Having just built one of the 6J1 preamps is was not expecting to get much more than some fun with tubes. I took my time with assembly checking connections, testing point to point and power testing no tubes just a load resistor on B+. First I did not have a 12VAC wart on hand but I have a 8.5VAC good for low power testing. Upon connecting to a OGG source and output to a Fosi V3 I was floored. Bass, High and Mids was great, I did not detect any hum. Pushing the gain a little more than needed I did start to pick up distortion. More than likely at 8.5V instead of 12V I was just running out of headroom. The people that designed these hobby amps really did their homework.
I hope I am on the right page. RU-vid has changed the way accounts are named and addressed. But if I am on the right page, just wanted to let you know I am playing your Rally-X clone and its great. Congratulations on creating it. Hope you do more.
@@TheStuffMade Cool. I'll be on the lookout. I found your video where you bring it up and left a comment there too after this one. But I'm sure you don't mind praise twice LOL...
I appreciate your great video and measurements. For audioholic however, more important is HOW IT SOUND rather than what numbers it has. so please describe HOW IT SOUNDS comparing to 4k amp?
I don't own the 4k amp and I'm not planning to buy one, but I can say that the little modified $25 preamp does sound very pleasant and it will work well in most systems. Sound quality is subjective, but if you're ready to throw a lot of money at a tube preamp, then I'd recommend looking at something like a nice Audio Research unit.
Interesting, but a slight correction: you misspelled the other review source. It should be spelled Stereopile. They also seemed to make a mistake, since all Audiopiles know that the highest priced amplifier is best! Perhaps they could have gotten better test results if they had used the correct cables, each made of 3200 fine strands of individually cotton wrapped Litz wire braided in the pattern of a unicorn's tail to interconnect the amplifier. Also, the amplifier itself should have been placed on a one meter Marble cube with little Titanium spikey feet resting on a polished granite floor for optimal performance. Even a 50 year old '5532 would outperform these things, not to mention many OpAmps from National or Burr Brown. Of course true Audiopiles will say that is utterly impossible, since they do not operate on the principles of thermionic emission, because, alas, they have no heating elements! 🙄
Using opamps is cheating and no fun 🙂 I understand Stereophile is dependent of advertiser income, but I think they made the wrong choice, they should've been a consumer magazine, not an advertiser magazine, but then again they are one of the few remaining hifi magazines, so maybe they did make the right choice. Anyway, my point of this video was primarily to question the value of these extremely expensive high end products. Cheers, Jake
@@TheStuffMade The real point you made is that a competent engineer making a few inexpensive modifications makes all the difference in the world. As for Fetish Magazines, they will be around as long as the fetishists buy them, or until they learn and believe that the "Emperor truly has no clothes" Thanks for the entertainment and fun. Unfortunately there are extremely few analog design engineers around anymore. Cheers, Imre
@@TheStuffMade YT's AI is preventing me from letting you know about an amplifier manufacturer I am familiar with: Dan D'Agostino Master Audio amplifiers. They have a dealer in Michigan, Ann Arbor to be specific. They are called Paragon Sight & Sound. perhaps you can find them and check out the products and prices.
@@TheStuffMade There are significantly more expensive amplifiers on the market. Perhaps I can reference one I am personally familiar with (since I worked for the company briefly).
@@shazam6274 Thanks, yes, I know the Dan D'Agostino amplifiers, I mean they look very cool, but I've never owned or even listened to one. They do get very highly rated by reviewers though, but then again I've seen amplifiers getting reviewed as "the last amplifiers you'd ever want to own" only to be shown as faulty by follow up measurements 🤣 In my experience you want to put your money in the speakers of your system (within reason) I've found that's where it really matters.
