What Are You Building Today

[Pars]

6 hours ago, luvdunhill said:

No integrated ash tray? I presume that’s what the test item was?

 

6 hours ago, naamanf said:

It was. Was more a test of making something with a lot of beveling and lofting to see how it would turn out. 

With the '70s shag carpeting, an ashtray would not feel out of place...

[guzziguy]

Rug?  I thought straw floors were normal in Arkansas.

[morphsci]

It might actually be a straw shag rug.

[naamanf]

[Beefy]

I have finally completed my "return to the hobby" stack, by finishing up a recasing and upgrade of my 13-year-old M3. The design itself is 16 years old now, and it still has the same compromises from way back then..... but with a modern OPAMP, easy to drive phones and reasonable execution, I still think it sounds bloody marvellous.

Highlights are a HiFi2000 galaxy case, FPE panels, ADA4627-1B OPAMPs, TKD 2CP2511 pot, 2" sinks and 110 mA output stage bias, complete electrolytic re-cap with Panasonic FR and Nichicon UHE, S11 at 27V, magnetically shielded SumR transformer (30VA, 12+12V), Cree zero-rec Schottky diodes, and a deliciously gaudy volume knob (so shiny, I had to edit out and hide my own reflection!).

Sitting between the R-2R DAC and Focal Clear as my office rig, I'm a very happy camper.

Edited September 21, 2021 by Beefy

[robm321]

Sweet!

[Beefy]

18 minutes ago, robm321 said:

Sweet!

Thanks! One thing I forgot to mention... what I think is so good about this signal chain - on a philosophical level at least, with no technical data to back it up - is the incredible simplicity of it.

Vref -> R-2R ladder -> connectors/cables -> volume pot -> OPAMP -> MOSFET -> headphones

The nature of the discrete R-2R DAC, being able to tap the R-2R ladder directly, combined with the minimalistic design of the M3, means there is just so little in the signal path. Fully DC-coupled start to finish, with a single active device providing gain, directly pushing a single output device.

[n_maher]

Looks fantastic to my eye!  

[Beefy]

4 minutes ago, n_maher said:

Looks fantastic to my eye!  

I still have a copy of your M3 BOM on my computer. This all would have been much harder without your efforts, so thanks for everything you've done over the years!

[DefQon]

Haven't been on here in a long time, hope everyone is well. But found some old rev 0.6 KGSSHV offboard PCB's I ordered here years ago that I'm planning to populate soon, trying to see if I still have some of the parts needed. Found a bag of A1968's from a moon ago.

[swt61]

On 9/16/2021 at 9:14 AM, naamanf said:

First test part cut with Fusion 360. 

It doesn't quite make me want to take up the habit of smoking, but it's pretty damn cool.

[naamanf]

11 minutes ago, swt61 said:

It doesn't quite make me want to take up the habit of smoking, but it's pretty damn cool.

Thanks, I just whipped it up real quick to make sure I understood how Fusion was going to machine a complex surface, and it would do what I expected. Didn’t want to ruin a $400 chunk of walnut on my first go. 

[luvdunhill]

I refinished the top of this Tice Original

the original finish hated HD800 headband material - in fact it destroyed multiple pairs and I had to really sand deep to get the gunk off, GooGone failed me. The new finish hopefully will fair better, it’s cooler in color now except for right on the edges where I couldn’t get all the finish off. Time to put this back into use!

[swt61]

The original finish was lacquer, so lacquer thinner would be the product of choice for removal.

Lookin' good! 

[naamanf]

Latest ping pong action for a retiring Park Ranger. 
 

[bbest]

On 9/12/2021 at 4:31 PM, Beefy said:

Finished up a Soekris dam1021 build. This is the new rev7 board with a lot of improvements trickling down from the flagship dac2541. HiFi2000 case, FPE panels, JLSounds I2SoverUSB v.III input, LT3045-based power supplies, direct R-2R output intended for my headphone amp, and buffered output for my powered desk speakers.

My aesthetic stylings and DIY skills haven't advanced even the tiniest bit since 2010, but I like the brutal elegance and minimalist functionality. Most importantly, it sounds really nice.

As I heard Soekris good DAC but not perfect.

[bbest]

Not so far ago built HTPC. 5 independent lines on Salas L-Adapter

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/power-supplies/336685-adapter.html

MB: +3.3v

MB: +5v

MB: + 12v

SSD: +5v

CPU: +12v

JCat Femto PCI-E USB card, deeply customized Linux for low latency (without RT kernel).

Edited October 4, 2021 by bbest

[Beefy]

6 hours ago, bbest said:

As I heard Soekris good DAC but not perfect.

No, no, I assure you that it is perfect in every conceivable way. The sound, the design, the way it makes my bowel movements smell like fresh cinnamon rolls.

[Voltron]

I built my sister a redwood clad mailbox stand

Then Steve and I tried to dig post holes in dry, compacted dirt before hiring a guy named Sergio to do that task. We set the posts with a high tech expanding foam product made by Sika that worked great. It is in a bag with two bladders that you pop to combine and then pour in the hole. It works very fast and was set in three minutes. No bracing and waiting for concrete to set.. The best part is that Home Depot had marked down these bags from $10 to $2.38 and when I checked out they were rung up as $0.01 each. Two cents for footings is pretty cheap. 

Edited October 5, 2021 by Voltron

[swt61]

This was a few weeks ago,  but just got pictures after installation today.

It's a floating bench that a customer asked me to build to match their dining table.

It's 8/4" Rift Oak.

[naamanf]

Sofa king awesome! 

[luvdunhill]

Working on a motor mount.. I probably will cut off the excess above the pipe, but it made the weld a bit easier to do and get everything aligned 

 

[swt61]

Nice looking welds!

[Emooze]

2x on the welds. Looks like TIG and I gotta say, I'm jealous of the skills.

[naamanf]

X3 on the welds. 

Made a dovetail.