, including me, have said how helpful he has been to them.

 

[Zeotrope]

It's important to 'audition' the founders as much as the components. Both cases are based on one interaction. Same type of product, same question, same mode of interaction. Very different results.

 

[byrdparis]

i know how much deflating is to write a manufacture to discuss details and info about a unit that you interesting in... and not getting anything back...
i had no contact with Nick or Jonathan ever and that not the point here at all just to be clear.
but for us "out there" that interest in some exotic products, communication is VERY important, as ZEOTROPE i always evaluate the person behind the product first and trying to evaluate the product second. (given i am interesting in their production in the first place)
i agree the level of passion one has with his works get me going to a more positive way to take the plunge usually than those that has "mo time" for me, or answering in one word or ghost me all together, i always think if they not so communicative before im buying stuff, how much info and help i could get after id paid (of course it can be both ways, and some will be "friends" after you are serious enough and buy their product, but i always think i will need their attention before, especially if there is no dealer around etc.)

given the price of the Hachidori i am not interesting as i'm not "there" to spend that king of numbers on that regard, but it is a very interesting product, as the Doshi or Merill in my book, i guess if i had to choose one of them, i will go for that one who had the most reputation and back up service and not price to achieve attention. (im not in any way thinking the HACHIDORI will not be better than the others, and visa versa )

 

[Zeotrope]

Fully agree, well put!
Now, I did hear from Merrill: he was very helpful and eager to help, and he does off a money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied, so you can audition in home but you have to buy the unit first. I ended up not liking the fact that Merrill won’t disclose what’s inside, nothing about the circuit, and I couldn’t mind any reviews I would consider reputable about his products. I’m also not sure how knowledgeable he is about component design and as someone who can appreciate really great music reproduction (having both qualities is extremely rare). Maybe he is, I just wasn’t satisfied with what I discovered. And at ~$22k, this is not a trivial purchase.

 

[Foxbat]

I ended up not liking the fact that Merrill won’t disclose what’s inside, nothing about the circuit, and I couldn’t mind any reviews I would consider reputable about his products.

I have never seen any high end manufacturer provide any meaningful explanations of what is inside - all you get is marketing bullshit.

 

[adrianywu]

You are correct, because typically the peak happens well outside the audio band, so you will only see it when using a flux loop. The value of that adjustment is debatable, unless it is very significant.

BTW, speaking of sophistication, I certainly like the two stage HF adjustment, as found on some machines, such as Ampex ATR, Telefunken M15A or STM-310. They allow you to obtain higher accuracy than typically is possible with the single HF control.

The resonance of the tank circuit can be used to compensate for the HF loss as the head wears down. This might be of some value.

 

[Zeotrope]

Back on the main topic - new interview with Jonathan and the Fukami just posted:

 

[dminches]

Jonathan seems like a nice and thoughtful guy who has done his homework in designing and building this preamp.

Are there any reviews of the unit by anyone who has heard it? I can't find any.

 

[Zeotrope]

There is on another forum, I will try to find the link... It's a very short comment from a well respected tape guy saying that he heard it and it sounds very good, or something to that effect.

 

[dminches]

I found it on audionirvana. Not much posted yet.

 

[JohnP]

Yes, the user adjusment settings are:
Dampening
Low Freq.
High Freq.
for each channel

Plus adjustments for the EQ curves:
Low and High per channel for each EQ curve
I don't recall seeing a Dampening adjustment for the Doshi.
Damping Resistance – for tape, this is the resistance that a high-impedance playback head is loaded with to damp high frequency resonance associated with all tape heads. For phono, this can be used to damp MM cartridges or load the secondary of an MC SUT (step up transformer).

I have a head amplifier built by Dave Slagle. The tape player I use has a Nortronics 9200 head. I experimented with loading the head with resistances from 25k ohms to 125k ohms. After listening to various loads, I found I liked 55k ohms best. It was definitely better than the others I tried. I think it is worthwhile to try varying the load on the head to see what sounds best.

John

 

[Foxbat]

I have a head amplifier built by Dave Slagle. The tape player I use has a Nortronics 9200 head. I experimented with loading the head with resistances from 25k ohms to 125k ohms. After listening to various loads, I found I liked 55k ohms best. It was definitely better than the others I tried. I think it is worthwhile to try varying the load on the head to see what sounds best.

John

It is not a good practice to blindly try different settings. There is good logic to selecting the starting point, which is making sure the FR goes to at least 20-24KHz. The proper resistance is calculated based on the head's inductance. I see that head's inductance listed at 700mH, in which case 55K is too low resistance - you only get about 12.5 KHz band. 125K should be more appropriate.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Back on the main topic - new interview with Jonathan and the Fukami just posted:

i certainly cannot quarrel with Jonathan's views on the Ampex MR70 being the pinnacle of vintage tape repro circuits. (but he did not say it was perfect either in stock form.). and had not investigated other new tape repro designs; such as the Doshi or Merrill.

 

[Foxbat]

I actually like the fact that he did not investigate those two products - he honestly set up to build the best product he knew how. This is the approach I like.

This was the most informative narration about the product that I have heard from him. It wasn't much, but it provided a clear skeleton... you can put some meat on those bones.

I wish him all the best.

 

[adrianywu]

It is not a good practice to blindly try different settings. There is good logic to selecting the starting point, which is making sure the FR goes to at least 20-24KHz. The proper resistance is calculated based on the head's inductance. I see that head's inductance listed at 700mH, in which case 55K is too low resistance - you only get about 12.5 KHz band. 125K should be more appropriate.

The Nagra head is also 700mH. I am loading my preamp with 250K each phase. But it also depends on the cable capacitance.

 

[dminches]

The Nagra head is also 700mH. I am loading my preamp with 250K each phase. But it also depends on the cable capacitance.

Can someone explain what Jonathan is doing to take cable capacitance out of the equation? Seems pretty cool but I don’t understand the details.