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Hi tube lovers. I'm in the fortunate position of living a short drive from two of our fine Aussie tube amp builders, Mark of Retro-Thermionic and Earl of Weston Acoustics and I have amps by both. While I don't live near Eric 'McChanson', I have had long distance dealings with him and he was as gracious as all the feedback says (as are Earl and Mark). I encourage anyone to see what our aussie amp builders are up to. Back to Mark. A couple of years ago I bought a used Retro-Thermionic tube rectified preamp from an SNA member that was built around a Golden Dragon 5U4 rec tube and Shuguang Black Treasure CV-181-Z (6SN7). The seller had accidentally broken his black treasure and replaced it with a Tung Sol. He was borderline about selling it but I twisted his arm. Once I got it, I enjoyed it but was keen to hear it as Mark intended, so bought a replacement Black Treasure (from highly recommended Mark at Sonic Art). Once I had the Black Treasure back in there it really started to sing and I could see why Mark used that combo. I corresponded with the seller afterwards who needless to say suffered sellers regret... When I bought the Retro-thermionic, the preamps I had been using were a Radford SC22P, Musical Paradise MP701MK2 and 'The Truth' by Hornshoppe. I had recently been using 'The Truth' and was amazed with it by the newly revealed layers to tracks that I had been listening to for 40 odd years. When I got my Retro-Thermionic preamp "Shu", in the system with the black treasure tube in place, I was really surprised by a comparable level of detail to 'The Truth', but also beautiful tubey warmth and roundness. 'Shu' stayed in my main system for a couple of years until recently when it needed a minor service. I got in touch with Mark and he very kindly offered to service it free of charge (with the possible exception of some parts). In the end I just paid Mark a tenner for an RCA connection that I somehow managed to bust. Mark was generous with his time and enthusiastically showed me some of his home systems, the vast majority of which were build by him as well as some of his build projects. We sat down and had a listen to his main system which was a real pleasure. Mark kindly offered to give me a loan of one of his power amps, “Persuasion” - 5998/6AS7 SET, which is about 5 watt. I began a foray into low watt valve amps and full range (or similar) speakers a couple of years ago. I have 2 X 2 watt integrated mono blocks by Eric McChanson running into Coral 10CX 50 coaxial speakers (re-badged as Peak). As an aside, initially, I just had one of these McChansons (in stereo), but 2 watts wasn't quite enough to get the volume level I like so i got a second and Eric turned them into switchable stereo/Mono amps. The 4 watts serves me beautifully-I listen normally a bit louder than you would be comfortable speaking over… Synergy with speakers is obviously key when it comes to low watt amps, and I felt in my bones that 'Persuasion' would love my Coral (Peak) 10CX 50's. I usually like comparing and contrasting gear, but I decided not to listen to the McChansons before connecting 'Persuasion' (along with 'Shu') and just listen on its own terms. Nonetheless, I am used to what I can get out of the speakers and I have to say that I really loved what I heard and that 'Persuasion' delighted me with a new flavour and experience which was full bodied and dynamic, and a good lively punch from the bass and really capable to deliver rock music. The 'Jazz' album by Queen sounded a lot of fun, really lively, quick paced but also very musical. There is a lot of different genre bending and textures on the album so, while underpinned by rock, it gives a great sense of variety. Again, not intending to compare, but the McChanson's are very sweet sounding, in a good way, and on their own terms are a fabulous listen with music that favours high frequencies and is musically playful. I do get the full range of frequencies from the McChansons, although 'Persuasion' excels in dynamics and brings a wide range of genres to life in a rewarding way. The Rufus Wainwright album 'Unfollow the Rules-The Paramour Sessions' sounded great. It has a massive dynamic range. This is a live performance of the original album in an old chapel using acoustic instruments-Piano, strings etc, recorded during Covid lockdowns so no audience. 'Persuasion' gave it a fantastic sense of space, scale and imaging as well as rendering the voice and instruments beautifully. A real pleasure to listen to. To throw 'Persuasion' a curve ball, I also played 'Controversy' by Prince. It had funk and groove and handled the electronic vibe equally as well as the acoustic instruments and I was literally standing up grooving. They were some fun listening sessions. When I visited Mark, he shared his passion for his builds and his love of making the amps and enjoying each on it's own terms. I got a real sense of his love for music and the way that tubes and different implementations can interpret that. Maybe this is an odd comparison, but like a wine lover on the Mornington Peninsula owes it to themselves to sample the local wines or a beer lover, the craft beers, I really encourage Australian music lovers to try out our local amp builder's wares. It's a personal, authentic and fun experience. Thanks so much for the loan, Mark, I really enjoyed it. “Persuasion” - 5998/6AS7 SET https://retro-thermionic.blogspot.com/2022/07/persuasion-5998-set.html "Shu" - CV-181-Z and Golden Dragon preamp https://retro-thermionic.blogspot.com/2021/09/shu-cv-181-z-and-golden-dragon-preamp.html See Mark's pics below @mwhouston

Item: La Gitana - DIY MM tube phono preamp Location: Langwarrin Price: $620 Item Condition: as new, 12 months old 9/10 Reason for selling: currently happy with battery powered SS preamp Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal or Bank T'fer Extra Info: Smart looking and based on a very high-end kit from Greece this low profile ultra quiet MM tube preamp will impress. It has an IEC power socket on a short tail to allow the use of custom power cords. JJ 12AX7 small plate tube extend from the top with heavy tube dampeners to ensure low micro-phonics. If you have always wanted a tube head unit for MM cartridges then this is it. http://retro-thermionic.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/la-gitana-mm-valve-phono-preamp.html Pictures:

Hi, I need a new fuse for my DC Duffer. Any users out there - would you know the fuse type? I did email retro-thermionic@outlook.com but haven't had a response yet. It is 20mm tall.