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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 8, 2008 0:18:23 GMT
Well I never did! I've just taken delivery of one of these old girls..... ....... and, shiver me timbers, what a beautiful little brick she is! SOLID as a rock, a lot LARGER than I had imagined and a right little looker into the bargain........ Yup, that's right, I've never actually seen one in the flesh and have always "assumed" it to be a tiny little thing ........ wrong, VERY wrong! She's built like a brick shithouse from a solid aluminium extrusion and sports a very classy looking perspex fascia which mirrors the TWO volume knobs and line selector knob. Probably old news and just how this one got by me I don't know but let me tell you, on looks alone, this thing has got me tenting! I was 5 minutes in the door from a 3 week stay in Wales when I opened the parcel and didn't think anything could lift the "can't bear to be apart from you baby" blues but this little bugger has got me salivating..... I can't wait to screw her.... oops, sorry, "unscrew" her and have a peek under the bonnet The exterior is everything I'd want from an amp.... chunky, versatile and adorned with quality knobs and garnish..... To the rear - Three, YES "three" line ins and one line out..... The business end sports two headouts with seperate volcos and a 3 way selector switch.... feck me.... what more could a headamp junkie ask for? I'd like to add that the chassis mounted RCA (phono) sockets are the high quality types and not the PCB mounted el cheapo variety...... the base is very "high end", they have slotted in a steel plate with integral high quality chrome feet...... You'll have to wait for the pictures to see what I mean. Most definitely one of the best built "externally" head amps I have come across...... I say "externally" as I haven't fired her up and had a listen yet..... When will that happen? I've got a helluva lot to catch up with but I'm gonna make time for this puppy, if she sounds half as good as she looks it'll be a result.... if not then £40 will certainly not be money wasted as it's made me feel good just looking at it and, believe me, I've blown more than that on a dodgy curry with nothing to show for it other than a sore arse. This amp will feature in my, soon to happen, "ebay wonders" thread which will blow the lid on the MK4 is better than MKl theory the big boys feed you..... Stay tuned..... Santa has promised me a new camera for Christmas
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2008 0:47:25 GMT
That definitely ticks all the right looks boxes for me too. The new version seems to have followed trend... Shame.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 8, 2008 0:51:28 GMT
That definitely ticks all the right looks boxes for me too. The new version seems to have followed trend... Shame. Yup..... pity
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 8, 2008 17:21:13 GMT
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 8, 2008 17:29:58 GMT
For those of you who are interested the Pro-Ject utilises 2 x JRC 4580D opamps. C33740 / C32740 transistors and 7815 / 7915 regulators. Capacitors are the "Yaego" variety. I'll probably change the regulators to 7812 / 7912 and use one of my Little Pinkie power supplies (12V) I'll fit Dil8 sockets and probably replace the JRC 4580D with AD8620. I'll also recap the amp. Well worth the £47 asking price I think
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 9, 2008 22:53:13 GMT
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 9, 2008 23:18:54 GMT
So far...... £45 for the amp itself (ebay auction) and a couple of quids worth of caps..... I won't cost in the opamps as I have a plentiful supply but if anyone else comes across this thread and decides to go down the "pick up an incredible bargain for under 50 quid" route then expect to pay anything between £5 - £20 for the opamp of your choice (note, you'll need 2 in this amp) (Note 2...... you may not need any and may well be over the moon with the sound as it is.... even in it's stock state it's up there with most commercial UK / European £250 - £500 offerings and with a bit of TLC possibly better.
Hopefully this thread will take a natural course and evolve into "the secondhand bargain of the century" by its own volition ....as they say, "Quality speaks for itself" and be assured the Headbox is "quality personified".
I will definitely return to this thread, this is a true piece of quality and, thus, deserves uppermost attention.
Pinkie.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 9, 2008 23:29:28 GMT
Forgot to mention....... replaced the 1N4007 diodes with ultrafast UF4005 ;D (UF4005 - UF4007 are fine, UF4005 best in this application)...........I'm sure there will be other variants of diode to follow ie: "UF4007 is CRAP asshole! you should have used ++++!!!!" as this place is full of argumentative bastards who won't take NO for an answer
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2008 2:23:05 GMT
Mike Have you run out of cigarettes, or are you just missing Sian already ? Alex
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Post by PinkFloyd on Dec 10, 2008 10:41:00 GMT
Mike, do this come up often in the UK? Hi Miguel, yes they seem to crop up quite often on ebay and usually fetch between £40 - £60.... this one went for £57 the other day It's a very good price for such a solidly built, capable amplifier IMO. Mike Have you run out of cigarettes, or are you just missing Sian already ? Alex Ah.... you gathered from the above that I have returned to base and am all alone playing with my iron again Yes, I am missing Sian but fortunately have a LOT of work to catch up on so am pretty much "at it" 14 hours a day here at the moment..... I haven't run out of cigarettes and did a bit to the Pro-ject headbox when I was having a fag break ;D
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Post by st on Feb 8, 2009 10:43:51 GMT
Hi Mike,
any update on this amp? Is the board decent quality i.e what are the chances of the track lifting?
Will have to keep my eye out for one on fleabay!
Thanks
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 8, 2009 11:11:50 GMT
Hi Mike, any update on this amp? Is the board decent quality i.e what are the chances of the track lifting? Will have to keep my eye out for one on fleabay! Thanks Board quality is pretty decent and you'll manage to replace components without the track lifting (as long as you're not totally ham fisted with a soldering iron) Current state of play with mine...... replaced regs to 12V so I can run this with one of my Little Pinkie power supplies and have fitted dil8 sockets so I can try some alternative opamps.
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Post by st on Feb 8, 2009 13:07:09 GMT
sounds good - do you know how it compares to the headbox v2 as they are a little more common to find?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 8, 2009 20:18:27 GMT
Interesting Mike, look forward to your impressions. BTW, if it pans out and if you ever want to sell the little one let me know. I coudl run it w/ the older Little Pinkie V2 I was using w/ the X-Can V2, correct? Correct Miguel, It's now powered by 12V AC and there are gold turned pin Dil8 sockets for opamp rolling (AD8620 can now be used) ..... I'll let you know if / when I'm getting rid of it Miguel.
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Post by ticktockman on Mar 12, 2009 22:36:48 GMT
Well I got one of the dreaded E bay for £50 & shipping (not to bad) and a very nice little unit. Interesting point that no one seems to have noted is that it could act as an input expander should you wish on a minamalist pre amp. SO any more developments on the modification front. A kit of parts would be v interesting when you get to the end of the development stage. Over to you Mr P Floyd
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lini
Been here a while!
Groanings from Han(g)over
Posts: 191
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Post by lini on Apr 7, 2009 2:16:15 GMT
Well, I guess, if one buys one of these used, value won't be so bad. However, I was rather disappointed back then, when I bought mine new - component value seemed rather bad for 200 Euro, and a simple PortaCorda already sounded better to my ears (especially with comparatively low impedance phones)...
Pinkie: I guess, replacing the cheap volume pots couldn't harm either...
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
P.S.: And hi, btw - I realized I hadn't dropped in for a while... How are you guys doing?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Apr 7, 2009 20:47:39 GMT
Well, I guess, if one buys one of these used, value won't be so bad. However, I was rather disappointed back then, when I bought mine new - component value seemed rather bad for 200 Euro, and a simple PortaCorda already sounded better to my ears (especially with comparatively low impedance phones)... Pinkie: I guess, replacing the cheap volume pots couldn't harm either... Greetings from Munich! Manfred / lini P.S.: And hi, btw - I realized I hadn't dropped in for a while... How are you guys doing? Hi Lini, In stock guise the Project is pretty underwhelming but the moment you fit new opamps it's a totally different kettle of fish..... plus three inputs, two head outs, two seperate volume controls and a line out, it's a very versatile beast. Factor in the build quality (superb) and you've got yourself one brick shithouse of an amp which will last for many years... as you will know yourself, everything about the build says "quality" from the high quality chassis mount phono sockets to the extruded aluminium enclosure to the perspex fascia.... all good stuff! The 200 euro you paid equates to £180 GBP....... Still good value for what you get IMO and considering you can pick them up these days for £45 GBP extremely good value
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 24, 2013 19:57:15 GMT
Thought this thread needed to be added, albeit it after a 5 year gap since the last post Just out of interest, I decided to have another look inside the Pro-Ject headbox last night and something immediately "hit" me that I didn't realise 5 years ago..... this amp has two headphone outputs...... nope, not that.... look closer folks..... it has two seperate amps inside, each amp driving a dedicated headphone output! God, I must have been blind to have missed that one all those years ago. A big deal having two seperate head amps in one box? Hell yes! Let's just say (for example) that two people enjoyed listening to music together, through headphones. The Head Box is ideal, not in that it has two head outputs but those head outs are each driven by their own dedicated amp. This is beneficial as one listener can listen to a low impedance pair of 'phones and the other a high impedance pair or, likewise, both can listen to low impedance 'phones without stressing the amp (low Z 'phones can be a very taxing load)....... with two seperate amps in one box, it's one amp per headphone. Each amp has it's own volume control so one person could be listening at MAX whilst the other is listening at low........ OR, both could be listening at MAX...... it's literally two head amps in one! Benefits for the "single listener? Well let's say you prefered the sound of the AD8066 with classical music...... put an AD8066 in the "Phone 1" amp! Say you preferred an OPA2132P for general purpose listening, simply stick an OPA2132p in the "phone 2" amp! This could also work with your "buddy" listener (preferably a female)...... she may prefer (for arguments sake) the house sound of an OPA2107 and you may prefer something from the LM or AD stable..... well, it's not a problem, just roll that chip in and each listener has the sound they prefer. Sad lonely type? Use it to compare opamps! Slot two different types in, set the volco on each output at the same level and "hot jack" at your leisure until you find the one you prefer....... If you're a REALLY sad type you could get someone else to roll them in for you so you wouldn't know what opamp was in which one of the two internal amps Quite a Unique selling point, a headphone amp with two independent amps feeding two individual headsockets...... unlike your normal twin headsockets that share the feed from the same amp...... how the hell did I miss this back then? Just shows how many headphone amps I was going through, I didn't have the time to spend "caressing" them and putting them under the microscope but, JESUS, it's plain to see (to any eye) that these are two seperate amps feeding two dedicated headphone outputs! I reconfirm (5 years later) that these things were built like tanks! I was so shocked, that I had overlooked the "two amp" thing that I decided to try it out today First off, I had suitable dimension (width wise) 2200uF caps so replaced the 1000uF with Panasonic FK / 2200uF........ I only feed in one input (input one) so changed the stock cabling to pure silver / PTFE coated stuff on that input. I rolled an AD8066 into "phone 1" amp and a OPA2132P into "phone2" amp....... still evaluating, as I type, but "SHIT!"..... this amp didn't get the kudos, it clearly deserved, at the time...... Built by hand (obviously) to supreme standards..... this one is serial number "008" (if that had been a 7 instead of an 8 how cool would have that been?) so this must have been one of the first few to roll off the line. anyhoo....... here are a few pics of it 5 years along the line (Not a mark on it, absolutely immaculate all over).......
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 24, 2013 20:08:10 GMT
Meant to add...... I threaded on 4 ferrite beads (per lead) over the silver PTFE coated wires so that explains what the "black things" covering the wires means Belt and braces, as always, can't do any harm
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 24, 2013 22:31:04 GMT
Number 008 is for sale...... sensible offers via PM please,
Mike.
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mrarroyo
Been here a while!
Our man in Miami!
Posts: 1,003
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Post by mrarroyo on Sept 25, 2013 9:46:40 GMT
Hi Mike, I am interested but before I bother you with an email would you please advise on what power supply does this unit need? Also what op-amps can be used with it. Thanks.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 25, 2013 10:09:59 GMT
Hi Mike, I am interested but before I bother you with an email would you please advise on what power supply does this unit need? Also what op-amps can be used with it. Thanks. Hi Miguel I have converted the amp so it now requires a 12V AC power supply ( a Little Pinkie is fine ) You can use most of the popular dual opamps..... I find the OPA2132 to sound very nice, tight and bassy..... 2107 is also good...... you can try them all mate!
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pingu
Been here a while!
Reallising what has been taken on with the GB
Posts: 332
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Post by pingu on Nov 29, 2017 11:35:30 GMT
Hi Mike ,
Thanks for the little HA as you say cracking piece of kit. I'll be sorry to see it go, but you know how daughters can wind thier dads around theirlittle fingers 🙂 Had it running for a few days with a white noise cd on repeat its getting better all the time
Before it goes I was going to change the 2017 opa for an AD 8260 but it only come in soic form, however I see you use an adapter in this thread and somewhere in the site you mention a uk firm that can supply these, who are they? Do they only supply adapter sorry will they solder the chip on (probably not, but thought I'd ask) If it's not good in this amp I'll try it in my old trusty Chiara, I'll be able to get the top bock on it then.
All the post Martin
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Post by PinkFloyd on Nov 29, 2017 11:58:35 GMT
Martin,
I may have one on a browndog adaptor kicking about somewhere....... I'll have a look when I return from town this afternoon.
Mike.
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pingu
Been here a while!
Reallising what has been taken on with the GB
Posts: 332
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Post by pingu on Nov 29, 2017 12:04:13 GMT
Cheers Mike appreciated very much
Martin
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