What is the ANote cct used beeman?

And any pics of your (re)build process?

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

Jan 25, 2019 16:34:29 GMT 12 beeman said:

Jeezus whats a guy got to do to get a comment around here?

Maybe all the silent watchers are speechless with awe

Nice work Beeman.

Wow just finished a critical listening session with the phono stage. Very happy with it. Its quiet, smooth & dynamic. Very fast with amazing space & detail yet not clinical. They knew how to make transformers back then ;-)

Nice, you got it going. Audionote circuits are quite refined, did you use the 6072 based circuit?

AMR-iFi R&D

Yes it is the 12ay7/6072 circuit. Sounds fantastic I think the best I have ever heard. Been looking for the best tubes as they are quite hard to find. ECC88 version is complete & sounding very nice ass well.

Mar 1, 2019 20:37:35 GMT 12 beeman said:

... very nice ass...

Ooo err missus... is that an improved bottom end, or what?! 😜

Beeman, the latest incarnation of your system looks like a shrine of awesome fun, as always. I bet it sounds truly fantastic as well. Great job!

IME the GE triple mica 6072 is very nice but not far behind are the normal double mica ones.
So you made an ECC88 version as well?

AMR-iFi R&D

Yes built an ECC88 version. MM only its also amazing. Have some triple mica GE 6072 blackplates on the way. So far the RCA 12ay7 is beating the GE greyplates. It is a fun system gives me no end of pleasure ;-)

This phono stage is proving to be nothing less than spectacular. Recently beat out a 10K unit by no small margin. The most detailed dynamic soundstage I have ever heard.



I am looking for another pair of Tamura TKS 3 (or similar) SUT to mount in the ECC88 unit. The 12ay7 is just so good with the inbuilt SUT. Any tips as to where I might find a pair would be appreciated



Cheers

soundgate.net/productlist/list.html?transactionid=7df12c00f7d25a5850e9507190952ada26591642&mode=&category_id=33&maker_id=0&name=&orderby=&disp_number=16&pageno=2&rnd=nia

Yep thanks for that Tamura TR 351 SUT ordered ;-)

Nice link there Gryffles :-)

AMR-iFi R&D

Yes a tempting link Gryffles, Sherlock Holmes.

DarkLantern blog - darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

Lots of nice stuff on that site. I try not to look at as I get itchy fingers haha

Ok, I sourced some nice clean vintage Tamura 351 Step Up Transformers from Japan. I did not paint them as I like the wee circuit diagram on the front. They have been fitted to the second ECC88 powered unit. At the same time we managed to shoehorn in another set of RCA connections. This means both a MM & MC cartridges can stay connected with a switch between.

OMG I think this one might sound even better than the 6027 version. Straight off the bench it is sounding dynamic, with detail you can hear from the other end of the house & solid, deep, resonant bass. Just played a mono Dave Brubeck record & the MM section just jumps. Through the SUT I have to remind myself I am just using a straight Denon 103R cartridge as I had no idea they could sound this good.

I now state I did not do this wonderful work. I have lugged these pieces of junk around for 10 years through many house shifts waiting to find the right tech. Phil Brass from Wellington has handled the brief I gave him perfectly. He has blended old tech with new to come up with something extraordinary. Man did they know how to turn transformers back in the day. I have never heard the true emotion contained in those record groves expressed more completely. The man is a freckin genius 😉

Nice setup!
Tell us a little about Phil Brass...:-)

AMR-iFi R&D

Happy to PM contact details but would rather let the man speak for himself

I am still in possession of both these wonderful phono stages which really is one too many. Listening to the 6072 now & the image is holographic. Looking to trade or sell one - make me an offer

I will make an offer late January...

So if you still have it then, I will buy

Bought!

Totally awesome time with Beeman today listening to his system. Very impressive, I have a longvway to go to match it.

oooh, before I forget!

Thank you, Beeman, for a really enjoyable afternoon!

You are very welcome Jon a brilliant session & that EAT cart of yours is something special. Cheers

Well, I came home, cooked dinner for the family (I'm the family cook) and this is what I cooked:

www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/easy/a19855090/ginger-pork-and-cucumber-salad-recipe/

After dinner I refitted the Cartridge and set up the Denon in it's new home.

I kind of admired it for a moment then turned everything on (with the pre-amp volume at zero). I turned up the volume and heard nothing, I gasped, and She Who Must be Obeyed asked what was wrong and I said I'm not hearing anything it may be broken...

I looked at the stage,and felt some relief as I could see the valves were glowing. Something was happening so I said well maybe it is working! I queued up a record and this amazing sound came out...

All was well, and I have puzzled ever since over the sound of silence.

It dawned on me that my previous stage had a faint hum (not hearable when a record was on) all the time, something I had got used to with the passage of time and also something that I had never really investigated as illness and life in general got in the way!

The Denon is silent, and apart from the glow of the valves you'd not know it was on. I stayed up late, and turned everything off at 4 in the morning, and went to work. Tired, energised but very happy.

I've been thinking about that silence ever since and that leads me to the second thing, the stage is utterly transparent it passes what it receives faithfully, well and with dispatch. It is strange, though, I could talk about frequency extension and all the other audiophile words that reviewers do, but for me it is that silence and utter transparency that I treasure above all.

It plays music!

It is without a doubt the very finest phono stage I have ever heard, I am incredibly lucky that Beeman was willing to part with it, and the only way you can get this off me is when I am dead.

Phil Brass is the gent who made my preamp. Once we'd sorted out the inevitable teething troubles, it is a fine-sounding piece of kit. He's great to work with.

Singer/songwriter at: www.dominicblaazer.net
180g album, "The Lights of Te Atatu" released 2018