Simplistic NJFET RIAA

Salas I was reading back through the posts and saw your mention of the Clearaudio Goldfinger 2, wow that is an expensive (and heavy) cartridge. I noticed a curious mention in one of the reviewer's comments: "I followed Clearaudio’s suggestion and let the GF2 play for about 100 hours with a load of 47k ohms before switching to 200 ohms and eventually settling on 100 ohms." What is the thought behind breaking in an MC cartridge with a light load, does it allow for more mechanical excursion on the suspension?
 
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diyAudio Chief Moderator
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I don't know if there's something truly technical in that approach, if anything it allows little more output. Plays stronger with exaggerated treble. My friend's well used one still sounds so if loaded with 1kΩ even. He prefers it at 390Ω. He did not tell me anything about having gone through loading stages. Even my much more affordable Denon DL-103R is reported 0.32mV at 47k on its individual test datasheet when its advertised as 0.25mV. They use 47k to normalize measurements for all impedance types of carts it seems.
 
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Very simple question...

Salas, or anyone else,
I was asked about the voltage rating for C3/C4.
Just to avoid further blamage (you already know about my missing knowledge), what number can I tell him? (I know it’s close to very low...)
I briefly tried to find the according values, but not very thoroughly. Holiday times make me lazy...
Thank you!
David
 
diyAudio Chief Moderator
Joined 2002
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Salas, or anyone else,
I was asked about the voltage rating for C3/C4.
Just to avoid further blamage (you already know about my missing knowledge), what number can I tell him? (I know it’s close to very low...)
I briefly tried to find the according values, but not very thoroughly. Holiday times make me lazy...
Thank you!
David

They block up to 10V DC in this circuit. Any film capacitor is rated much higher. Just buy C3 C4 caps of good reputation with some form factor that physically fits. Good bets are C3 Clarity Cap CMR 0.1uF 630V and C4 CMR 2.2uF 400V. If on a tight budget Clarity Cap CSA 0.1uF 630V and 2.2uF 630V are still nice.
 
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They block up to 10V DC in this circuit. Any film capacitor is rated much higher. Just buy C3 C4 caps of good reputation with some form factor that physically fits. Good bets are C3 Clarity Cap CMR 0.1uF 630V and C4 CMR 2.2uF 400V. If on a tight budget Clarity Cap CSA 0.1uF 630V and 2.2uF 630V are still nice.


Thank you very much! I try to not only follow the guidelines and recommendations, but also to look a bit under the carpet (learn about all this magic)
...
David
 
@pfarrell,
How would you describe the importance of your full dual monos in terms of taking advantage of what the FSP (UFSP) can do? Really nice work on this part of the project. Looks spectacular too.
Don


Hi Don,
Single PSU and transfo in both my builds—Salas RAW board per the build guide for FSP—Actually using that PSU for Ultra at the moment while I build another for Ultra specifically—so I can taste test them both powered up and do some comparisons—then have one for each deck!
Was it the split power wiring that looked dual-mono-y?
 
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Pfarrell,
Actually, my question was really unclear. I was really referring to the end amplifier section of your system. Didn't you go full mono. Was really wondering what your thoughts were on this as far as taking advantage of the other capabilities in your system. Am I making more sense?
But, the info you provided was interesting. I like following your builds because they are interesting and the workmanship always seems special.
Thanks,
Don
 
Thanks!! Ah yes. Monoblock M2X/Norwoods. I think this made a large difference in my setup in terms of noise floor and separation—any future amps I build will be mono blocks. Recently things have jumped for the better in a huge way that I wasn't expecting at this stage. I added the Aikido preamp and perhaps more critical tried an MC cart. I haven't been motivated to swap out the tubes (for Waynes Pre) and see how much of the awesomeness is MC vs MM. I will probably have to—but for now there seems to be some crazy cocktail of LoMC/Tubes/SMD/Iron plus salt and pepper CMR/Mundorf caps that's just NUTS (Good). I'm sure the SP-10 is a factor? I'm working on mbrennwa's Open Source Monkey Coffin 3-way speakers and when they are in place it's likely I will have to work hard to not totally lose my mind when the musics on!
 
The monster tube is a Cwl-851 aka VT-41 . I lit it up once, way too much heat ( 11 volts 15.5 amps ). All the tubes on the wall are radio transmitter tubes. The black material behind the tubes are sound absorbers and the the tubes themselves are for diffusion. Nice too look at and yet somewhat functional. The attached picture is of a 838 transmitter tube.
 

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RAW PSU!

Completed the dedicated RAW PSU for Ultra. Now I can run it concurrent with FSP.
With new PSU I observed that 1. the system seemed even quieter than previous with my FSP PSU on Ultra (Was already superbly quiet, so this is almost more of an instinct, but there it is), 2. T.P didn't float around as much, if at all—very stable as far as meter would tell. Coincidence? Or can this be attributable to PSU changes? I threw a shielded can in there because—why not? And there are 6 toroids and 2 autoformers inside a 2 foot radius of the amps etc... no idea. I have a minimum of 4' distance between Ultra and PSU.

The AT33PTG/II is in fact sweet. Thank you Salas. You have succeeded in making me move up the project list a new plinth for two arms!! The HanaML seems "bigger" in room presence and more full in the mids. BUT—I need and want to give the AT some time in the system... 220R loading. It's lovely—very "clear" sounding out of the box. Can't wait to put the Denon 103 back in after getting a good sense of all three. WAY way too much fun. Thinking I will be socketing the 560R spot. I don't see why all builders shouldn't socket one of the loading positions from the start.

What a gift vinyl is!

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diyAudio Chief Moderator
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Raw PSU does not play a direct role for T.P. Temperature change in the main box affects.

The AT has boron cantilever while the Hana has aluminum so expect different presentation than the Hana no matter if both have line contact styli. The AT prefers a neutral VTA in my experience and a few days of play to open up.