Quickie up and going

[Remoter]

That was fun!
Listening to umphrys mcgee from an hd downlown from rhapsody.
Initial impression is yes definate difference in the noise coming from my speakers. Very bright, a bit too bright. Lower frequencies sound muffled.
Turning the loudness switch off on the amp made huge improvement.
Assuming it will settle down with some break in time.
Damn -still a bit bright but turning the loudness switch off- night and day.
Just out of curiosity is there any reason I couldn't put one of these in my car - anybody try it?
Dan

I attached a photo of the Q - just wanted show off my base - yes that's the box it was shipped in.

 

[corndog71]

Can you clarify how your system is connected?

 

[Scratch_P]

Just out of curiosity is there any reason I couldn't put one of these in my car - anybody try it?

I have, and it sounded great!  I always thought this would be a great way to "tube" up a car audio system.  I just don;t really have a convenient place to mount it or it would stay there.

 

[Remoter]

The setup in the photo is simply running the Q through the aux input on an old onkyo integrated. The source is my iphone. It does not have a separate pre out. I also have an old SS Sansui integrated that does have the pre out that I will hook it up to when I can.
I was able to put a 2 or 3 hours of listening last night while fooling around in the garage. By the time I came back in the house I was convinced that it was sounding a hell of a lot better. Gotta be honest - it might have been the IPA's ears more than mine. But, a buzz or hum is present in the garage set up- an old realistic integrated- that is not there on the Onkyo. This buzz is not affected by volume.
My main setup is a refurbished yet primarily stock Dynaco ST70 that I run through the SS Sansui's pre out (Yes, I am looking for a tube phono pre, having a difficult time making up my mind on which way to go) I hope to have time this evening to run the Q through this setup.
Would love to hear any suggestions or feed back on where your Q is the happiest.
Dan

 

[Zimmer64]

Hi Dan,

I use the Quickie as pre into one of Bob Latino's VTA ST70. I am extremely happy with the sound. Dead quiet, no hum or hiss. I prefer the sound over my SS gear, which has been moved to the garage. It pays to use a quality source instead of an iPhone 

My Q is modified with Clarity MR output coupling caps, Telefunken DL92 and an Alps pot. I run it using rechargeable batteries, which works fine. I bought  9000mha D-cells, which last almost as long as the Duracells.

Enjoy the Q. It is a great preamp.

Michael

 

[corndog71]

The setup in the photo is simply running the Q through the aux input on an old onkyo integrated. The source is my iphone. It does not have a separate pre out.

This is not the ideal way to use the Quickie.  You don't run a preamp into another preamp.  It's supposed to go directly into the amp.  The way you have it will increase noise/distortion big time.

You would be better off going from iPhone to Quickie to ST70.
Here's my set up after building my modded ST35.  iPod to Quickie to ST35.

Do either of your integrateds have an "Amp in" or "Main in" connection like in this pic?

If so then you plug your iPhone into the input of the Quickie and connect the output of the Quickie to the Main in of your integrated.

 

[Natural Sound]

The setup in the photo is simply running the Q through the aux input on an old onkyo integrated. The source is my iphone. It does not have a separate pre out. I also have an old SS Sansui integrated that does have the pre out that I will hook it up to when I can.
I was able to put a 2 or 3 hours of listening last night while fooling around in the garage. By the time I came back in the house I was convinced that it was sounding a hell of a lot better. Gotta be honest - it might have been the IPA's ears more than mine. But, a buzz or hum is present in the garage set up- an old realistic integrated- that is not there on the Onkyo. This buzz is not affected by volume.
My main setup is a refurbished yet primarily stock Dynaco ST70 that I run through the SS Sansui's pre out (Yes, I am looking for a tube phono pre, having a difficult time making up my mind on which way to go) I hope to have time this evening to run the Q through this setup.
Would love to hear any suggestions or feed back on where your Q is the happiest.
Dan

Greetings from a fellow IPA aficionado.

If it were me I'd jump on the introductory pricing on a Reduction Phono Preamp. Feed that into one of the inputs of the quickie and you will notice an immediate improvement on the phono side of things.

http://www.bottlehead.com/store.php/products/reduction-phono-preamplifier-kit

The next thing I'd do is go for a more modern amplifier. Optimally you'd want to buy a set of Paramounts or an integrated set-up like the Stereomour or S.E.X. Or to hold you over for a while you can take one of the approaches discussed here. http://www.bottlehead.com/smf/index.php/topic,4207.0.html

I recently purchased  one of the 15 Watt x 2 Class D Audio Amplifier Kits from Jerry's that will be driven by a quickie. I'll be omiting the volume control and using the one on the quickie instead. This will be for a streaming radio project I'm building for my shop. http://www.jerryselectronics.com/diykits/kaa03021/kaa03021.htm

 

[earwaxxer]

Mucho interesting stuff here! Worthy of a half dozen related posts. I have to wonder what Dan is up to in the garage with that classic kit running in the background! Overhauling a short block? Food for thought....

 

[Remoter]

Thanks for your replies guys. The further I go down this path the more I realize just how much I don't know! Thanks for the pics on your setup corndog -
Got home looking forward to playing with the quickie, thought I might start by hooking it up correctly to my st70 rig which I hadn't done yet. Connected my bluray/CD player - I actually don't listen to a lot of cd's it tends to be vinyl or downloaded. Turned on the quickie then the amp then the player. Initially nothing - not a peep - okay I simply have to adjust the selector I says - I begin by turning Down the volume and whoa! SNAP! Crackle pop a horrible ringing sound - that's coming from the quickie I says. That was me brushing a tube. I powered everything down. Adjusted the selector and (foolishly?) tried again - no more apocalyptic noises but also no more left channel.
Packed up the Q and headed back to the garage, the IPA, and the SS Realistic. This combo worked last night - but again no left channel (A side). 
St70 works fine without the Q.
Realistic works fine without the Q.
Switched the tubes to no effect.
So I guess I go back and check all of the values again and see what I can see. Right?
Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Dan
Here's a pic of my build

 

[corndog71]

For the record, my Quickie has the inputs on the front and the outputs closer to the tubes. (Version 1)

Yours (Version 1.1) has the outputs on the front and inputs behind the tubes.  I just wanted to make sure that was clear.

 

[Remoter]

Hi Rob,
No worries - I didn't hook up the amp incorrectly due to your pics. I actually had the amp connected as intended.
My attorney did ask me to get your home address though
Dan

 

[earwaxxer]

The new Quickie layout does look a bit different. Same idea. With power off, I would check the value of each part with a ohm meter, see if anything is amiss. Of course the usual bad solder joint is probably the culprit.

 

[Remoter]

Yeah from browsing the forums the bad solder joint seems to be a common issue. Should I be be checking the resistance values with batteries out of the unit or is having it turned off just as good?
Dan

 

[earwaxxer]

I would yank the batteries.