Little Bear Tube Phono Pre??

[Wharfcreek]

My PIO .1s arrived yesterday. But, I'm curious; Did you (Jimerson) use PIO as well in the four .47 positions? I plan to do the install on my .1s tonight....and maybe even try plugging the unit up for a test run. But, truth be known.....it's damn near 60 degrees outside right now.....and I must might get lucky and be able to squeeze in one more fishing trip today.....and maybe land one more fish for the season! So, amps will have to wait!!.....lol. WC

 

[Jimerson]

Yeah, fishin' comes first. It's low 70's here and beautiful, nice day for the flats, but I can't see my desk for the paperwork. I changed all the caps to PIO. I figured as long as I had it apart and the iron warmed up, might as well. Scrounge up a replacement power cord, it made a big difference on mine. The one on the LB is particularly crappy, I guess.

 

[Wharfcreek]

If I had the flats that close...... I'd just scrap the desk; paper and all!.....lol

Thanks Jim! Tom

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

Yeah, fishin' comes first. It's low 70's here and beautiful, nice day for the flats, but I can't see my desk for the paperwork. I changed all the caps to PIO. I figured as long as I had it apart and the iron warmed up, might as well. Scrounge up a replacement power cord, it made a big difference on mine. The one on the LB is particularly crappy, I guess.

So you had no problem getting PIO caps to fit? I was worried they would be too big. Pics?

 

[Jimerson]

I had to bend the leads underneath as they are too long. They do not sit flush with the board. Seems safe though. They don't touch other components and are soldered under the board.

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

I had to bend the leads underneath as they are too long. They do not sit flush with the board. Seems safe though. They don't touch other components and are soldered under the board.

Any chance you can give me the details on the PIOs you used and a vendor?

And why not simply"snip" them to length?

Thanks!

 

[Jimerson]

Got them from this seller:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221255909723?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648
Really fast shipping.
The PIO caps are longer than the caps they replaced. I bent the leads under the cap and right angled them to fit a narrower spacing. Once soldered, the excess is cut.

 

[sled108]

Got them from this seller:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221255909723?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648
Really fast shipping.
The PIO caps are longer than the caps they replaced. I bent the leads under the cap and right angled them to fit a narrower spacing. Once soldered, the excess is cut.

I hope that your Iron's still hot...And, I hate to have to tell you this...But, those Caps are .047uF...They should be 0.47uF. At least they're easy to Swap back, and you won't be wondering why it sounds So Strange.

 

[Jimerson]

Ohhhh! Thanks Sled. The last couple of days it didn't sound as good, one too many zero's! Another rookie mistake.

 

[Wharfcreek]

Got my PIO .1s in tonight. I also ran a wire from my PT to the ground lug on the power connector. Don't know if that will do any good in the war against HUM, but don't see where it can hurt! guess I'll find out eventually. TSD

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

Ohhhh! Thanks Sled. The last couple of days it didn't sound as good, one too many zero's! Another rookie mistake.

And most likely why they fit . Either way I am sticking with what I have done so far.I got in the Chinese military 6Z4 and it is smoother sounding...I will try the Russian one when it arrives and report back.

On another subject...what is the difference between an el34 and an el34b?

Got my answer..it's a Chinese designation.

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

I was looking at one of the PIO caps I installed a few weeks ago and discovered it was loose. So today I re soldered it. I was getting an odd flutter noise at full gain from my sub. Could this have been the source? Hopefully nothing is damaged.

 

[Jimerson]

OK, I don't feel so bad now. At least the wrong ones I put in were properly installed.

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

ok, i don't feel so bad now. At least the wrong ones i put in were properly installed.

ha ha ha !

BTW...like an idiot I bought 4 of those .047 PIOs you gave me the link to...I didn't even check to make sure they were .47 . Feel better?

 

[sled108]

I'm sure that They'll be wanted on BarterTown...And, as far as the Sound goes...I think that the (2) .1uFs on the Output make More of a Difference...The Stock 0.47uF Wimas are still Good Enough to Listen to...And, it seems that there is not a Bunch of 0.47uF PIOs to choose from...

 

[ScaleAutoArt]

I'm sure that They'll be wanted on BarterTown...And, as far as the Sound goes...I think that the (2) .1uFs on the Output make More of a Difference...The Stock 0.47uF Wimas are still Good Enough to Listen to...

Actually things improved a bit today when I re soldered the one PIO I had done poorly. Amazing what a poor/loose joint on one will do!

 

[sled108]

It's amazing the Havoc that a Sub can do with Its Sub-Sonic Output...

 

[Jimerson]

Managed to sit down for a couple of hours for some serious listening last night, mostly blues vinyl. I don't think my JBL's have ever sounded better. For the first time ever I used the bypass on my tone controls. Thanks to Sled and the LB Thinktank for debugging this thing.

 

[AlTinkster92]

How much was that preamp? No one said.... I want one too!

 

[Jimerson]

$119.00 on ebay, last time I checked.