My only AC Green Short Path, Please God may it work?

[JamesD]

Whilst I have heard the effects described here with certain amplifiers the thing that I come back to is....

The sound we heard from Steve's 6B4G amplifier at Owston on the sunday last year...

The soundstage on that occasion was holographic in the sense that it had height depth width and one could walk around in it but the image stayed stable - it really sounded as if you were in the room with the musicians.. it was real... it was live...

I have only heard this on a handful of occasions in my life - three times with DHTs. once with IDHPs and once with transistors...

J.

[Paul Barker]

once with transistors...

J.

quick, find the ducking chair

Ack Shirley there;s a lot of other variables.

BEst female singer sat on a chair midway between me and a soundstage was shared with Darren in Leeds the day I met him in someone's home on their quad 57's with a transistor amp.

I'll get my coat.

[Cressy Snr]

just for the record this is deffo not my experience

Aye....its a contentious issue. Not a lot of other audio enthusiasts I know share my views but of course that's the way of the world.

Trouble is I have to go with what I am hearing, and at Owston/Eggborough, I hear a lot of shriek and shout; a shriek and shout that bothers me greatly, but does not bother most others.
What most sensible folks hear as presence and detail, I hear, in your face, over the top artificiality. I've heard it from 2A3, 300B, 811A, GM70, 833, 45, 801A, VT52.
IH valves don't escape entirely as I have heard the same coming from KT88 and KT66.

El34, EL37, EL84, 6P25, KT41, 6AQ5 and KT120 OTOH seem to sound very agreeable to my below average sized ears and if driven by a good valve are aural ecstasy personified. I realise, I am in a minority of one, but there's no sense building stuff that would get on my wick.

[Paul Barker]

Not a lot share my views but of course that's the way of the world.

[Cressy Snr]

OOH.....Keep digging I say to myself.

I goes in cycles. I spout some outrageous nonsense, then it goes back to normal for a while.

Ignore me chaps. It'll pass soon enough.

[Paul Barker]

You understand I am only playing with you Steve, your hearing is valid, your amps sound great.

I also have a bias towards iht's as Mark said it may be in the heating where dht's can get clogged up.

[steve s]

We do all hear differently, yet we must all actually hear the same things, alot must go on between the ear and the brain...

Back on topic....

I'Ve had a quick look though some of my valves the only cosmos valve i could find was an earlier one from around 1922 its in its original box

[steve s]

I hope Paul don't mind me hijacking.. But a few more pictures,
The short path name was owned by cosmos, which was part of metro- vickers group which turned into Mazda in the late 20's

Mazda kept the short path name, below are a few mazda short path valves from the late 20's /early 30's there is a mixture of ac/ p1, ac/p, ac/hl, sorry the pic is upside down...

[steve s]

These are the best of the mh 4 in my view, the one on the left made for france in 1932 i have a few of these, they sound as good as the cosser valves from the same time

[steve s]

And the above is perfect for driving all these, note the size of the p650 anode for 1.1 watt valve, they quickly found they did not need that much quality but needed more output, that is on the left,
the mazda version of the px25 is central, the actual anode is 1/2" shorter although its difficult to see that in the photo, to the right is the 300a

[Paul Barker]

Wonderful. We shall have curves for them soon.