CDizz Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Yeah, a trip to the rspca would have been a lot faster and cheaper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob181 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 One catastrophe deserves another... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upfront Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Cat skin rug for first reflection point absorption? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixx Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Most of highly apreciated music lovers have cats...so it's no big deal.....get over it... I have 2 cats and I made speakers protection from a transparent foil against claws... Cats can give you best joy moments....I love them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benjet Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 10 hours ago, Chris Disbrey said: Hi all thought I'd share my first audio DIY project, a pair of granite speaker plinths. After coming into some money last year I treated myself to a pair of Bowers&Wilkins cm8 s2s in shiny black piano gloss. I loved them. A few nights after setting them up and spiking them level to the carpet my small cat decided to jump on them. Somehow she managed to knock one of them over into the wall and a glass hifi rack (they weigh 18.5kg each). The first two images show the damage. Angry and frustrated I ended up blaming myself for not using the plinths provided. So I set them up with the plinth and spiked them level to the carpet. A few nights later it happened again. The same speaker fell into the rack and wall again. It hit at the exact same spot so the damage got worse but at least it was in the same place. So after having them out for less than 2-weeks I boxed them up till I could fix them and find a solution. 4 months have gone by, I've since moved. In the meantime I sent the speaker to be repaired and I ordered a slab of granite and had it cut to size. The granite is 40mm thick and each piece is 270 x 400. Which is about 10mm wider and 100mm deeper than the b&w pair. I positioned the excess at the rear. I had the stone mason cut, polish and bevel the granite and also drill holes so it could be bolted to the speakers. Third picture is the naked stone top and bottom. I then dressed it with 6mm thick neoprene rubber top and bottom (they're now on hardwood floors). Fourth picture. The end result is a plinth that looks good, suits the speaker, and at 14.5kg each, has lowered the centre of gravity enough that my cat can't knock it over! Haven't set the rest of the system up yet but they should sound good too. The cost if anyone is interested: Slab (lots more than I needed) $480 Cut, polish, bevel and drill $170 Rubber $66 Rubber adhesive $9 Bolts and washers $10? (can't remember) So total is $735 and a few hours work. A bit steep but cheaper than a new speaker. Would have only been $255 if I sourced some stone off cuts but I got impatient. *forgot to take a picture or weigh the original plinth before boxing it up but I'd guess it's around 1kg. Where did you bury the cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swervyn Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Another reason I dislike cats 1 hour ago, felixx said: Most of highly apreciated music lovers have cats.... ^ what is this nonsense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzlowie Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Thanks! I have to start to bookmark them... I keep asking the questions over and over again. How about delivery times? Shipping seems a bit steep for just standard. Cheers, Alberto I've just ordered a couple of case's, of cause they wanted extra shipping for 2. Negotiated a $28 us discount! Don't be afraid to ask the question, most are pretty keen to do business..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Just finished building a pair of VTA M-125 Monoblock tube amps from Bob Latino kits. I love tubes and wanted a little more power than my prior 12 Wpc amp. These can run anywhere from 35 Wpc Triode mode using 2 power tubes per amp, up to 125 Wpc running 4 power tubes in UL Pentode mode. Power tubes are currently 6550's, but they will take up to KT120's. Build was relatively straightforward, and they sound awesome. Will double as room heaters in winter! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upfront Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Just finished building a pair of VTA M-125 Monoblock tube amps from Bob Latino kits. I love tubes and wanted a little more power than my prior 12 Wpc amp. These can run anywhere from 35 Wpc Triode mode using 2 power tubes per amp, up to 125 Wpc running 4 power tubes in UL Pentode mode. Power tubes are currently 6550's, but they will take up to KT120's. Build was relatively straightforward, and they sound awesome. Will double as room heaters in winter! Nice build mate. I haven't heard of Bob Latinos kits. I'm off to Google for a look now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) Thanks! You can find them here: http://www.tubes4hifi.com/bob.htm Also some great reviews if you look around. Gibbo Edited February 23, 2018 by gibbo9000 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upfront Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Thanks! You can find them here: http://www.tubes4hifi.com/bob.htm Also some great reviews if you look around. Gibbo Yep found them poor website but great amps! Good score. Enjoying it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Really enjoying them. Just have that edge in warmth and tighter bass control over solid state for my ears. And if you put them in Triode mode they get even more so, just a little less accurate. Have some KT120's on the way and looking forward to them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upfront Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Really enjoying them. Just have that edge in warmth and tighter bass control over solid state for my ears. And if you put them in Triode mode they get even more so, just a little less accurate. Have some KT120's on the way and looking forward to them. The kt120s will be a cracker mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 1 hour ago, gibbo9000 said: Just finished building a pair of VTA M-125 Monoblock tube amps from Bob Latino kits. I love tubes and wanted a little more power than my prior 12 Wpc amp. These can run anywhere from 35 Wpc Triode mode using 2 power tubes per amp, up to 125 Wpc running 4 power tubes in UL Pentode mode. Power tubes are currently 6550's, but they will take up to KT120's. Build was relatively straightforward, and they sound awesome. Will double as room heaters in winter! Great Job, nice work. Hope they give you years of listening pleasure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benjet Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 11 hours ago, nzlowie said: On 2/12/2018 at 7:51 PM, betocool said: Thanks! I have to start to bookmark them... I keep asking the questions over and over again. How about delivery times? Shipping seems a bit steep for just standard. Cheers, Alberto Read more I've just ordered a couple of case's, of cause they wanted extra shipping for 2. Negotiated a $28 us discount! Don't be afraid to ask the question, most are pretty keen to do business..... Who thought you can negotiate with the Chinese. I'll be hitting them up for a discount next time. These are great cases, I'll be ordering some more soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 15 hours ago, gibbo9000 said: Just finished building a pair of VTA M-125 Monoblock tube amps from Bob Latino kits. I love tubes and wanted a little more power than my prior 12 Wpc amp. These can run anywhere from 35 Wpc Triode mode using 2 power tubes per amp, up to 125 Wpc running 4 power tubes in UL Pentode mode. Power tubes are currently 6550's, but they will take up to KT120's. Build was relatively straightforward, and they sound awesome. Will double as room heaters in winter! @gibbo9000 - that a spiffing tidy looking amp, I have heard of others building his his preamps too. Minor point - I would always keep the signal wiring separate from AC- carrying wiring (eg mains wiring to power switch, PTX, to/from rectifier, filter chokes, AC tube heaters, etc) & hard-twist them. I think you'll see that on the tubes4hifi pics page. Less of a noise/hum pickup issue with PP than with SE, but good practice nevertheless. A next DIY project? Cheers, Owen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 3 hours ago, Owen Y said: Minor point - I would always keep the signal wiring separate from AC- carrying wiring (eg mains wiring to power switch, PTX, to/from rectifier, filter chokes, AC tube heaters, etc) & hard-twist them. I think you'll see that on the tubes4hifi pics page. Less of a noise/hum pickup issue with PP than with SE, but good practice nevertheless. A next DIY project? Yes - a bit of a learning curve. Bob's instructions are very clear and orderly, but there are a few things that could be done to increase separation of AC from signal, and make work around the tube sockets tidier. Fortunately they have virtually no noise as is, so will listen to them for a while, contemplate the need for Time Delay Relays, and perhaps contemplate some rewiring later - a next project as you suggest! David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Y Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 10 minutes ago, gibbo9000 said: ......contemplate the need for Time Delay Relays, and perhaps contemplate some rewiring later - a next project as you suggest! David The GZ34/5AR4 tube rectifier option, will give you slow turn-on Cheers, Owen http://darklanternforowen.wordpress.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbo9000 Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Owen Y said: The GZ34/5AR4 tube rectifier option, will give you slow turn-on Thanks for the tip. I have tried a couple of different 5AR4's but, for my ears, they don't handle extreme transients as well as the solid state WZ68's. And NOS GZ37's, 33's are a bit pricey and hard to get hold of. The WZ68's have a 3 - 5 second delay; most reckon that is OK and haven't had any problems, but just contemplating the conservative option down the track. All part of the fun with such a flexible base. Edited February 24, 2018 by gibbo9000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhouston Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 On a lot of earlier amps I built I included a standby switch. Heaters come on with main power switch then one minute later I'd switch the standby. The standby switch switched in the HT. It was good also if I wanted the amp off for 30mins or so but didn't want it to cool too much. I'd turn on the standby (heaters would still be on) then turn off standby when ready to listen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach1 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 You can use a hybrid arrangement where the first 2 legs of the bridge are solid state and the second 2 are indirectly heated tube. This gives you the best of both worlds; a stiff psu with slow turn on. Works beautifully with TV damper diodes like the 6CJ3 which are tough as nails (leave a 5AR4 for dead and sound great) and very cheap. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benjet Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Next cab off the rank. 12au7 driver tubes, mosfet output. Already sounds awesome with fresh new old tubes. Going to love this amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob181 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Looks great...Spill the beans... More info please... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhouston Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 1 minute ago, Rob181 said: Looks great...Spill the beans... More info please... I'm with this guy, more info. You can get tube socket extenders of you want the tubes to stick out a bit more. But I'm cool with how they look now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betocool Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 +1 on more info @Benjet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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