EC Aficionado (was: The Studio Jr.)

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by AppleheadMay, Nov 10, 2015.

  1. famish99

    famish99 Friend

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    Can't say that I have that luxury, my power is noisy enough to hear mechanical noise from the transformer, let alone EMI.
     
  2. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    Wow, have you considered any power-cleaning devices? I have one of these, FWIW.
     
  3. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    My Af has had a few episodes where a faint variable frequency and amplitude noise (kind of like the noises one could hear between stations on an old longwave radio) can be heard when there is no other signal. Before I start rolling tubes and wiring, I would love some pointers on how to go about this systematically, as my previous tube amps where hybrids with single 6SN7s that were quite easy to debug comparatively. I just had the problem happen, turned off the amp for a couple of minutes, turned it back on, waited a couple of minutes, totally silent.
     
  4. famish99

    famish99 Friend

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    Yeah this statement was made with filtered power as well. Luckily the supply has enough filtering post-rectifier to not really affect the audio quality.
     
  5. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    Power is pretty clean here, especially with the Furmans. That is, I've never heard anything like what I reported with other amps. The problem may be with one of the tubes I rolled in a while ago. I'll roll back step by step.
     
  6. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    The usual first question is: was the sound in one channel or both?
    If both, then to me, it sounds like interference from a cell phone being placed close to the Af. If unilateral, then look for a noisy tube. The culprit for me is usually a channel in the driver tube. Hopefully that helps in some small way :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2019
  7. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    Thanks, rolled the driver tube and so far so good...
     
  8. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    Purchased this from @cskippy and it took care of the remaining hum in my Moth amp. I was quite surprised, this on top of already being in a Tripplite Isobar strip.

    http://www.ebtechaudio.com/humxdes.html

    In case you think you might have 60Hz hum or ground loops.
     
  9. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    I acknowledge this is a loaded question and is not designed to start a debate about whether the Af is a good speaker amp or not.

    I am looking for recommendations of speakers that are DIY Kit or readily available (new or used) and don’t cost more than Af that sound good via Af.

    Space is not an issue, in fact, I would love to join the BWC.
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Anything 8-ohms or greater with 94db sensitivity. The various Fostex kits on Madisound work great.
     
  11. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    Without going into the +/- of each of these speakers, here are some general speaker types that should work

    *Single driver wide band in a back loaded horn
    Possibly with super tweeter and L-pads
    DIY and Madisound kits w/ fostex drivers

    *DIY Efficient horns w/ big woofers
    DIY Soundgroup kits
    Titan or 99 series

    *Omega
    Single driver or limited number of drivers
    Maybe something like Super Alnico monitor

    *JBL high efficiency
    New and vintage options

    *Tekton depending on model
    Maybe Perfect SET 15 for BWC

    *Zu Audio
    Probably avoid - look up measurements

    *Blemenstein Orcas
    Avoid - see JK47s thoughts on them

    *Klipsch / Klipsch Heritage
    New and vintage options
    DIY an old Craigslist pair into modern glory w/ Crites upgrades

    There are more too, these are just options im quickly typing on my phone while getting kids off to school. Can bi-amp with OB full range on top, butnthays whole differnt route. Happy to discuss more in depth - do we have a high efficiency speaker thread here? Might be useful more more than AF owners
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2019
  12. johnnypaddock

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    Audio Note makes some very good high efficiency speakers that I believe come in kits. I settled on a pair of AN-e/Lx HE after a search about a year ago. They are rated at 98db sensitivity and designed for corner placement, but aren't too picky on positioning.

    The naming system is pretty ridiculous but the E are the largest speakers followed by the J and K respectively. Anything labeled "HE" is high efficiency with a hemp driver. I'm guessing they would sound great with the AF but I don't have experience with that amp yet.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    In regards to JBL, some high-efficiency models have 4-ohm woofers - something to be aware of. Nominal 8-ohm where impedance dips below 8-ohms is a few spots is OK. Norminal 4-ohm where impedance goes down to 2 or 3 ohms not a good idea.

    Avoid Orca. It's an overpriced Fostex P1000-BH.
     
  14. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    Exit stage left....
    apologies for bringing this thread back around to headphone listening mode, but:

    with an old JW Western Electric 2c51 tube apparently on it's way out (super microphonic and high pitched tone outputs into the room), plopped in a somewhat well regarded NOS Ericsson 2C51 (white lettering).

    the Ericsson is very good at plankton retrieval but doesn't deliver as much body or bass impact as the JW WE.
    yet here is where the front-switch feedback mod on the Aficionado comes in handy:
    disable the feedback and it allows the Ericsson to display a bit more body and warmth, alas not much effect on bass impact, but maybe a bit more (tube) bass roundness.
    the feedback mode allows for some flexibility in tube deltas. kewl.
     
  15. PTS

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    Don't know if I'm missing something obvious, but I currently have an Af (on loan from Bill) and would like to know how to use it with speakers? Only see XLR and RCA line/preamp outs on the back.

    Also wanted to ask if the 300b version of the Af is now available as a custom order?
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2019
  16. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    check out the manual here
    The Af uses Neutrik Speakon Connectors which are cheap and easy to connect to wire.

    As far as 300B, the Af can be adjusted to run those as Marv mentions here
    Otherwise, Af is no longer being made.
    You can order a 300B Studio Jr now; just email Craig.
     
  17. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    And be aware that there are several variations of the Speakon connectors if you order pre-terminated cables. Because I didnt rtfm I went through several cable returns to get it running.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Need 4-pole male, where 2 go to L+ and L- and 2 go to R+ and R-.
     
  19. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    Can we verify this ?

    The user manual linked to above specifies 2 pole female: "Neutrik NL2FX Speak-Ons", part no. "568-NL2FX", which are indeed 2 pole female at mouser.

    The jacks on my AF appear to be 568-NL2MP, 2 Pole male panel mounts.
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Looks like changed from the unit that I have. The manual is correct. This should be easier.
     

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