I apologize in advance for being wordy.
I have low gain with my BOZ-J. I raised the voltage from 18v to 26v on the BOZ-J and still have low gain on the phono side. From my CDP, gain is much better. There is suppose to be a "sweep spot" with certain Idss 2sk170BL volt/current combinations, but I found that the sound is very relaxing yet is able to drive the bi-amped system better.
However, with DL-110, there is no change. Gain is very low, but that maybe because I have not removed the 150 ohm load resistor yet. Yesteday I ordered a few DIP switches and several Vishay 1% resistors to setup a parallel switching system. Did the same for cap values from 100pF to 330pF.
Once I have the parts, it should not take me long to build a small board for the switching setup. I'm hoping the correct value resistor will help to improve the gain somewhat. I'm investigating building a new preamp, but I would rather not. Will try to insert my BOZ and BOSOZ preamps in the chain to see if there is improved gain over all.
I can tell you this, and this is an educated guess- the DL-110 is a great value for a HOMC cart. No doubt. Even with the problems I'm having, I can tell that if properly setup, it will perform very well and make great sound.
I believe the stock DL-110 is more quiet that my modified DL-103R with aluminum body and ruby cantilever.
One other thing and this may not matter, but the DL-110 is much prettier in person than in photos.
You'll see what I mean, if you haven't seen one in person. What I'm trying to say is don't let the price and pictures fool you.It's a performer.
Vince
Step-up Transformers and MC
This is a good read on the subject of step-up transfos, MC and impedance.
Much easier to understand, for me anyway.
I can see why my current setup can be balling things up!
mc step-up transformers explained
This is a good read on the subject of step-up transfos, MC and impedance.
Much easier to understand, for me anyway.
I can see why my current setup can be balling things up!
mc step-up transformers explained
Nice work Vince.
Have been penning a loading-switch arrangement here myself.
It's based on series & parallel, and, parallel + series, permutations with 4x 900 Ohm wire-wound Ayrton-Perry styleee resistors; and 1x 47K Ohms 'flat-planar thick-film' resistor.
It gives 10 loadings, between 225 Ohms & 3600 Ohms + 1 loading of 47K Ohms...
...could be pretty cool for change-ability.
All with only 5 resistors & a rotary switch.
Simples !
Pleased to hear the Denon is sounding good...
...guess they wouldn't have been making it since 1982, if it didn't.
Denon DL-160, strangely 'Discontinued' ...Mmmm.
Was gonna go for that one...
...but not much good, if I can't buy a replacement easily, if needed.
So Denon DL-110 @ Space Egg it is !
Waiting for 'grey NYC import' !
Cheers.
Si.
Have been penning a loading-switch arrangement here myself.
It's based on series & parallel, and, parallel + series, permutations with 4x 900 Ohm wire-wound Ayrton-Perry styleee resistors; and 1x 47K Ohms 'flat-planar thick-film' resistor.
It gives 10 loadings, between 225 Ohms & 3600 Ohms + 1 loading of 47K Ohms...
...could be pretty cool for change-ability.
All with only 5 resistors & a rotary switch.
Simples !
Pleased to hear the Denon is sounding good...
...guess they wouldn't have been making it since 1982, if it didn't.
Denon DL-160, strangely 'Discontinued' ...Mmmm.
Was gonna go for that one...
...but not much good, if I can't buy a replacement easily, if needed.
So Denon DL-110 @ Space Egg it is !
Waiting for 'grey NYC import' !
Cheers.
Si.
Hi Si,
Did a bit of listening last night after I removed the 150 ohm resistor.
Left in the 47k and did not add a 1k resistor because I'm waiting to build the load switching unit. Parts arriving soon. There was a bit more gain after removing the 150R.
Like with any cart, the DL-110 required about 2 sides of a record to warm up.
At about 3/4 of the second side, everything just opened up. More depth, detail sound stage was better and has nice extension in the highs. Midrange is nice too.
Nothing about the playback with the DL-110 is harsh. Over all it is a bit more veiled compared to the 103R, but is still very enjoyable. Maybe it will change again with 1kR.
Vince
Did a bit of listening last night after I removed the 150 ohm resistor.
Left in the 47k and did not add a 1k resistor because I'm waiting to build the load switching unit. Parts arriving soon. There was a bit more gain after removing the 150R.
Like with any cart, the DL-110 required about 2 sides of a record to warm up.
At about 3/4 of the second side, everything just opened up. More depth, detail sound stage was better and has nice extension in the highs. Midrange is nice too.
Nothing about the playback with the DL-110 is harsh. Over all it is a bit more veiled compared to the 103R, but is still very enjoyable. Maybe it will change again with 1kR.
Vince
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Hi again Vince
What do rec. on the capacitance then ?
Don't think capacitance is going to affect the DL-110 much anyhow...
...more MM balance stuff.
Might fiddle with my old preamp a bit.
I have a strange feeling, it might have too much & I never realised ( used with MM ).
How many & what cap settings are you thinking of ?
Is that to run other carts, eg. MM's with ?
Cheers
Si.
What do rec. on the capacitance then ?
Don't think capacitance is going to affect the DL-110 much anyhow...
...more MM balance stuff.
Might fiddle with my old preamp a bit.
I have a strange feeling, it might have too much & I never realised ( used with MM ).
How many & what cap settings are you thinking of ?
Is that to run other carts, eg. MM's with ?
Cheers
Si.
Adding the capacitance switching for both MM and MC, if needed. Might not need it, but it doesn't hurt to check. Just my opinion. I'm adding 100pF to 330pF switching capability.
Different people say different things about capacitance on MC. Definately need it adjusted on MM. Read the Pass Labs brochour for the XP-25 and 15 today.
My friend with the AR phono...well he switched. No pun intended. The PDF says MC don't always need more or less capacitance adjustments, but you should check anyway because it can change the tonal balance. It's a matter of perference. YMMV. You should read the XP-25 and 15 PDFs. Good info.
Like I said when I started the thread, there are a ton of carts out there. Why limit yourself?
Vince
Different people say different things about capacitance on MC. Definately need it adjusted on MM. Read the Pass Labs brochour for the XP-25 and 15 today.
My friend with the AR phono...well he switched. No pun intended. The PDF says MC don't always need more or less capacitance adjustments, but you should check anyway because it can change the tonal balance. It's a matter of perference. YMMV. You should read the XP-25 and 15 PDFs. Good info.
Like I said when I started the thread, there are a ton of carts out there. Why limit yourself?
Vince
Apparently, the schematic of the Pearl I PS is incorrect.
I decided to implement a simplified F4/F5 PS. Took 5 minutes to change and made all the difference. Now have plenty of gain.
With the DL-110 only the 55db gain is necessary. When switched to the CDP, the gain is the same. You know, that whole thing where one has to crank up the gain when switching to phono and pray to remember to lower the line stage when going back to CDP. Didn't have that problem.
Next, you have to take what I say with a grain of salt because I have a mid-fi turntable and tonearm- the AR "The Turntable" and Linn Basik vx. However, I think this price range cart is made for this type setup. Also, I'm still using the 47k load. Won't have the load switching system in until this weekend or next week.
The character of the 110 hasn't changed other than to prove it has hefty output.
I don't find that it really sparkles in the highs but its not absent either. Same for the mids.
It can present a whole lot of bass when its in the source material.
The best sound I pulled from the 110 was by using the extra weight plate for the cart.
Without it, there was a hi freq breakup on loud passages. The added weight allowed for the tonearm weight to be set further from the pivot point of the arm. I believe that this may have helped reduce some resonance in the arm, stopping the hi-freq breakup. In addition to the plate, a slightly higher than normal VTA provided more detail in the mid range, especially with a female voice.
I now have a problem with the sound being to loose. Like an under dampened ported speaker box. Its causing the bass, and in fact, the entire range to sound muddy. Could be due to sub-chassis springs or motor speed or both. Could be due to weak, hollow plinth also. Added cones as feet, but helped very little over all.
That's it for now. Won't report again until I do more with the load switching.
All the best,
Vince
I decided to implement a simplified F4/F5 PS. Took 5 minutes to change and made all the difference. Now have plenty of gain.
With the DL-110 only the 55db gain is necessary. When switched to the CDP, the gain is the same. You know, that whole thing where one has to crank up the gain when switching to phono and pray to remember to lower the line stage when going back to CDP. Didn't have that problem.
Next, you have to take what I say with a grain of salt because I have a mid-fi turntable and tonearm- the AR "The Turntable" and Linn Basik vx. However, I think this price range cart is made for this type setup. Also, I'm still using the 47k load. Won't have the load switching system in until this weekend or next week.
The character of the 110 hasn't changed other than to prove it has hefty output.
I don't find that it really sparkles in the highs but its not absent either. Same for the mids.
It can present a whole lot of bass when its in the source material.
The best sound I pulled from the 110 was by using the extra weight plate for the cart.
Without it, there was a hi freq breakup on loud passages. The added weight allowed for the tonearm weight to be set further from the pivot point of the arm. I believe that this may have helped reduce some resonance in the arm, stopping the hi-freq breakup. In addition to the plate, a slightly higher than normal VTA provided more detail in the mid range, especially with a female voice.
I now have a problem with the sound being to loose. Like an under dampened ported speaker box. Its causing the bass, and in fact, the entire range to sound muddy. Could be due to sub-chassis springs or motor speed or both. Could be due to weak, hollow plinth also. Added cones as feet, but helped very little over all.
That's it for now. Won't report again until I do more with the load switching.
All the best,
Vince
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Very interesting facts - until now new for me.
Who can post test reports about vintage and new moving coil cartridges, where was check the frequency response with test record (pink noise) and with various loads ??
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Hi Vince.
Nice you found the problem with the Pearl.
I think that TT is a fine animal indeed.
Bit of tune-up...
...BOOM !!!!
Looking forward to your loading experiments.
A switch with 900 Ohm combo's of series / parallel looks like the way we gonna go here for now.
Just drawing up the switching schematic & waiting for switches to arrive !
Audio nirvana by Christmas ?
( could take a bit longer here ! )
Cheers.
Si.
Nice you found the problem with the Pearl.
I think that TT is a fine animal indeed.
Bit of tune-up...
...BOOM !!!!
Looking forward to your loading experiments.
A switch with 900 Ohm combo's of series / parallel looks like the way we gonna go here for now.
Just drawing up the switching schematic & waiting for switches to arrive !
Audio nirvana by Christmas ?
( could take a bit longer here ! )
Cheers.
Si.
could be part of it.
see if you cant get some from marc morren (sp?)
he is a member here.
while your at it good chance to mass load.
i recomend it!
marc knows his A.R.'s!
Thanks. I bought a motor from here. AR Turntable Vinyl Nirvana Acoustic Research Merrill Thorens For Sale
They have springs and everything else. I'm just wondering what is the proper setting for the springs?
They have springs and everything else. I'm just wondering what is the proper setting for the springs?
Dave is a good guy too. I got my matt and the pully for one of my XA's from him.
He know his ar's too.
Spring setup is very interesting. I found that learning what and why you are doing makes it easier.
Marc wrote up a bit of info on this on audio karma.
If I can find it ill post a link.
Ill have to see if I can find marc's contact info. He could sum it up better.
Not to hard, takes time to do it right.
Ill see what I can dig up and send you.
He know his ar's too.
Spring setup is very interesting. I found that learning what and why you are doing makes it easier.
Marc wrote up a bit of info on this on audio karma.
If I can find it ill post a link.
Ill have to see if I can find marc's contact info. He could sum it up better.
Not to hard, takes time to do it right.
Ill see what I can dig up and send you.
Turntable Forum • Procedure for tuning/balancing sub-chassis w/ mods?
this should help. it gets to the post at AK.
this should help. it gets to the post at AK.
I can highly recommend those parts for AR tables. I also have an AR The turntable, but all that's left is the wood part and the metal top plate.
Improved springs with extended studs like Vinylnirvana has are a large improvement. The first mods I did were to buy the delrin armboard, to which I mounted an Infinity Black Widow Tonearm, extended springs and studs and the lead mat. These changes made a huge difference. Going on with the Terpolymer subchassis, Improved bearing/spindel, delrin inner platter and acrylic outer platter made even greater differences. The periphery ring/clamp and Bren1 weight finished it off performance wise.
I took the platter, lead mat and Bren1 to a friend of mines home to try on his AR, and the platter and mat alone bottomed out the suspension! Definitely need the stronger springs and extended studs here! Plus, most of these springs are now just flat worn out.
Make no mistake, these improvements will rock this table into very high performance territory, no minor tweeks are these!
Russellc
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