So I've seen the BHL phono kits on ebay and read about them at the site. It looks nice and simple but I'm not sure how well it could perform. It seems like it would be very susceptible to the type of power supply you hook it up to.
Boozhound Laboratories: JFET Phono Preamp Kit
Boozhound Laboratories: JFET Moving Coil Pre-Preamp lit
Has anyone played around with these?
Boozhound Laboratories: JFET Phono Preamp Kit
Boozhound Laboratories: JFET Moving Coil Pre-Preamp lit
Has anyone played around with these?
I completed my Boozhound phono pre build a couple of weeks ago, and I'm VERY pleased with the results. I'm powering it with 16 Alkaline "D" cell batteries that measures at just over 25VDC. The amp is dead silent and my record collection sounds better than ever.
This is my first stand alone phono preamp, but I've had other preamps with fairly respectable phono sections. Advent 300, Sonographe SC-1, McIntosh MX110, NAD 3020, Parasound PHP-850, Great American Sound Thoebe, Dynaco PAS-3. Some of these were better than others, but none of them come close (as I remember) to the Boozhound.
The cabinet is a recycled Ethernet repeater. You can see where I covered dozens of holes in the chassis with copper tape in an effort to prevent/reduce EMI/RFI, and then covered the front and back with a new facade.
Kudos to Jason at Boozhound for bailing me out when I domed a cap on first power up with power polarity reversed...(duh)
This is my first stand alone phono preamp, but I've had other preamps with fairly respectable phono sections. Advent 300, Sonographe SC-1, McIntosh MX110, NAD 3020, Parasound PHP-850, Great American Sound Thoebe, Dynaco PAS-3. Some of these were better than others, but none of them come close (as I remember) to the Boozhound.
The cabinet is a recycled Ethernet repeater. You can see where I covered dozens of holes in the chassis with copper tape in an effort to prevent/reduce EMI/RFI, and then covered the front and back with a new facade.
Kudos to Jason at Boozhound for bailing me out when I domed a cap on first power up with power polarity reversed...(duh)
Attachments
I shouldn't have said the Boozhound MM preamp sounds better than those other phono sections i've used. I should have said my current turntable/cartridge and supporting stereo components sound better with the Boozhound than with the other MM preamp sections I've used in the past. (got that out of the way...) 
The Boozhound Labs site Boozhound Laboratories: JFET Phono Preamp Kit says it draws <50mA. I'm interested to see how long the batteries are going to last. My thumbnail calculations estimate ~250 hours. At a $1.50 / Coppertop, that about ten cents an hour. Works for me.
The Boozhound Labs site Boozhound Laboratories: JFET Phono Preamp Kit says it draws <50mA. I'm interested to see how long the batteries are going to last. My thumbnail calculations estimate ~250 hours. At a $1.50 / Coppertop, that about ten cents an hour. Works for me.
I'm debating where to start with a reasonably priced DIY phono kit. The BHL looks pretty good and I can power it off of 2 rechargable 9V batteries if I wanted to. The problem for me is will I be happier spending a little more on an Akido Phono or something like this. It's hard to know where the diminishing returns start when you are talking about DIY.
I've been musing this over, and one of the criteria you might want to consider when selecting a phone pre is how much gain you need. Just like you want to match your phono cartridge to the tonearm, you want to match the cartridge to the preamp too.
The Boozhound has ~40db gain. My rig would probably benefit from another 10db or so. And make no mistake, I'm blown away by the Boozhound, but this Winter when it's cold and wet, and I'm not building speakers in the garage, I'll be building the VSPS (Very Simple Phono Stage) RJM Audio - The Very Simple Phono Stage that can easily be configured to 50db gain, on my wife's kitchen table
The Boozhound has ~40db gain. My rig would probably benefit from another 10db or so. And make no mistake, I'm blown away by the Boozhound, but this Winter when it's cold and wet, and I'm not building speakers in the garage, I'll be building the VSPS (Very Simple Phono Stage) RJM Audio - The Very Simple Phono Stage that can easily be configured to 50db gain, on my wife's kitchen table
You can also build CNC MM Phonostage under $50.I am using it since 2 years can be compared with any high end Phonostage.
More here http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=371889
and here http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=9021.0
Regards,
Sachin
More here http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=371889
and here http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=9021.0
Regards,
Sachin
alternative capacitors for boozehound labs (mm)
Hi, I have recently built the boozehound labs mm phono preamp and thinks it a great little preamp. I'd like to try a different 33nf capacitor and would appreciate a bit of advice as to which manufacture and model i should go for as they can get pretty expensive.
thanks
Hi, I have recently built the boozehound labs mm phono preamp and thinks it a great little preamp. I'd like to try a different 33nf capacitor and would appreciate a bit of advice as to which manufacture and model i should go for as they can get pretty expensive.
thanks
I've replaced all the caps in my boozehound. First I did the output coupling with a Jantzen silver. Then the coupling between the stages with REL RTX. Finally, the RIAA section with a vishay 1837 (.1), a wima (.033) and a silver mica (.001).
It changes the sound signature a lot. The Russian PIO caps are smooth and laid back and don't have much hi-end extension. The cap change brought a lot more detail and shifted the sound toward brighter, faster and more detailed. If this is what you want then do it. I am not a fan of the PIO caps.
Wima is a good choice for inexpensive caps. the 50V versions are cheap. I like vishay 1837 for cheap caps too. Both of these caps, while not "audiophile" will brighten and tighten up the sound compared to the russian pio caps. This may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your objective.
Here's an interesting read on caps:
Humble Homemade Hifi
It changes the sound signature a lot. The Russian PIO caps are smooth and laid back and don't have much hi-end extension. The cap change brought a lot more detail and shifted the sound toward brighter, faster and more detailed. If this is what you want then do it. I am not a fan of the PIO caps.
Wima is a good choice for inexpensive caps. the 50V versions are cheap. I like vishay 1837 for cheap caps too. Both of these caps, while not "audiophile" will brighten and tighten up the sound compared to the russian pio caps. This may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your objective.
Here's an interesting read on caps:
Humble Homemade Hifi
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