The Dude Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Fjd, where do you get you boards from, they don't look like the diy store boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Listening to DIY clones today. Here is a quick look at an Aleph J clone. I have always wanted to listen to the First Watt stuff. I have this on my to build list. Dave I miss the days of “Tech-diy” where you could buy all the parts for the PCBs in a 'kit' and not have to read for hours or ask multiple questions to make sure everything is correct. Scrounging around to determine a BOM and any subtleties in operating parameters of parts can be difficult and it isn't always apparent in the build threads. The DIY store now has various parts to get people started (i.e. various PCB circuit boards, cases, Keratherm insulators for the mosfets, and Linear Systems Jfets now that the specific Toshiba Jfets for this amp are discontinued and difficult to find genuine). Once you decide to start an Aleph J, note that the letters for the Linear Systems Jfets are not referencing quality rating, only the operating range or Idss of the device. The B is typically the best for the Pass projects (I believe BL for Toshiba if you can find genuine parts as many on eBay tend to be fake and may not run properly in the amp), but all can be made to work by paralleling different operating ranges. The Aleph J takes a tight match and although I've read some feedback that the Linear Systems Jfets match close, I'm not sure if that is the case in all instances. Here is probably the best thread I'm aware of for learning and building an Aleph J. http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/241729-aleph-j-illustrated-build-guide.html Fjd, where do you get you boards from, they don't look like the diy store boards. This is an older amp from around 2009 or 2010. Nelson Pass actually released the Aleph J schematic sometime late 2007 and by 2008 people were making PCBs such as Peter Daniel, among others. I don’t remember where these came from (they are not Peter Daniel boards) as I’ve been collecting random parts as they become available for a long time now. There was a resurgence in Aleph J clones during 2011 and Peter Daniel had done three runs of his boards, but I think they are long gone now. The DIY store is probably the best place for the Aleph J PCB since that is the most recent proven build (see link above). Plus it seems that if you use the DIY store PCB, the memebers on that forum are more inclined to answer questions when it comes to actually building. If you look close at the pic there is room for a third set of mosfets on the PCB, but I haven’t seen much on how to use that third set. In general, I believe that whatever bias the amp is adjusted for with two pairs, the third pair will allow for an increase of approximately 50%? If you want same dissipation using three pairs instead of two pairs, various resistors need adjusted. Since I just try to build and learn what I need to know for basic builds, I don’t have the background to determine what these adjustments should be and tend to go with the stardard, well-documented builds. On a side note, actually, the DIY store in its current form has only been around for a couple of years now. In addition, I do not believe that the Passdiy site ever produced an Aleph J board either. Just like the F5Turbo had people making PCBs and organizing group buys once the schematic was released, later the DIY store seems to carry a version of the PCB of the popular amps. When you get your F5Ts done, you will have to post a few nudes of the insides of the amps. Edited November 8, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 (edited) There doesn't seem to be too many people showing their amps 'nekkid as a Jay Bird.' Oh well, here is a bump for an amplifier that sits on my shelf somewhat nekkid with no cover to undo (unless you want a look at the battery). Given my penchant for audio gear with either, or in combination with, tubes, Mosfets and Jfets, it's a little headphone amp from the diyaudioprojects website. The 12AU7 tube provides the voltage gain and the IRF510 Mosfet provides the current gain. The amp uses a LM317 adjustable linear voltage regulator as a constant current source (CCS) to move the Mosfet into the linear region and bias the amp into Class A operation. The headphone amp uses a 12v re-chargeable battery to operate. The circuit is a very simple design with great sound. http://diyaudioprojects.com/Solid/12AU7-IRF510-LM317-Headamp/ I've been thinking about buying a tube DAC for a long time and missed the MHDT Havana that was on the forum a while back; however, being a patient person, a very nice MHDT Labs Stockholm 2 tube DAC fell within my audio budget that I'm now pairing with the headphone amp for listening to music on the computer or streaming. Headphones are AKG 712. I really enjoy the combination as it pulls an incredible amount of detail from the recording while still sounding very musical and I can fall under a 'hypnotic-music spell' for hours. The truly amazing part of the music listening experience is that with several of the hi-resolution music downloads from HDTracks, the sense of space is unbelievable. It seems like I'm placed in the middle of the band, the singer is singing in my ear and my entire listening room seems occupied by the band. I'm listening to a song now where the drummer seems to be behind me, the sax to the left, the singer in my righ ear, a guitarist out at 2 on the clock. Edited November 9, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Fjd, that headphone amp looks familiar, another project I started and never finished. When I went to install the biasing pots, I messed something up, I did make a new circuit card but that was it. I think I worked on my Vacuum tube audio Sp6, which I crammed into a Dynaco Pat 4 preamp chassis. Which it has now moved to its own chassis(which I thought I had a pic of but don't). But as far as boards for the F5t I purchased some from a Diyaudio forum member by the name of Tea-bag. Which you can put multiple sets of fets on. I have 6 channels worth, I actually am contemplating selling to fund my MC2505 repair so I could have at least 1 working amp. You hit it on the nail earlier when you mentioned the obstacle one has to go, to find parts and help on these projects. I am down to just finding the right heat sinks, and components. I guess we will see what it brings, and don't worry I have plenty of amp porn pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterfree Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Decware Mini Torii amplifier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) The thread about the in-ground sub-woofer, Cyclone purple hornies and cherry bomb mufflers got me thinking about the old “rat rod” cars and “rat rod” motorcycles and another entry into the Amp Porn thread entered my mind. Has anyone here ever had a backyard, or garage project, motorcycle or car that started with old junk vehicles (i.e. those “beaters” held onto, or collected, especially when the first ‘real’ vehicle was purchased) ready for the bone-yard and by combining the parts from the junkers, made something more interesting that would even run? You know, those beaters with the torn upholstery, mostly primer covered (instead of paint) body, and a gross lack of chrome or polished metals of any kind? Did the excursion result in a cool “rat rod” car or “rat rod” bike? Well, here are my "rat rod" mono block amplifier contributions to all things audio porn. Some of you may recognize the shells to be PAOLI 60M mono block amplifiers, which were actually hot-rodded Dynaco MKIIIs that were built during the 1970’s and possibly through the early 1980’s. My aplifiers are 1975 vintage. For those that may not be familiar, the PAOLI 60M mono block amplifiers were made in Paoli, PA and the company was called "Paoli High Fidelity Consultants, Inc." I believe the designers/builders names were Eugene Coggins and Walter Key. Each amplifier was built on the typical Dynaco Mark III chassis with a separate "add on chassis" of ~ 4.5 X 9 inches, which was then connected to the main Dynaco chassis. This "add on chassis" contained a very robust power supply. I believe that these amplifiers were meant to compete with the Audio Research tube amplifiers that hit the market during the 1970's. These amplifiers did not come with a tube rectifier as the PAOLI 60M has a much larger power supply than the stock Dynaco and the tube rectifiers would tend to fail due to the start-up surge when the amp was powered up. Since my amplifier examples were essentially roached and the original circuit is very difficult to find, the boards were replaced using the very nice Shannon Parks Poseidon boards from the DIYtube site. Capacitors include actual functioning US made giant computer grade capacitors to maintain the original look. Edited November 8, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) All I can say is that the 'fun never ends.' :emotion-29: Between Joe getting me hooked on headphone amps (I bought the Valhalla from Joe for my office and dusted off my little diy tube/mosfet headphone amp) and duder1982 getting me thinking about op-amp upgrades with his Crown D45 op-amp upgrade search, I bought a little upgrade kit for my Creek OBH-11 headphone amp. A few better parts consisting of a couple of coupling capacitors, resistors and the LME49720 op-amp significantly improved the little Creek. I can't say that I'm now hearing aspects of the recordings that I've never heard before, but the modifications sure have lifted a 'veil' from the music. The presentation never is harsh, but there is a noticeable increase in instrument detail, vocal detail and clarity without being harsh or ear piercing. Since the amp now has an 8 pin dip socket, I may have to do some more op-amp rolling myself. Edited November 8, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) Hand build, 8 channel competition car amp build by yours truly. Four oldskool [90's] Phoenix gold MS275 amps in a MS1000 heatsink. Maybe a bit off-topic but still amp porn IMO.... Edited July 13, 2014 by nico boom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) you have forced my hand Ampsandsound Kenzie Headphone The Guts (aint it purty inside) A Blast from my past Edited July 13, 2014 by joessportster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Another blast from the past can you say DIY sounded great but ugly as hell 1 more for the road Joule stargates, so nice I bought it twice poor Jacob he had the best seat in the house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Will Vincent version of Dynaco refurbished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Any guesses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) you have forced my hand Ampsandsound Kenzie Headphone Kenzie and se84 008.JPG The Guts (aint it purty inside) I've been watching the threads that mentioned the development of the Kenzie headphone amplifier and I really like what Justin has done with the amp. I would like to hear one with my growing collection of headphones someday. Back on page 4 (just looked at the date and hard to believe it has been over 2 years now posting my various amps to this thread) I had posted my VT-137 (1626) tubed Darling/Clementine amp that puts out 3/4 watt per channel output power. Just the basic build using the basic BOM with the Edcor output transformers and Hammond power transformer stuffed tight into a very small chassis that is the same size as my Wright Sound mono 10 amps, nothing fancy, "as of now." Mine does still make my "rotation of amps" at times for near-field listening with my bi-amp system reproducing about 400Hz - 20Khz. Right now it is sitting on the side-lines while I've been experimenting with other things; however, I was pleasantly surprised how nice they do sound. Edited November 8, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinsweber Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) All of us building Shannon’s design seem to stumble onto quarks and limits/strengths of each design. Ive never asked how many PCBs he sells but I’m sure for every pic of 1 of his circuits there are 10 we don’t see. Tremendously flexible and well worth building. Edited July 14, 2014 by justinsweber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) I guess that it may be the underside of an ampsandsound Stereo 15. Any guesses? I guess that it may be the underside of an ampsandsound Stereo 15. Edited July 14, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) Will Vincent version of Dynaco refurbished DSC01149.JPG Will Vincent does a really nice job with those old Baldwin amplifiers and the Dynaco amplifiers. Now Will has a somewhat unique push-pull DHT 45 tube amplifier. As you can hopefully see with these pictures, Will pays very nice attention to detail, the same as with his other builds. Edited November 9, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) All of us building Shannon’s design seem to stumble onto quarks and limits/strengths of each design. Ive never asked how many PCBs he sells but I’m sure for every pic of 1 of his circuits there are 10 we don’t see. Tremendously flexible and well worth building. The last time I looked at your site, I saw that you added your take on the 6B4G triode tube and named it the 'classic wonder.' From the pictures I see, it looks like another excellent build on your part. I don't have any pictures of mine on this computer (I've got two builds that I use and want to do the quick mod and try a 300b in one), but that circuit and tube is a very nice introduction to the '2A3 type' sound for a lot less expense. For those that may be following this thread and not familiar with the 6B4G, the 6B4G is a triode tube and is part of the same tube family as the 2A3 and 6A3 triode tubes. Edited November 8, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) Nice build and a great idea. While I have a few more tube amps on my 'diy bucket list' of builds that I would like to try, I've somwhat moved from the tube amps temporarily to finish a couple of the First Watt clones (just about have all of the parts for the F5turbo) and the diy headphone amp builds have been intriguing me too (now thinking about the Pete Millett starving student headphone amp next), but I may have to remember this for some point in the future. Hand build, 8 channel competition car amp build by yours truly. Four oldskool [90's] Phoenix gold MS275 amps in a MS1000 heatsink. Maybe a bit off-topic but still amp porn IMO.... Edited July 14, 2014 by Fjd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 You're good Fjd, nailed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) I've somwhat moved from the tube amps temporarily to finish a couple of the First Watt clones I really like my F5 clone. Good call. Dave Edited July 14, 2014 by GotHover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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