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About Valvebloke

  • Rank

Personal Info

  • Location
    Didcot, Oxon
  • Real Name

Wigwam Info

  • Turn Table
    Rega Planar 2
  • Tone Arm & Cartridge
    RB300, 2M Black
  • Digital Source 1
    Quad 99 CDP-2
  • Digital Source 2
    Squeezebox Touch
  • Power Amp/s
    Hmm where to start ?
  • My Speakers
    NS1000s, JR149s ...
  • Trade Status
    I am in the Hi-Fi trade

Recent Profile Visitors


  1. It would be a real shame because the weather here (Kegworth) is not bad. The roads outside the hotel to the M1 are clear and the traffic's moving fine. There's not even enough snow for a snowman ! VB
  2. This is the view from my room out over the Kegworth hotel car park this morning, looking towards the M1. You'd have to say there was more than a dusting of snow, but really not much more. The roads look clear and the traffic seems to be having no trouble at all. VB
  3. Started snowing here (Didcot) in the last 20 minutes. Blowing a gale too. I don't expect it to amount to much though. VB
  4. The Brimar team have been appearing at the odd show over the last few years. It seems their project may be moving forward They’re looking for volunteers in all sorts of areas. Just to be clear, I have no involvement with this (yet) nor do I know any more than is on their website. I just thought you might like to know. VB
  5. Valvebloke

    Amplabs Quad 303 full component replacement ?

    I take it that this question is ironic but it's a truth universally acknowledged that unless the question is pretty simple (What day is it today ? Can anyone catch Man City ?) then if you wait long enough on a forum you'll get the full range of all possible answers and be able to pick the one you like. Fortunately this forum is blessed with Rabs and Serge, so that end is reached more quickly than in most places. If it matters, then I agree with both of them. If you want what Peter Walker designed - a Quad 303 - then replace any bust/unreliable bits with equivalents and don't change the circuit. If you want what Peter Walker might have designed in a parallel universe then by all means change the circuit and use non-equivalent devices and be happy with the fact that it's not what you've had up to now. EDIT I'm planning to mod a pair of Quad 405-2s a la Keith Snook. The changes that will be made won't be as fundamental as altering the output stage topology, but I still won't be arguing that they're really 405-2s any more. And I'll be happy with that. VB
  6. Valvebloke

    DIY Cable Risers!!

    Who are you ? And what have you done with the real Serge ? OMG. It's hallowe'en. VB
  7. Valvebloke

    Valve info

    ISTR I tried that some time ago and I had to wind the voltage down rather further than I was happy with before the buzzing stopped altogether. I fear I may have to get these transformers re-wound :-(. VB
  8. Valvebloke

    Quick Quad 33/303 power lead question

    I believe they should be 3-core already. The published Quad circuits show an earth connection to the chassis as you'd expect with any metal-bodied kit which isn't, as they'd have said back then, 'double insulated'. VB
  9. Valvebloke

    Valve info

    The LS36.5 won't be pulling a huge average current through the GZ34 so to be honest, barring accidents or sudden 'lightbulb' failure of one of the heaters, if the valves are in good condition now then I'd expect them to survive almost indefinitely. They're not really in short supply either. But demand for them is high and that's been pushing the price up inexorably for at least a decade or two. Tested NIB Mullards were listed for £100 each at Audiojumble a couple of weeks ago. There should be no problem matching the Renaissance amps to the LS36.5. The match to the speakers, to the room you need to fill and to the type of music you like to play is probably more important. I've actually had a pair of Renaissance MA50s for a while myself, but I have to say I've not had a lot of experience with them. For one thing I have so many other amps going through my living room, and for another both the Renaissances have slightly buzzy mains transformers. Every time I power them up this reminds me that I need to get that problem sorted, which is irritating when I just want to listen to music . VB
  10. Valvebloke

    More foo!!! (Schumann Resonators)

    Please don't ever take the controls of a passenger aircraft . VB
  11. There is something very pleasing about them. Unfortunately I can't put what it is into words. I went to a conference once in Novosibirsk. All of my colleagues flew, and actually I think all of the other foreign attendees did too. Mrs VB and I took the train. VB
  12. A business problem arises though if a product reaches a level where further improvements don't sound detectably better but the customer base will only upgrade if there is something novel to buy. What is the poor marketing man to do ? When you're close to a performance pinnacle the only way is down. You can continue to sell the perfectly good product, but hi-fi doesn't really wear out, so your sales volume won't be large. Or you can concentrate on product features other than sonic ones. But if neither of those approaches suits you then you may end up presenting your customers with what they want - something novel - and telling them that it sounds better. In fact if it genuinely is novel it may well sound worse. But as long as it doesn't sound greatly worse they won't be able to tell, and your powers of persuasion combined with their will to believe may be more than enough to convince them that it actually sounds better. I've seen quite a few modern valve amps. Some have been very good indeed. But some, even some costing proper money, would have had the designers at Mullard or Quad rolling around with laughter and then showing whoever was responsible the door. Discussing one of them with a very knowledgeable acquaintance he said "It looks like it's been designed by a child". I'm afraid we can't rely entirely on novelty to represent true progress. VB
  13. Valvebloke

    More foo!!! (Schumann Resonators)

    Indeed, once upon a time wires did not affect sound quality. Once upon a time if I put my head in the fire it hurt. To be strictly fair I haven't done the head in the fire thing very recently, so it could well be that the truth has changed there too . Actually the thing about the earth being flat hasn't been believed (by almost anyone) for a very long time indeed. Anyone who ever sailed a boat out over the horizon knew that the earth was curved, as did anyone who walked south and saw the pole star get lower and lower in the sky. Eratosthenes in ancient Egypt worked out the earth's circumference with remarkable accuracy. The geocentric fallacy persisted for longer because its consequences (oddities in the orbital details of the other planets) took quite a long time to spot. VB
  14. Valvebloke

    More foo!!! (Schumann Resonators)

    This is a good read too It's very funny, even if you don't agree with it. VB