Ron’s New System

[Holmz]

You need less input signal to get the same SPL out of your speakers. The amps gain is fixed and it is only responding to what the preamp signal level output is.

This is sort of my point.
If he is feeding it with a DAC then in almost every case I can imagine, the signal I’ll be cut in level going to the amp.
Having a lower gain preamp makes some sense, but the level of gain is unlikely to be creating distortion, unless the signal is being amplified first, and clipping or getting up there with respect to the rails.

The gain of the active tube stage in the Incito is fixed. The resistor ladder volume control comes before the tube stage and attenuates the incoming signal from the source. The gain adjustment of Incito is performed by changing the windings on the output transformers.
Passive preamps work only by attenuation of the output signal from the source before feeding it into the input of the amplifier. This can be done resistively or it can be done by switching windings on a multi-tap transformer or autoformer.

I cannot picture an autoformer working too well near DC.

Most active preamps work as a combination of attenuation followed by active gain. Only a very few have active gain adjustment where the gain of the active stage itself is adjusted rather than attenuation of the incoming signal. There are a few preamps that take the incoming signal directly into the active gain stage and then attenuate the output before sending it to the amp but this can be very problematic with overload if the output of the source is really high.

In the case of Incito, given the active stage is constant the distortion in high or low gain should be nearly the same...only whatever differences in distortion from the different amounts of transformer winding would possibly make them slightly different in that way.

And we are back to low notes being removed with the passive subwoofer XO as being likely to help.
That’s if that autoformer were being pushed to saturation near DC then it might affect other frequencies.

However there are so many moving parts here, that it seems like the game of tail on the donkey to attribute any specific thing to being what made it all sound good or it good.

 

[microstrip]

came to think of I know close to nothing about Portuguese composers, even though I love the country and have been around a lot
any recommendations?

Portuguese baroque music - mostly coral polyphony and keyboard - is well known. I have a few CDs from the Hyperion catalogue, from people as Duarte Lobo and Frei Manuel Cardoso. Carlos Seixas was our Domenico Scarlatti and is regularly played in recitals.

The Romanic (19th and 20th century) period is less know - in fact I am not very fond of them. Luís de Freitas Branco and Fernando Lopes-Graça are probably the best known.

 

[marty]

can you suggest one or a few?

Too hard, Elliot. They are all personal chronological journeys for Shostakovich so they all are different. I would not start with 13-15 as they are more austere and death-themed. Start with #1. I wouldn't do more than 1 or 2 a day to see if it's worth further exploration. They are not going to be everyone's cup of tea and you have to put in the work to really listen deeply. My guess is that Stalin was not a fan.

 

[bonzo75]

Shostakovich’s best-known quartet is the no 8. The Borodin Quartet (EMI) recordings are my preferred set.

The 8th Borodin is available on Decca, video below.

The EMI has the 7 LP set.

The Fitzwilliam on Decca for the 8th is also very nice and totally different performance wise and in terms of sound balance to the Borodin

 

[bonzo75]

string quartets aside, the cello sonata is excellent, 5th symphony is brilliant, also 15th which can at rare times be found live interpreted for and played by a trio. The violin concerto is meh (written for Oistrakh o perform) and cello concerto has good parts but too repetitive.

Cello sonata

Concerto

 

[microstrip]

(...) My guess is that Stalin was not a fan.

As far as I have read fortunately Stalin ignored them. The quartets were small music, private Shostakovich, not the official Soviet composer Stalin sought to control. There is some controversy weather Shostakovich really used the quartets as a kind of “secret diary” as they are often described.

 

[morricab]

This is sort of my point.
If he is feeding it with a DAC then in almost every case I can imagine, the signal I’ll be cut in level going to the amp.
Having a lower gain preamp makes some sense, but the level of gain is unlikely to be creating distortion, unless the signal is being amplified first, and clipping or getting up there with respect to the rails.


I cannot picture an autoformer working too well near DC.


And we are back to low notes being removed with the passive subwoofer XO as being likely to help.
That’s if that autoformer were being pushed to saturation near DC then it might affect other frequencies.

However there are so many moving parts here, that it seems like the game of tail on the donkey to attribute any specific thing to being what made it all sound good or it good.

Yes, agree that the gain is not impacting distortion.

 

[the sound of Tao]

I never liked that guy's stuff! It sounds like an annoying, headache-y mess to me!

Thems fightin words Ron … lol

Nothing like saying something like Bruckner is a bit of a hack to get the classical juices swirling. It’d be good to discuss why we end up liking the music that we do or perhaps just as telling why we don’t like music as genres or specific composers or in individual performances.

For me music preference is totally subjective so no value judgement exactly in the way gear choice and sonic preferences are like that for me.The important thing is we are getting the music that we need.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Let us know what you think about Schnitke and Webern.

No thank you. I don't eat sausage.

 

[wil]

Shostakovich’s best-known quartet is the no 8. The Borodin Quartet (EMI) recordings are my preferred set.

The Borodin performances and sound quality are fantastic.

 

[jbrrp1]

I would add a few more Shostakovich pieces:

8th Symphony
2nd Cello Concerto (Rostropovich playing)
Preludes and Fugues

I find myself coming back to these often enough.

 

[bonzo75]

I would add a few more Shostakovich pieces:

8th Symphony

I put up videos of the 8th on 3 systems, Tima has also put on his

 

[Ron Resnick]

One thing at a time....

Tom

Normally I completely agree. In this case I had only the new crossovers, and I had only the new preamp.

So if I wanted to play the stereo I had to put both of them in at the same time.

 

[Atmasphere]

Thank you, Ralph. I know the amplifier puts out the same power.

The new preamp is the exact same preamp as the old preamp, except for, as I described, a difference in gain.

I think we can safely say there are more differences than just that. We can start with the tube complement, unless you have installed the tubes of the old preamp into the new one. There may be other differences too since obtaining more gain often affects distortion and requires different operating points of the tubes (in some cases).

 

[c1ferrari]

I don't know. I've never heard her voice live, in-person unamplified.

I don't know of a single recording of hers that I would not consider to be any better than moderately poor recording quality. "Landslide" is at least closely mic'ed and not overproduced with a bunch instruments.

Acknowledged. Thanks.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Acknowledged. Thanks.

Which do you think is the most natural and convincing Stevie Nicks recording?

 

[Ron Resnick]

Don visited on Saturday.

I listened again myself, and then, later, with Tinka, last night.

pk_LA may be coming over on Friday.

Al M is visiting on November 5.

 

[morricab]

Don visited on Saturday.

I listened again myself, and then, later, with Tinka, last night.

Al M is visiting on November 5.

What was the outcome of the visit?

 

[Ron Resnick]

What was the outcome of the visit?

Visit me and hear for yourself!

Don heard progress.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I like to collect data point impressions from visitors, but the stereo system-building process here is pure dictatorship.