Green Wagon Posted September 10, 2015 Posted September 10, 2015 cables. yes as i say it could be the "I built them therefore they sound better" syndrome. But I'll run them for a bit before I go doing swapsis and try to be objective.. 1
Guest Muon Posted September 10, 2015 Posted September 10, 2015 cables. yes as i say it could be the "I built them therefore they sound better" syndrome. But I'll run them for a bit before I go doing swapsis and try to be objective.. That's never worked for me, if i build something it will sound crap if it does. Maybe i don't have enough pride or something
Green Wagon Posted September 10, 2015 Posted September 10, 2015 You just need to learn to bury your mistakes before other see them. That way all people will see are your brilliant successes
betocool Posted September 13, 2015 Posted September 13, 2015 Further pics of the Sony TA2650 Mod (that's my internal project reference). Function is almost ready, the headphone output is missing. I'm going to use my own version of the O2 Headphone / Cmoy amp as headphone output, and get the signal directly after the volume pot. The sound on the headphones using a resistor in series with the power amp output was not great. The rest (function) is ready. Click to turn on, click to turn off, click to select speakers A/B. A ~1sec delay on turning on before activating the speaker out relais. I had to do that because if I turned on all relays at the same time the speakers would pop out of their sockets. Some close up pics of cabling and internal positioning. On the right, against the front panel, the linear voltage regulator (a 1000 µF cap directly out of the diode bridge from the small transformer, plus a zener and a transistor to generate ~5V for the microcontroller). On the left at the front panel, the STM8 Discovery microcontroller board connected to all pushbuttons and relays. To the right of the big transformer, the power relais. Just beside it the power button. A closer look at the stuff described before. Third time's the charm. On the back, a pair of input RCA connectors directly to the volume pot. Below, where cables start and end, both relays that activate or deactivate A/B speaker outputs. When the amp is off, the speakers are disconnected. They are activated around 1 sec after power on. Good thing, the amp 'remembers" the speaker setting on each power cycle. If the amp loses power (as in unplugged from the wall) the default start setting is A-On, B-Off. The front. How come I never thought of this before? The 2.54 mm boards (no copper) are absolutely excellent for distance reference, easy to drill and easy to cut. Sturdy enough though for a pushbutton or a switch, even headphone sockets. All nice and straight. Obviously the front will be covered at some point in the next few weeks. Top left, LED for power, bottom middle, A/B LED's. The back. Keeping it simple. Will cover the holes from the inside with a black sprayed acrylic plate, and spray out the rest description. Oh, and it's not Phono, will be Line In. In full operation. It's providing hours of enjoyment! Thanks for reading! Alberto 2
Guest Muon Posted September 15, 2015 Posted September 15, 2015 (edited) Finally did the little Ming Da, listening now and am happy with the cap & resistor change.Tidy enough....... :ph34r: Before and after, and a blurry one on the little chap in my system. Edited September 15, 2015 by ortofun
Guest Posted September 15, 2015 Posted September 15, 2015 I find it hard to believe that system sounds horrid
Guest Muon Posted September 15, 2015 Posted September 15, 2015 I find it hard to believe that system sounds horrid It's an art that is rarely practiced
mwhouston Posted September 15, 2015 Posted September 15, 2015 Finally did the little Ming Da, listening now and am happy with the cap & resistor change.Tidy enough....... :ph34r: Before and after, and a blurry one on the little chap in my system. ming before.jpgming after.jpg blur.jpg Neat work.
Guest Peter the Greek Posted September 18, 2015 Posted September 18, 2015 What @@Malcolm refers to as a "selective panel".....coming along, got 32 on the way
Guest Muon Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 Jupiters are in after some frigging around with PCB height......not bad straight up now i don't feel like doing the Ming Da, I just want to listen to records :lol: 20150910_111503.jpg Played about 52 LP's now with the Jupiters in place, and I do like them - Similar rich natural sound and of a quality up with Duelunds. Although i preferred the more richly layered bass of the Duelund Cu VSFs I had previously in here and the mids might have been a tad nicer...these are more airy and the bass is still very good and tighter than the VSFs....some folk might prefer the tighter bass of these. Was still worth the change for sure.
Equaliser Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 Finally did the little Ming Da, listening now and am happy with the cap & resistor change.Tidy enough....... :ph34r: Before and after, and a blurry one on the little chap in my system. I'm change out those 4 SCR film caps for something bit better (avoid the Dueland, Jupiter caps here as they are not fit for the role) and get some nice Soviet NOS PIO's in there. Btw what is that open cd player looking thing with 3 tubes sticking out on top in the last picture next to the speakers?
Guest Muon Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) I'm change out those 4 SCR film caps for something bit better (avoid the Dueland, Jupiter caps here as they are not fit for the role) and get some nice Soviet NOS PIO's in there. Btw what is that open cd player looking thing with 3 tubes sticking out on top in the last picture next to the speakers? That's the phono stage. IMO, Duelund and Jupiter are the best sounding film caps on the market, my preferences anyhow...I replaced Russian PIOs For an affordable cap that sounds good I like the Mundorf ZN I used in that mate's Ming Da...they replaced four of those Ming Da branded ones, the SCR's (aka - ming-da) will get ZN's also as a replacement. Edited September 21, 2015 by ortofun
Equaliser Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 The best sounding film cap is no cap. Also re Dueland and Jupiter best sounding film caps on the market, I wholeheartedly disagree because they are not an all purpose film cap and only suitable for passive and some active applications. Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
Guest Muon Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) @ Well, I prefer the sound of a Duelund cap over the sound of no cap Edit: On a budget Russian POIs are awesome, but I like Mundorf ZN's for a bit more. Obbligato Gold are also pretty good on a lighter budget. Caps like Jupiter Copper/wax/oil and Duelund VSF, RS, CAST go the extra but there is a premium cost for that extra, no denying that Edited September 20, 2015 by ortofun
andyr Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 The best sounding film cap is no cap. Absolutely! But sometimes we need to use a coupling cap, to stop DC offset from passing through. So it's a matter of which cap degrades the signal the less. Also re Dueland and Jupiter best sounding film caps on the market, I wholeheartedly disagree because they are not an all purpose film cap and only suitable for passive and some active applications. OK .... so what are these "passive and active applications" (that you consider they could be used for)? Andy
Guest Muon Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) @@andyr I actually find that caps like Duelunds and these Jupiters enhance the sound, improve the signal in terms of how it sounds....many will not see it the same way...but I know a few may agree with me Just opinion mind you Edited September 20, 2015 by ortofun
Equaliser Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) Passive and active crossovers, final stage coupling and as output caps. I wouldn't recommend them to be used in a excess of 300vdc B+ interstage areas especially on preamps where hot zones are present (my original TOTR Jupiters blew up) and coupling in some p2p tube amps. Pick the right cap for the right job. Edited September 20, 2015 by DefQon
andyr Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 Pick the right cap for the right job. Absoloootely, DQ! Passive and active crossovers, final stage coupling and as output caps. OK, thanks. But how does a "final stage coupling" cap differ from an output cap? Andy
Guest Muon Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 Passive and active crossovers, final stage coupling and as output caps. I wouldn't recommend them to be used in a excess of 300vdc B+ interstage areas especially on preamps where hot zones are present (my original TOTR Jupiters blew up) and coupling in some p2p tube amps. Pick the right cap for the right job. What series in the Jupiter line up? voltage rating?
mwhouston Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 Absoloootely, DQ! OK, thanks. But how does a "final stage coupling" cap differ from an output cap? Andy They should be the same thing. Try not to lock yourself into one cap type for signal caps. There is a prethora of fine signal caps out there based on metals from tin to gold foil. Don't get fooled by price, most expensive can be just that and no more.
andyr Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 They should be the same thing. That's what I thought, Mark! But, in my view, DefQon regards himself as an 'expert' ... so I wanted to understand what his definition of the two was. Regards, Andy
baMarek Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 I actually find that caps like Duelunds and these Jupiters enhance the sound, improve the signal in terms of how it sounds....many will not see it the same way...but I know a few may agree with me Measurement nuts would disagree. But I guess in output stage it may sound more "classy" with caps. Certainly not in xover though.
Guest Muon Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 I have never gone down the active crossover path, so I have no reference there. The way I see it is that everything influences the sound, everything the signal passes through imprints It's own signature on the signal. Lots of average caps are very gritty and grainy, some are smooth but smeared or cloudy...this is why the Russian PIOs and Teflon's are so popular in the lower price spectrum. They have a very pleasing signature, maybe not up there with Jupiters and Duelunds in the complete sence... but still better than those in the same market position and some a but higher priced. But there are some nice sounding caps that occupy the average price range, and not as high as those other two brands. A component will either degrade or improve the sound to some degree, depending on the component chosen, and It's sound profile. Some of these degrades and improvements can be down to the subjective of course. Meh, just what I have observed and I'm just a dude with an opinion .....YMMV.
mwhouston Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 @, where I found eXovers useful is for my stereo sub-woofers which I originally crossed at 50hz now crossing 100hz as part of a 2.5 way speaker setup. I don't believe any component can improve on the signal comming out of a CD player or whatever. All components, active or passive, only degrade the sound. Choose those which degrade it less and add the distortion you like.
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