|
EAR+
Oct 8, 2006 20:53:59 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 8, 2006 20:53:59 GMT
got a parcel last week from Canada and in there was a chassis in JELO and... more PARTS. the kit features 47uF Black Gates in the signal path. i might try these old BOSCH 50 uF PIO caps later. not in the original chassis of course as a 'side order' I asked for 100uF Solen Fast Caps for a later replacement of the original kit B+ PS ones... ...also not for the original box ;D completioin will take some time I guess but I look forward to it Stefan
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 8, 2006 23:13:45 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 8, 2006 23:13:45 GMT
That baby is gonna be HUGE for a headphone amp unless you come up with an imaginitive layout or maybe even a two box solution (PSU Box/Amp Circuit Box) or go vertical instead of horizontal.....
Can't wait to see all the gory details posted when you get the Ear+ Purist "Mongo Edition" boxed up and playin' da jams
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 9, 2006 13:32:58 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 9, 2006 13:32:58 GMT
I try to go for a large footage but flat design. haven't seen much in that direction before. will take a while since I will build the original box now and then convert it over to the big one. Might also keep it and build a second amp. Have to see how my soldering and all the rest goes. I've ended up buying a temp. adjustable soldering iron instead of a soldering station. The stations available here either looked, well, cheap or have been extremely expensive. I keep my soon to be burned fingers crossed for my first DIY audio project Stefan
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 9, 2006 16:20:17 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 9, 2006 16:20:17 GMT
not a bad idea to keep one stock then build an upgrade version if only to compare the two directly as for this being your first DIY project the best advice I can give is set out an area for the construction that does not cramp yu and use good lighting that avoids a shadow between you and your work,go slow and take regular breaks.Especially if you start to get eye strain or get a bit antsy 'cause things are not going quite right Trying to rush to the finish is the most common cause of problems later and we all do it sometimes even though we DO know better.Human nature to want to get the damn thing up and running ASAP Slow up front=less time spent later troubleshooting an inoperable project Tip #2 would be to practice your soldering skills on some generic crap parts until you feel comfy and the joints solid to avoid potentially ruining hard to find/expensive parts that will actually be in the amp. Heat has a way of mucking up a project like no other single thing Too little and you get cold joints,bad or intermittant performance too much and you melt various plastics used as insulators/dielkectrics,lift circuit board foil,destroy semiconductors,change the value of some resistor types A tip kept clean (damp sponge) and fully tinned with solder (always shiny) plus a puse between joints for "heavy metal" areas (jacks,tube sockets.terminal strips,etc) to allow the heat to build back up-large metal areas act like heat sinks -and all should go well.
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 9, 2006 16:26:41 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 9, 2006 16:26:41 GMT
"large footage but flat design" Stacking on top of a CDP ? the large footage would hog a lot of shelf space otherwise. One "cheat" I have used for various projects that have a boatload of iron but a small amount of actual circuit is to stack like sized chassis with the top chassis having the controls/actual operating circuit and the bottom the power section with all the big shit like power trafos,power section caps.inductors.etc. a side benefit is additional shielding of the AC section + more actual audio section iron/AC section separation which is never a bad thing BTW-if you must have output transformers and power transformers in close proximity pay attention to the orientation of the cores so you avoid hum pickup
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 9, 2006 20:57:21 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 9, 2006 20:57:21 GMT
YUP!
I will prepare a place where I can leave the project when I feel like it. Parts of the house are still far from 'living rooms' so that should be easy.
I do have good lighting. Also one of those lights with a magnifying glass in it.
Since the big box is still some way down the road I don't have a clear layout. How far should the power trafos be away from the outpout ones? What metal will provide the best shielding? I was thinking of a somewhat classic layout of PS in the back, output trafos in the very front just like the EAR+ original. The signal path including the tubes also very much in the front. The monster PIO caps somewhat towards the middle or so....
Stefan
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 9, 2006 21:48:34 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 9, 2006 21:48:34 GMT
distance is always a good thing and to be honest the best answer would be "as far away as you can get it" If you look at how most tube speaker power amps are layed out you will usually see a certain "typical" layout pattern depending on era of manufacture 1-Modern Era Amps: These days it is all about how a thing looks so not many amps will have the tubes inside of a chassis or behind a panel and transformers will more often than not be either covered up 100% or have an expensive (and yes pretty ) cover with a nice logo on it.If a stereo amp the pattern is usually A-Power trafos dead nuts center rear-primary side facing back,secondary side forward B-Choke if pretty to the front center otherwise will be internal C-Output Trafos flanking the power trafos at the chassis rear-primary side facing chassis edge,secondary side (output) facing the power trafos D-Tubes symmetrical with power tubes to the left and right near its output trafos,gain stage/driver tube dead center front Yes it looks good but can get tricky internally 2-"Old School Amps" from the thirties to the forties : 99.9% of the time will be either open frame "butt ugly" so meant to be mounted out of view or if not will either have a full cage and/or the chassis mounted in the vertical plane to a massive rack panel.Other variants but the above most common. The layout itself will usually be a linear progression from right to left (as were the old schemas ) with the right side of the chassis having the AC then power trafos then any chokes and filter caps with the next stage being the input section then driver section and either left side or left rear the output trafos. Not symmetrical and not the most pleasing to the eye but pure good sense in electronic terms because it toally isolates each part from any interacting part. P.A. amps wer a bit different (not much) due to they needing to be desktop mounted usually and in the fifties there was a shift to fully enclosed consumer integrateds that mostly followed the same layout with the exception that all in/out connections would be rear mounted instead of left side mounted which if you consider is WAY easier to access even though again "fugly" Headphone specific amps with an output trafos i almost always go with the output iron internal and mounted to chassis front with all power section iron to the rear and pay attention to core orientation so that no two dissimiliar transformers actually face each other in a symmetrical way, After that it gets down to routing wires for least hum and noise and thinking about jack placement (same reasons) The EAR follows such a layout and is a good one so use that as your ultimate guide
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 10, 2006 14:47:02 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 10, 2006 14:47:02 GMT
oh bloddy he**...
What do I have to look for to avoid with the headphone jack?
I thought at least THAT ONE is not critical.
Do I need equal length cables from the OPTs to the jack?
Stefan
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 10, 2006 23:04:18 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 10, 2006 23:04:18 GMT
Easy there Stefan,easy I meant input jack placement that because any wires coming from them will be amplified by the gain stage so will be sensitive to hum pickup which would be amplified being just another intput signal. Twisted pair wires along with intelligent routing is fine just keep both the wires and jacks as far from any power supply section parts as possible and do try to avoid running signal wires parallel to any power wires. Just like with audio system connections it is better to cross a power mains cord with an interconnect trhan it is to run both side by side even if shielded
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 11, 2006 9:53:45 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 11, 2006 9:53:45 GMT
Cool, I am easy now Thx Stefan
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 11, 2006 18:10:53 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 11, 2006 18:10:53 GMT
Alrighty then............................ Ooh, that's why I'm easy I'm easy like sunday morning That's why I'm easy I'm easy like sunday mooooooooorning
Why in the world would anybody put chains on me? I've paid my dues to make it Everybody wants me to be what they want me to be And Im not happy when I try to fake it yeah
I wanna be high so high I wanna be free to know the things I do are right I wanna be free just me oh baby uh (Commodores )
|
|
xerxes
Been here a while!
Posts: 1,115
|
EAR+
Oct 11, 2006 19:06:52 GMT
Post by xerxes on Oct 11, 2006 19:06:52 GMT
When fixing the car I rather like losing it and seeing how many walls of the garage I can bounce a spanner off. Although I did put a few rather large dents in a Mini many years ago when I couldn't get the flywheel off and decided to give the car a good kicking.
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 11, 2006 20:00:58 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 11, 2006 20:00:58 GMT
my kinda guy I once (not too long ago actually) launched an entire tool box across the street one tool at a time Felt pretty damn stupid when I had to suck up my pride,walk my ass over to the neighbors yard and gather them back up.Knowing there is no way to explain such activity without looking like an idiot (guilty ) any inquiring looks were met with a glare from me preventing any embarrasing "how the hell did that happen rick ? Long way from your driveway so strong winds are out " ;D
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 11, 2006 20:09:42 GMT
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 11, 2006 20:09:42 GMT
Nice one Stefan! That's the kind of parcel you want turning up at your door Have fun with it and please do upload the finished amp for us to salivate over. All the best. Mike.
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 11, 2006 20:16:23 GMT
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 11, 2006 20:16:23 GMT
my kinda guy I once (not too long ago actually) launched an entire tool box across the street one tool at a time Felt pretty damn stupid when I had to suck up my pride,walk my ass over to the neighbors yard and gather them back up.Knowing there is no way to explain such activity without looking like an idiot (guilty ) any inquiring looks were met with a glare from me preventing any embarrasing "how the hell did that happen rick ? Long way from your driveway so strong winds are out " ;D Reminds me of that time I completely smashed f**k out of two buf 634's that wouldn't solder onto the board.... totally lost it and went at them full steam with a ball pein hammer.... ah the relief! Took me 2 months to source another two though ;D I've got a habit of venting off on "parts" though www.audiogeddon.com/
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 11, 2006 21:46:58 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 11, 2006 21:46:58 GMT
Mikey the buffer killer kinda like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" but different
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 17, 2006 0:56:28 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 17, 2006 0:56:28 GMT
D O N E Three evenings - well, long ones - and finished. This was fun to do. First DIY soldering project and works fine. When the kit arrived I thought "good that I do have another pound of solder in the garage" since the one supplied was two little pieces. In the end nearly half ot it is still there. With the new adjustable soldering iron - unadjusted at 50W - and a mid sized tip is was just right. The SPIDERY look of the looooong resistor legs is due to the fact that I might move the internals into a new chassis. Since part supply can be tricky here in South Africa I might use the same parts again. So rather have them on long legs now and cut them later. I just did some three hours listening. The EAR+ sounds great with the RS-1s. Even my way old super compfy and super bassy and super non detailed DT 990 are driven easily. The EAR+ needs to free up/break in though. Very detailed but also not very wide open. Stefan, just happy with the new toy PS: The 5751 is optically just plain boring. No visible glow whatsoever
|
|
xerxes
Been here a while!
Posts: 1,115
|
EAR+
Oct 17, 2006 1:28:16 GMT
Post by xerxes on Oct 17, 2006 1:28:16 GMT
Nice job! Have you tried it with a pair of Sennheisers? I've never heard a valve amp and I really fancy trying one out. This and the World Designs HD83 would both be on my shortlist.
|
|
rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
|
EAR+
Oct 17, 2006 2:14:48 GMT
Post by rickcr42 on Oct 17, 2006 2:14:48 GMT
Sweeeeeeet Dude,very sweet both maybe ? neither is a bank breaker compared to many tube based amps and my gut says resale prices for either should come out to kit price + a bit for assembly time no questions asked so nothing lost but time plus if you are a "headphone experimenter" always trying out the new it would be nice to have variuous amps handy for evals differences ? Single tube per channel combination triode/pentode "spud" amp with limited tube rolling options vs discrete driver triode/output triode with some options on the output stage tube rolling but many many options on the 12AX7/5751/ECC83 gain stage from NOSA to current production tubes. Tough choice BTW-that yellow is too damn cool.
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 18, 2006 20:13:02 GMT
Post by southpaw on Oct 18, 2006 20:13:02 GMT
that's a nice looking amp you have there! For a "first time diy soldering project" it looks real good. I tried to start with something simple, no valve things in mine and still needed a bit of help.
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 19, 2006 10:51:36 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 19, 2006 10:51:36 GMT
Thx everybody for the congrats. I'm kinda proud of it. Figured a wrongly soldered HEXFRED in the rectifier myself. I had no idea about them but some logic together with the schematic did help I aint havin' no Senns Sorry. Or was it Sense I don't have. Both? should I burn it in with 5751 changed or replace later so I hear the difference? I do have two GE 5751s with grey internals. They should differ but to me they look identical. Also have a Sylvania with black internals. I also did get lotsa help before embarking on the project. Ritght here Stefan
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 19, 2006 11:08:32 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 19, 2006 11:08:32 GMT
...was thinking of the EAR+ and Sennheisers.
The EAR+ uses a 5751 low microphonic (milspec?) tube for the gain stage.
It has around 70% of the gain of a 12AX7 but else is pretty much the same thing.
So me thinks that at EAR+ with a 12AX7 should be able to drive Senns.
Better ask Lloyd himself: lloyd.peppard@sympatico.ca
Stefan
|
|
|
EAR+
Oct 19, 2006 21:16:41 GMT
Post by jelosno on Oct 19, 2006 21:16:41 GMT
mrarroyo
I will stay with the 5751.
I was just thinking about the question xerxes had regarding the Senns.
Stefan
|
|