luvdunhill

so, what's a piece of gear with a 2SJ109V in it worth? infinite?

that's not all that uncommon. Looks like a CCS before the opamp, that could be doing it.

yeah, I agree with the both of you. Problem is, they won't be symmetrical... gah, I dunno what to do. I'll talk to FPE.

I'd bet the batteries + reg is just as clean. I don't know if the supply Kevin was referring to in the comparison used a regulator after the battery, but that's a good question. I thought that there was an AA commercial battery power upgrade for these units? edit: what's the current draw?

sorry, I wasn't clear. The front panel has some extrusions to support the case assembly. I think it might be possible to get the entire panel fabricated at FPE, but I'd have to really think hard about it as I'd need to work in some angle brackets and a flange for the case lid. Too much to think about at the moment, as I'm really really wanting to get this baby singing soon. I totally agree about the thread. In fact, the VFD I'm using requires 2.5mm screws to mount, so I'm consider going with M2.5 or a fine threaded screws everywhere to get more threads. Think this might work out? The FPE bottoming taps or whatever they use are very nice and there is very little wasted space. That being said, there is not much to work with so ....

oh I see. I wouldn't go with anything more than an Elpac... I mean, the money for a sigma22 could much be better spent on, say tossing the amp and building another one.. i mean, improving the circuit (somehow)... Looks like opamps for voltage gain and then solid-state current gain into class A? solid-state output stage. Also, lots of 'styrene.. I like that. edit (again): why not try battery power?

problem is, that the pre-made panel I will be processing is only 2.5mm thick, and it has extrusions that are required for the case assembly. I'm hoping I will be able to get enough thread from the blind holes in the rear to mount the 4 PCBs needed on the back..

well, long story short is that a very large case from FPE is very, very expensive. The top alone was going to be around $200... so, I had to improvise. The case I got is a bit of a because, it is too deep to fit in my rack, or probably anyone's rack. That being said, here's what I've decided for the front panel:

I have a DAC I'm working on that has something like 8 regs per channel. There are three rather simple unregulated supplies feeding them, very similar to the unregulated section of a STEPS. I also experimented with a pair of sigma22 and a sigma11 (yes, crazy) and bypassing the regs and I couldn't hear any difference, in fact the regs sounded better to me depending on how little sleep I had at the moment. I was planning on trying a "TeddyReg" design, or even other similar mini regulators and just haven't gotten around to it. Problem with those, is they are hard to heat sink. I think the key here having just enough voltage head room, so that most of the heat is from current consumption. I changed all regs to be LDOs and thought it was a positive change, and looks to me to be a good choice in this situation as well. Then again, take this with a grain of salt. I'm using ceramic capacitors as bypasses right next to all the DAC chip sockets, so what do I know

yeah, as if someone couldn't tell which was which by the pads alone.. good thing someone else was putting them on his head though.

sure, if it had caps on the input.

asses are animals too man...

pfft.. please take notes from how this double blind between the He and Stax was conducted, then please repeat your tests Reks. HeAudio EH-1.3 & EH-1.2B Electrostatic Headphones - Page 129 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Steve: does the tape ride up and down like it did with the proto plinth you had at my place? Also, it would probably be worthwhile letting the thing "break in" and discharging the battery once and letting it recharge before the weekend. Oh yeah, and it looks great

yes, but you'll have to do some math to see if it will work. Depends on the "gear" ratio in this case, or the pulley diameter to platter ratio. This will tell if the Maxon will be capable to drive. The other issue is eccentricity (?) of the pulley, thereby ensuring that the pulley won't introduce an undulating motion into the table. This would cause sonoriscity failure.

have you actually listened to either?

why don't you ask at a third forum, three's a charm.

Steve: in theory, what do you think about injecting the more porous woods with resin? I did it at a whim, but I think it could be rather interesting if used in the proper places (i.e. my pod).

maybe a bit more detail would be helpful. Do you have the ground wire from the tonearm attached?

I like the LM4562 for I/V (metal can versions) when biased with 2.5mA or so current (class A)... that being said, I agree the above is pretty lame.

that's an understatement it is a player that makes a good first impression, that's for sure.

lithium....

I removed all the ceramic bypasses, replaced the crystal with the Citizen, replaced everything in the original PDF with Black Gates, added another purple Black Gate to bypass the PSU where it enters the board, settled (I think) on a MKP1830 for the 10nF cap, removed the inductor on the board, did the BG|7808|BG psu with the recommended MSR/MUR diodes, added a custom R-Core transformer. I haven't done anything with the LCD yet... working on a case at some point is my next step. Should we start another thread? Also, have you heard the original 47 labs player?

yup, yup, yup. I have 2 transports so I can compare the mods side by side. This is the best way to do things, IMHO.

the level of MisterX's build quality and customer support and his price.