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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:36 am
by muLperi
Sarrova-Q wrote:reddone wrote:Cool stuff man , this is very important as you're making very clear for ppl to see that it isnt a difficult or dangerous thing to do to your machine .
You should change this to a "sticky" if u can .
What sorta improvements Gt's make to the esx ?
Ive never heard something on an esx that sounded "pro" im afraid .
Thanks
I made a demo of the EMX and the ESX with the new tubes.
mp3 conversion is limited to 128kbps so a lot of the details and harmonics get lost, but I can tell the tubes really make a huge difference.
My sound is MUCH better. Tight bass, lovely highs and much less muddy. Go get some tubes people!
EMX demo is Dance / Electro-House. I pushed the filter drive high to make my tubes scream. I hope you can hear the improvement in sound
ESX demo is Minimal
You can hear it at soundclick:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=828880
@ reddone: how do I make a sticky?
@ anselmi: don't know the difference but please post questions like this in the other topic. I don't want to make double topics.
Does the Drive parameter somehow link to tubes?
Re: ESX EMX Tube calibration procedure
Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 10:26 am
by skywalkman
Sparker wrote:Here are the instructions for tube calibration.
I'm assuming that its OK to put in public domain as these were sent to me to save sending the unit to the service department.
There is a picture and a diagram of the cable that the instructions refer to but I don't know how to paste photo's or diagrams on the forum.
The cable referred to is a balanced (stereo) jack running into a mono (unbalanced) jack. The tip and end ring of the stereo cable are joined together at the mono end tip with the sleeves remaining the same. (I hope that makes sense - ignore my earlier post where I mention a Y cable - it's not).
EMX-1/ESX-1 Tube Calibration
１．Connect the stereo plug of the cable (see fig.) to PHONES and the monaural plug to
INPUT.
2. While pressing ERACE and STEP EDIT, turn the power on. “Valv Wup” is
indicated as stand-by for pre-heating, and also the waiting time is indicated.
Set up the volume knob and switches as follows:
MASTER VOLUME : MAX
TUBE GAIN : MIN
AUDIO IN LEVEL : MAX
MIC/LINE : MIC
3. “Ajst (L)” and a 4 digits figure are indicated in the LCD. If the value is leas than
0010, the test is O.K.. Press the 16 knob at the right bottom. If the value is over it, it is
required to adjust the valve. Adjust the variable resistors which correspond to the
channels referring to the photo below.
4. As well as “Ajst(L)”, “Ajst (R)” and a 4 digits figure are indicated in the LCD.
If the value is leas than 0010, the test is O.K.. Press the 16 knob at the right bottom. If
the value is over it, it is required to adjust the valve. Adjust the variable resistors
which correspond to the channels referring to the photo above.
5. Once the balance of L/R is automatically adjusted, “ValvGMax GainMx” is
indicated in the LCD. Turn the TUBE GAIN knob to MAX, and press the 16 knob.
6. Check the L/R balance of TUBE GAIN MAX, and return to the normal mode.[/img]
where is the photos? or diagrams?
Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:45 pm
by souldjir809
Ruso wrote:just get a matched pair of tubes... eurotubes charges a couple extra bucks for a set of two matched
sorry for not reading the whole post, but does this mean : i buy the matched tubes and i get no problem with balance?? (EMX)
it works with any model of tubes?
new tubes emx
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 5:23 pm
by scuzi
seriously, just stop playing with the EMX and order yourself some new tubes...
just installed jj electronic ecc803 s tubes
it's just ridiculous the difference, different machine
at first I was rather sceptic but it should be part of the standard kit
subscribed to the forum just for that message
Thank you Russo and Reddone!
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:56 pm
by lloydsmith
Hi
Word of warning, although maybe I have just been unlucky.
Just installed pair of JJ803s in my ESX - great improvement in fidelity (for the short aural test time I had) but immediate balance issue with much higher right channel output. Improved but would not completely level up with adjusters.
Suddenly whilst (I hasten to add very carefully) turning the adjusters, one fell apart. That is - the white slotted disk that holds the wiper fell off.
I consulted an engineer rather than fiddle about further. Following info may be useful. Firstly they are just about the most cheapo ones possible. If they come apart they have to be replaced. All I can think is that they don't have stops & just pop off if turned too far.
He is going to replace them with better ones for me. Just thought other people should be wary of this. Maybe mine was just faulty to start with. This doesn't seem to have happened to anyone else on here:-(
Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 4:58 pm
by lloydsmith
Update:
Better sealed trim pots now fitted & made up the correct diagnostic lead & ran the proper valve/tube test.
This made levelling the channels a snap. Should have done it that way in first place.
JJs do sound better - frequency response seems to be 'fuller' - understand not so much change as on the EMX but worthwhile nonetheless.
Hope useful info.
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:03 pm
by cpkcpk
@lloydsmith: Argh the same thing just happened to me. Had balance issues with the JJ803s and one of the adjusters fell apart while I was turning it (very carefully as I had just read this thread!).
How much did it cost you to replace them with new trim pots?
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:06 am
by lloydsmith
My sympathy..it's a horrible feeling when it falls apart on you! I would be surprised this hasn't happened to anyone else if that's any comfort.
My brother (qualified engineer) fixed it for me. Component cost relatively cheap. They are much sturdier sealed trims.
Re your pm - yes I am in the UK.
I will ask him but as he normally gets paid vast amounts of money for his expertise I cannot be sure he would oblige! Let you know tomorrow.
If not I can recommend Synthprof. They may be able to estimate without seeing the unit.
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:43 am
by cpkcpk
Yeah, it's very annoying.. the new JJ tubes were sounding pretty good a few minutes before I broke the trimpot!
Thanks for asking your brother, much appreciated!
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:50 am
by lloydsmith
Pm'd you
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:08 am
by seebs
I don't see the photos either. Trying this right now (one of my tubes had started flaring brightly when powered up, figured I'd replace them before they broke). I may have the wrong kind of cable. Where would I *get* the right kind of stereo-to-mono cable? The closest I've been able to find is an old RCA y-cable that I could use to connect two cables. That does indeed produce sleeve to sleeve, and tip/ring to tip.
However:
* The machine sounds pretty much okay to casual listening.
* But if I connect the cable as described, I get Ajst (L) 0999.
If I lower the volume or input levels, it settles down to lower numbers, but that really feels like something's connected wrong.
EDIT: Looked at a service manual. It includes 2M-ohm resistors in its diagram of the correct cable!
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:36 am
by brambos
I notice most of the people changing their tubes do it on the EMX. How compelling would a tube-swap be for the ESX? Is the difference as radical as it is for the EMX?
I'm a bit hesitant to tinker with my hardware if it's not really a huge difference anyway.
Cheers guys...
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 4:06 pm
by _INTER_
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 8:15 am
by Sarrova-Q
Re-uploaded the pictures as some where missing.
Enjoy your tribes!
Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:29 am
by amoe
Changed tubes to JJ803s on my ESX1SD. Sounds marginally fuller but not a crazy difference. Still glad I did it. No issues with balance at all. Left channel a tiny bit higher than right channel both with and without tubes.
Thanks for the info!