Do It Yourself

Hi, I'm wanting to buy a VariAC. Here's one from MPJA, hows it look? 2KVA 0-130VAC VARIABLE TRANSFORMER-MPJA, Inc. This one seems to have the amperage to do anything. Les

I'm trying to fix my grandma's Westinghouse electric griddle from the 50s. The resistor (at least I think that's what it is) has failed. Unfortunately, whatever insulating material was used to encase it has melted, so there is no way to make out any part value labeling. Is there some general "close enough" value part I can replace it with or is an exact replacement the only way? I know this isn't audio related, but I thought I would try asking here before seeking out a vintage appliance repair forum (which I'm sure exists somewhere).

Hallo Thar, I was just wondering whether you guys think it would be worth it to build a Sigma 11 PSU for my M3 (currently I have teh steps). I know that the Sig11 can supply more current and has tighter regulation, but would it make an audible difference?

just a general question on tubes. Is there any rule of thumb regarding plate voltages for any given tube? I mean, if a tube is rated for 450V is it best run at the upper end or kept a bit lower? I know little about tubes and what is the best way to run them. Is there a benefit to running higher or lower voltages?

Keeping in mind Kevin Gilmore's design rules i have insomnia about stabilizing common mode of JFET input stage without sacrificing CMRR or straight referencing it to the amplifier/source ground. So, check attached schematic. While keeping straightforward signal flow aka "Gilmore's gesign rule" it also have second control loop which helps SuSy amps to maintain output common mode near ground potential.

I have a spare cable for the Omega 2, which had broken close to an end to the phone, and I would like to make an extension cable with it. I also have a spare Pro bias female connector, which I had taken out of my SRM-727A when adding a normal bias out on it. I was wondering, how difficult would it be to use such connector on the spare cable, to make the extension cable I need? Should I use any particular care (with solder, for example) on it? Will it supposedly sound as good as the Stax 'official' one? Thank you!

Hello All... After realizing I missed out on the latest group buy I thought about having a run of boards made. I believe 3oz copper is recommended for the GRLV and in order to get the boards to an affordable price with that weight it looks like 20+ would do it. While I'm at it, is there any interest in ALPS quad pcbs as well?

Hello Guys, I'm organizing a group buy for mini3 kits for europe. If you're anywhere else in the globe you're welcome too! Here's a link for the thread at HF:Mini3 group buy Manuel

I was going to build a balanced isolation transformer. But I had difficult to choose form either EI or toroid. Regardless of price and size, which theoretically will be better (in performance)? I was planning to build around 2KVA. Does anyone have experience?

Memory Distortion Philosophies I have no idea what he's talking about... but the way his design blatantly goes against all "audiophile design philosophy" is rather intriguing

I ordered some of those teflon 9 pin sockets off the eBay user many here have used. They look fine but I've not used 9 pin teflon before, at any rate getting a tube in one is extremely difficult. I can remove an individual pin and put it on pretty well, but leveraging all nine into the socket is a nightmare, I can't imagine trying this with a soldered socket. At least when unsoldered the pins have a little play to align themselves. Other experience? Do I actually need to pull all the pins, try to use and pre stretch them before use? Ugh ...

Is it too ambitious of a beginner project to try and do like, a BantamDAC and Mini^3 or Pimeta in a single enclosure? Note that my experience with casework and surface mount soldering is zero, not even having made either standalone. I think the casework is going to be the hardest part of this, based on what I've read from past DIY stuff, and I guess the question boils down to "is the casework for two-in-one a bad idea to do before doing a single?" if I'm not mistaken.

Hi all, Well silly me purchased a Dac Ah a year ago after reading some of the reviews over on HeadFi. http://www.pacificvalve.us/LTDACAH2.html I sent the DAC over to Reference Audio Mods for their full gundie mods and the experience has been less than satisfactory to say the least. The modded Dac Ah sat in my home office system and never got any serious play until recently and basically IT SUCKS! Any piano like Bill Evans or Monk sound very shrill, there is a noticeable suck out in the upper mids and bass is muddied. As I complained to another Head Caser it is as if the soundboard in the piano was replaced with ceramic tiles. Is there anyone out there who is willing …

Kevin says Collins radio potentiometer is pretty dawn good, could anyone provide a little more details about Collins radio？ http://www.head-fi.org/t/677809/the-stax-thread-iii/2895#post_10778293

My P/S caps are 220mFd electrolytics. My unterstanding is that the higher the value, the greater the storage capacity... increasing the amps bass performance. If so, what value should I stop at? I.E. How high is "too high"? Do cap brands really make a sonic difference? My power supply is two 9V cells, with virtual ground between the two 9V batteries.... Similar to the RA1, however the RA1 doesn't use electrolytic capacitors in its power scheme. Are the P/S caps even necessary in the above schematic?

I'll soon have the need to switch between two different sources and amps and I'm two projects behind even starting my preamp. I want to put together a 2 in 2 out switch. If I use 4P2T switches how should I manage the shield (pin 1)? Or should I use 3P2T2D and not worry? I'm just trying to see if I can get away with 1 deck instead of two?

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 ?

Could anyone who has succesfully built an issue free AlienDAC post your BOM? I will be placing my parts order through mouser or digikey on Friday and want to make sure I get it all in one fell swoop. I spent some time reading the long thread over at HF and it seems like to many people tried something different and it didn't work out. This will only be the second audio gizmo I've built (1st was a CMOY) so any other comments or advice would be appreciated.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=82520 $249 plus shipping. You can run it at full power if you have 240 volts available for primary, or at 70% power if you run it as 120 in 120 out. Shipping for 100 lbs...

I'm interested in getting a (relatively) inexpensive USB computer rig at the moment, so I'm looking for advice on what to pick. At the moment, I have three choices in mind, of which I'm considering two: 1) DAC/amp combo at http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=185569 Which seems to be a NOS TDA1543 DAC, maybe similar to the Monica II (?), plus a PINT, in one PCB & enclosure. 2) Alien DAC + Go-Vibe 5 With the Alien DAC being a simple USB PCM2702 DAC, and then the Go-Vibe 5 apparently being a simple LM6172 deal with a DC jack. 3) Total Bithead At the moment I think the others will be a better value. Since while I don't have any electronics sk…

I just happened upon this site, their cases are awesome, and they have a cool power distributor case thing too. http://www.hexateq-av.com/products.html

That they might want to sell? I'm about to place an order at Parts Connexion, but they don't carry nylon sheath. I don't want to place an order at Take Five for four feet of braid (I'd probably end up buying a set of WBT plugs or something, too.) I need about 4 feet of 1/2 inch (this stuff: Take Five Audio - Canada's Online Source For High-End Audio, Parts and Accessories - Nylon Expandable Cable Sleeve ) for a half meter pair of interconnects. It doesn't have to black. Some other color or a cool pattern would be fine (or better) If anybody needs something from Parts Connexion that's not worth the shipping, holler and I'll add it to my order.

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 need to place an order to Farnell through Newark for some parts I cannot get here in the US (an Euro footprint PCB mount transformer). They have a $20 surcharge for this service. Would anyone else like some parts? I'm going to be ordering in the next day or so, so this will be quick. Some particularly worthwhile gems at Farnell are: LCR Components EXFS/HR box polystyrene caps, Newark part number 73K0558 ROE MKP1837 caps, Newark part number 26M1608 Just let me know here in this thread and we can work payment details out later...

I have a Vol Pot from Audio-GD(Kingwa). They use a different way of wiring their Vol Controllers than I've seen and I wanted to hear what you guys think about the method both advantages and disadvantages. Instead of entering the POT on the input and exiting the Signal on the output after passing thru the POT, he uses the POT as a drain of least resistance it looks to me. The INPUT from the SOURCE and the OUTPUT to the Amp are on the same solder point. The POT works backwards. As you turn the knob clockwise, the Impedance increases. The Impedance is around 1 ohm when the knob is all the way counter-clockwise. The way I intepret his design is that the signal h…