Get the vinyle out . . . !

CJSF

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Hi people, been around watching but one has had a few ups and downs. The medics did not seen to know or want to know, but things got serious, phisicaly and mentaly. Almost all my music has been via Spotify fot the past few months, however I managed to keep myself sain, just, eventualy taking my health into my own hands. I realised I was loosing weight, trousers falling down, shirts fitting like tents! So as that is no bad thing being a little ovvvvver sizzzze, I changed my eating habits and lifestyle totaly, 190 degree turne around.

Four stone lighter later, I feel so much better in all departments, the medics are taking credit of course but I know 'where and why'. Still counting on the weight factor, I'd love to get to my married weight of 46 years ago . . . with a 32 inch waist, afraid the weight might be possible but the mussle tone has gon South?

Been doing a bit of Youtube watching recently, analog systems costing 100's of 1000's of £!!!!! Madness, absolute madness, they even have a guy in the USA who place bits of very expensive wood 'strategicaly' and says it improves the sound, we got one of those in the UK I think? In any case,there was one mention of glass filles filled with sand and placed near valves to absorbe the radiation between them . . . I slept on it, I can beleive the posibility of valve radiation bit, but sand and this is the guy who invented the 'mass loaded stand that worked' with sand as part of the formula ????

So, curiosity got the better of me, not done any serious tweeks recently, but no glass files or sand to hand. I have a roll of 3mm lead flashing. I made up some 10cm x 10cm lead screens, bent them in an 'S' shape so they stood on end and put them inbetween the valves on my Icon amp.

Not expecting much, switched on Spotify . . . excuse me, next track, and the next. A cleaner sound than I was used to, with a base line that rocked along strongly and musicaly. Get the vinyle out, same affect, clean, tidying up tracks that I new had confused sections. A base line which was now slightly over blown!!! I had to go back a step on my last mod to the TT to regain control of the base.

Out with the beloved Organ music . . . wow!! I have never herad my favourit Organ LP 'growl' like that, or produce a sweetness at the top end I new was there but had never quite extracted. As I said, a small retro change to the platter makeup and the tinyest quater turn adjustments to the tracking weight and all was sweetness and light.

So, its back to my workshop, and turn my bodgged screens into something that look half way decent for visual as well as audio pleasure.

CJSF
 

CJSF

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Nothing has changed much, tried to put another post up with some explinations . . . spam filter kicked in!

What a wast of effort, shant bother any more, no one botherers to answer a contrevercial post anyway!

I will let you all throw money at your issues . . . ?

CJSF
 

The_Lhc

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CJSF said:
Nothing has changed much, tried to put another post up with some explinations . . . spam filter kicked in!

What a wast of effort, shant bother any more, no one botherers to answer a contrevercial post anyway!

I will let you all throw money at your issues . . . ?

CJSF

Funnily enough, been listening to the vinyl too much to reply! And the shellac as it happens, the missus came home with yet another old record player, a Philips Disc Jockey Auto, with a weird double stylus you twist the headshell to determine which one to use, N for "normal" (read: 78s) or M for those new-fangled microgroove long players, does three sizes, four speeds but crucially, actually bloody works, for a change! So I've been listening to some old Lonnie Donegan 78s I found a ways back, I'm amazed how good they sound, considering (and there's a lot to consider).

Quite amusing you can see the valve glowing behind the front cover, the volume control is a bit, umm, random and the tone control doesn't appear to do anything at all but other than that, it's perfect! Apart from the missing foot...
 
K

keeper of the quays

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CJSF said:
Nothing has changed much, tried to put another post up with some explinations . . . spam filter kicked in!

What a wast of effort, shant bother any more, no one botherers to answer a contrevercial post anyway!

I will let you all throw money at your issues . . . ?

CJSF
I have read your post with interest..i don't own any valve equipment myself but two of my friends do..i will pass this interesting information on...I'm assuming the lead shielding is to shield the valves from each other? Is the S shape down to the where your valves fit in amp?
 

CJSF

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keeper of the quays said:
CJSF said:
Nothing has changed much, tried to put another post up with some explinations . . . spam filter kicked in!

What a wast of effort, shant bother any more, no one botherers to answer a contrevercial post anyway!

I will let you all throw money at your issues . . . ?

CJSF
I have read your post with interest..i don't own any valve equipment myself but two of my friends do..i will pass this interesting information on...I'm assuming the lead shielding is to shield the valves from each other? Is the S shape down to the where your valves fit in amp?

Hi KotQ, no there is plenty of room but the 'S' means the lead sheild stands up with no support. Funily enough it has a very appealing visual affect, I'm going to look at them today, escape to my 'man cave', tidy the bodg up with a reshape. Keep the 'S' but put a rounded shape on the top, '.no corners' complimenting the S, then a coat of black paint.

Of recent years I am not one to get taken up with trivia, however I do accept fact, often from small, no/minimal cost tweakes, that most wont bother with, putting me in the 'fussy but open minded' catagory. These shields are quirky but there are benifits that I can hear, so they stay, simples. Metal shields are used in Solid State amps around the power supply, probably other areas too might benefit, not an area I want to get involved with.

The one thing I will not shy away from, if I can hear a change, better or worse, I 'beleive my ears' and act accordingly!

CJSF
 

CJSF

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Further improvement has been added this morning, re shaped the screens for better visual affect, whilst at it I added an extra element. There were 3 screens, one encircling the rectifier valve and two 'S' shaped, one each between the two right and two left chanell valves, leaving an open gap between left and right chanells. I simply droped a flat screen in to block the gap.

Seemed to stiffel the sound/image slightly? . . . more thought, removeing it was not a good answer, so leave in position and reduce the stylus presure by one eigth of a turn on the 'micro adjustment weight' at the back of the Audio Mods classic arm. All is resolve. I have a live recording by Sandy Nelson the ambionce that now shows on this recording takes me back to my youth and the local vilage hall bash, I'll be draging out some more live Organ recordings after we have listened to the Archers . . . *kiss3*

CJSF
 

thescarletpronster

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Don't have any valves, CJ, but I'm really glad to read that you've found an answer to those nasty health problems and are starting to feel better. I'm currently too ill to play records myself, but am hoping for an upswing to kick in to action soon. There's too many things I want to listen to!
 

CJSF

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thescarletpronster said:
Don't have any valves, CJ, but I'm really glad to read that you've found an answer to those nasty health problems and are starting to feel better. I'm currently too ill to play records myself, but am hoping for an upswing to kick in to action soon. There's too many things I want to listen to!

Hi thescarletpronster, sorry to hear you are not so good, sounds like you are thinking positive. Its the way I went, I had to take my self and my problems in hand, thanks for your previous encouragement. Seeing the Doc in the morning to dicusse my latest blood tests and how to adjust my medication, positive vibes mate.

Strang, but those screens realy do work. I presumed some boffin might have been able to explain why . . . ?

CJSF
 

TomSawyer

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I don't have any real working knowledge of valves in hifi having only ever owned valve guitar amplifiers which in one crucial way is designed to do the opposite. Whereas a hifi amplifier is designed to work cleanly, the signature electric guitar sound is in fact the amplifier being overdriven into distortion. As such, not a lot of work goes into eliminating small interaction effects as they are negligible compared to the deliberate overwhelming of the valves.

I can only assume that surrounding your valves with lead is protecting them from EMI that would otherwise contaminate the end sound. One of the problems with displaying valves on top of an amplifier for aesthetic reasons is it takes them outside any protection the case might provide.
 

CJSF

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TomSawyer said:
I don't have any real working knowledge of valves in hifi having only ever owned valve guitar amplifiers which in one crucial way is designed to do the opposite. Whereas a hifi amplifier is designed to work cleanly, the signature electric guitar sound is in fact the amplifier being overdriven into distortion. As such, not a lot of work goes into eliminating small interaction effects as they are negligible compared to the deliberate overwhelming of the valves.

I can only assume that surrounding your valves with lead is protecting them from EMI that would otherwise contaminate the end sound. One of the problems with displaying valves on top of an amplifier for aesthetic reasons is it takes them outside any protection the case might provide.

Thanks TomSawyer, that seems like a very resonable and workable expination . . . One feels sorry for the hard life valves must get in a guitar amp*shok*

CJSF
 

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