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The Ultrapath Linestage on the Electra Print site

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Has anyone tried building this little pre-amp? I am considering giving it a go using Ron's KR10 super 6SN7 tube. Since this pre-amp requires just one output tube for both channels, I think it would be a good way to try this tube to see how it sounds.
How much heater current has anyone pulled out of PS-8? The KR10 needs 1.8 amps.

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Re: The Ultrapath Linestage on the Electra Print site Ron W. 16:11:40 01/02/01 (0)
This is a nice sounding preamp. I've heard it on several occasions.
I think the PS8 can handle 1.8 amps.
Ron
Re: The Ultrapath Linestage on the Electra Print site Les Lammers 15:35:31 01/01/01 (1)
Where is this site?
- Re: Electra Print site on Ron's Web Links Page Chris O 08:10:42 01/02/01 (0)
  Go to Ron's Web Links Page
Re: The Ultrapath Linestage on the Electra Print site mucklow@azstarnet.com 11:33:20 12/31/00 (0)
I built my Ultrapath almost 2 Years ago and love it.I had Jack pot the transformers so I could put everything on one chassis.I am using 6J5GT tubes on mine with Raytheon being my first choice,but Ken-Rads and RCA's are also very good.I don't think there are any non-critical parts on this linestage in regards to sonics.There are so few parts under the hood that anything that goes in can be heard.It really gives you the opportunity to tune the unit to your taste.
Cerefine caps in the power supply,Caddock resistors,GE 70uf polypropylene and oil caps bypassed with VTV silver foil caps and Angela ceramic tube sockets are used in my Ultrapath,but your taste may be different.For instance,carbon composition resistors were dull and lifeless in the Ultrapath to my ears.Vishays were very non-musical.Bypassing the 70uf cap included trying the Jensen copper foil and Multicap polystyrene caps.The VTV silver foil caps won that one hands down.Again,my taste and opinion.
I am so satisfied with the Ultrapath that I have no desire to seek out anything else to use,although I am curious on how it would perform in friend's system.
Larry Mucklow
Re: The Ultrapath Linestage on the Electra Print site Rick C 19:57:07 12/24/00 (2)
I'm working on one right now based on the 76 tube (maybe I'll change it to a 6P5G). The only concern is whether I'll have enough gain. Remember, the ouput trannie steps down the voltage. I'll let you know how it works out once I'm done.
- Re: The Ultrapath Linestage on the Electra Print site EuropaChris 07:06:09 12/26/00 (1)
  Hello! I've been running my Ultrapath now for almost 3 years. I've stuck with the single 6SN7GTB and absolutely love it. I've had it over to several other setups, and it's smoked some multi-kilobuck preamps, hands down. The sense of ease, space, and inner detail is amazing. It provides a depth to the music that a regular anode loaded stage or cathode follower output can't touch.
  Regarding the gain, unless your amps are REALLY insensitive, you won't have a problem. With my Direct Reactance Drive 300B amps, which are about 1.4VRMS for full output, I've got plenty of gain from either the phono or line inputs. With my 1625 SE UL amp, which is about .7VRMS for full output, I've got LOTS of gain. It's hard to turn it down low enough. Granted, I have 103dB efficient horns, so that makes a difference.
  The big trick to the Ultrapath is a quiet power and filament supply, and you have to keep the OPT's away from any magnetic fields (power transformers, chokes, other amps with big power trannies, etc.) if they are not potted in cans. My setup is dead quiet, but I have to watch where I put the preamp. It will pick up a Weller soldering gun from 15 feet away when it's on.
  Have fun!
  Chris Beck
  - My Homepage
  - Re: The Ultrapath Linestage on the Electra Print site riki 02:55:43 12/27/00 (0)
    But this ain't a Welborne Labs product, but rather a distant transformer cousin to the Moondogs and Laurels. I've also had some gain-related oddities with my Lowther horns. There are things you can do, if you haven't already, to lowther the gain a bit. Try putting resistance in series with the input on your preamp -- I use 10K pots with a 100k resistor on each volume control (signal input lug). If you are using 100K or 250k pots with a high gain preamp and a sensitive input voltage on your amp/s... AND...have sensitive, high impedance (12 + ohms) speakers -- you will probably have hair-trigger volume controls. If you don't have long interconnect runs, you could also try going straight from your source to your amps, using the variable output jacks on your CD player (if you have one). Most players are very easily able to 'drive' a modest length of cable to power amp/s. And you simplify your system (to me that's a positive thing). I used a homemade passive preamp in my system (using the fixed output from my CD player)for over a year, and it worked well. Changing our furnishings around, though, has required interconnects of 30 feet, which is overcome by using an active gain stage. This preamp is capable of much greater output than is needed for the couple or so volts input on my Moondogs, and I have no squashing of dynamics or high frequency loss due to the filtering effects of increased cable capacitance.
    Erik

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