Saturday, April 30, 2011

Artemis Labs PH-1


I have been listening to the Artemis Labs PH-1 and PH-1S for some time and the PH-1S with its nickel outputs is staying.  This means that the PH-1 needs to find a new home and after talking things over with JJ we agreed that the occasional "for sale" post isn't to terribly sleazy and I'd rather offer it up here to family first before dealing with the great unknown.

This is a unit that has low hours on it and the little old lady who owned it only drove it to church on Sunday.  Seriously it has only used for shows and it might have seen an occasional reviewer.  It is in great condition and I can offer a 1 year warranty on it.  It is a 120V 60hz unit so it is perfect for the states.  (for overseas, different voltages are possible )

The specs and user manual can be found on Sean's Artemis Pages but the basics are:

-Designed by John atwood
-54dB of gain (low ratio SUT needed for MC carts)
-Hand built in the US
-Choke loaded output stage

the rest of the info is at the link above.  Below are a bunch of pics showing the unit which retails for $3500.  Looking to get $1850.   One just sold on the 'gon for $1900 without the family behind it or any sort of warranty so I think that is fair.  I can also provide photo proof that this unit is fully backed and approved by a well known German.


As for the sonic characteristics, does it compete with the LCR's at 5-10X the  price? It holds its own.  Now compare it to any of fashionable tube units out there using an ungodly amount of 12**7 tubes at multiples the price and I honestly say it will run circles around them.

Enough blabbing on my part. Below are the rest of the pictures showing the boring details. 







If anyone out there needs an affordable tube phono that they can trust, I truly believe this one is a steal.



Thursday, April 28, 2011

Guitar Eye Candy


Ken Parker just sent me some pics of his most recent work of art and I though some of you might enjoy it.

Below are Kens words about his creation:

Here are some photos of "Semeur", my latest guitar.  The name means both "sower" and "mischief - maker" in French.

Semeur is built with curly mahogany from Belize, curly Sitka spruce from Alaska, Douglas fir, and ebony.

Weighing 1.7 kilos, she has a big voice, and is very versatile.

My first guitar on the continent!

I couldn't wait for the website, so this is an unedited preview.

Happy Spring to everyone.

Peace,

Ken




Now for the details....  Nice work Ken!!!  (click the images to enlarge)












Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Munich High End 2011 Preview..

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I am not sure I am fully recovered from CES, but Joe assures me this will be easier... that the gear is all show ready... GIP will be bringing a pair of these...


but I am of course excited about this:


Peace,
Me

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I tasted my first Black Man today,


All of the guys in Texas lead by Johnny have been raving about all the Black Man they have tried.  Being the jealous type, I too wanted to try a Black Man myself since they are impossible to get outside the Dallas area.  When brewmaster innerurban asked for my address, little did I realize it was for the illegal activity of sending 6 Black Man across state lines.  He confidently assured me assured me that Fedex ground has no issues shipping Black Man as long as you call them "yeast samples"  Much to my surprise, the Black Man showed up today showing great diversity with three matched pairs of Pale, Brown and deep Black.


I properly chilled and opened up a Belgian Black Man and in searching for the proper glassware, decided that I needed  to share my Black Man with some friends.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Avoiding tornadoes and choosing a winner....

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Surprisingly they are both the same thing... totally random...

I grew up with tornadoes. As a child I remember the insanely loud howl of the wind as it took out parts of our house... took out all of the windows... smashed the television... picked up my swing set... blew over our chainlink fence... as an engineer, I am not sure how that last one happened...



Just a few minutes ago I was typing email from the closet. Tornadoes sighted in Memphis for the fourth time in three weeks. Sirens going off yet again. Even for the Mid South, that is too many close calls. Remember that picture of the wisteria I took a few days ago? This photo was taken at the intersection just to the left, barely out of sight of that shot.. there are supposed to be at least three traffic signals hanging from this post:


Nature has been impressive this Spring. These are not even true tornado damages. This is just from local winds in the area.... snapped trees everywhere... some 130 foot oaks down in the neighborhood.... a hundred thousand without power for days... we were down for just over a day... and lucky considering the trees on my little square of earth...

so.. as I said.. it is totally random... which is why I don't pull a number out of a hat... I read atmospheric noise to give away tubes.. so is it random? or predestined?


Eric, number 18, email me to get your triodes...

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Lowther Phase Plug Tweeters Pt. III

I guess since I have the metal lathe and the Lowthers up and running, this project has shifted to me, yet I want to be clear the original concept is JJ's.   I hinted to the progress in the Emancipation Day entry, and the Brown Truck brought a brown box with the last needed part some 4 X 0.7 mm threaded studs.


I didn't do them exactly to JJ's drawigns trying to keep it as close as possible to a typical doorknob plug.  I installed them and put on some tunes as I wired them up.  With them in place and not wired the highs were severely truncated but they quickly came back when I connected the tweeter through a 1 mic series cap.  I only had enough time to get through 1 album side and I definitely need to play with phasing and crossover frequency but things are looking good!








As a proof of concept, there is a lot of promise and the second run through gave us a lot direction for the MK III variation.  The first experiment happened with the use of a single drywall screw last May in Texas at the LSAF and quickly taught us that the physical distance between the voice coils need to be set to the crossover frequency.  We also have a few other tricks to try out on the next revision so stay tuned to this work in progress.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Emancipation Day.



I hate paperwork!  Last Thursday (4-14-2011) Jeffrey Jackson made me mad... no he made me angry when a box of toys from Memphis showed up on my doorstep.  Unfortunately, on that day my plate was full with keeping Uncle Sam happy so the box sat unopened as I crossed my eyes and dotted my T's to comply.

As I was finishing up the Federal part I was seriously considering the extension route when the phone rang.  Johnny and Bob were starting to play with the original Lowther field coils and as we chatted and I explained my pain, Bob said we have until the 18th this year.

Google confirmed it and I have to laugh at the irony of Emancipation Day coinciding with Tax Day.  Irony aside, early the next morning I busted into that box and played.  Here I am a few nights later with something real to show and because of it, I'll probably end up going the extension route tomorrow.

Of course I owe and will be penalized for not paying on time, yet somehow the fact that I will be paying more in tax and penalty than GE did this year will make me sleep well tonight. 




Record Store Day....

I actually made it out to TWO record stores! I took the kids into midtown for some street skating and hit two shops. One had a band playing out in the parking lot.... beautiful weather...

I will listen and give a report on the albums I picked up, but I think I found the official album covers that combine for "HiFiHeroin".... check it out....








hmmm.... wonder which is which?






Friday, April 15, 2011

From the Stash.. and Free Stuff!

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We all know about the venerable 2A3... a tube that is just all around hard to beat. The thing makes music. So what have we here? Looks like a 2A3, but too many pins. Yep, this is an octal 2A3... known as a 6B4G...


Same specifications and construction but with one exception, the filament voltage is 6.3V instead of 2.5V.


so I would love to give these away to a nice home... they are tested... transconductance on each was well past 5.... as always, drop name in the comment box below...


Peace,
Me

Monday, April 11, 2011

Hamfest 2011...

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I took the day off Saturday... well, most of it.. it was great.. Hamfest in the morning and a nice long bicycle ride with JP in the afternoon... back to taxes Saturday night, but thankfully, as of noon today, those are done as well.. whew... I do not mind paying my taxes, but compiling my shop into an Excel spreadsheet is a royal pain!

so... what did I get? not as crazy as last year... but a few cool things..

The above RCA tube caddy is one I have wanted for a long while. Of course I dig the black and white with red handle, but I also love it because it is metal.... and that RCA lightning logo... yummy...



I also picked up some Eimac transmitting tubes. You can click the above photo for a full resolution picture. It is too cool how they shipped these.










and then this fabulous little mini mono system.. are these Kahn colors or what?


it is half of the famed HF81.. same circuit, just mono... it cleaned up really well with just a damp cloth.. these pictures are before clean up...


inside was a a full compliment of Mullard and Telefunken...


the design is from the classic era.. very much the style of Marantz and modern Shindo... it sounds sweet...


and the phono stage is based on this telefunken 12ax7....

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