The T5....

[thehornshoppe]

Well, it looks like Arthur is going to review one. The T5 has gain on all inputs and a simpler construction but is absolutely not a step backwards. The xformers are very expensive. So expensive that "Max",  Arthurs buddy bought them. He is also as far as I know going to have a very nice box for it. I have fought "bling" from the beginning but Max has convinced me I need to build the best I can in a box fitting of the performance. It is going to be expensive.

Again, this is scary for me. Arthur will report EXACTLY what he thinks, good, bad or ugly. One thing that makes me feel warm is the fact that Max and Arthur have never asked me for one thing and have paid for the units I built them. They owe me nothing and I owe them a lot. That first review could have gone the other way if he thought it should and was a BS device. They sent it back to me to sell. Think of it, they paid me to build it, Arthur reviewed it and then they sent it to me to sell. Never expected that! That is the opposite of normal, The other example of that is someone I promised to never use his name to sell one or even as a reference for several reasons. He did give me permission to reveal it to put the fuckers at ASR in their place, they said "no one that knows anything would buy this thing". He is very famous and reviewed things that cost more than their houses most likely.  He too asked for one to hear. He paid me for it. Full price I think. He kept it. He will never review it for a lot of reasons but he knows what he has and that is why he still has it. His initials are D. O. Please do not guess on the forum but if you own one and ask me I will tell you and ask you keep it a secret.

Compare that to a couple sets of Horns I sent out for review, they were never returned and one fellow stated in the review he was going to actually pay for them. Nope. I would have given them to him at a big discount but instead lost a shitload on them and in shipping.

So, it will be a while but I have the xformers and will build the circuit soon. It will go fast once I get the box but the review (I am sure) if it happens (pretty sure it's going to) will not be fast. Of that I am sure.

So, that's all I got for now.
Ed

[Luddite]

Ed,

Thanks for the update on the T5, and what I'm fairly confident will be another excellent review. The gain transformers are intriguing.

It's disappointing, but not that surprising to hear that several reviewers never compensated you for their Horns. One audio magazine publisher/editor/reviewer allegedly had a garage full of equipment on "permanent loan" from a variety of manufactures, and I suspect that's somewhat common in the review game. It's good to hear that Mr. Salvatore is an exception.

It's too bad that, while Donny Osmond enjoys his Truth, he won't comment about it publicly. Oops, you wanted his identity kept secret, didn't you? Sorry.

[henry]

You're entering into a different market and that's great.  Once again, you're hitting some notes that others can't.  Those transformers won't be found in high-priced, mass-market stuff.   

Being old and impecunious, I'll have to watch from the sidelines. 

[thehornshoppe]

Henry, you are correct. The xformers used are hand wound to very tight tolerance, matched and made with "super permalloy" laminations and wire. Obviously my buddy could use any wire he wants. I see no reason to reveal my sources but those that know me will know when I say my buddy is quite "famous", I mean it, and for other audio things as well. They are not "homemade" or easily found to purchase. I would have never found my buddy w/o Arthur and Max. They told me they would be "the best I could do". They have no financial interest and get no discounts or kickbacks from my new buddy.  Their goal was from the beginning after the first review was to make me build the ultimate. And again, they have been incredibly nice to me. That said, they are NOT trying to "make us rich".....they are trying to get the best line stage possible and they are and have invested in my "project" to achieve that goal. For that I will forever be grateful. Looks like fun days are coming.
Ed
ps.....keep in mind they have heard MANY xformers and deemed these the best and I think "at any price" but you can certainly spend more money! Max designs audio equipment, btw. He may have been involved in this company "Wilson Audio", I think they make speakers Max is a nickname...    Coincidentally, I think they have may built a speaker..........will verify this info.

[henry]

After reading the initial post, can you explain the remark about "a simpler construction".  Is that referring to the T4 version, or the original Truth?

If you can't disclose that info, I'm fine with that.  Just curious. 

[thehornshoppe]

Hey Henry, the T4 required 3 power  supplies and an extra buffer board because it only had gain on 1 input. The T5 has gain on all inputs and it does not need but one p/s and does not need the extra buffer board.  I stopped with dual supplies on other units after an issue was discovered with a friends mono blocks. Removing one cured the ground loop. The design is not "dual mono" so 2 supplies were never needed actually but I thought it a good idea.  I was wrong.
Hope this helps.
Ed

[henry]

Thanks Ed, less is more.  Overthinking stuff is the devil's workshop.  I do like the notion of segregating PS and such, but to be honest, I haven't seen any benefits.  I recently cobbled together an ICEPower amp using mono boards.  I thought having each board with its own power supply would be better.  Nah, nothing gained from a subjective standpoint.

Live and burn...

[Capt. Z]

Sounds all very interesting. Though I am not in the market for another Pre it would be interesting to see what the T5 will look like. I know some people did not buy the original Truth, since it looked very DIY. Will the T5 look any different?

[thehornshoppe]

Capt.  It sure looks like  it will be fancy. Max is going to have a box for it made, it may already be in the works.

Ya'll know I try and be as up front as I can. Ya'll also know  I do not do things just to "sell stuff". With that in mind, Arthur and Max (me too, I guess) have decided that the units with the xformers lose nothing from the original and may
actually sound better. This is a tough call. If one does not need the gain then they don't need the xformers. If they do need gain the xformers are certainly not going to hurt anything. It's why we use these particular ones, they seem to be very special.  Before I met Max and Arthur I did make a SS gain stage with a Burr-Brown chip. It was "sub optimal" not horrible just not good enough. The xformers are better than "good enough".....they are as transparent as it gets in my experience with them.
Ed