My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart

Anyone who is sure enough of the job done to put their name on it is ok in my book
I might make a mark in pencil on mine XD

Just ordered me a quad of Gold Lion KT-88 and a 12BH7 - EH gold pin tube with matched sections from Jim McShane .....real cool gentleman to work with!

CletusB wrote:Just ordered me a quad of Gold Lion KT-88 and a 12BH7 - EH gold pin tube with matched sections from Jim McShane   .....real cool gentleman to work with!

Not a huge fan of EH's, but if Jim says they're good you can take it to the bank. Those GL KT-88s will not let you down. Give 'em about 100 hours. Now that you're swapping out output tubes, go through the regime of re-tensioning and re-compressing the sockets, with a dose of Deoxit and a pipe-cleaner to shine 'em up. About an hour's work, but well worth it.
-d-

Yup, noted!   ....Deoxit is my #1 electronics chemical here in the shop for many years.
Got about 60 hours now on the amp with 6550's on board    ......yes, Jim highly recommended the EH 12BH7 for that voltage amplifier.

Here she is running about 3-hours (original 6550 tubes)

sKiZo wrote:............

PS - one other accessory you should definitely plan on getting ... maybe the best $20 you'll ever spend.



TRC 90033 Shockshield White Portable GFCI Plug with Surge Protection

Ignore the GFCI part - this type of adapter requires a manual reset on any power blips, and can save yer bacon, preventing multiple inrush loads on the more sensitive bits.

Thanks for the advice, it's now part of my system ......I bought the pretty yellow one!

CletusB wrote:

sKiZo wrote:............

PS - one other accessory you should definitely plan on getting ... maybe the best $20 you'll ever spend.



TRC 90033 Shockshield White Portable GFCI Plug with Surge Protection

Ignore the GFCI part - this type of adapter requires a manual reset on any power blips, and can save yer bacon, preventing multiple inrush loads on the more sensitive bits.

Thanks for the advice, it's now part of my system   ......I bought the pretty yellow one!

The yellow ones work better

I've put a thermometer monitor sticker on the pwr transformer  ....she stays at a toasty 71*C (160*F)
https://www.thermometersite.com/thermax-10-level-strips-irreversible-labels-2

https://www.amazon.com/HYDROMETER-ALCOHOL-PROOF-Tralle-Bellwether/dp/B013S1VAM4 Another essential indicator to get ^_^

Roy wrote:https://www.amazon.com/HYDROMETER-ALCOHOL-PROOF-Tralle-Bellwether/dp/B013S1VAM4 Another essential indicator to get ^_^

ABSOLUTELY! ....cheers!

Just acquired my deceased brother's CD collection .....maybe some 400+ CDs, lots of Broadway soundtracks and such. He was quite a renown local Artist, Designer, Carnival Band Leader and Show Producer .....this amp's gonna work for it's money!

CletusB wrote:I've put a thermometer monitor sticker on the pwr transformer  ....she stays at a toasty 71*C (160*F)
https://www.thermometersite.com/thermax-10-level-strips-irreversible-labels-2

Is that an oral or rectal thermometer?

deepee99 wrote:
Is that an oral or rectal thermometer?

You mean there's a difference?

My listening position. The VOTTs acoustically couple beautifully into that space.

[quote="CletusB"]My listening position. The VOTTs acoustically couple beautifully into that space.


Do you have any room treatments for standing waves? That shape (depending on ceiling height) is very nearly a perfect set-up for them.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/Lesson-4/Formation-of-Standing-Waves

I think all the clutter will help guard against those a little Peter =]

Roy wrote:
I think all the clutter will help guard against those a little Peter =]

Roy. does any of that stuff actually work?

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCarlsonsLab/videos
feast your eyes on this channel deepee

and yes - that pic of that nook with all that gear is actually in use gear..

this details that nook in particular

Peter W. wrote:

CletusB wrote:My listening position. The VOTTs acoustically couple beautifully into that space.


Do you have any room treatments for standing waves? That shape (depending on ceiling height) is very nearly a perfect set-up for them.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/Lesson-4/Formation-of-Standing-Waves  

IMHO it sounds GREAT as it is.
Ceiling: Acoustic tiles (fiberglass)
Ceiling height: 9ft
Floor: Carpet
General: More than enough furniture and bookshelf, paintings, etc.
Split A/C

Now I have to design a big plywood rack-space for all those CDs
....and will do a simple catalog database with excel I guess.

I used to use Disclib for that Cletus simple little program which was quite useful For more complex content I use Disk Explorer Professional 3 another free one.. Both quite old and have not updated in forever but still available for download and quite useful. The latter has lots of useful features one of which is hashing the data on the discs or harddisk or whatever to keep an eye on degradation

Or put everything on an HTPC and hide the CDs in the closet?

I put a couple TBs of CDs on a hard drive using jRiver Media Center's internal ripper (EAC Lite) and haven't fumbled with a jewel box for years. Especially nice is the "library" front end that keeps everything organized and gives you one click listening.

What are your thoughts KT-88 vs KT-120 and in that context tube vs Weber WZ68?

CletusB wrote:Now I have to design a big plywood rack-space for all those CDs
....and will do a simple catalog database with excel I guess.

Save your wall space, Cletus, and get a good CD ripper. I have some ideas we could discuss in a PM. Skiz has some experience with ripping as well, and prolly others on the VTA board.
I ripped my entire CD library and now the discs, residing unused in the basement, are a lending library for people who donate to our local Pet Rescue. No need for Excel; just use an iPad, iPhone or anything else that runs iPeng, and it will catalogue and control on the fly. Way cool.

CletusB wrote:What are your thoughts KT-88 vs KT-120 and in that context tube vs Weber WZ68?  

I really like the KT120's and the ST120 is plenty strong to drive them. Kind of a tight fit on the stock chassis, but they WILL work as evidenced by Mr. Bob's example on his own rig - not sure if he's still running them, but he posted up some pics a while back.

As far as rectifiers go, I'm a fan of the big bottle GZ37. Kinda pricey, but excellent results here. I got a real deal on a pair some time ago figuring a spare would be nice to have - been running the first one for several years now.

PS - here's what my tube temps look like. The extra ventilation and wider spacing make a world of difference.