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My tube Amp has lost it's balls....??

12.152.102.212

Posted by FRASER on June 16, 2005 at 04:56:43

Hey Guys,
Can anyone help, I've got a problem again....??

Ok where do I start?
Got a pair of MMG's a few months back, they sounded pretty awful out the box (new generation crossovers quite bad). I was waiting for my tube amp to come, in the meantime I had to run them with my little 45watt Arcam Alpha solid state. The amp was having a particularly hard time driving them and this was apparent when listening, they sounded like giant walkman speakers almost. Anyway eventually my tube amp arrived and I hooked it up (Nelson Audio Integrated 55w push pull 66lb weight, from FSAudioweb)Holy cow, yep this was it they were now being driven with something that really had some balls, and even though the junky crossover was still apparent (theres a big suck out in the bass to midrange) I was pretty pleased with my new amp, it was a much fuller sound, deeper, more slam etc

Then I decided to build some better crossovers for the MMG's and I actually built the hot rodded MG12 crossover. Well somehow in the process I must have had a short and I damaged the tube amp?? So I had to send it back for repairs.
Anyway, I had now to run them with my little solid state Arcam again, And was very pleased at what a difference the new crossovers were making.
They were MUCH easier to drive (and this amp was REALLY struggling before), and the little amp was finding it really easy to produce gobloads of very good bass out of the maggies.

So now I was starting to get excited...
Before modding the crossovers my solid state amp was making the speakers sound like a transistor radio, ie no balls.
But my tube amp 55w was really making them sing. So now I'm waiting for my tube amp to get back from repairs, and I'm thinking what is it going to sound like if this little solid state can drive them like this??

Well, I finally got it back yesterday.
Hooked everything up and was very dissapointed....

The exact reverse is now happening? The little solid state is making all the bass and making the maggies sing, and now the (66lb 55w tube amp) is sounding positively wimpy??
I have to turn the volume pot much further and still, no balls...

What the heck is going on,??
Have I produced an anomally with these new crossovers?

Any ideas?

Sonicaps 33.1uf in the high pass, 51uf for the low/shunt and 2.7mh Alpha Goertz (big) 12awg foil inductors.

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