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James's System
46 Power Amplifier46 output tubes in single ended operation. Ultrapath connection (capacitor coupling from output transformer to cathode of output tube (see circuit). 6AN4 driver tubes. Direct coupled driver/output stages, reactance drive (choke loaded driver). 
Hammer Dynamics Super 12I have finished the Hammer Dynamics Super 12s and the the TNT Flexy rack. The Super 12s are sensitive to placement and setup, especially toe-in. I have them facing straight at the listening position; this gives the best imaging and overall sound. I tried straight ahead, slightly toed in, and toed in so that the axis crosses in front of the listener. All were worse sounding than facing straight at the listener. You might find differently depending on your room. Update: for single person listening, best results are achieved by toeing the Super 12s in to cross about 1 foot (30 cm) in front of the listener. However, this causes some funky reflections in my room, and for multiple people who are spread about the room, I find it better pointing them mostly forwards. 
Speaker CablesCurrent speaker cables are 20 gauge Litz design from John Wyckoff used on the Super12s. They use 30 gauge silver-plated copper solid-core wire with Tefzel insulation, part number V1090-ND ( white ) from Digikey ( blue V1091-ND, orange V1092-ND, and yellow V1093-ND also available ). Price is about $20 per roll of 200 feet. Just take 10 lengths of 30 gauge wire ( put two nails in a board at the distance required for your cable length, then tie your wire to one end, then go down to the other end and back the required number of times - 10 ) and twist them together in an electric drill. I twisted them to about 3 turns per inch, then backed off ( reversed ) the drill to about 2 turns per inch, this prevents the cable unwinding violently! Now strip and solder the ends together. Two of these go to the wide range Super 12 drivers (i.e. 20 strands total). Now take 4 lengths and twist them together; two of these go to the tweeter (i.e. 8 strands total). Speaker cables can sound really bad — mine did when I had lampshade cord. I compared the cord to AudioQuest Indigo cables and was blown away at the difference. Didn't want to spend $300 for two 16 foot cables so I made my own thanks to Thorsten Loesch at TNT (a great audio site). They sound excellent. Have not AB'd them to the AudioQuest but from memory they are about the same. I don't use these anymore because of the Hammer Dynamics cables above. Oracle Delphi Mk VI bought a used Oracle Delphi that has almost all upgrades to Mk V (except Mk II platter and Mk IV modified bearing). It includes a Turbo power supply. I bought an Origin Live modified Rega RB250 tonearm for it. My friend Craig and I machined up a tonearm mounting plate. I rewired the tonearm. Shelter 501 Mk II CartridgeI purchased a Shelter 501 moving coil cartridge from Koji at EIFL. This is a really nice sounding cartridge in my system, although I have not compared any other cartridges directly on this turntable. You can read more about Shelter cartridges at Recommended Components (good write up), also at Enjoythemusic, and a description of the Crown Jewel (exact same cartridge apparently) is at SoundsOfSilence. The Shelter 501 cost me $650 at EIFL plus shipping. Specs: 0.4 mV output. 1.4g-1.8 tracking weight. Do not exceed tracking weight ! It says you must keep it cool, not more than 22 degrees Celsius. 10K ohm or less input resistance for step-up transformer, 100K or less for preamp. 
and a larger image is here. Phono StageLehmann Audio Black Cube phono stage. Retail price is $595 (used price I paid was $495). The cube has great reviews (see for example the Soundstage! review, TNT Audio's review, and Stereophile) and has certainly improved playing vinyl in my system. The cube can be customized for different cartridges. There is a newer cube now using a different op amp chip. Apparently you can upgrade the older cubes to the new chip. Also you can upgrade the power supply, Norbert Lehmann says " I would strongly recommend that you upgrade with the PWX power supply if you want to do yourself a favor. You _will_ love it. " I'll report back if that happens. CD PlayerThe Denon 2560 DCD doesn't sound good, it is an 8 year old player. The Denon DCD has a hefty power supply, dual DA converters, pretty good analog stage, and weighs in at 24 lbs. The sound is still "90s digital". I have heard good things about the new Arcam players, Meridian, Ah! Toejb, and others. I am also considering a DAC from AudioNote, see Steve Rochlin's review at EnjoytheMusic.com. InterconnectsThanks to John Wyckoff I made up some cheap interconnects too. Use 30 gauge silver plated solid copper core conductors with Tefzel insulation, part number V1090-ND ( white ) from Digikey ( as above in speaker cables ). Simply take three lengths and twist them together in an electric drill ( holding the other end fixed ) until you get about 3 turns per inch. Buy Radio Shack RCA connectors part number 274-319A. Solder the center wire to each plug center, then solder the two other wires to one plug's ground, then solder only one of these wires to the other plug's ground. This leaves one wire floating at one end as a shield. Simple and cheap. About $4 per pair of interconnects. Probably not the best shielding available, but pretty good. You might not want to run the interconnect wires directly against power cords. Allen Wright of Vacuum State Electronics has been an advocate of the "small wire" interconnects for some time (he has a super cables cookbook). Many other people and websites talk about ultra-thin interconnects and also thin speaker cables. Check out this article at Soundstage. TNT Flexy Equipment RackI built the TNT Flexy and have been quite happy with it. I don't think it is necessarily the best rack for a high end turntable, although the Oracle sounds quite nice on it. The rack really does flex when you push it! I bought Cherry-veneered MDF and cherry edging strip (adhesive iron-on). I got the Plywood Store to cut the MDF into 24 inch by 16 inch rectangles, then I sanded it (by hand with very fine sandpaper, 200 grit or so), ironed on the edging strip, trimmed and sanded the edging and finished it with boiled linseed oil. I haven't had time to add the damping material to the bottom of the shelves yet. I have some asphalt tiles left over from the Hammer Super 12s that I will stick on to the shelves soon. The uprights are 5/8ths stainless steel threaded rod, each 3 feet long. I bought these as 6 foot lengths from Albeco Fasteners and had them cut the rods in half on their power saw. (Stainless is hard to cut!) Any industrial fastener place should stock stainless steel threaded rod. I washed them with hot soapy water to get the oil and dirt off. They don't need oiling to stop rust because they don't rust. The nuts and washers are blackened steel, except for the blind (acorn) nuts which are chromed or stainless steel, I forget which. Total cost about $140 (and I have leftover MDF which I can use for some more shelves). The Zen (Decware) Amp
I bought a single ended class A tube (valve) power amp called the "Zen Amp" from Decware. The Zen amp is a pentode tube amp wired in triode mode using two Svetlana SV83 output tubes (similar to the EL84 or 6BQ5) and one Svetlana 6N1P driver tube (similar to 12AX7). The power supply is tube rectified. This amp is only $549, only about 1 Watt per channel. It has very few components, no circuit boards, no hook up wire (component part leads are used), and is running single ended class A (no switch over distortion between push-pull amplifying devices) and has no negative feedback. Negative feedback can lower distortion but it adds music back into the circuit for a second time through — making a smear on the sound. You can run a CD player straight into the Zen amp, eliminating the preamplifier (if you only have one source). Using multiple sources like tuner, tape deck, you could use a passive preamp which is inexpensive. You need good speakers for this amp (and good wire: both interconnects and speaker wire). Speakers should be very efficient — 98 dB 1W/m or preferably more or you will lose bass response when playing at medium to higher volumes and get increased (noticeable) distortion. RamblingsHigh end stereo (audiophile) equipment is a crazy business. I like nice sound, unusual and interesting gear, but you can pay serious money for audio systems, even ones that sound like junk. I look for quality budget stuff. DIY is sometimes an amazing way to get a bargain, to learn about sound and electronics, and to have fun building things. Vacuum Tube AmpsAren't tube amps old fashioned? Doesn't all this new transistor gear sound better? And aren't CDs the best things since sliced bread? No, no, and nope!
In a nutshell, the answer is: Both tubes and transistors produce harmonic and intermodulation distortion. The harmonic components are what differs between tubes and transistors. Tubes produce large amounts of 2nd order harmonics, and smaller amounts of 4th order, with much smaller amounts of 3rd order and 5th order harmonics. The even harmonics sound "nicer" to the ear, smoother, less harsh. Transistors produce (after the 1st harmonic) large amounts of 3rd order harmonics, with less 2nd, 4th and higher orders. This 3rd harmonic is what tends to sound "harsh", and "thin". Also, tube amps tend to sound louder than transistor amps given the same power rating (watts). Why? Tubes when driven loud produce greater quantities of higher order harmonics (2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and up) than transistors and this makes them "subjectively" louder. The ear hears the larger quantities of the higher harmonics and thinks "LOUD". This is partly why low power tube amps can rock pretty well. Vinyl vs. CD (or Analog vs. Digital)A BIG debate here. What sounds better, vinyl LP or CD? And why? It depends… Basically, CDs have a higher dynamic range (loudness variation), and do not have any surface noise: snap, crackle, and pop from dust and scratches. However, CDs do have jitter problems and a thin, tinniness that is somehow not as smooth as an LP record. From my own experience in a high end store in Dusseldorf, Germany, a heavily modified CD player did not sound as good as an expensive turntable when reproducing the female voice. New CD transports and DACs might be better now. Most people have not heard a good, clean, unscratched record on a moderate or high end turntable. The sound is really good. Vinyl has been badly maligned. CDs are much more convenient than records, but second hand records, after being cleaned, can sound excellent and only cost a buck or two. Top
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