I still have one trick up my sleeve before I call it complete, but that you won't see until the next Lone Star Bottleheads meet.

http://www.wardsweb.org/audio/foreplay/images/c3a.jpg
http://www.wardsweb.org/audio/foreplay/images/c3b.jpg

That's very pretty!

Rob

I replaced the picture above, if you didn't notice, it now has the new billet knobs.

Ahh, 6061.

Review please...

Wards,

Boy, those look sexier'n a new set'a snow tars.

That T-6061 sure machines and polishes nice. I use it too.

Rob

Wait till you see the feet done in 2024 T-351 billet with a parabolic curve to a point. Kind of a isolator spike. Couple of weeks off on them. Have to schedule some CNC time.

CNC!!!!!! That's cheating. ;) I only have an old South Bend toolroom lathe 16" throw x 36" bed, belt drive, older than I am. I do everything by eye. No vertical mill.

At least my modest machine shop is at my exclusive beck and call. No waiting.

Rob

My buddy has all the machinery. shears, brake, end mill, lath, CNC, and stuff I don't even know what it does. He also has some kick ass 3D modeling software that dumps into the CNC. He does some very trick stuff for the military.

http://www.evanguy.com

Nice friend to have. OK, I'm a little envious. ;)

Rob

To tell you the truth, I'd rather have you closer so I could drive you crazy with techie stuff. :D I really don't do machine work that often.

Excellant finished product there friend. What signal tubes you running? MikE

Hewlitt Packard 5963 what ever that is. I'm a tube newbie.

Alot of people think the 5693 is a direct sub for the much more common 12au7. This is not excatly true. It depends on the application. The 5693 can't take more than 250v on the plates, which is less than a 12AU7.

The 5963 was never built or marketed as an audio tube. It's a computer tube. That, in itself, means nothing as far as it's suitability to audio goes. But if not carefully selected (tested) many are very noisy and microphonic.

Early 50's Sylvania as well as the early D-getter RCA's are some of the better examples. Another lesser known (sought after) tube that may work is the 5814, which is a ruggedized version of the 12au7. Of all the "12au7 types" I experimented with in my VAC amp the 1953 "D" getter 5814 was BY FAR the "best" or perferred tube. I believe I have some 5963 and 5814's I could send you if you'd like to sample them. I know nothing about the HP 5963.

From left to right: 1953 Hytron "D" getter 5814, 1959 Sylvania "D" getter 5963, 1963 RCA "O" getter 5814.

MikE

I really appreciate the information. Being a tube newbie, I soak this stuff up like a sponge. Your offer is very generous and I will take you up on it, as soon as the preamp is complete. It took almost a month to complete the cabinet and metal work. Now, I've laid out the parts and should complete the electronics in the next two weeks. I can send you the schematic if that will help you to understand the circuit and voltages I'm dealing with. PM me.

Ward those knobs look much sweeter than those black plastic knobs.

You know Ward alot of people need a knob or button for an old piece of audio equipment that they can't find, with your skill and resources you could create "replica" knobs and buttons. For a price of course ;)

Hey Thor......

Not the same Thor from the original Impala SS bulletin board?

Wards,
Build with solid copper, the older the better. Let me know how much you think you will need and I will get it off to you. I stopped by the PO and picked up a box for the tubes I am sending to you and can toss in 100' or so of some NOS possibly WE wire I scored in Benbrook last weekend.

Nope Manny ;)

Hey Thatchypoo can you whip me up some cool braided speaker wires, you know good ones, how much would those run me? I would need 4, 10' pairs.

Sorry Buddy,
These cables will not improve the sound of your system and 10' is too long for this type of wire because of capasitance etc. I am informed that 5' is optimum and 8' on the outside. While I would be happy to braid some for you I doubt it would be worth the cost. You buy some good RCA plugs and I could build you some interconnects.

was looking through old posts and found this beauty. And what a nice job you have done, ...what can i say.. beautyfull!:bigok: :banana:

Thanks - I had fun building it and it turned out pretty well considering it's the first tube thing I've ever built. I was happy it's quiet and played first time out. Just proves take your time, follow the schematic. and keep it clean.

Wards,

Nice looking foreplay chassis! My hats off to you.

I'm building one myself using some junk parts that I'll convert to a chassis of some sort. hope it turns out ok.

My buddy who has a stock Foreplay has been trying to get me to buy one, after seeing this, I'll have to. Makes my Cary preamp look like a piece of doggy doodle.:p:

Wards,

On the back of your Foreplay you are using what looks like a male IEC, power switch, and possibly also a fuse holder all wrapped up into one tidy little unit. May I ask where you purchased this part?

Nice job by the way, I also like to put my own custom touches on my projects and I like to polish my toys too!:ntwrthy:

Corcom model PS0SSSSXB. I got these from work where we use them in some chassis we build. Others I have gotten from the local manufacturer's rep as samples.
http://www.corcom.com/results.asp?Catalog=PS0SSSSXB

Thanks Wards!

There is a wealth of technical information at the link you provided. They show a distributor back east with 15 in stock. I'm going to try and see if they'll sell me one or two.

I can see how this would eliminate a lot of wire clutter and save space in the back of a chassis by using an all in one unit like this instead of the traditional power switch, fuse holder, and IEC. Real clean.

Hey timoteus, did you ever find a IEC entry module? What were you going to use it with? My Paramours are approaching completion, so pictures are coming. :D

Corcom wouldn't sell direct to me so I called Simcona Electronics, they had an excellent unit price of about $15.00 but also required a minimum order of $75. A person could put together a group buy of five of those and come out squeaky clean. I found a similar Corcom model at Digi-Key (6VM2S) it's dual voltage so I'll have to solder on some jumpers. The 6VM1S was out of stock. It's not quite as trick as your version and actually costs more but it should work out fine for my scratch built amp.

Yes, more Paramour pics please! :cool: