Fuse mod adds horsepower?

[g e]

Originally Posted by wbradley

Hey, cool stuff g_e

I started with a Stereo Review subscription starting around 1978 or 79, when I was around 14.

A decade later my first apartment was packed with upper end Yamaha separates, moving coil cartridge and Yamaha DSP-1 sound field processor.

Reawakening to the hobby around Jan 2017. Bought over 1000 LPS since then and have flipped components multiple times. Stopped since the pandemic for the most part as I am sort of retired now.

My current system on a budget:

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/view...user_id=112138

Nice system!

I got back into analog when the kids were old enough to not trash the turntable. I got Hagerman’s Bugle as a kit and loved it. After a year I built his Cornet 2 tube phono and quickly discovered NOS tubes. I then decided it was now or never and made a big decision about my sound reproduction:

Get out of surround, sell all the supporting equipment and multichannel music software to fund a massive 2 channel system upgrade. I never looked back. All my amps and preamps no longer being used for (and I had some great memories attached to them. Adventures in acquisition ), records I never really liked back in the day and like less now were sold. I discovered some of them went for serious coin. $100 for Joy Division! My Pallas Nevermind will fetch about $200. $440 profit on Beatles in Mono before prices really went nuts. Most SACDs and Dvd_a were sold. I cleared thousand$. And I plowed it back into my system. Too bad I have 66 year old ears. Wish my 10 year old self could experience this system.

I built for speed, resolution, pace and tonality. And baby it delivers. No stately sound here. The who’s Live at Leeds pristine UK early pressing is a stunning example of what’s possible.

Have you checked out the forum stevehoffman.tv. ? I discovered it about 12 years ago and man, so much info up there. Im known as g e there too. My profile lists my stuff.

[wbradley]

Yes I am aware of Steve Hoffman although I haven't been on the site.

The next logical move for me would be to build kit components. Audio Note UK is the brand that comes to mind for that. I certainly have the qualification, my previous hobby a decade ago was solid state mostly 90's pinball machines, which I learned to repair and service myself.

[PetrolioBenzina]

Elekit makes some nice kits as well.

[g e]

Originally Posted by wbradley

Yes I am aware of Steve Hoffman although I haven't been on the site.

The next logical move for me would be to build kit components. Audio Note UK is the brand that comes to mind for that. I certainly have the qualification, my previous hobby a decade ago was solid state mostly 90's pinball machines, which I learned to repair and service myself.

First Watt amps!

[PetrolioBenzina]

Originally Posted by g e

First Watt amps!

The Pass ACA is a sweet little amp kit, too. Love mine.

[wbradley]

I don't know about the flea.watt or single end stuff. I am using an Usher r 1.5 which is basically an upgraded clone of a Threshold amp with an extra pair of transistors on each side. That with a tube preamp works great for me. The amp is biased for 30 WPC of pure class A, so it helps keep the basement warmer since it's on 24/7.

Everyone is praising the Willsenton R8 tube integrated as an amazing unit for a very reasonable price. For me, if anything I'd go with a McIntosh MC252 for those awesome blue VUs.

I do appreciate Nelson Pass Amp Camp and all the DIY stuff he's involved in. And the F series amps. I've.read plenty, but didn't start ordering PCBs to populate or anything.

My all time favorite amp I had was a British Fidelity P270 class A. Beautifully made inside. Dual oversized toroidals. It was 55 degrees Celsius at the heatsinks at idle. But, it didn't have double ended inputs so it had to go.

Around 1990 I worked a few hours casually for a hifi shop here they had a nice set of IRS Vs hooked up to big Krell monoblocks in the audition room. Best stuff I had seen in the flesh up to that time.
There have been a few Dubai level stupid systems at shows I've seen. KEF blades (which aren't extreme expensive) in a $600K + setup. Meh. I make my own cables lol.

[wbradley]

As a followup, I now use 2 Schiit Aegir amps in mono block configuration with a Schiit Freya. This is all fed through Zu Omen speakers.

I have lowered the cost and improved my satisfaction with my system by changing components and using less resolving, but equally satisfying speakers than the Totem Tribe Towers I had previously.