Pars

Agreed. Paul Newman was also one of my favorite older actors, and a real role model in terms of how to deal with fame/Hollywood in your personal life. I was sad to hear this. My condolences to his family; RIP Paul.

Yeah, I hadn't commented on the spare no expense PCB... hehe. I've done home etched boards that look as good (or better) than that. Of course Rudi would probably claim that silkscreen/solder mask, etc. have a detrimental effect and cause ripples in the force or some such nonsense

Looks like a Cmoy to me. Sovkiller posted the following in the hf thread you referenced: I don't see any charging circuitry whatsoever beyond perhaps a resistor on this thing, unless its built into the case or something that I can't see from those pics. Looks like it uses a pair of AAs?

What, no auto self-measuring RTA VTA adjust? I'm disappointed!

I have a real old one (probably ca. 1985-1990, possibly older than that) that still works just fine. It came with a neon light thingie to test it with. You pop that in the barrel opening and if it lights up, the Zerostat is working. The instructions with mine told you to pull and release the trigger with it pointing at 3 different spots around the LP, and then pull the trigger while pointing at the spindle, and then point it at the floor and release the trigger. Mine came in one of the big Discwasher sets with the wood base BTW.

Hope you have a good one!

They look like they are 4 wire... http://www.akg.com/mediendatenbank2/psfile/datei/93/K501_K500_4055d21891b68.pdf

Looks like typical Digikey/Mouser parts... not a bad reference by any means. Panasonic caps in PSU section, probably TSHA (good). Why didn't they get a single transformer with all windings on it? That seems kinda cheap for a manufacturer, though somewhat cost prohibitive for a DIYer. Really shitty IC sockets... such an (in)expensive part to skimp on. Hard to say for sure WRT those Aerovox caps as to whether they are PSU related or output stage related...

Damn, thats a good deal!

I've been on vicodin since hip surgery 4 weeks ago and haven't had any problems. I am still on iron pills and colace though, so that might explain it?

Yep.

There are alot of people who think that the best ladder DACs are far better than any delta sigma DAC made. Its important to realize that one of the biggest reasons most chip makers don't do ladder DACs is the cost of the resistor trimming/matching. I am somewhat surprised to see a present day commercial CDP based upon a chip that is difficult to obtain... must say something about the quantity of units they expect to sell. I know Jocko hates the TDA1541a, but alot of people still really like it.

Happy birthday Deepak! Have a great one!

I'd try some Alieve, tho I don't normally suffer from back pain. I have injured my back before tho, so I feel for ya.

AFAIK, all BGs are 85

Some other thoughts on switches (from post pics of your builds on HF): Delrin Vandal Resistant Illuminated Switch Black - Red Ring Products Model: VSW-BK-RING-RD [VSW-BK-RING-RD] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come and these APEMs that Steinchen used (forgot about these). Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - Post pics of your builds....

That switch looks pretty pedestrian. I prefer your 2nd layout personally. No power on indicator? Or you using the VFD for that?

Nope. Yes, though I probably wouldn't bother. If it has alot of hum (60 or 120 Hz), it may be in need of having the PSU electrolytics replaced.

Anyone have pointers to the differences between AA DACs, particularly the DDE series (1.0, 1.3 is it?, 3.0, etc.) I'd like to pick something up (cheap) with AD1862 DACs and PMD100 that I could play with (ouput stage, etc.).

Von Schweikert is another brand I would take a look at. Buying used is good IMHO. I bought a pair unheard based upon my brother's recommendation and have been quite happy with them. One factor that I really like about the VR4 Gen IIs that I bought several years ago is the soundstage and the ability to move around without it collapsing much. My other brother has a pair of Apogees, and while they do sound great, moving your head 1/2" significantly changes the soundstage.

Shoot Jim an email (unless it is something that is covered in the manual). He's always seemed quite approachable on other forums and I'm sure he'd provide suggestions.

Recuperating...

Many people feel that modern caps, particularly film caps, are so good that bypassing is no longer necessary. Bypassing as mentioned is usually done with a cap 1 to 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the initial cap, which is chosen for the coupling frequency requirements. Some also attribute smearing, etc. to bypassing. Since these I assume are the output coupling caps, I wouldn't think the frequencies to be passed were high enough to worry about (22-30K tops?) and that the 4.7uf cap should pass them just fine. DC coupled would be even better, but I guess not with the tube stage...

Thanks all. Unfortunately, I don't have a table saw, so ripping the 2 x 8s to 7" might be fun. All I have is a radial arm saw and a circular saw. Will Home Depot / Lowes, etc. do this for you? The door width to the edge of the brickmould is about 36". I don't really want the top step to be 3' deep... 2' would be more than deep enough. Also, if I wanted the left side to be a straight drop instead of a step, I assume I would make the boxes 11" x 11" delta between each step? The door height from the garage floor is about 21 3/4". so I guess 2 steps should do it? Thanks again, Chris

I'd third the Kimber suggestion. You can sometimes find quite good deals on 4TC or 8TC (I use 8TC currently). I got a deal on a 25' pair of 8TC for ~$200 and also bought a length to do the 26" jumpers for my speakers. It isn't that bad to terminate yourself even though it is alot of wires. Just don't pay anywhere near the $16/ft. retail for it. Good wire.