Do It Yourself

Hi all, I'm looking for advice on an upcoming soldering iron purchase, and I'm somewhat limited by my desire to buy from a Canadian store due to cross-border issues. I use the soldering iron a couple times a year, either for DIY cables or to repair a circuit board. Based on the recommendations I've read here, I'm deciding between (prices are CAD): Weller WLC100 - $60 Weller WES51 - $110 Hakko 936 - $115 For light work, is the WLC100 good enough? From what I can tell the WLC100 and WES51 use different tips, and the WLC100 has some rudimentary temperature control (I think) while the WES51 and Hakko have much better T-control. Reading specs on the net can onl…

Well OK this one may be tamed, but it is indeed beautiful to behold. Naaman's casework (and all around attention to detail) sets him apart, along with a handful of amazing builders we have in our group. But this one in particular really hit a chord with me. Simple but eye catching at the same time. I've had my sights set on this DAC for some time now, as it seemed a natural progression from the Epic Opus ( Opus DAC w/Zapfilter output stage) I had from the Twisted Pear line. And this DAC had a surprise for me. Naaman built in a Mini³ amp into the case, so that it could be used as a stand alone system if wanted. That would be nice for desktop use, meets and for me a reason…

The speaker protection i have uses 2 relays for stereo channel (1 relay for each channel). But I'm thinking of using it in "mono-mode" and shorting the R+L input and R+L output to make it more "robust". Will that work? (this would mean I would need 2 devices for 2 channels.) Thanks again

I've recently committed to being a DIYer and am now looking forward to building a DAC. I currently have a Fubar II DAC (PCM2702) and wish to improve upon that. For the DIY people out there, what DIY DAC options out there (with available PCBs) are available for me? Or should I just stay with my Fubar II DAC? Cheers and thanks, Nanoha

I bet everybody knew this was coming but we've been moving fast and the board is taking shape. If it's not clear from the photo then this is a massive slab, 16" x 12", so quite a bit bigger then the production version. It will be built like the BHSE with the board mounted to the top of the chassis, with the tubes sticking out of the top and the components on the bottom. Massive heatsinks are needed to keep this beast cool and a single angle bracket is used on each side of the board to connect all the parts together and make assembly just a bit easier. To honor the Stax legacy the following will be printed on the board: "With the utmost respect and admirati…

heh, but seriously. If you only have room for a single jack, and want to support balanced (4-channel bridged) and single ended cans, what do you do? Two options as I see it. Use 4-pin jack and tie ground to the shell and/or case or use a 5-pin jack and have a dedicated pin for ground. If the first case, I'm not sure if there are 4-pin female jacks where the where the "shell connection" can be isolated from the case. If this isn't possible, then is 5-pin the only real option? I cannot believe this hasn't come up before. Thoughts?

Hey guys, I'm building a desktop system in a custom rack, more on that later, but I need a few cables that I can't find commercially. First, I need a 2' cable with 4 right angle banana plugs on one end, and a rear panel mounted female 4 pin XLR connector on the other. It needs to be somewhat flexible, as it will bend 90 degrees in the middle of the cable. It would be nice if each banana could be marked in some way, as to L+, L-, R+, R- (for K1000 pinout). Next, I need two very short pairs of analog RCA interconnects. They need to be 6" ea. and of good quality wire and connectors. Last, I need a 6" 75 ohm RCA digital interconnect. I'll of coarse pay well, but d…

Hey y'all, I've lurked around here for a few years but now I'm planning on getting started building amps, and I could use a bit of assistance. I've never soldered anything and I've probably stripped a wire once, so I'm gonna need to ease into this. From what I've read here and on Innerfidelity the Bottlehead Crack or Torpedo would be good places to start, as they're simple builds and pair well with my HD650s. Any other suggestions? I read this plan on getting the Hakko FX-888 as my solder 'gun' and 63-37 eutectic solder. According to tangentsoft I need small screwdrivers, small cutters and pliers, and a wire stripper. Are any other supplies needed? After this…

only talking about non-ESD amps here (aka common amps), if the amp has no negative feedback, (using n-fb could achieve pretty pretty low output z, 0.0x ohm i assume), but how about those none-fb ones? open loop is a hard subject

Hi All.. I accidentally deleted the old thread just now, whoops! Can everyone post the boards they want here in this thread as I start over. I'll also inquire about pots from TKD through a US distributor. This was the old spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z1L3MQuuY4ZTUyPQb1qBmVJp8MtC7qEzBUui3z5dFrQ/edit#gid=0 Attached are all the boards except the unbalanced to balanced tube bottom mount Bridge_Vert.zip cfp2hmt.zip circlotronhvpowersinglenewver3swt.zip goldenreference6d.zip grhv100v.zip kgbhver6sbipolar.zip kgsshvpssicfetsinglenewleftfatsws.zip kgsshvpssicfetsinglenewrightfatsws.zip TKD 4CP 3 …

I've seen posts here and there commenting on the difficulty of recabling the K1000, and it's definitely not something a novice DIYer should attempt, but I think most of the fear and confusion over recabling them comes from their unusual construction and lack of information regarding safe disassembly. I hope this guide will help clear up the process for advanced DIYers who are already comfortable recabling normal headphones, but wary about working on the K1000. A few notes before I begin... You should have your cable already built and ready to go before starting disassembly, so the K1000 is not left in a partially disassembled state, and complete the work on one ears…

Does anyone have schematics for either the Gold (balanced?) or the unbalanced version of these? I told a person I dealt with (diyaudio user) that I thought they might be available (and told him why bother), but his interest is just in the front end section as a preamp). I saw what is available on the eservice info site, but can't remember my login there. The user says he has some incomplete schematics with pencil markings on them. I had the attached jpeg, but think this could be what he already has. Thanks for anything you can find.

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So my mostly completed Beta 22 arrives tomorrow and I'm taking the day off to see if I can get her finished. What does that mean to you lot I hear you say? Funny you should ask.. I'll need all hands on deck guiding me through the precarious operation to bring life to my baby. I'm still not sure what's connected and what's not or how much work is left to do so I'll need some guidance on how not to blow it up Stay tuned... tomorrow will bring pics and questions

I was not really planning on going into work next week, but this has changed my mind. http://gilmore.chem....n.edu/ebony.jpg 1500 grams, 8 x 2.5 x 3.5 inches about 50 years old.

Edit: Group buy on Song Huei pots is closed. Please see the this post for the current TKD group buy The latest version of the Dynalo SS Mini board uses a 21 mm alpha potentiometer. Song Huei potentiometers are identical in every way and and inquiry with them has led to the possibility of a small order limited to ~100 potentiometers. Otherwise we would need a minimum order of 1000. Due to the low number of available potentiometers, whoever is ordering a Dynalo Mini SS PCB will get first priority and extra potentiometers will be limited. Due to the reported failure rate of these potentiometers, I will also accept returns to send back to Song Huei in order to get…

This is a very niche topic so if you are not planning to buy or write programs for the Keithley 2015 or 2016 thd or p multi-meters then this post will probably not be interesting to you - especially given their skyrocketing prices on ebay and their age. If you are planning to buy one because it has audio analysis built in then there are a number of limitations and issues you should be aware of before deciding to buy. Some of these limitations effect the accuracy and validity of its calculations and are not documented in the manual, some of the limitations effect usability and some effect it programmatically if you access it through gpib or rs232. If you look on the i…

Recommend me any and all good DIY speaker resources. I would like to clone an omni -- specifically, the Pioneer CS-06 looks right up my alley. The point in cloning is not just to cut costs, but also because I've heard its sound is suboptimal, and also for fun and education. I'm thinking for starters, I'll want to compartmentalize all the drivers. See, for example, the pictures on this page (about second or third row down). I've already tracked down schematics and a service manual, but I'm thinking of changing the drivers, so I'd have to re-evaluate the crossovers anyway, right? How do I fight the natural resonance of most drivers?

Just curious if any of our excellent DIY gang are planning on building one of these? I have no immediate plans for one, but I'd love to see the build in progress if anyone is heading down that path.

"There is no innovation in stereo amp design in a sense that there isn't any room for it, its based on an hi quality op amp chip that takes and input signal and outputs an amplified signal, the basic formula is still the same in every amp the difference is the ratio of resistors and caps and inductors used (value ratio which influences RC and LC constants in the cir), quality of components and the op amp chip" That is a quote from a local friend. We were discussing the Eico HF-81. He basically doesn't understand how an amp with bad measurements could sound good. Basically, what is truly important in the sound of an amp? I'm not into this side of the hobby but I'm s…

Edit: I've started collecting payments. Information is here Enough people have expressed interests where I am organizing a group buy. Here is the link to the spreadsheet to register interest and what you would like. I can also include mounting hardware for the XLR jacks and other parts. I plan on going through enclosuresandcasesinc.com and using their 175DT desktop case. I priced a custom length 6.8" case without any cutouts or finish and it was around $30 each if I bought at least 10. Currently getting a quote for machining and anodizing but it doesn't seem so bad if I get enough people. Here is what I've drawn up. Let me know if there's any egreg…

see title. ^^ Biggie.

I came home from out of state on Sunday and noticed my preamp display was awry (L-R arrows flashing, mute on, front panel non-responsive). Last night I took a look at it and it seemed to return to normal upon running signal thru it (CD->pre->headphone amp). This is a Classe CP-50, probably mid-90s vintage. From reading the owners manual, the display I was seeing is what is supposed to be there after a power outage, but I thought after 45 seconds or so it was supposed to go back to normal? At any rate, I have it open now and think I will recap it. Most, if not all original caps are Nichicon VX(M), 85C, standard series, 2000 hour life (from what I can tell). This…

Anyone got a black neutrix 4-pin xlr NCMX they can spare to send me? Cheers Pete

So, I have never really found a good quick connect that I like... I used to buy some insulated parts and stick them on the end of an old power inlet that uses quick connects and try and pull the plastic part away quick enough to separate the metal from the plastic, then feed the wire through and solder then reattach the plastic and heat shrink the thing... that's not working with the last few ones I've tried. So, any recommendations? I'd really prefer solder types to crimp and they must be insulated. Thanks guys!