Do It Yourself

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…

So, what happens when I have a new (to me) lathe, some left over mahogany and nothing better to do? Yup, those are my HF-1 on the bannana stand, and my maple woodied 325s, which are for sale. But what are those other ones? I call them the HF-1000 I was making some standard woody cups and figured I'd have a run at something resembling the GS-1000 (which I've never seen in person). The mahogany I had was way too dry and none of the standard cups came out well (actually only one survived!), but the goofy mushroom cups came out well enough. So after I finished turning them, Nate gave me a hand drilling them out and we decided to see how they'd look on his …

Hi guys, I've recently been thinking about having a DIY DAC built, but the only one I know is the Alien USB DAC (or Guzzler's for that matter). What other DIY USB DACs are around? And secondly, how good is the Alien DAC? Cheers, Nanoha

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...

Kevin, While surfing I came upon these instructions for Balanced Power Transformers. http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/catch2.htm I was wondering what your thoughts were on his directions? I also am curious about his comments about Toroidal vs I-E and how I shouldn?t have used a Toroidal. His Comments Thanks Yikes

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?

As some of you may know I've got a bit of history with the Millett Hybrid Amplifier. It all started about a year ago when I set out to build a headphone amp for each of the members of my wedding party (all music lovers who use headphones in some manner). Two of these came together rather quickly as they were pretty much bone stock Hybrids. The third of the bunch which was to be built for en480c4 got a bit more complicated. First was the addition of a STEPS power supply for his birthday, next up was a set of diamond buffers for no reason and finally it was finished off with a custom Walnut enclosure because I wanted it to be in a case that no one else had. This weekend wit…

Finally found a way to get cheap output transformers for my amp after reading this page. All resistors are 1/2W unless otherwise noted, coupling caps should be 250V or better. The power supply capacitors are all 240VAC motor run caps from Aerovox which I scrounged for $5 a pop from the surplus store, and the chokes are also cheap surplus store goodies. You don't have to go nuts on the PSU like I did, I just felt like building an amp with no electrolytic capacitors anywhere in it. The output transformer is actually a 50W toroidal power transformer from Amveco (~$20 each from Digikey). If you have high impedance 'phones or simply listen loud then connect the seco…

Check it out - it even has pics of the populated board at the end of the PDF, hehe! http://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/21578/Melos_Melos%20Sha%20Gold.html

I got to thinking, that my source outputs PLENTY of voltage, so I could possibly get by with a headphone amp in unity gain, only suppling additional current. Is it possible to properly operate the dynahi this way? I am aware of how to change the gain, and fortunately dgardner socketed the gain resistor for me. My understanding of gain tells me that this resistor would essentially be bypassed to run unity gain, correct? The unusual nature of that setup is what made me wonder if it were possible. Certainly I could stick in a 100ohm resistor to get to a gain of 2, right? At any rate, is there any point to this? I figured that lower gain would equal less noise, since the v…

For those that have not been following Tangent's thread on Headwize. http://headwize.com/ubb/showpage.php?fnum=3&tid=5806 No more board chopping in half, and apparently bye bye to the TLE rail splitter (yay). Now where can I order some SMD 0.1% thin film resistors?....... -Ed