which sounds best silicon or germanium ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 08:02:26 pm
content: Personaly my preference is for the germanium, I think that when set right it has a slightly less actinic sound. But my ears are a bit duff from over exposure to machinery noise over the years.

author: siliconmix
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 08:05:32 pm
content: i prefer germanium too .it does sound a more complete sound

author: tekfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 08:06:31 pm
content: I guess this is basically the same debate as is the one between transistors and vacuum tubes.If properly designed they can all sound indistinguishable from one another.I have studio tape recorders that use valves, germanium and silicon transistors and for the life of me I can't figure out which one is which (if they are properly adjusted of course).

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 08:08:49 pm
content: I like the sound of Ice Cream, it's always an appealing suggestion.

author: Excavatoree
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 09:16:36 pm
content: Nice breadboard.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 09:51:18 pm
content: Nothing beats the warmth sound of gallium arsenide.

author: Short Circuit
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 10:28:19 pm
content: Oldskool breadboarding, wtf did I leave my hammer

author: Deepak
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 10:40:18 pm
content: I thought this thread was going to be about distortion.If there's no clipping going on then they sound the same, though silicon isn't as finicky so I'd call that the winner.If you are clipping then germanium tends to be less aggressive than silicon. If I'm using distortion I'm usually playing metal, and all of my basses are active (or active/passive in active mode) so germanium is useless to me.

author: Frangible
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 10:50:47 pm
content: I like the sound of a nice old diesel. Five cylinders or the sound is dissolute and the perturbations alkaline.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 10:56:49 pm
content: Quote from: Frangible on March 29, 2012, 10:50:47 pmBut does it give the right warmth sound?

author: DrGeoff
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2012, 11:43:04 pm
content: A bit of a rubbish test.There's no way you could tell with a mic on a video camera swinging about and a finger-in-the-air DC bias setting.Run the same program material through both preamplifiers when they are correctly biased to their optimum operating point and record it into a DAW. Then subtract the two to reveal differences (distortion characteristics). Then if there is a difference you have something to talk about.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 12:00:06 am
content: Quote from: BoredAtWork on March 29, 2012, 10:56:49 pmSure does but only if correctly orientated.Mis-aligning your diesel will result in aural colouration from the cool shrill of inlet induction rather than the rhythmic warmth of the exhaust manifold.I still prefer the sound of ice cream.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 12:25:02 am
content: When I was a kid I had various transistor radios full of OC81 transistors, and at the time I didn't know they were special. I kind of wish I still had them, just for the nostalgia. They wererealtransistors, not like this modern silicon rubbish...

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 12:26:23 am
content: A old Gardner 5 cylinder diesel in a bus,with the coins in the driver's coin tray making a musical counterpoint!It really takes me back!Well,I said I was as old as dirt!

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 12:33:41 am
content: Forget puny bus engines, you want a real diesel:The one that heralded the death of steam on the main line and replaced it with a totally different kind of music...

author: siliconmix
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 05:14:21 am
content: Quote from: DrGeoff on March 29, 2012, 11:43:04 pmpop it up on here then drgeoff .i'd love to see it

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 07:35:55 am
content: Quote from: IanB on March 30, 2012, 12:25:02 amI still have a supply of OC71 transistors unused as well as the transistor radios with AF115 and 117 for rf in my collection.The Gardner 5 in line two stroke diesel sounds good but not as nice as the Commer TS2 3 cylinder with opposed pistons, and roots blower.

author: dcel
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 08:53:46 am
content: Detroit Diesel 12V149 quad turbo, dual blower at cold start-up......pure music!But I will admit, the deltics sound really good.on OT, I've never a/b'd the si and ge in the studio, I have an old micpre that has germanium transistors, I should check it against the neve clones that use 2n3055s. The old ge pre needs its power supply rebuilt though, and I won't get to it anytime soon....Chris

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 01:21:41 pm
content: I don't know which sounds better... I have several Ge (AC126, AC188, OC71) and Si transistors, as well as Ge (OA95( and Si diodes, but for the life of me I can't hear any sound when I put any one of them really close to my ear... Maybe I am deaf to the sound of impure semiconductor crystals...

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 01:45:10 pm
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on March 30, 2012, 01:21:41 pmDid you shake them the right way with respect to the earth' magnetic field?

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 01:55:08 pm
content: The Jury may be out on sound, but nothing in silicon matches the visual or olfactory appeal of geranium.

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 01:58:44 pm
content: Of course, GERMANium must be the best.Terrible pun, sorry.

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 03:23:36 pm
content: Germanium sounds better because it has "German" in it and German reminds me of bratwurst. Mmmm! Bratwurst.

author: Jad.z
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 03:59:23 pm
content: How about Gallium Arsenide

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2012, 05:07:50 pm
content: Quote from: IanB on March 30, 2012, 12:33:41 amHere's the trains in my neigbouring country :Nasty china trains . Horrible Hissing .General Motors .Most importantly , germanium must be cryogenically stored to maintain fidelity

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2012, 04:24:13 am
content: Quote from: BoredAtWork on March 30, 2012, 01:45:10 pmMaybe that's it - hold on... shaking... Shaking... SHAKING... SHAAAAAKING! Now I hear it!!!!Oops, maybe it was too much. I hear tingling sounds now...

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2012, 09:09:52 am
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on March 31, 2012, 04:24:13 amDon't worry that's the sound of music.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2012, 06:15:36 pm
content: It's a silly test.I prefer silicon because it's cheaper, has higher gain and is more temperature stable. A modern solid state amplifier uses more than one gain stage with negative feedback, not a single common emitter amplifier so the test is rather pointless in this day and age. All things being equal, silicon will come out on top because the higher gain means more negative feedback and greater temperature stability, meaning the bias point will change less as the circuit heats up.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2012, 11:09:47 pm
content: is this including silicon that people put inside their body for aesthetic reason? if yes then i opt silicon!

author: Frangible
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2012, 12:21:34 am
content: Quote from: IanB on March 30, 2012, 12:33:41 amOf course the Deltic is truly one of a kind, and in terms of brute strength and mechanical complexity, it has no equal. But for small garages, I think that sound would be overpowering and might even produce a harsh resonance in the very fabric of the building. For smaller areas, I still believe the 5 cylinder turbocharged diesel - namely the Mercedes OM617 - is the perfect choice. An inimitable acoustic melange of full-spectrum rattles, bangs and the amazing German snickety-click only achievable by a true pre-combustion chambered, glow-plug started mechanical marvel such as this. Two-stroke Detroit Diesels may be fantastic at converting fuel to noise, but are severely lacking in the panache department, even as they have rendered yeoman service in prime movers and industrial installations world-wide.

author: TheWelly888
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2012, 01:14:38 pm
content: This is what a Deltic really sounds like on the main line! And they did make a lot of smoke too!http://youtu.be/qoktXA1VWHw

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2012, 04:14:44 pm
content: This video really excels for aural symphonies:http://youtu.be/U6By_-kif80I don't think they made so much smoke when they were running at full power and better efficiency, as can be seen there.