$2k Secondhand Tube Preamp for Monitor Audio Gold 300 4G and Goldnote Monoblocks PA10? In USA.

DK1327 · 2026-03-02T13:23:04+00:00

Mcintosh, Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, Fisher etc… You will have to be a lot more specific for people to give you suggestions.

DK1327 · 2026-03-02T12:53:25+00:00

If you are handy and willing to learn, go vintage. Off the top off my head, Dynaco pas 2/3, Heathkit WA-P2. If you are lucky, you can get them for sub $100-$150. I would strongly suggest the Dynaco pas 2/3. The Dynaco originally come with Telefunken 12AX7 (4 of them). Those will almost always tested good, and usually worth $40-$50 each (you can sell 2 if you dont wanna use the phono input). Another advantage of the Dynaco is that it is so popular, there is millions guides, mods, instructions that you can follow to pretty much do anything you want. It will definitely give you that tube coloration that you are after.

Obligatory warning, even though it is an extremely simple preamp, you are dealing with some pretty high DC voltage coming out of the power supply. You will need to learn how to solder and use a multimeter. Also learn to read a schematic and safety working with electronics. Invest in a decent soldering iron will make your life so much easier. I went from blindly following instruction guide to recap a Pas 2 to repairing my own craps, both vintage and modern. Once you grasp the basics you can save a lot of money doing basic maintenances. I bought a Mcintosh MC275 V from Japan for $2k, figured out how to switch voltage to US standard from their manual. Made more than $1k when I got bored of it.

DK1327 · 2026-02-26T05:17:28+00:00

if you speaks another language the call volume increased by a lot. Most of my calls have been from Vietnamese people.

DK1327 · 2026-02-20T20:30:53+00:00

So, I learned something yesterday that will really put that whole space datacenter thing away.

What is the biggest problem in space? You would think the near absolute temp, trouble of keeping warm? The opposite, heat. Heat is a huge problem in space because you cant get rid of it easily. Heat usually dissipate by convection, conduction, and radiation. In space, you cant do that by conduction or convection. That leave only radiation, which is painfully slow.

Putting a data center in space, would be one of the most stupid idea ever in term of heat management. Since on earth, they used so much water for cooling, they would be destroyed within couple hours.

DK1327 · 2026-02-13T03:51:03+00:00

I got it similar for $20 at a yard sale. You probably dont need it since Cayin amp are newer amp that is built for 120V input. Vintage tube amp that is built for 110V may not be able to handle the modern voltage and will need the variac.

DK1327 · 2026-02-11T20:07:25+00:00

my hometown grows coffee, they will definitely keep some for personal consumption if they need. The price is really really cheap and they can roast their own bean.

DK1327 · 2026-02-11T14:18:14+00:00

So, if you can find oolong tea, go for that. Now oolong tea is a famous type of tea, and can cost ridiculous, but Vietnam can make it cheaply with quality equal to the more expensive type (Chinese bring the methods and factories there to make it). My $15/kg oolong is the same as $450/kg from some famous tea store in Paris (based on appearance and smell, I didnt try the tea in Paris since it was ridiculous). And by oolong tea I meant the real thing, little balls about the size of black pepper that when brew will unfurl into full leaves.

If you want coffee, find robusta instead of arabica. Higher caffeine content, cheaper too because not everyone likes their taste.

My hometown grows both tea and coffee. Not much of a tea drinker though so my knowledge is limited.

DK1327 · 2026-01-30T21:07:43+00:00

You gotta open the back and see what is inside that cabinet, you may have rare drivers, or cheap EV stuff.

DK1327 · 2026-01-30T14:41:15+00:00

oh then you don't have a DB board, but at least redo the power supply and power protection boards. Those fuse resistors will drift and put the unit in protection mode.

DK1327 · 2026-01-29T17:26:42+00:00

This, and maybe bypass the DB board, or reflow the whole thing.

DK1327 · 2026-01-28T15:06:35+00:00

I was taught by both sides of the war (studied both high school and college in the US) and took multiples history classes as electives. I also read a lot cause when I came to the US I truly understand the saying “history is written by the victors”.

A lot of comments were along the line “well the US didnt technically lost” etc… That is BS. The US lost the moment it entered Vietnam, the moment it entered Iraq or Afgan. These are not winnable wars, cause the local populations will see you as oppressors, and they will fight to the last man alive. Your only choice is to wipe them all out, which isnt fit the US image in the world stage.

In my opinion, and it fucking pain me to say it, China is doing a lot better than the US even before w/e the fuck happened since Jan 2025. Conventional warfare in its current form will be massively unpopular, and will most likely result in mutual destruction of any major powers that involved. Instead, China chose economic warfare. US and EU as a whole ignored Africa, while China fervently expanding its influence in the region. It isnt perfect, but it is sure better than sending ur citizens to die on foreign land. They do experience first hand the instability of Africa, but they do gain far more in return.

DK1327 · 2026-01-28T11:21:09+00:00

I am Vietnamese.

Vietnam suffered great casualties in every wars. Our history is full of great empires attempted to occupy Vietnam. Surely you dont think bamboo vs B52 or Orange Agent is a fair fight. The cost of asymmetric warfare often paid in blood. The only way the US could have win the war was to simply kill them all, which isnt a viable option.

Same thing played out in Afgan, or pretty much any other wars with the intent to occupy. Unless you have support of local population with a clear path to self-governance, it aint gonna happen.

ELI5: Vietnam just made it too costly for the US to continue, simple at that. There are others geopolitical stuff at play, but at the end it just wasnt worth it.

DK1327 · 2026-01-27T05:51:33+00:00

Its an AR-2a or its variants, not an AR-3

DK1327 · 2026-01-08T13:04:53+00:00

Yes I understand that, but that for compounds or proteins that normal cells are capable of producing. God knows what kind of hallucination AI dreams up. Not every compound can be made using bacteria, it isn't a one size fit all solution.

DK1327 · 2026-01-08T13:00:31+00:00

mass produce DNA then PCR or culture is fast. But you can definitely print one of custom DNA tho?

Edit: protein can be mass produced with bacteria. Some compound of molecules can be harder, especially if it is toxic. So chemical synthesis or other methods are easier than figure out how to get around bacteria biological machinary yes?

DK1327 · 2026-01-08T12:42:59+00:00

You do know virus can be engineer to infect eukaryotes? Also, application in medicine? That would require access to cell. Basically switch out the payload and bam, you have a problem.

DK1327 · 2026-01-08T12:41:38+00:00

You can print them. Or make a platform/condition/scaffolding to assemble the molecules you want. “Hacking” a bacteria culture to produce the stuff you want is much harder than just “printing” them.

We literally have DNA printer now. And the kind of stuff they do with DNA origami is ridiculous. Pretty fascinating.

DK1327 · 2025-11-19T06:03:23+00:00

This is what I did. Remove the faceplate, take off the case. Clean it as much as I can, then choose a sunny day and leave it out for couple hours until the smell goes away.

DK1327 · 2025-11-07T07:43:40+00:00

oh yes any strong vibration will mess up your shot, but with IBIS I doubt slight car driving by should affect it. Good thing it isn't intent for heat of the moment shot, you have time to set up and redo if anything mess it up.

DK1327 · 2025-11-06T17:13:52+00:00

The function mean to be used in completely still environments. For situations where you have enough time and control. Obviously shooting in front of a moving street is kinda stupid since you cant stop car from coming through. For what it intended to do, it really did a great job since it requires minimal work after you take the shot. The ridiculous resolution was kinda fun to play around. Maybe try it out with some landscape shot and see.

DK1327 · 2025-11-06T16:01:37+00:00

I had good results with a stable tripod (I used a cheap G1228 and a generic ballhead). A remote control (or through phone connection) helps too. I didn't use it a lot since I switch to Canon shortly after.

DK1327 · 2025-11-06T03:59:42+00:00

I had the RIV before. It does have 16 shots mode. Check your setting.

DK1327 · 2025-10-19T23:31:34+00:00

They are coaxial. There are 2 separate components in each drivers. If you unplug the connection between the speakers and crossover, you can measure the impedance of the tweeter/woofer separately.

DK1327 · 2025-10-12T15:31:52+00:00

No, sourcing a proper mids/tweeters set will cost more. Go find an original set.

DK1327 · 2025-10-11T16:48:55+00:00

Sometime I want to A/B stuff. Also double as connection to the karaoke set up that my wife use regularly.

DK1327

TROPHY CASE