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Post by firebottle on Apr 19, 2021 14:42:28 GMT
Hi Oli,
The black tape is extra insulation for the can of the capacitor. There is about 450V knocking around the 6080 regulator circuit so put it back and be careful.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 19, 2021 15:03:27 GMT
Hi Oli, The black tape is extra insulation for the can of the capacitor. There is about 450V knocking around the 6080 regulator circuit so put it back and be careful. Hahahaha...brilliant. Could that be the noise generating faux pas?
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Post by misterc on Apr 19, 2021 15:03:33 GMT
Soo much potential in there, now maybe BBPower 1 in the offing
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 19, 2021 15:16:41 GMT
Soo much potential in there, now maybe BBPower 1 in the offing Do indulge me with the "potential" MrC
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Post by rexton on Apr 19, 2021 18:45:30 GMT
Soo much potential in there, now maybe BBPower 1 in the offing Yeah I'm always interested in upgrades and potential improvements in my kit. What potential have you seen?
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Post by rexton on Apr 19, 2021 18:50:13 GMT
Because I wanted a upgrade from the basic croft preamp and also an excuse to get my forever preamp. Sorry Andrew, i didn't ask the right question. What is it about the Epoch that makes it your choice for "forever Preamp" rather than a Charisma X or 7RS two box jobbie? Obviously there is the price difference but you have never struck me as somkeonw who couldn't aquire those items, should they have been available I've never heard the 7RS or the Charisma X, I just simply took a punt on the Epoch. They don't come up for sale that often and I jumped at the chance when I had chance to buy once. I'd had a Micro basic and the 25, I just saw the potential with the bigger pre-amp and went with the flow. A complete gamble really and one that has thankfully paid off. My Epoch has had three major rounds of upgrades over the years. Alan, being the last GURU to breath some more magic into the Epoch. There are still a few things that niggle and my biggest regret is not having dual volume pots but I do have a very good pot installed at the moment. My entire system is dual mono, apart from the bloody volume control it is something that I'm looking into, amongst one or two other things which might get a little more performance from the amp.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 20, 2021 7:08:01 GMT
Sorry Andrew, i didn't ask the right question. What is it about the Epoch that makes it your choice for "forever Preamp" rather than a Charisma X or 7RS two box jobbie? Obviously there is the price difference but you have never struck me as somkeonw who couldn't aquire those items, should they have been available I've never heard the 7RS or the Charisma X, I just simply took a punt on the Epoch. They don't come up for sale that often and I jumped at the chance when I had chance to buy once. I'd had a Micro basic and the 25, I just saw the potential with the bigger pre-amp and went with the flow. A complete gamble really and one that has thankfully paid off. My Epoch has had three major rounds of upgrades over the years. Alan, being the last GURU to breath some more magic into the Epoch. There are still a few things that niggle and my biggest regret is not having dual volume pots but I do have a very good pot installed at the moment. My entire system is dual mono, apart from the bloody volume control it is something that I'm looking into, amongst one or two other things which might get a little more performance from the amp. Right, i see. There are a couple of Epochs online as of now. One with a few upgrades done already. www.dba.dk/forforstaerker-croft-epoch/id-1078781701/www.dba.dk/roerforstaerker-croft-cr/id-1078602831/They'd be pretty expensive by the time they got here. I am intrigued though and should there be a point where i have some spare funds, i may keep my eyes open for something Croft to go with the Series V. There is a Croft Vitale i know of that has been upgraded too.....hmmm
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 20, 2021 7:16:21 GMT
I have put the insulation tape back on the cap, and a bit more just in case lol
However, the buzz is still there. Right channel only.
It's off to visit Alan on Friday to have a look at the noise. Who knows...it may even come back with some fancy caps inside...depending on if he fancies doing his old pal a favour 😉
I have a nice bit of 3-core mains cable that i think should be fitted as a matter of urgency too. Wonder how far i can push my luck?? 😂
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 20, 2021 14:54:46 GMT
New Valves are here.....however, Langrex dropped the ball and send GE ECC82 instead of the Toshiba ECC82 i ordered. The 6080 is fine though.
I wasnt particularly bothered, but i gave them a call. The GE being marginally the more expensive of the two types, i was preparing to return them. However 'Dan' said it was ok if i wanted to keep them. So i have!
This is proving to be a very wise decision as IMHO these are some tasty morsels!
The sound is not attached to the speakers in any way....they have crucified the JJ's and there was only a couple of quid between them.
Listening to John Van Der Veer - Manha de Carnival......my head is falling off in shock at how good this amplifier is now. I cannot wait for the 6P14P-EV to arrive!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2021 15:05:12 GMT
Soo much potential in there, now maybe BBPower 1 in the offing Do indulge me with the "potential" MrC 450V is a lot of potential.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2021 15:06:44 GMT
New Valves are here.....however, Langrex dropped the ball and send GE ECC82 instead of the Toshiba ECC82 i ordered. The 6080 is fine though. I wasnt particularly bothered, but i gave them a call. The GE being marginally the more expensive of the two types, i was preparing to return them. However 'Dan' said it was ok if i wanted to keep them. So i have! This is proving to be a very wise decision as IMHO these are some tasty morsels! The sound is not attached to the speakers in any way....they have crucified the JJ's and there was only a couple of quid between them. Listening to John Van Der Veer - Manha de Carnival......my head is falling off in shock at how good this amplifier is now. I cannot wait for the 6P14P-EV to arrive! There is someone on AOS looking for a 686. Shall I tell him to drop you a mail?
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 20, 2021 15:13:12 GMT
Do indulge me with the "potential" MrC 450V is a lot of potential. Potential.... I am tempted to leave well alone actually, as within it's "Price Bracket" of devices i could replace it with, i don't think i would even consider it. You know, i heard tales from jimbo of how GC made amplification that would rival gear 3-4x the price and have the Wolverhampton HiFi scene absolutely buzzing. I must admit that i hadn't heard any i felt that i should go out and buy immediately. That has changed today. I love this little beast of valve beauty.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2021 15:17:44 GMT
That would be a wise move, but you are a tinkerer.... You won’t be happy until pure copper plugs, OCC cabling and some fancy caps are fitted, but does it need it?
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 20, 2021 15:29:55 GMT
That would be a wise move, but you are a tinkerer.... You won’t be happy until pure copper plugs, OCC cabling and some fancy caps are fitted, but does it need it? Yes it does..... I have just found it's limits.....sadly It's taken some very fine valves and a recording of immense quality, but the difference between this and the 686 has slapped me right in the trap. If i don't put fancy bling in it, like i have the 686, how will i know for sure that the bling wouldn't have got it there...or got it a bit closer? I don't think it will...but it's not gonna coast the earth. Saying that, were talking about a vintage £500 Valve amplifier Vs a DIY amp that should have cost £10k if it was a commercial offering. More later....maybe tomorrow. I'm dead on my feet NEED FOOD!
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 21, 2021 7:03:02 GMT
Review PT2 now in the original post
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Post by jimbo on Apr 21, 2021 8:41:17 GMT
I would imagine its very difficult to really compare the Croft against the 686 because one is a valve amp from the ancient world and the 686 is a chip amp from the modern world.
Like comparing apples and bananas.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 21, 2021 9:30:24 GMT
I would imagine its very difficult to really compare the Croft against the 686 because one is a valve amp from the ancient world and the 686 is a chip amp from the modern world. Like comparing apples and bananas. It is, but things like the soundstage and those microdetails are pretty much where they both can be judged Other than that, yeah....it's pretty hard
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 1, 2021 11:44:48 GMT
Some developments on my Croft Series 5 After actually selling this amp on, and then refunding the buyer when a hum appeared on one channel, I decided I'd hang on to it and get some HiFi jewellery added. The Croft has been with Alan (Firebottle) for a few days and he's been doing some bits to it on my behalf. I already had him fit 2x CMC copper RCA sockets to it, and we fitted some Miflex Cu foil caps too. But today, We're going nutso! 4x CMC Copper binding posts, OCC cable for the input wiring and bias testing points are all being added. All that will be left to do is diagnose the hum.....that is probably the most difficult part and exactly why the amp is with Alan 🤣 A few pics:
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