Built a Quickie Today

[aragorn723]

I believe the easiest way to isolate the tube socket would be to use Rubber or silicone Shock Absorber Vibration Isolator Mounts from Amazon, the small ones would be a perfect fit.

I would do this to my semi stock crack, but since last November I am no longer in the audio listening and building mode, came down with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss, I can no longer hear music.  I do have several Bottlehead projects to finish but there just isn't a lot of motivation.

Back to woodworking (fancy rolling pins right now) and photography, have to keep busy.

Lee Hankins

Lee,

How much of a hearing loss is it?  My wife is a hearing specialist, which got me wondering.  If it is severe enough, sometimes a coclear implant can be an option.

Dave

 

[Leland Hankins]

Dave, thank you, I have been told by three Doctors that there is nothing that can be done, I have not given up, but I will be honest a cochlear implant was not discussed, do not know why.  I have read about a new procedure where the ear hairs can be regrown.  Lots of options I hope.

I hate not being able to listen to my music!!!

 

[aragorn723]

Hi Lee,

Do you know what condition caused the hearing loss?  The wife can probably recommend what type of doctor to see.  Can't imagine not being able to listen to music, hope they can find a solution!

Dave

 

[Leland Hankins]

Dave there is no cure, they do not even know what causes it, there is a large bang within the head, some theories but nothing solid.  Very difficult area to study.  Today's attempt is to inject three steroid injections every two weeks, still no clinical proof if this even helps.  Just an attempt to give the patient some hope, it can cure itself, odds are usually not good.

 

[Jamier]

After looking at Lee's build I realize how important chassis mass is to the quiet operation of this wonderful little preamp. I have also discovered that, unlike some larger tubes, these very small tubes can be easily overdamped, muddying the sound.With those thoughts in mind I am experimenting with damping the socket rather than the tube.I placed the O-rings under the sockets which I think helps( I didn't try it without them, it just seemed like a good idea at the time). But, it does ring with the O-rings in place so I thought it might be beneficial to weight the socket in someway, pulling the socket into the O-ring and hopefully quieting the tube. I did this by hanging a weight from the center pin of the socket. In addition I tightened the retainers in an attempt to reduce movement. I used 12 lb. test Fishing Leader and a 1 lb. lead weight suspended from each socket center pin. This seems to help a lot. Here's a couple pictures.I have some other things to try yet.Sorry, the bottom pic is rotated. Imagine that the weight is hanging.

Jamie

 

[Doc B]

these very small tubes can be easily overdamped, muddying the sound.

I don't quite see the logic in saying that damping the movement of the components in the tube can be make them more muddy, implying less controlled transients. My hunch is that you have found out that the system is a little rolled off for some other reason and the 3S4s were adding some resonance that emphasized the treble a bit. My inclination would be to damp the heck out of them and look at cabling, impedance, etc. to see if there is some other cause for the muddiness.

 

[TurbOSquiD77]

This is AMAZING. Awesome transparent plate!

What interconnect connectors are those? I see them every once in a while and I'm curious.

 

[Jamier]

Those are Audioquest 90 degree RCA connectors. I used them to lower the cable height but, they put too much pressure on the center pins of the RCA females and now I have a poor connection to both inputs and outputs. The center pins in the chassis mount females are loose now and I have to change them out. I'm getting "popping" in both channels. They seem great at first, but based on my experience I don't recommend them, at least for this application.

Jamie

 

[Leland Hankins]

Jamier, I have scrounged in my junk bins and came up with these two versions, just some additional ideas and breaks in between taxes.

https://goo.gl/photos/Hqnarxtn6EvSsraH6

Anyone let me know if this works, thank you.

 

[Jamier]

Lee,

    Thanks for that, but I was not able to view those images. Maybe it's some software incompatibility. Anyway, thanks to your influence I came up with another idea. Those small O-rings were not helping all that much so I created a simple mold and made some larger rings that  decouple the socket from the chassis. I used an auto polymerizing duplicating silicon that is real "squishy". The socket is weighted and the tube is now damped with a weighted Copper damper like many Bottleheads have made. Now the ring can only be heard when you tap the tube or hit the chassis really hard.Here's some pics:

Jamie

 

[Leland Hankins]

Jamie, I apologize for the pictures and to everyone else, of course they work for me, as they should, will try to fix my stupidity tomorrow.

What I came up with is simpler and should be more effective, yours is way too complicated for the average builder in my opinion.  It is neat looking.

 

[BNAL]

Jamie,

That is great work. I'm not having any real issue with tube ringing. Only when I adjust the volume or change the input.

Lee,

Rally would like to see what you did to isolate the tubes. You can upload the pictures though the BH forum when posting.

Brad

 

[Leland Hankins]

Brad it seems to be working now, check below.  My photos are stored on Google photo, maybe I have figured out how to make it work?

https://goo.gl/photos/Hqnarxtn6EvSsraH6

 

[aragorn723]

Dave, thank you, I have been told by three Doctors that there is nothing that can be done, I have not given up, but I will be honest a cochlear implant was not discussed, do not know why.  I have read about a new procedure where the ear hairs can be regrown.  Lots of options I hope.

I hate not being able to listen to my music!!!

Have you been to an Audiologist?  Usually this condition is caused by another disease.  For instance, there is one called meneer's.  Not sure who you went to so far, but if you haven't gone to an Audiologist, that's prob the next step.

Dave

 

[Jamier]

I put the Q in front of an NHT xd system that I have had for years, but have used very little. I have had a love/hate relationship with the xd; it is very high resolution, but also very noisy and very fickle when it comes to what is connected to it. Also the satellites and the sub have metal cones and at times they sound, well, metallic. The other problem is the system is very lean sounding in the midbass and always  sounded like something was missing. The high point is that the vocal clarity of the xd is extremely good and the image is pretty good as well. With the Quickie in the mix the metallic edge is gone, the image is improved and while it still sounds a little lean in the midbass, it isn't as noticeable with that DHT goodness in the equation. The Q takes rough edges off the system and really makes this active speaker shine. I'll be using this alot in the summer when it's just too hot to run  tube amps.

Jamie

 

[aragorn723]

Jamie,

Do you have the PJCCS installed?  I just fired up my Quickie again after a couple of months of non-use, and found that there is plenty of bass with just Def Tech BP6B tower speakers.  It might have something to do with choice of tubes too.  Makes me want to break out a different set of tubes and do some tube rolling!  What tubes are in your Q?

Dave

 

[Jamier]

Hey Dave,

      I don't have PJCCS in yet. I spent a lot of time on those rings and some wire looms to reduce the ring associated with the volume control. This thing is so quiet now, even when in front of really sensitive amps. I'm currently using RCA 3s4s, but I have had some Radiotechniques in also and I'm not sure which I like better. The Radiotechniques seem to have a little better midrange and the RCAs seem to have  a better top end. I have had so much fun tweeking this thing. I know there are better sounding preamps, but not pound for pound.I have also replaced the 160uF Nichicons with 220/50v Elna Silmics and the output caps are now 2.2uF Mundorf S/O.Those changes made a noticeable improvement.

Jamie

 

[aragorn723]

It's interesting to see how different mods can make a difference and sound good for some applications, and not so good for others.  I wasn't getting much treble in our new apartment (went from hardwood floors in our old LR to wall to wall carpeting).  Westinghouse tubes sounded great in the old place (slightly less treble) and the answer here seems to be a different set of tubes that came with the quickie (they have green lettering, not sure what they are).  The tubes used to be damped with some metalized tape and copper couplings.. now it sounds better without.. go figure    I almost think you can make the Quickie whatever you want it to be, and just need tweak it to your setup.

Dave

 

[4krow]

It has been a long time since I built one of these kits. I did do some work on the damping of the tube and socket. I was lucky to find Sorbothane rings that were easy to work with and just the right size. At one point I made a Quickie that had the top plate isolated from the chassis, but I don't recall what product that I used.