aussievintage 3,589 Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 13 minutes ago, Craggs2341 said: My first attempt at DIY, sealed 12 inch Dayton Ultramax, 0retty basic but learnt a lot in terms of wood work atleast... Finally got the router I had dirty. Built entirely to their advertised specs, braced sealed box, 2cft, 1lb poly fill. Sitting on heavy rubber feet Looks well made ! What are you driving it with? Link to post Share on other sites
mwhouston 4,869 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 (edited) Once again absolutely spoiled for DIY choice. Four tube preamps. Would be one more but one got sold through a face book admirer. from left to right, front to back; the new E88CC Gold Lion SRPP redesigned preamp - “Rosso”. ”MWH” - UX-171A DHT century old tubes Psvane/Grant Fidelity 6SN7 spheres, SRPP - “Icon” Chuguang 50 year treasures again SRPP - “Elite” They all share a universal external PS making it plug and play and saving $150 per preamp. All different passives under the bonnet and all with there own character. I would happy live with anyone of them forever. All really excellent. Edited June 18, 2020 by mwhouston 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Craggs2341 5 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 6 hours ago, aussievintage said: Looks well made ! What are you driving it with? Just bought an nx1000d, working it all out slowly Link to post Share on other sites
aussievintage 3,589 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 1 minute ago, Craggs2341 said: Just bought an nx1000d, working it all out slowly Just looking at. Interesting amp. I like the styling. Link to post Share on other sites
DQ828 326 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 4 hours ago, mwhouston said: Once again absolutely spoiled for DIY choice. Four tube preamps. Would be one more but one got sold through a face book admirer. from left to right, front to back; the new E88CC Gold Lion SRPP redesigned preamp - “Rosso”. ”MWH” - UX-171A DHT century old tubes Psvane/Grant Fidelity 6SN7 spheres, SRPP - “Icon” Chuguang 50 year treasures again SRPP - “Elite” They all share a universal external PS making it plug and play and saving $150 per preamp. All different passives under the bonnet and all with there own character. I would happy live with anyone of them forever. All really excellent. Whats the plan for all of these pre's 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mwhouston 4,869 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 5 hours ago, DQ828 said: Whats the plan for all of these pre's Must sell some off. One or two is fine but too many now. PM if interested. Link to post Share on other sites
Steffen 798 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 On 12/06/2020 at 12:04 PM, aussievintage said: Ah, pots. Another interesting subject. Don't know if you recall, but I put an ALPs pot into my main preamp a little while back. Well, I just noticed it is getting noisy already !!! Disappointing I went through 3 Alps Blue Velvet pots in my MF A100 over 15 years, and finally gave up. They all became scratchy after a while. The source selector switch became scratchy, too. Maybe it was the heat inside the class A amp. In the end I bypassed the entire source selection and volume control circuitry and used the A100 as a power amp. Link to post Share on other sites
aussievintage 3,589 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 4 minutes ago, Steffen said: I went through 3 Alps Blue Velvet pots in my MF A100 over 15 years, and finally gave up. They all became scratchy after a while. The source selector switch became scratchy, too. Maybe it was the heat inside the class A amp. In the end I bypassed the entire source selection and volume control circuitry and used the A100 as a power amp. I had a feeling I would not be the only one. Not heat in my case as it's only a preamp and the valves are all external. So the hunt goes on... Link to post Share on other sites
Red MacKay 1,187 Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 1 hour ago, aussievintage said: I had a feeling I would not be the only one. Not heat in my case as it's only a preamp and the valves are all external. So the hunt goes on... I use PEC pots and they are just the same. Noisy after almost no time. Link to post Share on other sites
McCvinyl 165 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 2 hours ago, aussievintage said: I had a feeling I would not be the only one. Not heat in my case as it's only a preamp and the valves are all external. So the hunt goes on... I have had the same noisy and scratchy Alps experience in my phono. Just replaced it with a TKD and transformed my sound quality. A lot quieter background and image is a lot more distinct now. Link to post Share on other sites
andyr 5,744 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 3 minutes ago, McCvinyl said: I have had the same noisy and scratchy Alps experience in my phono. Just replaced it with a TKD and transformed my sound quality. A lot quieter background and image is a lot more distinct now. TKD is the bee's knees, IMO! (More so their stepped attenuators than their plastic film pots). Andy Link to post Share on other sites
aussievintage 3,589 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 why tf does everyone recommend ALPs then? Link to post Share on other sites
Red MacKay 1,187 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, aussievintage said: why tf does everyone recommend ALPs then? Cheap and they do the job about as good as anything else for the masses. Oh, did I say they are cheap! TKD pots got a favorable mention from a couple of members - but I have a dislike to their particular sonic flavour. I'd rather put up with a scratchy pot than a TKD. Best of the lot are stepped attenuators - hands down. But they are a pita to make and get the steps correct for realistic use. Link to post Share on other sites
aussievintage 3,589 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 40 minutes ago, Red MacKay said: Cheap and they do the job about as good as anything else for the masses. Oh, did I say they are cheap! Nah, you are describing jaycar pots Honestly I read posts saying to get an ALPs pot to replce the Jaycar and it'll sound great and work forever (paraphrasing) - so I did. So it turns out to be the usual BS internet recommendations 40 minutes ago, Red MacKay said: TKD pots got a favorable mention from a couple of members - but I have a dislike to their particular sonic flavour. I'd rather put up with a scratchy pot than a TKD. noted 40 minutes ago, Red MacKay said: Best of the lot are stepped attenuators - hands down. But they are a pita to make and get the steps correct for realistic use. yep, I have experienced frustration with lack of steps, or wrong "taper". Link to post Share on other sites
Red MacKay 1,187 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 24 minutes ago, aussievintage said: Nah, you are describing jaycar pots Ok, they are cheap too. Their EQ is a little coloured, but I have had a great run with them and don't mind the SQ. Sure, there are better, but they are somehow easy to listen to. Never had a scratchy one either. These are the tiny green square ones I am talking of. A complete pita to solder up to though. Link to post Share on other sites
aussievintage 3,589 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 11 minutes ago, Red MacKay said: Ok, they are cheap too. Their EQ is a little coloured, but I have had a great run with them and don't mind the SQ. Sure, there are better, but they are somehow easy to listen to. Never had a scratchy one either. These are the tiny green square ones I am talking of. A complete pita to solder up to though. I might well give them a try. thanks Link to post Share on other sites
muon* 2,710 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) Still have a Tocos Cosmos carbon pot in my amp after years of use, still sounding way better than the Alps Blue it replaced. Edited June 19, 2020 by muon* spelling Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ianttt Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 At least the ALPS RK27 always tracks well at low levels IME.Some of the highly touted pots eg Audionote are maddeningly imbalanced at the lower end of the control range. Link to post Share on other sites
hyper 650 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 (edited) Finally got around to my two way active build which is been on back burner for 18 months now. Construction is 1 inch MDF with lead lining and butyl. Front baffle nearly 2 inches thick. The speakers cabs are pretty solid and weigh 43kg each which tests the old back Enclosure covered in walnut burl, finished in sanding sealer then 3 coats nitro. Front baffle finished in Matt black. Two way running with AE TD10M and TPL150h powered by ICE MiniDSP 250w plate amplifier. Still have some measurement and tweaking to do but probably settle around 1100hz Cross, LR12/24. The tweeter is a beast so can cross pretty low. Whilst I’ve still got some tweaking to go pretty happy with result thus far. Here’s some pics Edited June 21, 2020 by hyper 13 1 Link to post Share on other sites
DQ828 326 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 (edited) Funky well done. Did you soften the burl before applying it, if you did what did you use? How did you glue/clamp the burl on? What sealer did you use on the MDF? Edited June 21, 2020 by DQ828 Link to post Share on other sites
Red MacKay 1,187 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 That's a hell of an effort. Beautiful work! Link to post Share on other sites
hyper 650 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 6 minutes ago, DQ828 said: Funky well done. Did you soften the burl before applying it, if you did what did you use? How did you glue/clamp the burl on? What sealer did you use on the MDF? Hi mate cheers! for the Burl I used 1 part glycerine to 3 parts water, clamped it between two sheets of wood with paper towel, which I changed every 6-8hrs for 24hrs until it dries. That’s all it needed to lay down nicely. To be honest if I hadn’t had the Burl in storage for over a year it probably would have laid down fine. To adhere to MDF I used cold press veneer glue to help with bleed through, roller and then put baking paper between the veneer and sheet of MDF over top to clamp it down with every clamp on garage I could find 😊 To seal the MDF for painting I used shellac primer find that’s the best from things I’ve tried in past. Sealing the Burl I did 3 coats of Behlens sanding sealer (think they are Mohawk now) sand with 400 first two coats then 600 grit last before I laid down the nitro, left to dry for week before handling. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
hyper 650 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 16 minutes ago, Red MacKay said: That's a hell of an effort. Beautiful work! Thanks mate appreciated, took me a while to get around to it but please with result! Link to post Share on other sites
muon* 2,710 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Jim would approve Link to post Share on other sites
DQ828 326 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 1 hour ago, hyper said: Hi mate cheers! for the Burl I used 1 part glycerine to 3 parts water, clamped it between two sheets of wood with paper towel, which I changed every 6-8hrs for 24hrs until it dries. That’s all it needed to lay down nicely. To be honest if I hadn’t had the Burl in storage for over a year it probably would have laid down fine. To adhere to MDF I used cold press veneer glue to help with bleed through, roller and then put baking paper between the veneer and sheet of MDF over top to clamp it down with every clamp on garage I could find 😊 To seal the MDF for painting I used shellac primer find that’s the best from things I’ve tried in past. Sealing the Burl I did 3 coats of Behlens sanding sealer (think they are Mohawk now) sand with 400 first two coats then 600 grit last before I laid down the nitro, left to dry for week before handling. Thanks for the info When you say you used "shellac primer", is that a specific product or just the normal shellac used as a primer? And the "cold press veneer glue" is that the Titebond glue? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
RankStranger 3,529 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 @hyper very nicely done! How do they sound? Link to post Share on other sites
hyper 650 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 14 minutes ago, DQ828 said: Thanks for the info When you say you used "shellac primer", is that a specific product or just the normal shellac used as a primer? And the "cold press veneer glue" is that the Titebond glue? hi mate, yeh titebond on the glue. The shellac primer is https://www.bunnings.com.au/rust-oleum-3-78l-b-i-n-primer-sealer-stain-killer_p1565677 can buy in spray can as well - goes on abit rough but sands really well. Also, can sand and recoat within an hour which speeds things up! Tried a lot of things and find it best with MDF end grain Link to post Share on other sites
mwhouston 4,869 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 2 hours ago, hyper said: Finally got around to my two way active build which is been on back burner for 18 months now. Construction is 1 inch MDF with lead lining and butyl. Front baffle nearly 2 inches thick. The speakers cabs are pretty solid and weigh 43kg each which tests the old back Enclosure covered in walnut burl, finished in sanding sealer then 3 coats nitro. Front baffle finished in Matt black. Two way running with AE TD10M and TPL150h powered by ICE MiniDSP 250w plate amplifier. Still have some measurement and tweaking to do but probably settle around 1100hz Cross, LR12/24. The tweeter is a beast so can cross pretty low. Whilst I’ve still got some tweaking to go pretty happy with result thus far. Here’s some pics Astounding. 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
DQ828 326 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 10 minutes ago, hyper said: hi mate, yeh titebond on the glue. The shellac primer is https://www.bunnings.com.au/rust-oleum-3-78l-b-i-n-primer-sealer-stain-killer_p1565677 can buy in spray can as well - goes on abit rough but sands really well. Also, can sand and recoat within an hour which speeds things up! Tried a lot of things and find it best with MDF end grain Excellent thank you Link to post Share on other sites
hyper 650 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 12 minutes ago, RankStranger said: @hyper very nicely done! How do they sound? Thanks mate. I’ve only configured a few crossover and slopes configs to test out and time aligned. I’ll spend a day with measurements and tweaking over the next week or so - but even with basic setup they sound pretty darn good. The drivers play very nicely together and can get nice integration without beeming. Great soundstage and wide sweet spot. I haven’t done much measurements yet but I suspect I’ll be able to get a nice polar pattern. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
hyper 650 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 35 minutes ago, mwhouston said: Astounding. Thanks mate appreciated 😊 1 Link to post Share on other sites
muon* 2,710 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Had one remaining 78xx regulator left of 5x 78xx/79xx regs in the Marantz to replace with a Sparko discrete reg', so just did this. Wasn't sure if I'd gain any improvement from this one but there is subjectively a small but noticeable improvement. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
mwhouston 4,869 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 3 hours ago, muon* said: Had one remaining 78xx regulator left of 5x 78xx/79xx regs in the Marantz to replace with a Sparko discrete reg', so just did this. Wasn't sure if I'd gain any improvement from this one but there is subjectively a small but noticeable improvement. Bought a few Sparkos regs myself. Shamefully yet to use them. Can’t believe this I even bought them for a specific task. Project 785 and counting. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Red MacKay 1,187 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 I tried some Sparko OP Amps about 4 years back in my Line Magnetic DAC. Lots of gain but they didn't float my boat. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
muon* 2,710 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 40 minutes ago, mwhouston said: Bought a few Sparkos regs myself. Shamefully yet to use them. Can’t believe this I even bought them for a specific task. Project 785 and counting. The regs are very good, 125db input noise rejection, these have given me the biggest single increases in SQ out of everything I've done in the Marantz. You will likely like the them, Mark 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mwhouston 4,869 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 (edited) 19 minutes ago, muon* said: The regs are very good, 125db input noise rejection, these have given me the biggest single increases in SQ out of everything I've done in the Marantz. You will likely like the them, Mark I built this Le Pacific MC stage (“Tengu”) with $900 worth of Audio Note Silver PIO caps. It runs on batteries. I’m using a MM cart these days so no need of a MC stage. And I have the Hiraga matched bipolar stage (also) should I jump camps. I’d like to sell Tengu but feel some would not like the infrequent battery change (about once every 100hours). My intention was to build an external PS with the sparkos. The Hiraga has 1F of capacitance and sounds incredible. https://retro-thermionic.blogspot.com/2015/09/tengu-extreme-mc-phono-stage.html http://mongreldogaudio.blogspot.com/2012/01/jegan-hiraga-bipolar-mc-preamp.html Edited June 22, 2020 by mwhouston 1 Link to post Share on other sites
muon* 2,710 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 42 minutes ago, Red MacKay said: I tried some Sparko OP Amps about 4 years back in my Line Magnetic DAC. Lots of gain but they didn't float my boat. Yes, I have seen that some people like his op amps and some prefer Burson's ect'. I guess from my view It's a different kettle of fish, as with regulators rather than looking to tune the sound the aim is for the quietest PS possible, so low noise and noise rejection...and these are particularly good on the noise rejection. The Line Magnetic has a very good rep' for nice sound I have Burson V5i in the Marantz (others won't fit without alterations and I dislike the idea of extenders) and am stealing the signal from the output of the first half of each dual and then through some Andyne copper caps bypassed with Miflex. I've considered going full replacement of the OPS using something like Pass's ZEN discrete fet stage, or a tube stage like Lampizator or Thorsten's, but really wanted to go transformers but the ones I want that Ivan makes over on diyaudio are not done for my chip At least not my chip in a single configuration. Not sure where to go from here. Link to post Share on other sites
muon* 2,710 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 18 minutes ago, mwhouston said: I built this Le Pacific MC stage (“Tengu”) with $900 worth of Audio Note Silver PIO caps. It runs on batteries. I’m using a MM cart these days so no need of a MC stage. And I have the Hiraga matched bipolar stage (also) should I jump camps. I’d like to sell Tengu but feel some would not like the infrequent battery change (about once every 100hours). My intention was to build an external PS with the sparkos. The Hiraga has 1F of capacitance and sounds incredible. https://retro-thermionic.blogspot.com/2015/09/tengu-extreme-mc-phono-stage.html http://mongreldogaudio.blogspot.com/2012/01/jegan-hiraga-bipolar-mc-preamp.html I remember that stage you built I did a Boozehond stage that is based on the same circuit, had Duelund VSF's on the output for a time, so simple it really benefits from premium parts 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Tubularbells 6,432 Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Holton's freshly updated PSU-Two Power Supply's arrived today now sporting 80,000uf per channel! As with all other Holton gear their impecibally built. 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mwhouston 4,869 Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 4 hours ago, Tubularbells said: Holton's freshly updated PSU-Two Power Supply's arrived today now sporting 80,000uf per channel! As with all other Holton gear their impecibally built. If you think the PS looks good, wait until you hear the finished amp. I sit and stare at the wall and listen to about thirty hours of music a week. My Holton build (and with my tube preamps) amazes me ever day. You are in for a sonic treat. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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