The Champion:
JE Labs 76 Line Stage (pay no attention to the Schiity DAC)
The Contender
Your Hometown B1
Burned in for 48 hours now I played my favorite "test" albums today, "So Long So Wrong", the 45RPM "Warm Your Heart", the challenging soundstage of the Klemperer "Mahler 2", and Side 4 the Mehta "Turandot".
My Allen Wright style phono stage and Cinemags can power a small city even off the ZYX Bloom but I've stubbornly stuck with a traditional line stage as all my past attempts at going passive were, Meh. But there's 20 feet of interconnect between the line stage and the 60 Watt Mullard circuit style mono blocks so a Buffer was appealing. I had the Schiit Saga+ in last year and it was plastic sounding. Adding up the cost of the PCB and parts I thought, why not. So here we are.
The 76 has a Goldpoint V-24 and the B1 got a 100k PEC from the bin which makes it, the B1, even Rocky-er. Nonetheless, where the Bass Guitar and kick drum on the Neville has slightly more impact with the 76 than the B1, the latter does a better job, slightly, of a thunk being a thunk and a thud, you get the picture. Tonal balance bottom to top, a draw. Purity, as on Alison's voice or Adam's Mandolin a point to Nelson. Being an orchestral Trombone player I've had way too much time while counting bars to be aware of who sits where and plays what in the standard repertoire so Soundstage is of utmost importance. The B1 is ever so slightly better at positioning and audibility of instruments but that comes off as juuust a touch of solid-statey detail at the expense of music; the 76 creates a more "believeable" position of 100 instruments in a hall. I can't say much about the Turandot, when I listen to it all thoughts of analysis exit stage left.
I've got $230 in bills from Digikey and Pass DIY plus 3 pairs of Vampire CMHex, a TOCOs Toggle, and the PEC from my bins, another $80 or so for a total near enough $300. "They" say component retail is 10X manufacturer's cost so the 76 would be $11,000, the B1, $3000. On a value scale, assuming a Buffer fits the system, I'd place the B1 within a thou$and, maybe 2 at most. Now what am I going to do with two outstanding components vying for playing time?
JE Labs 76 Line Stage (pay no attention to the Schiity DAC)
The Contender
Burned in for 48 hours now I played my favorite "test" albums today, "So Long So Wrong", the 45RPM "Warm Your Heart", the challenging soundstage of the Klemperer "Mahler 2", and Side 4 the Mehta "Turandot".
My Allen Wright style phono stage and Cinemags can power a small city even off the ZYX Bloom but I've stubbornly stuck with a traditional line stage as all my past attempts at going passive were, Meh. But there's 20 feet of interconnect between the line stage and the 60 Watt Mullard circuit style mono blocks so a Buffer was appealing. I had the Schiit Saga+ in last year and it was plastic sounding. Adding up the cost of the PCB and parts I thought, why not. So here we are.
The 76 has a Goldpoint V-24 and the B1 got a 100k PEC from the bin which makes it, the B1, even Rocky-er. Nonetheless, where the Bass Guitar and kick drum on the Neville has slightly more impact with the 76 than the B1, the latter does a better job, slightly, of a thunk being a thunk and a thud, you get the picture. Tonal balance bottom to top, a draw. Purity, as on Alison's voice or Adam's Mandolin a point to Nelson. Being an orchestral Trombone player I've had way too much time while counting bars to be aware of who sits where and plays what in the standard repertoire so Soundstage is of utmost importance. The B1 is ever so slightly better at positioning and audibility of instruments but that comes off as juuust a touch of solid-statey detail at the expense of music; the 76 creates a more "believeable" position of 100 instruments in a hall. I can't say much about the Turandot, when I listen to it all thoughts of analysis exit stage left.
I've got $230 in bills from Digikey and Pass DIY plus 3 pairs of Vampire CMHex, a TOCOs Toggle, and the PEC from my bins, another $80 or so for a total near enough $300. "They" say component retail is 10X manufacturer's cost so the 76 would be $11,000, the B1, $3000. On a value scale, assuming a Buffer fits the system, I'd place the B1 within a thou$and, maybe 2 at most. Now what am I going to do with two outstanding components vying for playing time?
I will, thank you, as soon as Passdiy is back online and I can order a PCB.
Next question: the first time I tried to place an LED where I wanted it was a mess of wires and caulk. The next time, about 15 years later, the B1 I just built, I simply positioned the PCB close enough to the front that bending the wires put it in view. But not where I wanted it.
Is there some conventional method all you solid state guys know for a neat install away from the board? Us tube heads aren't real big on running lights
Next question: the first time I tried to place an LED where I wanted it was a mess of wires and caulk. The next time, about 15 years later, the B1 I just built, I simply positioned the PCB close enough to the front that bending the wires put it in view. But not where I wanted it.
Is there some conventional method all you solid state guys know for a neat install away from the board? Us tube heads aren't real big on running lights
Hi,
I just finished building this project. I previously owned a Pass B1 Korg, but wanted to try this one out. Although Im not being able to light it up, the included LED is not lightning up. I uploaded some pics from my build, I've used some of the recommended electronics plus a SMPS DC Filter P089ZB, which I know it works because I was using it with my B1 Korg
I just finished building this project. I previously owned a Pass B1 Korg, but wanted to try this one out. Although Im not being able to light it up, the included LED is not lightning up. I uploaded some pics from my build, I've used some of the recommended electronics plus a SMPS DC Filter P089ZB, which I know it works because I was using it with my B1 Korg
Attachments
Of course check that you are seeing the right voltage across the LED thu holes on the board once powered up. Here you can use your DVM to check the voltage polarity and then match that with the LED. You can determine the LEDs polity either by looking at its data sheet, or the way I do it, is to use a DVM's diode test mode. It won't fry the LEDs with too much voltage (forward or reverse), which is what can happen if you just insert an LED into a spot backwards.
If you've tried the LED in both ways and its failed, you've fried it (or it somehow got static zapped or is defective). Try another one. The good news is that LEDs are wicked cheap.
Revisiting the article, the answer appears to be yes:
"D2 is a generic LED for indicating power the board."
Its not a big deal. Remember, we all started somewhere. And also Nelson's guiding wisdom: "This is entertainment, not dialysis".
I could use some help with adding an input to the B1 for a streamer like the Bluesound or iFi or really any of the popular music streamers. Is it just a matter of ordering and installing an USB or HDMI port? If someone could come up with a Digikey or Mouser, etc., part number that would be great. I don't have any experience with these things and wouldn't know what to look for.
Something like this, for example:
https://no.mouser.com/ProductDetail/REAN/NYS367-6?qs=R5cXQUTKuHUKTgMh%2BD0cGA==
You can not use digital inputs, the B1 has no DAC.
Regards,
Andy
There are lots of wifi/USB board packages you can buy and snap in but then you have to deal with having that high-freq digital stuff close to your analogue circuits. The easiest solution to this is to simply buy an external DAC and feed it into the RCA input of the B1. As folks have said, if you want more than 1 input for switching, thats something we can help you with (i.e.: get another set of RCAs, a switch, a drill and your soldering iron out).
That aside, consider that there are some awesome measuring DACs out there these days like the HIDIS S9pro I recently got for $93. This just plugs into the USB port on your source (i.e.: laptop, desktop, raspberry Pi) and then has 2.5 and 3.5 mm analogue outputs that you feed to your fav preamp.
Comparing a $93 DAC + a cable to the complication of setting up USB/BT I know which one I'd choose.
--Tom