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Buffalo II

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S

Salar

Member
Joined 2006
fishermansframe.gumroad.com/l/abtyf
I have not touched my Buffallo / Placid / Ivy kit yet but Winter is coming - temperatures have fallen in my flat, from maybe 30 degrees celsius last week to about 20 degrees now- no audible distortions for the moment after one hour of listening.
Could it still be the Tridents? Or are there other candidates for some malfunctions dependent on temperature drift?
All the best,
Salar
 
M

MWL168

Member
Joined 2005
I have a weird problem (to me) with my B II that I am hoping someone can shed some light on.

I have a dual-mono B II that uses exclusively USB input via an updated Amanero/Hermes/Cronus/Rhea module. The clocks are the 45MHz and 49MHz. I use a Volumite digital volume control.

I installed a JRiver MediaCenter22 trial version a few days ago on my Mac BookPro to try it out and see how it may work with DSD files. I have a few DSD files I used for testing purpose.

One of these DSD file has a sample rate of 11,289,600Hz. If I configure the JRiver bitstreaming to "DSD" and try to play this DSD file, the file would not play and my Volumite would stop working - everything I play afterwards I either get full output or very faint output from by Buffalo DAC and the Volumite has no control of the volume. I have to turn off my Buffalo DAC and turn it back on for the Volumite to resume its control.

If I configure the MediaCenter22 Bitstreaming to "None" and let it resample the DSD files then it would work fine.

I have two other DSD files, one has 2,822,400Hz sample rate and the other has 5,644,800Hz sample rate. These two file play fine with the Bitstreaming set to "DSD" or "None" and does not cause the Volumite to stop working.

Has anyone experienced similar problems and can shed some light on the cause and remedy of this problem?

I do remember reading somewhere that ES9018 does not support DSD512 but why would attempt to play the file cause the Volumite to stop working?

Thanks!
 
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N

Nikon1975

Member
Joined 2009
Hi,

I have a Buffalo II with trident regulators, 100 Mhz, but quite old, I would say 2011 or so. I found conflicting information about the maximum voltage the trident can withstand. On the website is written 6.5 V on Leon guide is written 5.5 V (Actually this is what I remembered).

What is the right value ? I would like to power it with a 6 V battery and I am tryint to understand if this is safe or not.

Thanks,

D.
 
BrianDonegan

BrianDonegan

Member
Joined 2004
twistedpearaudio.com
Nikon1975 said:
Hi,

I have a Buffalo II with trident regulators, 100 Mhz, but quite old, I would say 2011 or so. I found conflicting information about the maximum voltage the trident can withstand. On the website is written 6.5 V on Leon guide is written 5.5 V (Actually this is what I remembered).

What is the right value ? I would like to power it with a 6 V battery and I am tryint to understand if this is safe or not.

Thanks,

D.
Click to expand...

It depends on the version of the Trident. The newer V3 Trident can handle 6.5V, the older Tridents are limited to 5.5V.
 
BrianDonegan

BrianDonegan

Member
Joined 2004
twistedpearaudio.com
The Trident 3 has two larger SOT223-4 ZX5T951GTA transistors and are marked V3.0.

Also, the new TridentSR is limited to 5.5V as well.
 

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S

Salar

Member
Joined 2006
fishermansframe.gumroad.com/l/abtyf
I did write the following in September in this thread:
After 5 years of use, it seems that the my Buffalo II / Ivy / Placid combo distorts after running for some time, after one hour or so. Sounds then a little bit like a record needle clogged with dust (or power transistor dying). The effect can be worsened by switching digital sources. Then the signal is almost completely gone, very thin and distorted. Same distortion behavior, sounds like you were listening to a record stylus solely without having the amp turned on or put the volume down.
Switching off the Buffalo / Ivy / Placid combo and having it cooled down helps.
After lets say 10 Minutes, everything comes back to normal again.
Any ideas?
All the best,
Salar
Click to expand...

Time is running fast. Found the time to check today.
Problem became worse though I did not use the combo in the last months.
After switching on the Buffalo II / IVY III combo it plays music very quiet, very distorted. Sounds almost like crosstalk or bad radio reception.
After several times of switching on/off, sound might come back on normal level but is still distorted.

Checked the Placid BP version 2.1.2 driving the IVY III board, on the negative rail only -10.6V, dropping to -8V after short time.
Would this fit the symptom of distortion ( I assume yes) but also
the quiet distorted playback?
Placid for Buffalo II seems to work fine, 5.3V.

The whole Buffalo II / Ivy / Placid combo is dug in deep inside a Nakamichi CD - Player (fitted with external Inputs)
I will need to disassemble the whole player to get access the Placid BP, disassembly will take much more time than actually repairing
BTW I did modify the casing for proper ventilation of the Placids back then.
I assume they did not run hotter than in a cabinet made for the Buffalo II / Ivy / Placid combo only.
Any idea what might cause the voltage drop on the negative rail?
Just want to get the parts in question before and not waste too much time in checking further...

All the best,
Salar
 
Last edited:
BrianDonegan

BrianDonegan

Member
Joined 2004
twistedpearaudio.com
Salar said:
I did write the following in September in this thread:


Time is running fast. Found the time to check today.
Problem became worse though I did not use the combo in the last months.
After switching on the Buffalo II / IVY III combo it plays music very quiet, very distorted. Sounds almost like crosstalk or bad radio reception.
After several times of switching on/off, sound might come back on normal level but is still distorted.

Checked the Placid BP version 2.1.2 driving the IVY III board, on the negative rail only -10.6V, dropping to -8V after short time.
Would this fit the symptom of distortion ( I assume yes) but also
the quiet distorted playback?
Placid for Buffalo II seems to work fine, 5.3V.

The whole Buffalo II / Ivy / Placid combo is dug in deep inside a Nakamichi CD - Player (fitted with external Inputs)
I will need to disassemble the whole player to get access the Placid BP, disassembly will take much more time than actually repairing
BTW I did modify the casing for proper ventilation of the Placids back then.
I assume they did not run hotter than in a cabinet made for the Buffalo II / Ivy / Placid combo only.
Any idea what might cause the voltage drop on the negative rail?
Just want to get the parts in question before and not waste too much time in checking further...

All the best,
Salar
Click to expand...

My guess would be a failing transistor, or a cracked solder joint which has progressively failed during thermal cycling.

Sorry about having to disassemble.

I would isolate the Placid BP and reflow the solder joints with some flux, especially around the parts that get hot (TO-220 transistors, 3W resistors, etc). If that does not fix it, then probably replace the transistors.
 
S

Salar

Member
Joined 2006
fishermansframe.gumroad.com/l/abtyf
Hi Brian, thanks for the kind reply. Don´t need to be sorry, it was my decision to
modify a player with this excellent combo.
What I am missing for the future are smaller boards for the output stage and power supply.
I would have loved to start a second project last year but the board of the Placid HD BP is a tad too big for that.
But this build would have worked with the old Placid BP 2.1.2...

Back to Topic.
The transistors for the negative rail are :

2SC 5200 NPN / 2SA 1943 PNP / BC550B NPN, correct?

"Only" Toshiba available for the moment and not Fairchild. I assume this does not make any difference?

All the best,
Salar
 
BrianDonegan

BrianDonegan

Member
Joined 2004
twistedpearaudio.com
Salar said:
Hi Brian, thanks for the kind reply. Don´t need to be sorry, it was my decision to
modify a player with this excellent combo.
What I am missing for the future are smaller boards for the output stage and power supply.
I would have loved to start a second project last year but the board of the Placid HD BP is a tad too big for that.
But this build would have worked with the old Placid BP 2.1.2...

Back to Topic.
The transistors for the negative rail are :

2SC 5200 NPN / 2SA 1943 PNP / BC550B NPN, correct?

"Only" Toshiba available for the moment and not Fairchild. I assume this does not make any difference?

All the best,
Salar
Click to expand...

Technically they are FJPF5200 (etc) in the isolated package (for ease of use). I still have some of these I can send you.
 
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