Finally, an affordable CD Transport: the Shigaclone story

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uncle_leon

uncle_leon

Member
Joined 2007
studiozey.com/
tvicol said:
The first shigaclone is running. :)
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Excellent news Tibi! Keep us updated on the progress, and, most importantly - tell us what it sounds like!


This might be a good moment to mention that my capacitors are ready to ship :)

The price is £10, as promised, plus £3.50 postage (Europe) or £4.50 (rest of the world).

Good news: they are made with Mundorf copper and natural silk+oil, and are guaranteed to sound well superior to Duelund Alexander (especially the dynamics); in fact, they sound only slightly worse than my VNP Cap.
Average(?) news: the size is pretty hefty: approx. 100mm by 95mm; the thickness is 22mm, excluding the screw heads and nuts (about 27mm total)
Bad news: they come with no leads and with no wood treatment, and a few may have visual blemishes (pencil or pen marks, slightly dirty surface, minor dents etc.) - if you are particular about the looks, let me know and I will select a nice-looking one for you.

A range of options is available:
+£1 - use marine-grade stainless steel screws (pretty much non-magnetic) instead of zinc steel
- or -
+£2.50 - use brass screws (for some reason sound slightly better than steel, and also look pretty)

+£3 - solder two 15cm leads - 0.65mm tin-plated copper in waxed cloth, very nice sounding; I use Cardas Quad solder.
- or -
+£7 - solder two 15cm leads - 0.71mm solid 4N silver in silk insulation (fantastic wire, but probably a bit of an overkill for this cap)

+£5 - add a few layers of natural linseed oil finish

Anyone who is interested, please contact me via PM or email.
For those who like to try before buy, there is a sample cap available for testing - let me know if you are interested. Just promise to pass the cap on to the next person after no more than two weeks ;)

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
uncle_leon

uncle_leon

Member
Joined 2007
studiozey.com/
spartan said:
Uncle leo, when you say you've used single resistors, what exactly do you mean? The attenuators indicated by Fran use a Pi scheme (http://217.34.103.131/pdfs/HAT-6-75.pdf). Have use used the resistors as such? You can calculate them here: Pi Attenuator Calculator

Otherwise, how were you using the resistors?
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I am using them in what I believe is the simplest and most-often used arrangement in Shigaclones, namely an L-pad: a 300R resistor in the series position and a 100R resistor in the shunt position.

Incidentally, Fran and I have recently finished our resistor-attenuator comparisons, and we both agreed that, as good as the attenuators are, the Invisistors are a league above them: dynamics are far better, instrument separation is much improved, and the voices and timbres are rich and life-like. Every sound gains incredible presence, and even old, poorly mastered recordings are brought back to life. The attenuator sounds really quite thin and lifeless in comparison... The difference is rather stark. Comparing my resistors to any other "audio resistor" pair is almost amusing: it's not even a difference, it's a complete transformation.

Unfortunately, unlike the capacitors, I can't make them any cheaper. All I can offer is free postage for diyaudio members. I know £40 is a lot of money, but these resistors are incredibly complex to make - each one, in addition to some very exotic materials, requires many hours of careful work, bonding the wood with metal, layer by layer, and then 3 days of curing in special conditions. There is no way to skip any stage. The effect is staggering though, and well worth it. As a consolation, I am experimenting with a new design, hoping to make it sound good, but at a lower price.

The two resistors I sent Fran are now available for testing. Because they are very valuable, I will only agree to send them to long-time members of the forums, or those I have dealt with previously.


An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
(this one is lying on a piece of luthier-grade ebony wood, which I use to make my Invisistors)

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
uncle_leon

uncle_leon

Member
Joined 2007
studiozey.com/
spartan said:
General computer audio comparison question

Hi all,
I suppose some here have compared their shiga clone to one or more computer based transports. I know that these things can vary a lot, for each one has his own mods and way of mounting the shiga clone; and a computer audio server can be many things. I believe this is an interesting comparison, because there are too many people, especially in computeraudio forums, affirming uncritically that CD players and transports are dead. My experience is that an optimized macmini using audinivana sounds better (provided that the cd was properly ripped, which is far from obvious) than many CD players deemed to be excellent. That said, it does not sound better than a reasonably well implemented shiga clone. So CD transports are not dead, but computer audio is taking the whole thing to a higher level. My experience has been with a macmini, which though heavily tweaked and optimized, I know is not ideal. Apparently things can get much better with a proper dedicated PC and a good USB/SPDIF converter (which can be very/too expensive). At any rate, I wonder if there is any interest on this issue in this thread. I really wish CD transports/players can keep up with what's going on "on the other side", at least from a purely sonic perspective. My impression is that it is possible (without spending $40k for the stupid no-matter-how-good-it-sounds spectral player...), but some constructive comparisons and experience exchange would be necessary lest projects like this (ie the shigaraki cloning) become another idiosyncratic hobby of a few fanatics. This thread is so long and rich of information, and there has been so much effort from many individuals with this project that it would be a pity not to bring everything to the larger context of what today people understand as digital audio.
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There are some very good sounding computer sources (most notably cMP2), but the amount of money and modifications required to bring them to a level similar to a shigaclone is disproportionately high.
In the shiga, you can get away with buying just 2 or 3 Black Gates, plus a couple of other parst (diodes etc.) - and you get what is essentially a hi-end transport.

In a computer, for a start, you would have to build a lot of separate PSUs for each device (ideally with individual transformers), where each PSU would require at least 2 Black Gates, and some would also require high-current regulators. Then there is the cost of an SSD and a decent sound card, such as the £100 ESI Juli@. And then you still have to mod the motherboard and the sound card to get the best sound, which would require further Black Gates and a lot of work.

Personally, I have heard some great CD transports in my life, but I am yet to hear a computer source that would blow me away.
 
S

sigurd

Member
Joined 2007
On the datasheet of the LA9242M : pin 9 : 4K7 with 0,047µ to ref
on the EZ31 pin 9 go's direct to ref
on the RC ST1 : pin 9 0,33µ with 68K to pin 7 and pin 9 ; 12K and 15nF to ref

I have try on the RCST1 pin9 direct to ref ( as like the ez31 ) without c904 and R910 and the sound is VERY LESS better! i I install like it was and that's much better.

so: what can be done on the RCEZ31?
maybe like on the datasheet?

Maybe that would be an improvement? I will experient with ......
 
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