Posted on Saturday, 12th February 2011 by Auw Jimmy

I dig some of my collection and find some AZ1 tubes. Basically, I have several tubes, but short word, they are separated into 3 brands, Philips Miniwatt AZ1, Valvo AZ1, and Telefunken AZ1. I don’t use P-Socket on my system, but I could use my converter here.

Caveat before reading: This test result is purely subjective on my system. It could be different on your system. Take it as reference only, please

First test is Philips Miniwatt. This tube has quite nice sound. The Ingram Washington’s vocal could be delivered sweet enough. Staging is not too wide, but depth is fine. The piano slightly light, less weight. When I first turn on the High Voltage, I see a blue spark. I think this tube is quite new, so probably need some time to break-in. Overall the tone are enjoyable, although slightly less weight.

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Tags: Philips Miniwatt, rectifier, Telefunken, Valvo
Posted in Collectible Stuff, DIY Audio | Comments (7)

Posted on Saturday, 12th February 2011 by Auw Jimmy

I would rather call this as “beauty in the dark”… No longer perfect in terms of construction, slightly off-center for the mesh and triangle, since probably over 70 years old tube. But… It’s still a nice collectible item. Since the label has gone, from my knowledge, this should be Valvo G2504, but it could be Telefunken RGN2504 also.

How does it sound? Beautiful thick vocal, wide staging, excellent mids, very musical, transparent, but slightly “too powerful” on the preamp section. Added: The low frequency is awesome, tight, and very well controlled. Will compare them with my Telefunken 2004 later. I’m interested to hear the different

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Tags: rectifier, RGN2504, Telefunken, Valvo
Posted in Collectible Stuff, DIY Audio | Comments (2)

Posted on Thursday, 3rd February 2011 by Auw Jimmy

When I clean up some of my collections today, I accidentally find some tubes which I rarely (or probably never) use. Actually I have some bad habits, collecting “junks”. Not really “junks” in terms of “garbage”, but “junks” for “thing I probably don’t need or use”. Well, there is a point in my life when I should change, the time shall come… I hope

For this case, they are P-Socket tubes. I got some of them, mostly AZ1 rectifier with either solid or mesh plate.

Below is the photo of the Valvo AZ1 Big Mesh on the P-Socket, then converted to Octal base. How to make it? Let’s continue.

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Tags: AZ1, octal, P-Socket, tube
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Posted on Wednesday, 2nd February 2011 by Auw Jimmy

This album is one of the my precious collectible album. Not just because this CD is quite rare (the original one, not remastered with XRCD bla-bla-bla), but this CD also has an outstanding quality. The Vinyl version is even better (but the price is getting not reasonable to purchase one at mint condition). I also have the Vinyl version, but rated at VG or VG+ only.

What makes this CD so special? This CD was made directly from two-track “live” analog master tape, recorded simultaneously, and no additional editing or polishing possible. According to Sheffield Lab, this kind of technique combined with their custom electronics and microphone will increase the transparency and phase linearity. Also the production of this CD is limited to specific quantity. No more additional copy will be made, unless we are talking the new version (like XRCD).

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Tags: amanda, CD Audio, sheffield lab
Posted in CD/DVD Review, Collectible Stuff | Comments (1)