dsavitsk

A friend asked me to come up with a phono stage that is of reasonable quality but not too over the top. Here's my first go. Basically, it is a hybrid cascode gain stage followed by a passive RIAA filter and a cathode follower. The idea is that the single gain stage should not only provide enough gain, but it should be reasonably quiet. The Zout is also governed by the plate resistor which keeps the filter stable even as tubes age. In a sense, it is much like Pete's pentode phono, other than that the cascode should be a bit quieter than a pentode. That's a lot of should's, so it remains to be seen whether it actually works. The only really tricky part I anticipate is selecting the JFET for having the right current with the right gain resistor. A negative supply such as Vacuum State uses with a similar (though differential) set up would alleviate this issue, but I am trying to keep it as simple as possible and I do not want to add another PS, or a virtual ground on the bias supply if I don't have to. For the power supply, in order to keep things as simple as possible, I wanted to use an off the shelf power transformer. Antek has a bunch of toroids with a HT winding and a couple of 6.3V windings. So, for the heater, I just used schottky diodes and a LDO reg. Their windings are generally spec'd at 2A or something, so there should be a bit of voltage headroom. For the bias which needs ~10-12V, I used a voltage doubler follower by a LDO linear reg, followed by the shunt reg shown in the schematic. B+ is a CLC or CRC followed by a simple shunt reg (CCS and a mosfet biased by some zeners).

A day of reflection. I didn't mean to stir so much up, and I definitely stepped in it. I apologize to KG directly, and to everyone else. So, I'll sit on my hands for a while.

I don't understand why they would?

That's exactly what I was saying, that the arbitrary application of law erodes trust in institutions. Sorry if I did not make it clear.

Oh my. When I posted the initial post that started this whole mess, I did not think I was accusing anyone of fraud -- I really thought KG was bragging that he had done it willfully. I like KG, I was just calling him out and giving him a hard time. (The second post is, admittedly, a little more serious.) With the clarification, it is certainly a different story. And, one I am quite sympathetic to. So, can we call it a misunderstanding and let it go? If you think my argument is weak, you should say so. I don't take it as a personal attack. I don't agree, but that's OK. I have made plenty of weak arguments in my life. I have quiet support? It is, ironically, one of the best arguments for why fraud is such a social problem. It erodes trust in public institutions that are necessary for the maintenance of functioning societies.

I can't speak to the Icelandic law. I was simply reacting to the statement suggesting that duties were lower than they should have been due to "creativity in shipping." If I overreacted to that statement, then it is my mistake. As for filling out the customs form incorrectly, if that os indeed what happened, how about http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1001.html

Where exactly is the line between fraud that is fraud, and fraud that you don't think is fraud? Simply calling my argument ludicrous does not refute it.

Was fraud the cause of the bankruptcy? Yes. How much was this worth? $1000? What if they posted that they found some random guy on the street, grabbed $1000 out of his pocket, and ran? Or stole his CC number and charged this much to it? Would that be OK to call them out on? Or $500 each from 2 guys? How many people does the cost need to be split over before we no longer care? There are ~300,000 people in Iceland, so if it was $1000 this cost them $0.03 each. The total cost of street crime is less per year in the US than the amount of revenue lost to just tax evasion, which is close to $400 billion. Split that over all 300 million people and that's $1300 each we pay to subsidize this. Something like 50% of farm income, and 40% of business income is not reported. Fraud adds another $800 billion or so. And this is all outside of the financial crisis, which costs trillions. I have no tolerance for white collar crime. So yes I really posted that. I can't believe they bragged about what they did, frankly.

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Happy Birthday!

I bet they play better than this Thurston Moore album I have ...

For the very cheap, Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Loudspeakers @ woot for $100 http://www.stereophile.com/content/pioneer-sp-bs41-lr-loudspeaker

Happy Birthday, Al!

20 If in fact UE is not going to use the patent, it probably just means that someone will have to pay a licensing fee. 20 years is a long time in technology terms.

You seem to, which is fine. But, to be clear, what you seem to care about is the commercialization of the amp, not "about it." I don't know if you care about it, and I don't care whether you do. I don't actually care if you care about commercialization either, other than to say I am confused about the whole thing. Apparently not. But, you have not posted anything I have seen to illuminate your point. I am not going to debate the designer's disposition. My understanding is that he claimed that a certain amp did not meet its published specs. Seems like a fair thing to post, and not an attack. I don't actually know if it does or not, but that is the sort of thing that can be settled reasonably easily. What basics are wrong. He designed an amp that meets its specs. The PCB may be sloppy, but it seems to be good enough for what it needs to do. What else do you not like? Not sure whom this is a swipe at. But, as I say, I just want to know what the actual objections are. Anyhow, this is like movie censors that drive up audiences by being outraged. If people had just ignored this guy, there would not be hundreds of these in the works.

A. Who cares, B. The only such rumors I have seen have been from you, and C. The ground plane on the PCB is indeed a little messy, and there appear to be traces to nowhere. However, it seems really unlikely that any of that will actually influence performance negatively. Perhaps it reflects badly on the designer as someone who is not particularly detail oriented, but all empirical evidence seems to indicate that the amplifier operates as advertised.

Best thing I've learned is to farm out casework to professionals whenever I can It is broken pretty flush to the case. But, there is a little wiggle, and the tap tip is fluted, so I may be able to stick some thin metal bits down these channels and turn it just enough to expose enough to grab with some small pliers. Maybe some vibration would cause it to extract itself? I could put it on a UPS truck for an afternoon.

Unfortunately, I don't know any Romulans, Klingons, or Cardassians from whom to borrow a disruptor. I do have the sense this is a lost cause as it is pretty tiny, and as you say, quite brittle. Note to self, tap cases before having them machined, rather than after And, replace taps when they seem like they might be worn rather than trying to eek out one more case.

Maybe keeping such things in one place will prove helpful? Maybe not. Anyway, to get the ball rolling, does anyone have a technique for removing a snapped off 4-40 tap from extruded aluminum side rails? Maybe the sort of kit one uses for removing stripped screws would work, but there is no head, essentially. Any other thoughts?

That's Emiliana Torrini. Also see Keren Ann, which is great. Also maybe Anja Garbarek, though that's getting far afield from the original request -- sort of a Bjork-lite. And, while we're at it, it is hard to go wrong with Emmylou Harris. Roses in the Snow is probably the definitive record.

That's a good record. Aw C'mon is good, too. And, if you like Lambchop, you'll love Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, which is similar but more rootsy. Everyone I know who like one (which is everyone I know) likes the other, too. Papa M is another similar artist to those two.

I think Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Will Oldham) would fit with you taste. Sort of folk/country/punk, generally really relaxed. There are a lot of albums. "The Letting Go" and "Lie Down in the Light" are both pretty great. Master and Everyone is a little older, and also really great. "Sings Greatest Palace Music" is a bunch of his stuff, rerecorded by him with a traditional Nashville sound, and as someone who hates Nashville, I think this is one of my favorites, but maybe not the best initial introduction. M&E might be the best first listen. The Wonder Show of the World has also been in my playlist recently. He wrote the song I See a Darkness that Johnny Cash covered. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h04I5MtuOMw&feature=related

I just pasted the url ...

From the transcripts from California's Prop 8 trial (via Andrew Sullivan)