Hello everyone, with thanks to Patrick I am starting a GB for the through hole Folded Cascode CEN IV from XEN audio. You can read more about the project/see the technical discussion at this LINK to the thread.
This GB is limited to 32 (SE stereo pair) PCB sets and you will need to source the parts you need yourself. The parts are shown in the BOM, but the only parts that are not available from Mouser/Digikey etc are 2SK170BL and 2SJ74BL which are available from the diyaudio store. For each channel you will need 2 matched 2SK170 and one matched pair of 2SK170/2SJ74 (for example, one N-channel quad and one NP-quad from the store for a stereo pair @$80-90 plus shipping). There are other parts that need to be matched but these are much more easily obtained and buying a small excess of cheap components means you should have close enough matches. It might also be worth someone on each continent matching and providing them locally but I’ll leave that up to those who participate. The BoM and comprehensive build guide will issue with the boards to those who participate.
The build is of moderate level - there are SMD components, and it is best if you have experience soldering SMD, and have the equipment to do so. You will receive 4 PCBs - left IV, right IV and matching left and right stacker boards which can be used for a Sallen & Key filter.
The PCBs are already in stock and have been tested/verified with the popular Miro AD1862 dac. That means that as orders come in I will ship the boards fairly quickly, probably twice a week.
There is a spreadsheet where I will post some summary information so that everyone can see what the progress is.
Price:
Please leave your username here and PM me your contact information (paypal email, and shipping details).
Regards to all
Fran
This GB is limited to 32 (SE stereo pair) PCB sets and you will need to source the parts you need yourself. The parts are shown in the BOM, but the only parts that are not available from Mouser/Digikey etc are 2SK170BL and 2SJ74BL which are available from the diyaudio store. For each channel you will need 2 matched 2SK170 and one matched pair of 2SK170/2SJ74 (for example, one N-channel quad and one NP-quad from the store for a stereo pair @$80-90 plus shipping). There are other parts that need to be matched but these are much more easily obtained and buying a small excess of cheap components means you should have close enough matches. It might also be worth someone on each continent matching and providing them locally but I’ll leave that up to those who participate. The BoM and comprehensive build guide will issue with the boards to those who participate.
The build is of moderate level - there are SMD components, and it is best if you have experience soldering SMD, and have the equipment to do so. You will receive 4 PCBs - left IV, right IV and matching left and right stacker boards which can be used for a Sallen & Key filter.
The PCBs are already in stock and have been tested/verified with the popular Miro AD1862 dac. That means that as orders come in I will ship the boards fairly quickly, probably twice a week.
There is a spreadsheet where I will post some summary information so that everyone can see what the progress is.
Price:
- 1 set of 4 PCBs, for 2 SE channels €24
- shipping and packaging worldwide tracked €9
Please leave your username here and PM me your contact information (paypal email, and shipping details).
Regards to all
Fran
Attachments
Thanks to Fran for taking over all the donkey work.
You can also read his review here :
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...e-cen-iv-with-fixed-rails.389776/post-7111500
Should the DIYA store rin out of matched JFETs, we shall supply them to the subscribers.
But ours are curve tracer matched to tighter tolerances at controlled temperature. So more expensive.
We therefore recommend you source from the store first.
Patrick
You can also read his review here :
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...e-cen-iv-with-fixed-rails.389776/post-7111500
Should the DIYA store rin out of matched JFETs, we shall supply them to the subscribers.
But ours are curve tracer matched to tighter tolerances at controlled temperature. So more expensive.
We therefore recommend you source from the store first.
Patrick
I would like to try discrete I/V for my Miro DAC but I have a few unfinished projects as well as investing in soon to be released projects I've been interested in. So I might not get to this for a little bit. I don't want to buy the boards just to sit on them. But don't want to get "left out" either. Is this GB a one time deal? Or will there be more runs?
Edit: You posted the answer to the question I was typing 🙃 I think I will wait for the next GB
Edit: You posted the answer to the question I was typing 🙃 I think I will wait for the next GB
@thirdicomplex - it really is demand led. If there is sufficient demand to get another run of boards done we can do that, but it has to be enough. So it is a gamble to wait and yet as you say, you might pay for boards for them to sit in the pile for a long time!!
Discrete I/V was a game changer for me. I’ve been using the Pass Zen and really like it, but I’m super excited for this cascode CEN. No coupling caps, better PSRR, and more voltage gain - checks all my boxes
