Just got my B283

Dagoods

Dagoods

New Member
Hi Guys,

Just received my B283 tube processor today. I think I am really going to like it! The build quality is very good and it came packaged very well. I put it on my CD player. So far my opinion of it is that it will only get better with time. I can't wait to get 100 hours on it.

Ian has been great to do business with. Very quick to respond and he has been very helpful. I don't think he ever sleeps or takes a week end off. I have exchanged emails with him late at night. He really knows what customer service means.

Great company and great products!

Ian "I'll be back".
 
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Thanks for posting over here at AK, I do take time off, but there are no set hours for this gig. And it is fun to chat audio, music and gear.

Cheers,
Ian
 
I agree about the B-283 (and Ian's work ethic!).

I have my B-283 between the pre and power amp of my setup. I've had many musicians over to the house- including a high-end audio engineer/guitarist- and they all agreed. My setup sounds 100% better with the B-283.

I'll be transferring my thread about the on-gig application of the the B-283 from the Grant Fidelity forums soon. Basically, I've also been using it in the effects send and return of my electric bass setup. I almost hate to tell anyone else about it- it's my secret weapon :-)

-Phil
www.philpalombi.com
 
I have one between my cheap cd player and my receiver It really does warmth and detail to the output. It has so many uses, that guy that does the Shamwow commercial should pitch it on an ad (you can put it between a preamp/amp, source/amp, source receiver/ bass guitar/amp, Electric guitar/amp, etc.

It's fun to tube roll with it too. I put in Tung Sol 6AK5W in place of the stock 6J1's and it sounds even better now.
 
I have really enjoyed it since I got it. I will do some tube rolling once it has gone through the break in with the stock tubes. I have a friend that has a $800 DAC on his and I am waiting for him to bring it over so we can do a comparison. I am hoping that it makes him smile like it did me.

I also have the Project Tube Box SE II phono pre amp on my turntable and I have really enjoyed trying different tubes in it. The nice thing about tubes is you can change the sound with them and it's like having a new box to play with all over again. It helps when I get the upgrade bug which seems to hit me every couple of months.

I ordered a pair of matched Jan 6AK5w's (Raytheon NOS 12/81) to try out. I am glad that they were only $15.

Tube rolling is fun but could get expensive. I have already bought 3 sets for the Tube box and I am sure I will have a couple of sets for the B283 before I am done.
 
I just got my B-283. Have it on my CD player, really makes a difference.

I am all tube in my amp and preamp.

For now I'll hold off on any tube rolling.
 
ScramMan2 said:
I just got my B-283. Have it on my CD player, really makes a difference.

I am all tube in my amp and preamp.

For now I'll hold off on any tube rolling.
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That's great news. I can't wait to get mine...been tracking the shipping and I'm expecting it any day now. Really excited to see how it may help my system!
 
Got mine yesterday. Can't offer any reviews yet, as it needs the break in period. Right now there's not a lot of low end.
 
Any updated impressions on the B283?

Does anyone have any updated impressions on their Grant Fidelity B-283 tube processor?
 
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B283 introduced system hum

Hi all,

Created a somewhat annoying hum into the sytem, loud enough to be noticable at lower than standard conversation levels, but not loud enough to be a real issue.

I emailed Ian about it, and to my utter amazement, he actually phoned me back and spend some time explaining what the causes could be. Pleasently surprising level of customer service for a newbie only spending a few bucks, some audio shops just ignore you if they figure you don't have 20K to spend.

After spending the greater part of a day crawling around checking sources, interconnects, power cords, tv cable grounding, earth grounds, pluggin it into various other outlets around the house, and even running a fresh line from the main cct box. I decided I cannot get rid of the hum, and i will just have to live with it.

Then I thought, wait a minute, the problem is obviously ground related. as even with the unit turned off, but plugged into the wall, I had ground hum

So I broke the ground plug of the power cord, plugged it in, and vola! all hum gone...The music does not appear to be affected by the removal of the ground, but it may damage it, or the tubes?

Better to fry my tube processor, than have that hum buzzing through my system 24/7 and causing who knows what long term damage

I love the sound improvement, and would have gladly suffered with the hum in order to enjoy the tube effect, but lucky I came up with a work around.
 
BobbyCanuck said:
Hi all,

Created a somewhat annoying hum into the sytem, loud enough to be noticable at lower than standard conversation levels, but not loud enough to be a real issue.

I emailed Ian about it, and to my utter amazement, he actually phoned me back and spend some time explaining what the causes could be. Pleasently surprising level of customer service for a newbie only spending a few bucks, some audio shops just ignore you if they figure you don't have 20K to spend.

After spending the greater part of a day crawling around checking sources, interconnects, power cords, tv cable grounding, earth grounds, pluggin it into various other outlets around the house, and even running a fresh line from the main cct box. I decided I cannot get rid of the hum, and i will just have to live with it.

Then I thought, wait a minute, the problem is obviously ground related. as even with the unit turned off, but plugged into the wall, I had ground hum

So I broke the ground plug of the power cord, plugged it in, and vola! all hum gone...The music does not appear to be affected by the removal of the ground, but it may damage it, or the tubes?

Better to fry my tube processor, than have that hum buzzing through my system 24/7 and causing who knows what long term damage

I love the sound improvement, and would have gladly suffered with the hum in order to enjoy the tube effect, but lucky I came up with a work around.
Click to expand...

I'll bet the ground loop was introduced through a cable TV or antenna connection. Personally I'd keep the U-ground but lift the cable.
 
Lifting (removing the ground pin) the ground on any piece of gear is a no-no, serious potential life safety issues doing that. You when handling the gear are now the path of least resistance to ground, which trust me isn't fun with unexpected current kicking around, such as a surge, spike, lightning strike or poorly designed/built gear.

You need to use a ground lift device (few dollars at home hardware etc) and run the ground to a different ground location (like power bar metal casing) to reduce, remove hum. If in doubt, ask an electrician or sound engineer to help you locate the lifted ground.

Cheers,
Ian
 
the ground issue

to clarify...

I completly removed the cable feed coming into my house..disconnected the cable boxes from the wall and unplugged the connection coming into the house.

Unplugged every piece of electronics, ran the B283 to a fresh line with earth ground still had the hum
 
poorly designed/built gear.

I doubt this is the case, as no one else seems to have issues with the ground

You need to use a ground lift device (few dollars at home hardware etc)

Is this the device you are talking about?

image_view_fullscreen
 
Well the link to the pix does not work, but it is a three prong plug to a two prong with a spade style connector wire comingout of the two prong side which I imagine they want you to attach to the screw on the wall plug face plate

thanks all for your input, but I have been electrocuted many times, and I find it does save me money on coffee ;-))
 
BobbyCanuck said:
to clarify...

I completly removed the cable feed coming into my house..disconnected the cable boxes from the wall and unplugged the connection coming into the house.

Unplugged every piece of electronics, ran the B283 to a fresh line with earth ground still had the hum
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know thats what I call a serious hum chasing :) When we chatted on the phone did I suggest (I know I was a bit scattered getting ready for a trip, sorry if I didn't) trying the B-283 on a different and simple system (even old gear collecting dust in the basement) or just between your CDP and pre-amp? This hum when it appears in customer's systems is typically in-between a pre and an amp, and seeing that often the B-283 has the largest or 2nd largest transformer, any grounding differentials, or unheard before hums come to life with the B-283 installed there. A few customers have discovered that their so called grounded outlets weren't actually grounded. So in jest I often refer to the B-283 as cool little system ground issue tester.

Something else to consider, if their is still a hum on a simple system where the B-283 is only between a CDP and a pre-amp, integrated or standalone, is that on occasion there is a dud tube, or one with excessive Heater to Cathode leakage, or the tube just isn't seated properly.

If I remember right, you've been chasing the demon hum for a while in your system (probably why you are so good and thorough at it :).

Here is a pic of a ground lift adapter:
groundlift.jpg


The screw plate is as good as place as any, but do check to make sure the outlet box is actually connected to ground first (assuming your house is grounded, if it isn't good luck and what are doing buying gear instead of getting your home properly wired :). If your other pieces of gear are chassis grounded, then you can try running the lifted ground to other components in the signal chain or on the same power bar/circuit.

To check if a piece of gear is chassis grounded, you can (powered off, unplugged) open the case and look to see if the incoming ground wire is physically attached to the inside of the case, by a bare metal connection. Sometimes manufacturers forget to scrape the paint off of where the ground case connection is, making the case basically ungrounded, you want to have this corrected on gear with 3 prong power.

Again if in doubt, ask a pro. I write this assuming other besides you will read it , so I don't assume anyone's skill level when it comes to life safety. Most manufactures will say no user serviceable parts inside, I should do the same thing, but respect that most of our customers have common sense :).

Hope that helps.
Ian (it's 4 in the morning in China, and my internal clock is not grounded yet)
 
Well I have had mine running for about a hour.It was a demo so I dont anticipate a long burn in.It dosent mater the thing just stoped my speaker search dead in its tracks.It brought out what I have been searching for in my midrange and tweater sound.I have gone through 6 or 8 pair of speakers looking for the sound I wanted the b-283 fixed the issue.I am runing it betwean the pre and the mid&tweeter amp with a pair of bi-amped jamo's.I will switch its position eventuly and try it with the2 amps but for now I am verry happy with the results..
 
glum said:
Well I have had mine running for about a hour.It was a demo so I dont anticipate a long burn in.It dosent mater the thing just stoped my speaker search dead in its tracks.It brought out what I have been searching for in my midrange and tweater sound.I have gone through 6 or 8 pair of speakers looking for the sound I wanted the b-283 fixed the issue.I am runing it betwean the pre and the mid&tweeter amp with a pair of bi-amped jamo's.I will switch its position eventuly and try it with the2 amps but for now I am verry happy with the results..
Click to expand...

Another new quote from a happy B-283 customer. 'stopped my speaker search' :) Love it and makes my day. Glad it worked out for you glum.

Cheers,
ian
 
poohsan said:
so what size fuse will I need for 220V? (just ordered one)
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the 0.5 amp fuse shipped is fine for both voltages. Design is 0.75 for 110v and 0.35 for 220v, but the 0.5 works fine for both voltages, for two years now. Thanks for pointing that out, we need to change the site.

Where are you located or are you gigging with it?

Cheers,
Ian
 
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