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New to You

February 8th, 2019, 6:25 pm

Hi,

I build things occasionally (pre-amps, d/a convertors, interconnects). My most recent project was to re-chassis an AR-XB turntable that was originally purchased at the Dixie Hi-Fi location in PG County, sometime not too short of 50 years ago.

My system consists of Magneplanars (I have the 3.7i, 3.6 and III in various places in my basement), the 3.7s are driven by a Krell amp and source by an Allen Wright-modded Sony SCD-1. They are supplemented by DIY subwoofers in a distributed configuration, lo-passed by mini-DSP at 30 Hz and driven by some nondescript Class-D amps. There are all linked together by DIY wiring.

I've been getting the jones lately to build an electrostatic headphone amp. If I sit long enough and ponder the effort involved the feelings may pass. In case they don't, I am looking at something over-the-top, tubes, room-heater scale standing power dissipation...

If someone had told be 25 years ago that finding the tubes I need for this would be easy, that the common-as-dirt transistors would be the hard things to source, and that there would be a thriving counterfeit market in said transistors, I would have gently told him I would stay with him until he came down and his hallucinations had passed.

But here we are.

There seems to be a lot of experience in the club with handling lethal voltages so what could go wrong?

And when my ego seems too large for the world to contain, I will try to add a new clock and power supply to my Pono player to take myself down a few notches.

Re: New to You

February 8th, 2019, 6:44 pm

Welcome aboard. You’re a real glutten for punishment if you want to work on something as small as a polo! :obscene-drinkingcheers:

Roscoe

Re: New to You

February 8th, 2019, 9:08 pm

Welcome to the asylum! No one here is actually certifiable, I think, but it's a great group.

Re: New to You

February 9th, 2019, 8:55 am

Welcome Stephen. I'm originally from PG County. Knew the Kensington, Beltsville and Northeast Dixie Hi Fi stores like a second home after the demise of my beloved Lafayette Radio Electronics. I've also owned and cherished Magnapans, MG-1s after hearing Gatt's Tympanis, then for many years Tympani IVs. Life changes forced them from me, but they are still in my heart.

Cant wait to hear your rig and then get you on the path to Moskido or OTL amps!

Stuart

Re: New to You

February 10th, 2019, 2:01 pm

It's good to feel welcome.

At first glance using OTL to drive current-hungry maggies the might not seem like something that would work, but two or three times in my life I have found my assumptions to be in err, which may be the case in this regard.

I would love to find out.

In my defense though, I do own an otl amp. It is doing what God and nature intended - driving electrostatic headphones.

And if/when I finish my diy otl headphone amp, then I guess I will have two.

As for opportunities to hear my system, sure. I am not that far out on the aspergery scale or the map. Though it would be a bit weird as nobody has ever listened to my system. It's not that I have a sharing problem, it's just that, among my family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers and that uncomfortable-looking person sitting next to me on the metro, no one cares.

There is only one chair in the audio room; don't infer anything from that.

Stephen
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