Philips miniwatt tubes Ecc83 /E88CC sound / noise ??

[andromedaaudio]

I got my Pre dead quit now , did a mix and match of JAN and other philips NOS tubes , soundquality is exxcelent whether it became better or not is always difficult to say , certainly i like quitness
That is probably the reason also i might swap the CAT jl 2 sign for a HALCRO in the future , but not sure yet , sound of the CAT is topnotch and the soundbubble is larger then with SS
Thing i dont like however about tube power amps is that they raise the noisefloor

 

[microstrip]

I got my Pre dead quit now , did a mix and match of JAN and other philips NOS tubes , soundquality is exxcelent whether it became better or not is always difficult to say , certainly i like quitness
That is probably the reason also i might swap the CAT jl 2 sign for a HALCRO in the future , but not sure yet , sound of the CAT is topnotch and the soundbubble is larger then with SS
Thing i dont like however about tube power amps is that they raise the noisefloor

Some tube power amplfiers are not noisy at all - surely if you pick good tubes.

The XXX signal/noise ratio, ref. 2.83V into 8 ohms (1W), 82.8dB, wideband unweighted, 96.8dB when A-weighted.
The YYY unweighted, wideband signal/noise ratios, ref. 2.83V into 8 ohms 82.1dB right. A-weighted, 99.2dB

Which is an Halcro and which is an Audio Research?

 

[andromedaaudio]

What about transformer HUM ?
Never owned a ARC power amp i did own a pre

Which ARC would that be??

Practically speaking i ve owned GRaaf GM 200 , most noisy of them all

Second CAT

less noisiest was the zanden it also was the less powerfull one 8 watts , seems to me with the increase in poweroutput and larger transformers the noise floor adds up .

 

[andromedaaudio]

dm88's noise floor was very low. Referenced to a level of 2.83V into 8 ohms (equivalent to 1W), the A-weighted signal/noise ratio with the input short-circuited was an extraordinary 105.6dB. Even the wideband, unweighted measurement was 84.7dB! This is an amplifier that can take full advantage of the high resolution promised by SACD and DVD-Audio.
Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/...er-amplifier-measurements#qabRhpWC7CD9SULF.99


ARC 75 watts

Channel separation (not shown) was superb, at >100dB R–L and >110dB L–R below 3kHz, and still around 90dB at the top of the audioband. Noise levels were also low, the unweighted wideband signal/noise ratio from the 4 ohm tap (ref. 2.83V into 8 ohms, assessed with the input shorted) measuring 86dB in the left channel, 85.3dB in the right. With an A-weighting filter in-circuit, these ratios improved to 100.6dB left and 102.4dB right. The ratios from the 8 ohm tap were all a little lower, particularly in the left channel, but this is still a quiet amplifier.
Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/...er-amplifier-measurements#CS0MrUK2LQesZ2aO.99


Seems pretty quit from specs , but what does the transformer add standing next to it???

 

[microstrip]

What about transformer HUM ?
Never owned a ARC power amp i did own a pre

Which ARC would that be??

Practically speaking i ve owned GRaaf GM 200 , most noisy of them all

Second CAT

less noisiest was the zanden it also was the less powerfull one 8 watts , seems to me with the increase in poweroutput and larger transformers the noise floor adds up

I am referring my to preferred Audio Research REF150, balanced input - by chance it is now playing great in my listening room.

You were unlucky - the Graaf GM200 was one of the noisiest existing amplifiers - SNR 58db , 70dB weighted. I have listened to it a few times, curiously it sounded fabulous when it was not exploding - at that time signal to noise ratio was fabulous if you consider the explosion noise as signal!

BTW, the SS amplifier was the DM58.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Transformer , do you hear the noisefloor being raised if switched on ??

How much lower is a balanced connection in general for tube power amps ??

 

[andromedaaudio]

By the way i d love to try some ARC power amps on my speakers , they are great sounding off course / quit spacey extended soundstage as i can remember from last time , a bit tubey may be
LAMM i d like to hear but not a lot of representation around here probably to much $$$

 

[andromedaaudio]

Here is the cat on 6550 tubes not as good as ARC

Gain (8-ohm load), Lch | Rch: 28.3X, 29.0dB | 27.9X / 28.9dB
Output noise, 8-ohm load, 1k-ohm input termination, Lch/Rch:

Wideband: 0.076mV, -91.5dBW / 0.142mV, -86.0dBW
A weighted: 0.033mV, -98.3dBW / 0.098mV, -89.3dBW


http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/amplifiers/cat_jl2_signature_mk2/