I’m an EE but I highly respect your technical skills. I learn from you after 30+ years from my EE degree. Keep going girl !

You're on to it. One of the reasons you're so good is because you don't have all the technical learning. You're like most of us, just out there learning like crazy. You're a legend here in New Zealand! Love your work.

"It's just a needle and a groove" - fair enough, makes sense to me 👍 I sometimes have to change location to get my mind off some circulating thoughts. Get out of the house, walk a few minutes and sit down with a book under trees on a big sheep meadow nearby.

100% agree. I DO NOT understand load lines...at all. But I know if I start with a proven design and make minor adjustments, I can get where I want to be. The cathode bypass calculator is also a great tool.

Something else about why I love vinyl: Each album is like a little temporary piece of art that can sit on a tiny easel for the duration of the songs, or in a row on a shelf like a miniature gallery of nostalgia. I'm very into the visual aspect (It's why I got into tubes in the first place) though so your mileage may vary.

I like the way you think out of the box . You keep things interesting. Ive used many of your techniques in my amp builds thanks for your time and effort much appreciated

I agree! The joke was on us and anyone who got into high end audio in the digital sphere; they realize they feel disconnected from the music. Phones and PCs can be practical but being connected to the internet is nothing but a distraction. A lot of digital sources sound tinny and lack warmth you get from vintage equipment and vinyl, and while detailed they don't draw people into the music and let them stretch out in a chair and enjoy. Even worse, many modern systems are so analytical and detailed that people hear all the problems with recordings and find it distracting, and may even come to resent albums they once loved. And once heard, it is very hard to unhear it. Then people spend even more money trying to smooth over those issues with digital, trying to get something could have again easily if they just dropped the needle, as you say. I feel sorry for anyone that got caught up in that loop, because I think it is hard to shake.

Analogue made me able to finally connect with music again.. Now, I concentrate on one vinyl album per day, and I love it.. With digital, I never listened to a whole album.. Always skippin' album tracks, and on an endless quest to get my digital to sound more analogue.. The irony in that ;-)

Agree. All analog system is for disconnecting from the connected digital world. Lets me put the iPad/phone down. Design process is iterative. I get it.

Thumbs up for analog playback's long-term stability. The Audio Science Review types can laugh at us all day but they won't change my mind. Of course it's subjective but I know what I hear.

As a student electronics we got loads of mathematics including the imaginary numbers thing. I have been a high-end designer for several decades, and a general understanding what goes on in the real world with roll off points, phase shift and using computer simulation is all you need. I once questioned if it matters what quality capacitor you used for audio the answer was "no, as long as the value is big enough". I always say that your education is your prison. My fastest growth in knowledge came through the use of MicroCap professional simulation software and an audio precision audio analyzer. You hold about the same (healthy I think) views on vinyl, listening, tubes versus solid state as I do. I used to have an ultra expensive DSC stack, and got rid of it as soon as I listened to the different filtering settings: It made no sense to my ears. Anyway I found that spending money on digital is a big waste of money. So: to my view computer simulation with an easy and fast to use graphical interface and ditto audio analyzer are the most valuable tools there are to learn about all this stuff. Anyway: I like your channel and the well rounded approach. Making what I call real space models, including listening, measuring, and a glimpse what goes into designing hat's what it is all about. Oh, and yes, I would advise to calculate yourself at one point things like the Ohm law, though no need to hurry that.

1) Use tried and true circuits. 2) Use good parts. 3) Check for stability and reasonable scoped measurements. 4) Enjoy.

Hi Stephe.. I’m glad IAG worked out for you, and not just a one off thing..

Great video Stephe thank you! My oh my you are one busy lady huh! I fully understand what you say about EE's who lay out half a page of mathematics to people. It's insulting really to those who haven't been taught the maths; it's like they're speaking a different language & expecting people to understand them. I did all that calculus & algebra & stuff during my associate diploma of elec. eng. years ago. I forget more than I remember about that stuff; frankly I find most of it tedious & boring. I never bring up the maths when I'm speaking with lay people about it. After all, you don't need a technical, mathematical qualification to listen to music, or even to build an amp! I like to buy CD's & just play them. My turntable's rubber belt has turned into chewing gum now anyway, but I'd still like to fix it some day though. I still have a few records that would be nice to hear. They sound pretty muffled these days though, maybe due to my loss of hearing with age, but also due to the limited dynamic range of records. You can't deny that CD's with a dynamic range of 100 dB are nearly always gonna sound better than records, which have a dynamic range of only 45 dB maximum. There's no denying the 'sweetness' of well recorded LP's though.

Hi Steph. I was wondering if you would ever do a cost analysis of building one of your designs with quality parts? You’re motivating me to attempt to build one of your designs. I just don’t know where a good place to buy parts. Thank you for your great videos.

👍👍

Nope. You’re not weird or crazy. That’s why we love analog. You operate as a EET (Electrical Engineering Technician) , not an engineer. That’s not disrespectful. That’s the difference between people who are good at equations-vs- the math nerds who want to send you 1-1/2 pages of Fourier Equations.

Oof, oh yeah, I used to try and maintain all the various devices back when i was trying to use xmbc/kodi back in the day, I had to stop, trying to keep all the apps up to date across windows and android, and the remote tools and the network permissions, it was just madness. Nowadays, I have the one PC that sits over on the rack next to the audio gear, the screens are right there, trackpad and keyboard right on the rack next to my preamp, and I just kick off music as if it was a disc. I do have a couple of turntables, though I never really bothered to collect much vinyl, as my listening habits and the levels that I really like to listen at are not conducive to using a turntable, my horn subs are 24x24x96 on both sides with eminence 6021-6 21" woofers in them, let's just say my ole' garage listening area isn't the best for records, especially if I've had a half dozen bud lights and the volume starts creepin up towards the 3pm area of the knob.

I’d also be interested to know why 4E27 is priority for premium build over 6c33c.

Steph I apologize I have another question. This video has me thinking I’m doing something wrong. I currently have my fire stick connected to my television which then sends the signal to my dac ( DENAFRIPS Aries) then to my tube amplifier. My question ,is my set up wrong, or would it be beneficial to purchase a dedicated music streamer? Thanks Steph.

A high-powered PC running Windows is not a good streaming device. A simple RaspberryPi is all you need. Always on, always works, never needs an update.

PC'S phone laptops etc biggest time dump for humanity.

Isn't modern technology and social media wonderful, lol.