I can't stay silent - today we received Helene DAC, "baby" DAC from Aries Cerat. What a baby, what a beauty. From the very fist second the sound was sublime, digital rarely gets better than this - in form of Kassandra DAC only probably. I am not saying this lightly, just compare Helene to all the big guns, you would be surprised. Rich, transparent sound, real body of instruments, timbre to die for, as analog as possible, but most importantly, natural music flow, touching your heart and soul. Be warned, after listening you might need to sell some very expensive equipment. But there is solution - you buy Kassandra LE, thus may be less painful.
Oh my, oh my - Aries Cerat Helene DAC
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Hello MatthiasHi Stavros,
I just watched the great YT interview with you by Ron Resnick
Helene offers an output of 30Vpp so for a simple system with high sensitivity speakers (99dB) a low gain integrated amplifier should provide enough amplification even for high SPL.
Would it be interesting for @Aries Cerat to offer such an amplifier for a system with Helene?
Thank you
Are you in my head?
Seriously now, it has been a thought for some years, i even pulled a prototype for it.
The problem is that this will be specific to our dacs alone. Small problem but still.
Such an amp is more of a buffer with volume than an full blown amp, as the gain is provided by the dac.
More than possible, for a small 10-14W amp.
Best
Stavros
I think it's a great idea...Hello Matthias
Are you in my head?
Seriously now, it has been a thought for some years, i even pulled a prototype for it.
The problem is that this will be specific to our dacs alone. Small problem but still.
Such an amp is more of a buffer with volume than an full blown amp, as the gain is provided by the dac.
More than possible, for a small 10-14W amp.
Best
Stavros
Maybe an amp with an 814 output stage or a triodeFET using a DHT as the tube element?Hello Matthias
Are you in my head?
Seriously now, it has been a thought for some years, i even pulled a prototype for it.
The problem is that this will be specific to our dacs alone. Small problem but still.
Such an amp is more of a buffer with volume than an full blown amp, as the gain is provided by the dac.
More than possible, for a small 10-14W amp.
Best
Stavros
Problems with valve availability going forward with 814 ‘s there I would suspect, and a little over complicated perhaps
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Point of exercise is, to be single stage buffer. The 814/3 will need more gain, with 10-12Vrms you will have about 2W output without a driver.
The TriodeFet unity gain amp which we tried was excellent, and at 12-15 W depending on config, you are set. (pun intended)
Cheers
The TriodeFet unity gain amp which we tried was excellent, and at 12-15 W depending on config, you are set. (pun intended)
Cheers
But if it is a buffer with unity gain then why can't a low gain DHT be used? You are relying on the very high output of the DAC for the gain, no?
We have both. 813 is not a problem any more, 814 is harder to find as you said.
You forget the massive step down in gain from the OPT
Oversimplified example, with oversimplified math. If your OPT step down ratio is 25:1 , and you output tube has a gain of x5, you need a driver stage with gain of x5 to have a unity gain amp. So single stage concept goes out the window as you can see .
That’s grand … I should have qualified with Brad that I was referring to Unused NOS Mullard Or Philips 813’s as the scarce ones , the excellent US manufactured 813 are still reasonably plentiful….
There are always equipment pulls or 814’s of unknown Providence listed on Ebay , Etsy etc, however …
The point being that unless one is buying from a reputable vendor who has access to a test machine capable of measuring the efficacy of 814’s then they are even more of a mine field than the 813’s in my experience , should one be buying blind in the wild , test machines capable of handling the voltages required to fully test 813 / 814 are somewhat rare .
For my part I would recommend that in the first instance owners of the AC range running these high voltage valves approach their AC dealer or AC direct for back up / replacement valves of this type .
That said these Valve types are very robust and were built to run continuously for years in commercial telephonic and transmitter applications, let alone considering the much easier life that they have running in AC electronics .
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Harder to find , i mean, for us, meaning harder to find lots of 50-100 pcs. For users to find replacement is easy
I’ve had my Helene DAC since last December- 11 months now. I leave it on almost continuously as recommended by my dealer. The sound, the PRAT paired with a K50 music server is really good. My question: Is a NOS GZ34/5AR4 rectifier tube worth the cost? My original GZ34 tube lasted up til June or about 5400 hours. I shut the DAC down for 10 days while out of town. The tube failed when I powered the DAC back up. Telltale sign is that one LED in the back right corner. It did not light up when the rectifier tube failed.
I replaced the original tube with a new Mullard. The Mullard lasted just 2800 hours. I powered down the DAC the night the Hurricane arrived. We lost power for a few days. When I tried to power up the DAC, the Mullard shorted and took out that T1L 250V fuse adjacent to the tube socket. I replaced that fuse and installed a new Tung Sol rectifier tube. After being powered up for 52 hours the Helene is back to sounding glorious. I also purchased a couple of replacements from Watford Valves (same as the original tube) from the UK. I have not tried the Watford valves yet.
So, how long would a NOS 5AR4 last being powered on constantly? Is the sound better with a $500 NOS rectifier tube?
I replaced the original tube with a new Mullard. The Mullard lasted just 2800 hours. I powered down the DAC the night the Hurricane arrived. We lost power for a few days. When I tried to power up the DAC, the Mullard shorted and took out that T1L 250V fuse adjacent to the tube socket. I replaced that fuse and installed a new Tung Sol rectifier tube. After being powered up for 52 hours the Helene is back to sounding glorious. I also purchased a couple of replacements from Watford Valves (same as the original tube) from the UK. I have not tried the Watford valves yet.
So, how long would a NOS 5AR4 last being powered on constantly? Is the sound better with a $500 NOS rectifier tube?
Hi
The new production rectifiers unfortunately do not hold a candle on the NOS ones in terms of life expectancy and reliability.
Some can overshoot their life expectancy but some go out in weeks.
Anyhow.
From the NOS ones, i really liked the Japan made one (copy of GE variation) and also GE. As long as we could find many Japan made, we actually supplied some Helene's with Hitachi.
If you can find NOS at ok prices go for it. I will not comment on the idiotic prices for some tubes that made and considered to be changed often. Many sellers are just ridiculous.
Cheers
Stavros
The new production rectifiers unfortunately do not hold a candle on the NOS ones in terms of life expectancy and reliability.
Some can overshoot their life expectancy but some go out in weeks.
Anyhow.
From the NOS ones, i really liked the Japan made one (copy of GE variation) and also GE. As long as we could find many Japan made, we actually supplied some Helene's with Hitachi.
If you can find NOS at ok prices go for it. I will not comment on the idiotic prices for some tubes that made and considered to be changed often. Many sellers are just ridiculous.
Cheers
Stavros
Not sure for Helene but for an Incito preamp it is VERY important and the output stage of Helene is very similar to Incito. Of the several I have tried, my 1955 Valvo branded metal base GZ34 takes everything up a couple notches…it’s that good and matters that much. Hard to find and now quite expensive but worth every penny.
@Aries Cerat, what's the thought on whether to leave ACerat tube gear on 24/7 or to turn off and turn back every day?
That is, for instance, does turning off at night and restarting every morning shorten the life of the tubes (and also the various components of the gear)?
Or, is it better to just leave on?
My AC gear uses smaller, relatively lower heat, and inexpensive, tubes
(Ithaka, Ageto and Essentias).
That is, for instance, does turning off at night and restarting every morning shorten the life of the tubes (and also the various components of the gear)?
Or, is it better to just leave on?
My AC gear uses smaller, relatively lower heat, and inexpensive, tubes
(Ithaka, Ageto and Essentias).
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Hi
We always say to turn off the equipment when not in use.
Tubes are not getting less rare and is a total waste to leave them on.
Ageto tubes have short life span.
Best
Stavros
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