by gener8r Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:46 pm
Thank you all for the kind comments.
Skizo: the Toshibas mentioned are the 2SK170BLF transistors needed for the PH16's PCB in the "J1" position. They are a chore to find and many would be needed to make a matched pair. Roy freely gave me two different sources to procure these things, and as it turns out he sells two matched pairs cheaper than anyone else out there (hint hint). So there's a plug for Roy as he hasn't mentioned that on here or on his website.
When I have some time I will report back on the comparison of the PH16 to the Transcendent Sound Phono Pre.
A few years ago, before tubes4hifi had preamp offerings, I had asked Bob for his advice on a preamp to drive my Latino ST70. He recommended the TS Grounded Grid, which is how I came to know Transcendent Sound. I am slowly replacing all the Grounded Grids in that room with tubes4hifi SP13s and SP14s. They are superior to the Grounded Grid. I really do like the SP13 and chose it to go with the MK3s as I suspected the lower gain of the SP13 would be a better match for the MK3s than the higher gain SP14. Great Combo! I can't imagine you guys using an SP14 with an ST120 or M125s, especially with a phono stage in front of them. The SP14 is perfect for driving my low wattage SE amps though.
As far as amps go I have stated in more than one forum that Latino ST70 kits are the best bang for the buck in all of audio.
An ST70 is my reference amp. Anything else I build is always compared back to an ST70, but that's an ST70 with a VTA driver board and the Output transformers used by Bob and sold by Kevin. I have never tried the Triode trannys. The toroid PTs on those MK3s are Tomikos. I know Bob frowns on them, but for my use they work fine.
The amps in that room are a combo of Transcendent Sound OTLs and Dynaco/Transformer-coupled amps. It's an all tube 7.1 system, and each amp was chosen for the channel(s) its driving. And yes, the amps on the floor are TS "Beasts " and currently not used. The should be called "furnaces," not "Beasts"
I would like to mention that of all the tweaks I ever did, setting that room up as a listening/viewing room was the best by far and the culmination of a lifetime. No two surfaces in that room are parrallel or perpendicular. The right wall opens up and becomes wider by a few degrees as it goes to the back of the room in relation to the left wall. The only true 90 degree junction is the floor and the left wall. The ceiling slopes upward a few degrees from front to back and is 4 inches taller in the back of the room than in the front. Getting the ceiling tile grid laid out so that it sloped was challenging. All four "corners" are diffused with off-setting angles so that there are now 8 "corners". The system has feeding it two dedicated 20 amp circuits tied to nothing else in the house. You should see the electric meter outside spin when its all fired up! Fiberglass or foam insulation behind the drywall, good acoustical ceiling tile, padded carpet and stuffed sofas all add to the effect. The builder who worked with me on it uses it in his portfolio now as apparently there is a demand for converting existing rooms into viewing and or listening spaces. Imagine that!
Quite an impressive array of audio gear there.
