European Triode Festival
ETF 2014 Berlin Germany

In 2001, the European Triode Festival was held for the first time, in the big city of Arhus, Denmark, as a group of Triode Sound enthusiasts from all over the world wanted to meet and see each other's equipment and achievements. This was a closed community, so not just everybody could walk in and out. It was a mix of speeches by most interesting people, demos of self build equipment, seminars, shootouts, and of course just have fun with each other. Being in close touch for several days with the same nuts as you are yourself, is a wonderful thing, when at home normally nobody understands what you talking about.

Mercury Rectifiers

During the Festivals ever since 2001, many people that are well known in the Triode Scene have held speeches. Just to name a few, and sorry if I forgot some.

Michael Ulbrich, one of the year 2014 organizers.

BEST SOUND OF THE SHOW. Well this award is unofficial, and only my opinion. This is Adrianus van Doorn, Netherlands. A genius and modest person and oldest contributor to the ETF, also previous ETF lecturer on the "octode amp". I was told by other people, you have to go there, you must hear that. Well I did, and I spend two hours with Adrianus. Not just listen to music. Just name any subject, and he will keep you busy, with a great sense of humor. The little amplifier you see here, for me has the BEST SOUND OF THE ETF 2014. This little thing amazed me so much. Luckily, I did not know what was inside, as I sure would have been biased. Reason is, there is 2€ power Op-Amp in there, from car radios. Well, but I didn't know that, and as I sat down, I could not believe my ears! What I heard, was purest triode sound, best I heard since a long time. I know such sound from finest high efficiency horns, combined with low output signal triode amplifiers, and it only develops in a good listening room. Only here, Adrianus used just two bookshelf size 97dB speakers, with 40 Watt output power on them. The trick is, Adrianus uses a perfectly distortion-free Integrated circuit, and then adds tube distortion with a parallel SE stage of 6080 tubes. This tube distortion, he feeds back into of the IC, by positive feedback. So not the signal of the 6080's is used, but only the distortion of those. The result is a spectrum same as the finest Triode amplifier, and due to the use of this problem free IC, it becomes hum free, noise free, free of third harmonics, and all of that with almost no circuitry, and he gets 40 Watt output power. It was presented at the ETF, in several lectures, that hybrid amps are worth to consider. Well I disagree myself. I am not a riend of hybrid circuits, but I have to say it, this circuit sound great. As I still did not believe it, I checked his sytem. I looked under the table, and behind the curtains. I can confirm, there was no subwoofer hidden, no equalizer, nothing. Just his self-made record player, his self-made RIAA Amp, his self-made power amplifier, then directly into the two little speakers, and that's it. Also Jean Hiraga, and all of the Japanese team, were touched by the sound of Adrianus' miracle amp. Plans exists, to offer this as a kit, together with his partner Elie.

George Lenz, from TubesUSA.com, also USA distributer of Emission Labs

From Japan, we welcomed six visitors, and their family who joined the ETF 2014. This demonstration showed us, what the RE604 tube can do. This was a demonstration of classical music via horn systems, which is indeed the greatest challenge for a horn speaker. These people were such passionate tube freaks. They brought with them some 800 kg of equipment, some of massive size, which they had to pass along those psychopaths from the customs office, and also cost a lot of money to transport all the way from Japan. I was told only one person of the whole group has ever left Japan in his life. For all the other members this was the first foreign trip, and then they present us this stunning show. This is such a sign of good will. THANK YOU!

Sound tuning is team work

Telefunken RE604 Triode

3A / 110B Triode

Admiring Michael Ulbrich's AD1 amplifier, with Nickel Core transformers.

Here playing with EML AD1-Mesh but it can run also on 2A3. The Horns you see, are original horns from a Philips cinema system, with Klangfilm drivers. It is amazing how well, and with what EXTREME loudness these could fill this entire room, no just with sound from the tweeters, but with bass as well. With these little AD1 amplifiers, far away from maximum power, these horns would play at full concert loudness. That was in a room of 15 x8 meters, and 5 meters high. Besides sound was very good also!

Final tuning by Andreas Schubert from Berlin,
who owns these beautifull Philips Cinema horns.

So that's inside. Look at the huge magnets.

The Japanese Team held an 78rpm demonstration

This record player amazed with loudness and tone.

Breakfast with Tim de Paravicini. There is always a book to discuss :)

Lunch with JC Morrisson.

Joe Roberts, from Sound Practices, the "Joe" list and many more.

Reinoud de Vries, just returned from a 5 months Afghanistan mission,
and travels right off to the Triode Festival.

Do you want to do a distortion measurement?

Who needs Stereo :)

Winner of the tweeter shoot out.

Dietmar Hampel from Germany, with a miniature copy of the Altec Horn. He just made a tweeter this way, and won the shoot out with it.

Dietmar's self-made, winning tweeter

The "original" could be admired in the Japanese room.

This music was made with pentodes!