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    Ampex electronics for the best possible sound

    Roger- You rock! Looks great. Tom
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    Ampex electronics for the best possible sound

    Good observation, but the other way around. Quite a few engineering and construction practices from the MR70 carried over to the 440 series. Cast deck plate, more modular construction, 3-point mounting schemes, fluid-damped idler (on some 440's) etc etc. Tom
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    Ampex electronics for the best possible sound

    Roger, If your stock head is in useable condition it would be well worth it to at least give it a try. The general recommendation is that the MR70 benefits from the ME head, but we might be talking about larger multitrack machines here. I don't know how many 1/4" machines are still...
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    Can anyone recommend a Benchmark DAC 1 or something similar?

    Thanks for your help, Bruce. After more than a week of DAC shopping I'm leaning towards the Mytek; it's feature-rich and has a strong following among both the pro guys and the audiophile crowd. Tom
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    Can anyone recommend a Benchmark DAC 1 or something similar?

    Bruce, Were you referring to the Stereo 192 DSD-DAC ? Little information about it on the Mytek site which led me to think it was not a current product. Lots to dig up with Google, though. Tom
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    Ampex electronics for the best possible sound

    Roger, I put a Flux head on my Studer A80 (for 1/4 trk playback) and the performance is absolutely stunning...so much so that I would consider the ME head for all of my machines, MR70 included. Apparently the nuvistor electronics are capable of much more than the stock head can give, but...
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    Ampex electronics for the best possible sound

    Nice. Very nice. What kind of head are you planning on installing.? Give good consideration to a Flux ME.... Tom
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    Computer-based audio workstation opinions, please

    Bruce, Can you offer up a suggestion for comparable DACs? I only stumbled across the Benchmark by accident. Thanks, Tom
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    Computer-based audio workstation opinions, please

    I want to set up a small PC/Laptop audio server as part of an experiment and could use some help getting started. A general overview if the project is taking audio files, test tones etc (generally CD-quality or better files....FLAC files) and bouncing them to an analog tape deck via XLR inputs...
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    Ampex 354

    Never put my 354 up against a 351; it's certainly quieter than my 350's. The tight chassis layout makes it more difficult to service than a 351/350, but nothing screams 'worst' of the series. I certainly disagree with the 'common knowledge' comment, but you are entitled to your opinion. Tom
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    Ampex 354

    Really......who ever said that? Tom
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    Best Projector Under $3000

    Instead of 'whats best' perhaps I should have asked what is mainstream in sub-3k projectors these days. A bit over a year ago it seemed like the Panny and JVC HD-250 were quite popular, especially with the dedicated builders over at AVS forum, and owners of either were basically pleased with...
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    Best Projector Under $3000

    Hmmmmm.....this thread had great potential but took a poop.... Any opinions on sub 3k projectors, anyone? Panny 4000 seemed to be the hot ticket last year, especially for zooming to 2.35 ....... Then JVC stepped up to the plate with the RS250, but I don't recall the price on that one. 3000...
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    Franken-Studer...

    Ki- Found this some time back, and further searching will turn up more info on the project: http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/m/241631/0/ Only lack of time has prevented me from trying to mate 354 electronics with my own A80VU, but according to comments on the above thread...
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    4 Track Head On Studer A810

    Can't comment on the A810, but John added a Flux ME 1/4-TK repro head to my A80 headblock, installed in lieu of the record head. Playback head is selected by a switch installed on the top of the head assembly. The combination of the gentle tape handling afforded by the Studer and the excellent...
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    Ampex electronics for the best possible sound

    In the playback circuit the first 12SJ7 can have a big overall affect on playback performance and noise, might want to keep a few around to swap in. Tom
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    Freight Companies

    I've used Freightquote.com quite a few times with good results. You'll have to set up an account but that can be done at the time you call in your order. The trick to freight shipping, or I guess for any heavy shipping for that matter, is the item must be securely constrained within it's own...
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    Two bad tube experiences

    Amir, Myles nailed it in post #16. Without an overview of the circuit topology or seeing the schematic for either of those units, I would guess either a poor choice of operating point for the individual tubes or loading mismatch in the input/output side. The first suggestion in #16 is...
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    Ampex electronics for the best possible sound

    Did you have your console worked on, or had to find one for your transport? Tom
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    Ampex electronics for the best possible sound

    After asking the same question for some time, the general consensus is that the 351 electronics offered much improved performance over the earlier 350s. Large use of metal enveloped pentodes in the 350 required the floating mounting plate to prevent microphonics, first gain stage after repro...
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    first 1/2 inch master tape

    Do you play 1/2" tapes on your 440c? I've found that although the 440 series are capable of playing both 1/4" and 1/2", best performance is obtained when the transport is dedicated to one particular format. Speaking in terms of the B version; I've not used a C. Tom
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    Amir Joins the club. Finally!

    Amir- Looks like you're off to a very good start, picking up a nice machine from a knowledgeable tape enthusiast. But be careful, these little machines are evil...they tend to multiply....... Tom
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    first 1/2 inch master tape

    Tom I was going to build a 4 track half inch machine. Now I'm glad I sold it. I would much rather have my restored Ampex recorders even though technically my 350-2 is a frankenpex Surprised you did not keep it and go 1/2" two-track, being an Ampex kind of guy. Guess you have your 1/2"...
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    first 1/2 inch master tape

    Roger, You were going to build a 300 four-track machine, or a 1/2" two track? I assumed the latter as 1/2" 4-trk is only interesting on the record end. Unless you meant a 350 1/2", but that animal does not actually exist, correct? John does all of my head work, but in the case of the...
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    first 1/2 inch master tape

    That should be one heck of a listening experience. Roger will like this: one of my unfinished projects is a 300 1/2" machine, which has been back-burnered as I only have a handful of playable 1/2" tapes. It was purchased as a 'parts' donor but came with all three electronics channels...
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    first 1/2 inch master tape

    Is that system going to reproduce all three tracks as separate audio channels for listening or mix them down as was typically done in the studio? Almost enough to make you drool..... Tom
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    Part Two of Technics Mod

    Myles, Sorry to have gone OT from your original post.....looking forwards to Part 3 of your Technics mods. Tom
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    Part Two of Technics Mod

    Well, we record on the same side of the tape, but the tracks are interleaved 1,3 2,4 and less magnetic saturation due to smaller track width. But I appreciate your note and am going to dig out some quiet (read:classical, not my typical jazz, Latin, blues) tapes and try to take note of the...
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    Part Two of Technics Mod

    Do you feel that's true of all quarter-track recordings or just many/most, in general? Obviously the quality of those consumer tapes runs the gamut, but I've not taken particular notice of the noise on my 7.5 IPS tapes. I even went all out and had JRF modify my A80 headblock for switchable 2-trk...
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    Part Two of Technics Mod

    Surprised that you canned quarter-track playback, considering the vast amount of decent tapes available in that format. Admittedly two-track wins by most accounts, but some of the 4-trk media makes for good listening. Tom B.

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