Sub-woofer and XBass
Lifestyle
General
Retro Stereo 50
The LS-3.5 Bass does extend to 60Hz but no lower. The LS-3.5 if placed free-standing requires XBass on *** or if placed on a console near a wall the **…
Read moreFAQs
System protection – Faulty tube resets the unit
Retro Stereo 50
The power supply attempts to start up, but something is stopping it from starting up correctly. This causes the “blink” / “warm-up”. If this happens during play, it means something…
Read moreTube – Jumper, tube rolling – Must pay attention!
Retro Stereo 50
Simple, when iFi supplied EL84X are fitted the jumper must be closed. If using most current production EL84 as replacement the jumper is inconsequential. Certain specific NOS EL84’s (some batches…
Read moreUSB or Optical/SPDIF as input?
Lifestyle
General
Retro Stereo 50
The Stereo 50 incorporates “trickle-down” technology from AMR, specifically in the form of the GMT/ZeroJitter system used on optical/SPDIF inputs. This means timing issues from the source are eliminated by…
Read moreUsing an alternative EL84?
Lifestyle
General
Retro Stereo 50
If using old stock EL84’s as opposed to EL84X – some may have pins that are open circuit (not connected) on modern EL84 and parallel types and officially marked “NC”…
Read moreUsing headphone outputs to drive speakers?
Lifestyle
General
Retro Stereo 50
We do not recommend using the headphone outputs to feed amplifiers. The problem is that 3.5mm output is matched to high sensitivity headphones and has very low output voltage at…
Read moreWhat about mainstream bookshelf speakers?
Lifestyle
Operation
Retro Stereo 50
Most mainstream bookshelf speakers were designed for 100W> amplifiers. Hence despite their diminutive size, they are still not suitable for the Stereo 50. Typically, such speakers range in actual sensitivity…
Read moreWhat are the loading of the phono stage?
Lifestyle
Operation
Retro Stereo 50
MM: 220pF//47k MC: 200pF//330R
Read moreWhat digital filter is used?
Lifestyle
General
Retro Stereo 50
All current iFi products that do not have filter selection use the minimum filter for sample rates up to 192kHz and Bit-perfect above 192kHz.
Read moreWhat does the colour dot mean underneath the tube?
Retro Stereo 50
Colour code is a matched set. The colours denote an absolute cathode current rank. So all four tubes should be same colour dot, but any same coloured dot can replace…
Read moreWhat is the life expectancy of the tubes?
Lifestyle
General Operation
Retro Stereo 50
The Stereo 50 runs tubes quite hard, life expectancy is estimated 5,000 hours or less than 2 years with 8 hours playtime per day and the ECF82 has a greater…
Read moreWhat is the output impedance of the amplifier?
Lifestyle
Technical
Retro Stereo 50
The nominal load impedance is 4 Ohm, output impedance (IIRC) is around 0.5 Ohm.
Read moreWhat value fuse is installed?
Lifestyle
General
Retro Stereo 50
The fuse is a 5x20mm, Slow Blow, 2A. The Retro ships with AMR fuses which are already of very high quality and do not require an upgrade. Therefore we suggest…
Read moreWhere do the tubes come from?
Lifestyle
General
Retro Stereo 50
We use old stock military tubes, essentially the Golden Dragon model (premium Asian brand). Additionally, we recondition each and everyone – we reactivate the getter and cathode, burn-in tested and…
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