Do It Yourself

I finally stopped dicking around with psud and actually dead bugged this psu I've been mulling over. It's alive, and no parts were killed. Glad we don't have a cat anymore. Loaded it down, and it was pretty close to what psud predicted. Not knowing what the regulation of the transformer was, I adjusted the setting in psud until it matched the output, and it scales properly. Added a small resistor up front to bring the output down a bit, and I think I'm done. No electrolytics, with a shared C-L-C, then it splits into two channels, each having an L-C-R-C string. The output power tap is at the L-C jct, the gain stage tap is at the end. Rectifier is a 5V4GA I had on han…

Group buy from PCBNet (same as Carbon and Circlotron Group Buy) for boards > 40. State your interest here A table and a modular graphic for easier overview of the various Golden Reference PSU boards and their function: The color scheme is the same used in the modular picture below. Options, each representing a full PSU everything needed for an amp (in the spreadsheet one can choose either): Option 1: Contains HV+/-, LV+/- and PRO BIAS. Option 2: As Option 1, but “Split” into two separate boards, making mounting more versatile. (Skinny and FAT contains the same, but Skinny is rectangular shape wheres FAT is sqarish) Option 3: Separ…

The end of a headphone plug broke off in one of my headphone amps that has a locking Neutrik 1/4" headphone jack. I tried the straw trick, and even the screw trick (gently), all to no avail. Considering the glue/heat trick. Am I fucked (and not in a good way), or is there another technique I should consider trying to get the piece out? Any inputs are appreciated. TIA.

MachMat VCCS filament supply Gary Pimm CCS Design by HF member Roam, traced out by me while I was over at his place to pick up transformers for my own project. Yes I have his permission to post it. I spent about 20-30 minutes listening to it out of his Capitole CDP and my RS1, this amp is good, stupid good, but also stupid expensive thanks to the transformers and Emission Labs AD1 tubes. He says he has what should be a slightly purer version in the works using WE 205E's on the front end, but it may sacrifice a bit of bandwidth. No PSU schematic yet as he's still waiting for some parts to come in so it's running off an adjustable benchtop PSU. Can also be built with…

For the moment I have the beta and the EHHA amps, two boards each but only one Sigma. Until I get another sigma they are going to share. The sigma has four outputs, enough for the boards. Now, if I want to run both amps together is there any reason not to? I can switch on the heaters before the amps to warm up the EHHA. Any problems so far? Not ideal but I'm not worried about ideal at this point, just functionality. There's also the option of running the sigma output pairs through switches to turn one or the other pair off. Any thoughts on the best and safest way to do this or is what I suggested first fine?

I have finished two stage CSG-ACLF-001 AC power filter for audio. I can send one for free to person which has audio experience and can test and write review. This filter decigned for DAC or Headphone AMP or other audio product with total power 150W. Voltage Rating 110-230V AC Dimensions W/L/H 30/60/27mm Earth leakage curent 0.8A Temperature Rating -25C +85C

Wasn't sure about putting this in the DIY or speaker forum, I suspect that nobody much minds anyway. I'm keen to put together a pair of big silly horns to go with my big silly stats. The obvious go-to options are the J-Low and the Kleinhorn, but tragically the Kleinhorn is a couple of inches too tall to fit in my room (and nothing like as simple to glue together). The standard J-Low is *small* enough to be built and then moved into the room through the door in one piece. But! I'm tempted by the notion of scaling the build up bigger and assembling it in the room (full height of an MDF sheet is 8 feet and my ceiling is about 9.5). Back of the envelope maths tells me that…

Hi folks, my friend bought a power amp from a small manufacturer locally, it's single ended, non-feedback, discrete stuff, two big toroidal trannies inside (450W each), diamond output stage, using 6 pair of 2SC5200/2SA1943, output power is about 100w @ 8ohm, here's the FFT result they send us, gosh, there're lot of distortion between 90 - 900Hz compared with 1k - 20kHz (but, there's still a peak at 2kHz), what reasons do you guys think that may course these distortion? How do we tweak it to make it lower distorted in those area?

I recently sold my Stello DP200 to laxx, and upon taking delivery, he told me that there is a problem: the headphone jack does not work. He tells me that he feels no physical resistance when plugging the headphones in, and there is no volume. The Stello is supposed to mute the pre-amp outs when headphones are plugged in, but laxx tells me that even with phones plugged in, the pre-amps still work. My first thought is that in the shipping process, the headphone jack became dislodged from the chassis such that it no longer grips the headphone plug completely. Does this sound plausible?

Could someone point me to a schematic for re-termination of a Jade with a Stax Pro plug? Thanks, Jim

Just got a chance to pull apart a pair of beyer T1 - a bit scary but pretty straight forward apart from the fact that the cable does not seem to be removable - had to cut it inside the cup to get it out. Here is a vid - may be handy if you are thinking of recabling or just fancy a peek inside Any questions - just ask http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC72mCFOIWo

I recently bought a Stax SRM-T1W and in speaking with others online, have heard that the PSU caps might be "dried up" and it's recommended that they be changed by default. Reportedly, the unit sounds/functions fine and is in "like new" shape cosmetically, but I'd like to do the most basic of these changes if I end up keeping the unit as a nearly two decade old bit of electronics is still a nearly two decades old bit of electronics, no matter how it might look. So I'm considering this project my (re)introduction to Stax and so am intrigued/excited about working through a few minor mods, mostly in regards to extending longevity. Can anyone here recommend the PSU cap…

So what are you currently working on? Researching for your next wallet buster? I just ordered all the parts for a SOHA, and I am comtemplating a M^3.

For fun and experience (and because the KSC75 cable is too short), I would like to recable the KSC75 in my Frankenstein HD580/KSC75. I've seen Mogami and Canare minis recommended. I was looking at Mogami W2799 and W2893 since people claim Mogami is more flexible than Canare. Is one of these better than the other for flexibility? Anything else I should consider.

There seems to be some consensus on the voltage requirements for electrostatic headphone amps. Nearly all of the commercially available designs put out between 1000 and 1600 volts peak-to-peak, a range of about 4 dB. The legendary Stax SRM-T2 was specified to put out a bit more, close to 1800 volts peak-to-peak, which is 1 dB higher. This would be equivalent to almost all loudspeaker amplifiers putting out between 50 and 125 watts, with the T2 being like a 160 watt amplifier. However, there hasn’t been much discussion on the current demands for electrostatic headphone amps. Output stage currents in commercial amplifiers have run between 2 mA/channel (Koss ES950) a…

could anyone grab a few meters of surgical silk for me? I'd like to use it as a turntable belt... I know there are doctors in the audience

Head-Case DIY'ers, I've got a quick question on wiring for neatness. What is a recommended method for tying two 18awg cables from a transformer into one quick connect terminal? Should it be a short piece of 18awg cable soldered to both at one end, adding heat shrink over the junction? Thanks, bperboy

Dear HC crew, I'm getting desperate and could really use some input on troubleshooting... First off I've been plugging away at this old thing for a while now, was always afraid to post up here for various reasons but at this point I don't have much to lose anymore. I do recognize I am still relatively new to DIY but I've been doing what I can with what I've got. I have a long winding thread with chronicle of the madness while it was working great; more than happy to remove the link if the admins do mind. There are links somewhere in there to the original schematic but it won't be of much help. http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/melos-s…

I just boought a locky_z curve tracer https://www.ebay.com/itm/Locky-z-2019-Curve-tracer/114233327020?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Has anyone here used one or have experience with one? I was reading on another forum that the ones he's built with used parts sometimes fail. They're also swapping out the relays, electrolitic caps, op amps, voltage ref, and some of the resistors for better accuracy. I'm waiting on a power supply so can't use it just yet.

So I was out doing errands yesterday and came across a garage sale with lots and lots of electronic stuff. Highly unusual. The guy's wife had recently passed away and he was getting rid of all of his collection over the years. Suffice it to say i bought one standard corvette's trunk worth of stuff, and will go back and get more today. Anyway he had these capacitors i had to have. He said they were for a top secret military project in the very early 1960's. There are no labels on the things, or they came off years ago. He said they were 1000 uf/5000 v caps. So i brought one into work and sure enough it really is almost exactly 1000 uf. He said they were teflon fil…

I'd like to make an xlr (2 x 3-pin) to 1/4" female adaptor cable for use with my 4-channel balanced beta22. This is so I can try some headphones without having to re-terminate them first. Is it going to be safe to wire : left xlr pin2 signal to tip right xlr pin2 signal to ring left and right pin3 signals to shaft ?

I started to think about upgrading my HT and my new plan is to have an AV processor plus power amp. After searching for a while, I figured that Hypex might be a good choice as a power amp. What would be a good option here? A) 5 X UcD400HG with HxR Softstart module Exodus MCH Power Supply Transformer 115/230V x40V 1KVA 5 X UcD400HG with HxR SMPS1200 Plus of course heatsinks, case and other accessories. My current speakers (Infinity Cascade Model Nine, Three C & Three V) don't need that much power, but you never know when upgradetis hits you and UcD180HG with HxR costs only a bit less. So, what do you think? Should I look for something else or …

Ooh, this does look interesting .... Introducing δ1 (delta1), the first of a series of application modules for the LCDuino-1. I will add more info here, but for now here is a 3D render "teaser" of the PCB: The LCDuino-1 I/O processor - Page 20 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Looking to buy one of these: Hakko 936-12 ESD or Weller WES51 Any comments on pros/cons for each model? Has anyone got experience with both? Thanks Pete

hello people, i wanna build myself a decent headphone amp. so i thought maybe of building a supra. it uses 3 6sn7 or 6 (if you wanna do it balanced) did anyone do this before ? what are the costs ? does anyone has the schematics ? does anyone know a better amp for that price ? i know it is otl, and some are for otl, some are for trannies. i just don't know what i'm up to. i would use it on a akg 701 which i still have to buy. i need help guys, thanx a lot