Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby jadis » Mon Jan 13, 2014 1:38 pm

JAA wrote:Image



A better perspective that would translate the sonic performance of the MINIMAX line stage preamp as it breaks in!
:D :D :D :D


ACHTUNG BABY!!!!!!! (with due apologies to U2) :lol:

Silky smooth, grainless, porcelain-like texture, sharp focus, full upper-mids and sensuous highs. I'm talking about the preamp, anong brand ba yan? :devil: :devil: :angel: :angel:

DANKE, Herr Johannes.
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby romeobabao » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:22 pm

i should be posting a picture of me staring with my mouth open,in absolute shock.....in a good way.
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby jadis » Mon Jan 13, 2014 3:20 pm

romeobabao wrote:i should be posting a picture of me staring with my mouth open,in absolute shock.....in a good way.


me too, romeo. but on second thoughts, i think i should not incriminate myself these days. :lol:
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono Pre-Amplifier

Postby muypogi » Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:02 am

jadis wrote:STILL NOT MAXED OUT... :lol:

The Mini, as encouraged by its designer Alex Leung, has so much potential to achieve in mixing and matching different brands of NOS tubes. And definitely, I have not maxed it out yet (No pun intended). Tube sniffing dogs have been sent out to nab good NOS tubes and bring them home. So, what have recently arrived are a pair of Red Tipped (low noise special selection) Telefunken ECC83 tubes fully matched and balanced to challenge the existing and factory installed Eastern Electric ECC83s which my guess would be sourced either from Russia or China. Before anything else, I should say I am greatly impressed with these stock tubes. They can hold their own against other good NOS branded tubes I have come across and to date, and the stock tubes have performed better than the Euro brands, hence I have been using them till this time, that is, until the arrival of the German 'guards', here flanking the middle Mullard ECC 83 which has two tube dampers on them.
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Morita had told me the 2 EE stock tubes can never be beaten. I agreed previously, but I told him this morning, I have to disagree as of today. :lol: The RT Teles created a more liquid and smooth sound, and where there erstwhile existed a mild edginess in the sound, the Teles have tamed them. My cup of tea exactly. :clap:


Anyone know what the stock tubes are for the EE Minimax?

Thinking of tube rolling pero new issue Mullards/Gold Lions. . . any advantage rolling the rectifier, as there are some nice NOS tubes which is surprisingly cheap . . .
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono Pre-Amplifier

Postby jadis » Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:41 am

muypogi wrote:
Anyone know what the stock tubes are for the EE Minimax?

Thinking of tube rolling pero new issue Mullards/Gold Lions. . . any advantage rolling the rectifier, as there are some nice NOS tubes which is surprisingly cheap . . .


Hi Moises,

Morita tells me those are re-issues from China, and carefully hand tested and selected with a high reject rate to come down to what is used in the units. As I mentioned, these EE tubes are pretty good. JAA is using a Telefunen ECC803s for the middle of the 3 tubes. I use Mullards late 1950s long plate square getter. I believe in pushing the quality of this tube to the max, and these are the best sounding tubes in my own books to use. Same with the 6X4 rectifiers, try to find some 1950s stuff, they do justice to the unit. The stock 6X4 is also carefully selected by Alex Leung and are mostly the U.S. types from GE, RCA of Sylvania. Pretty good too. Pushing the performance to the limit can be achieved, and I believe I have done that to my Minimax now via the beautiful tubes that I have put on them. As I also mentioned, Alex encourages tube rolling in the owner's manual. Good luck. :)
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby TheAnalogSource » Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:56 am

Image

finally after months of badgering that i should setup my system already, yesterday PM patiently waited to help me set them up again.
Now playing the Transfiguration, Minimax PHONO and LINE STAGE, and Dahlquist.
I got also an 8 watter poweramp for the JBLs.


Now if only I could just figure out how to work out the Minimax DAC.....
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby jadis » Sat Jan 18, 2014 5:45 pm

TheAnalogSource wrote:Image

finally after months of badgering that i should setup my system already, yesterday PM patiently waited to help me set them up again.
Now playing the Transfiguration, Minimax PHONO and LINE STAGE, and Dahlquist.
I got also an 8 watter poweramp for the JBLs.


Now if only I could just figure out how to work out the Minimax DAC.....


Nols,

You are now officially the curator of the Minimax Museum. :lol:
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby jadis » Sat Jan 18, 2014 5:50 pm

RED RINGS AND RED TIPS

My present tubes battle array with the Minimax Phono. Middle tube is a long plate square getter 1950s Mullard and flanking it are a pair of matched and balanced Telefunken ECC83s Red Tips. The 6X4 is a NOS Mullard square getter from the UK. The red rubber rings/dampers makes them tight, literally and sonically. Just last night, I put on a Carmen McRae/Cal Tjader LP on Concorde - Heatwave, and the Santana song 'Evil Ways' blew me away, or more precisely, 'torched' me. There are days when I just want to listen to the music, but when days come that the music torches me, that is when I know I'm getting my music, and system, right. :rock:

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Been to Ben

Postby jadis » Sun Jan 26, 2014 8:35 pm

BEEN TO BEN...

"Another one bites the max,
Another one bites the max.
And another one gone, and another one gone.
Another one bites the max."
:lol:

The cozy and intimate setup belongs to none other than WS member BenC. I had met Ben many years ago via a record transaction and since then have seen him only once in a past HiFi Show. I had the pleasure of visiting the ever cheerful and jolly Ben Canseco yesterday and after getting past 5 or more huge but friendly dogs, :lol: I got into his listening room as pictured below. Warm, intimate and neat, Ben's room is a product of passion for music as I can sense running in his blood, as his uncle was the late great composer George Canseco, whose music filled my college life and is almost immortal by today's OPM standards. We had a great chat about audio and music and as I tell myself, every audio trip I take is a learning experience and this one is no different. Ben enlightened me in several topics on the DIY audio hobby, telling me that each and every little upgrade in parts in the DIY run produces immense joy in the hearts of the builder. His knowledge in parts, design, tubes, and circuit topology is impressive, and he goes on to explain every question that would arise in my mind about building one's own audio gears.

His latest binge into the Minimax line of electronics piqued my interest as well. :) Here he mates the line and phono preamps with a JE 45 amp that he build a few months ago. He tells me it can be fitted with either 45 or 2a3 tubes. His speakers utilized Lowther drivers housed in a cabinet that he built under the guidance of a Norwegian baffle maker made specially to extend the bass performance of the speakers. Table is the Garrard 401 and he has 2 tonearms and 2 multiple cartridges. He also has an EAR 834P phono preamp.

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Below, the 'Rack":

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The Garrard 401 with an EMT arm/SPU and an FR64/Denon 103 cartridge:

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The Minimax Line and Phono Preamps:

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The Lowther Speaker on the right:

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Aside from the main system above, Ben has a bunch of tube electronics at the back of the room, some DIY and a Dynakit amp, and a lot of turntables and speakers as well. Not to mention his record and CD collection, the man is clearly is a man of music, it is clear to me. :)

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In the ensuing couple of hours that we listened to a few LP and CDs, I can tell the difference between the sound of his 2 tonearms and cartridge combinations, as one is plugged into the 100 ohm high gain setting and the other into the 47 ohm low gain setting. One was clearly more beautiful in the portrayal of vocals while the other is very extended at the top and bottom. Ben proceeded to demonstrate to me the difference between the 45 and the 2a3 tubes and it was a very enlightening experience. 2 watts and 1.5 watts. Whew! :) I've heard of 'pataasan ng wattage' but it's only now that I hear of 'pababaan ng watts'. :lol: But I'll not go into the wattage war debate, as it is not really necessary as whatever that comes out of the babes, so to speak, is what matters. Without a doubt, I see the great satisfaction of Ben in his sound and music. And as a DIY'er, I'm sure his itch to tweak for more improvements will take him to better heights in terms of musical enjoyment. I have to note, before I forget, that I was astounded by the level of low bass the Lowthers, 8 inches and all, produced by the D2D album I brought along of Almeida and Brown's Moonlight Serenade.

And finally, here's Ben. And I'm glad I've 'been'. :)

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Thanks for the wonderful session, Ben. :)
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby jadis » Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:06 pm

While flipping through my memo pad of my android phone, I found a memo that said 'big fun horn'. I suddenly recalled that that was the name of the Lowther baffle design that Ben told me about. My human memo pad is failing so it's a good thing to have an android around, really. :D

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From this page, I hope this is the right thing. :)

http://www.creationaudio.com.au/Lowther.html

Quite interesting.
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby BenC » Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:01 pm

Wow! That's a gorgeous looking Big Fun Horn! Mine which I did 12 years ago had straight inner walls as originally designed by Ketil Parow of Norway.

Before I forget, thank you for visiting our humble place which Judy and I call home. :$

When you left I did an experiment on my system. I repositioned the BFH. I figured since my place is small, moving the horn's mouth away from the corner will not reduce the bass output. My hunch was right! By doing away with the toe in and positioning the horns straight towards the back wall, I tamed the slight aggressiveness of the lowthers. The bass was still there but with a smoother sound! The system now sounds differently and a lot better than before. :)

Also, wish to make a clarification. I'm still a newbie in the DIY stuff. What I shared with you were what I learned from consulting experts like Mang Rod MR, Joseph JE, Joel setup2, Mikey tonoman, Joey joe3rp and from posts from knowledgeable guys from wiredstate and other audio forums.

My DIY state is more on the DESTROY it yourself than the real DIY do-it-yourself (properly). :$

Sorry for the OT ... got carried away when I saw the gorgeous BFH!

IIRC John JAA mentioned that the eastern minimax line stage made his DIY JL Audio sub sound like a servo subwoofer (parang Rythmik sub! I fully agree with him. That tiny piece of equipment made a huge improvement to my system! Can't wait to get home for a listen. This line stage is eating up my sleeping hours! ... Pat Morita, what have you brought to our shores!!!
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby jadis » Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:15 am

BenC wrote:Wow! That's a gorgeous looking Big Fun Horn! Mine which I did 12 years ago had straight inner walls as originally designed by Ketil Parow of Norway.

Before I forget, thank you for visiting our humble place which Judy and I call home. :$

When you left I did an experiment on my system. I repositioned the BFH. I figured since my place is small, moving the horn's mouth away from the corner will not reduce the bass output. My hunch was right! By doing away with the toe in and positioning the horns straight towards the back wall, I tamed the slight aggressiveness of the lowthers. The bass was still there but with a smoother sound! The system now sounds differently and a lot better than before. :)


Always glad to hear something new, Ben, as was in the case to trekking all the way down San Pablo to visit Mang Mandy. :) And that's the fun part of our hobby, getting something right by experimenting. I feel that once you get the speakers' placement right, heaven is just around the corner, no pun intended. :)

BenC wrote:IIRC John JAA mentioned that the eastern minimax line stage made his DIY JL Audio sub sound like a servo subwoofer (parang Rythmik sub! I fully agree with him. That tiny piece of equipment made a huge improvement to my system! Can't wait to get home for a listen. This line stage is eating up my sleeping hours! ... Pat Morita, what have you brought to our shores!!!


Tiny piece of equipment...As I mentioned earlier back in the first few pages of the thread, it is like tiny but Mighty Mouse. Lumilipad pa yung maliit na daga, :D and this small 'max does soar to to amazing heights despite its diminutive size . In my case, I'm not in a hurry yet to 'annex' the line stage, or my name will not be 'Jadis' anymore. :lol: It has to do with the loss of my own identity here more than anything. :D
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby TheAnalogSource » Sat Mar 01, 2014 11:15 am

Image

overhauled my electronics with an all minimax setup including the 8-watter poweramp. :o no... im not using the high sensitive jbl horns but rather my old love the dalhquist. im more than loving it so far. :inlove: :inlove: :inlove:

as with the minimax phono, i believed morita is grinning these days as he moved a number of units with just a few months running ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) . That phono is a dealer's delight. 8) Not much explaining to do. Just let prospect try it and have them AB with even known brand phonostages. We always know which one bite the dust :P :rofl:
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby Superman » Sat Mar 01, 2014 1:07 pm

TheAnalogSource wrote:Image

overhauled my electronics with an all minimax setup including the 8-watter poweramp. :o no... im not using the high sensitive jbl horns but rather my old love the dalhquist. im more than loving it so far. :inlove: :inlove: :inlove:

as with the minimax phono, i believed morita is grinning these days as he moved a number of units with just a few months running ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) . That phono is a dealer's delight. 8) Not much explaining to do. Just let prospect try it and have them AB with even known brand phonostages. We always know which one bite the dust :P :rofl:


Congrats! Sent you PM
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby jadis » Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:53 pm

Superman wrote:
TheAnalogSource wrote:Image

overhauled my electronics with an all minimax setup including the 8-watter poweramp. :o no... im not using the high sensitive jbl horns but rather my old love the dalhquist. im more than loving it so far. :inlove: :inlove: :inlove:

as with the minimax phono, i believed morita is grinning these days as he moved a number of units with just a few months running ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) . That phono is a dealer's delight. 8) Not much explaining to do. Just let prospect try it and have them AB with even known brand phonostages. We always know which one bite the dust :P :rofl:


Congrats! Sent you PM


What's this, is Clark Kent biting the dust, errr... MAX???? :D

SUPERman MEETS miniMAX???? That's a good movie title too. :D :D
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby dimfer » Sun Mar 02, 2014 12:09 am

that Eastern Electric stuff is really intriguing :sweat:
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby jadis » Sun Mar 02, 2014 7:24 am

dimfer wrote:that Eastern Electric stuff is really intriguing :sweat:


Intriguing...The Minimax Phono at Mang Mandy's room at last year's HiFi Show:

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Due to space constraints, the Minimax Phono was positioned as if 'kissing' the tone arm base/plinth of the MM's DIY turntable. :lol:
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby TheAnalogSource » Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:42 am

a closer shot of the blue lights....got me sitting down daily for a few hours...hope im back :)

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Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby muypogi » Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:03 am

Kaya nga pinagbawalan ko na magdala ng demo unit ng preamp sa bahay . . .:-p


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk . . .
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Re: Eastern Electric MINIMAX Phono and Line Preamps

Postby TheAnalogSource » Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:12 am

muypogi wrote:Kaya nga pinagbawalan ko na magdala ng demo unit ng preamp sa bahay . . .:-p


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk . . .


will the real slim shady please stand up.....or rather post their phonos :lol: :lol: :lol:
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