Arjen Helder Buffer V2

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But another newbee question from me regarding the way from the cinch sockets of my CD Player to the V2 buffer amp: how to handle with the black mass cable on the board which is shared from the right and left input together ? Cinch outputs have for each channel the separate mass contact and if I am not wrong it´s the outer ring which is mass, or ?

Should I assume that "black mass" is the same thing as signal ground? If this is the case, you can use a small segment of wire to connect the grounds (i.e., "mass contacts") of each cinch connector and connect the black signal ground wire to one of the cinch connector ground connections.

My preference would be to use a better volume pot or stepped attenuator and directly wire the input RCA connectors to the volume pot and the volume pot to the PCB thru-holes where the stock volume pot is mounted on the MkII 12AU7 Tube Buffer PCB. To reduce noise, I plan to use shielded signal cable (e.g., Belden 1855P or Mogami 2368) with the shielding connected to ground connections on the RCA connectors and the PCB thru-holes. I completely bypass the quick-connect 3-pin connector. Before I implement this, I want to see if Arjen can solve the problem of loud pops during turn-on/turn-off.
 
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Should I assume that "black mass" is the same thing as signal ground?
Yes - that´s correct. (GND)
If this is the case, you can use a small segment of wire to connect the grounds (i.e., "mass contacts") of each cinch connector and connect the black signal ground wire to one of the cinch connector ground connections.
Thanks, the same I did yet before and no problems.

My preference would be to use a better volume pot or stepped attenuator and directly wire the input RCA connectors to the volume pot and the volume pot to the PCB thru-holes where the stock volume pot is mounted on the MkII 12AU7 Tube Buffer PCB. To reduce noise, I plan to use shielded signal cable (e.g., Belden 1855P or Mogami 2368) with the shielding connected to ground connections on the RCA connectors and the PCB thru-holes. I completely bypass the quick-connect 3-pin connector. Before I implement this, I want to see if Arjen can solve the problem of loud pops during turn-on/turn-off.
you mentioned an important thing. I notice for example a present very light humming from the speakers when no music is playing and I notice much more humming when I touch the vol. pot or the tube. Maybe this could disapear if followed your tips. Or should a battery supply instead of SMPS solve this humming issue also ? Cheap prices lead to use cheap solutions.
I wished Arjen used a bigger pcb with more "room" for extras. Of course I would agree to pay more then.:2c:

BTW: I think we both use the matching Mk III TA2020 if I am not wrong.
 
you mentioned an important thing. I notice for example a present very light humming from the speakers when no music is playing and I notice much more humming when I touch the vol. pot or the tube. Maybe this could disapear if followed your tips. Or should a battery supply instead of SMPS solve this humming issue also ? Cheap prices lead to use cheap solutions.
I wished Arjen used a bigger pcb with more "room" for extras. Of course I would agree to pay more then.:2c:

BTW: I think we both use the matching Mk III TA2020 if I am not wrong.

I have the MkIII TA2020 amp, and I am very pleased with it. That's why I purchased the MkII 12AU7 Tube Buffer to get even better sound from the T-amp.

I don't know if a battery supply would do any better with ground loops than an SMPS. You might want to try grounding the body of the volume pot or check how well isolated your cinch connectors are from your chassis.

I agree that a larger PCB would be nice, but the key to a T-amp's performance is to keep signal paths as short as possible, which Arjen has done. If only his tube buffer didn't pop on turn-on/turn-off.:(
 
why persistent turn-on-off-on-off-on-off- .... ?? Let the amp continous ON.
So after the initial POP of turn on, you are saying let it run constantly. Arjen will be pleased that you have solved the problem with his product.
Couple of downsides with your resolve, reduced tube life, higher energy bills.
Maybe electricity is cheap in Germany...............it certainly ain't in the UK.

BITF
 
Couple of downsides with your resolve, reduced tube life, higher energy bills.
Maybe electricity is cheap in Germany...............it certainly ain't in the UK.

BITF

So please does anybody has a concrete calculation regarding above mentioned concernes ... ?? I am also interested in those. Sadly I am not the tube expert - otherwise I would had done it by myself.

What I read till now is that pre-tubes live much more longer than power-tubes and the power consumption depends on the gain.
Should I reduce at least the vol.pot on the board when I have finished the listening ??
BITF - you seem a litle bit more expert in that area than me ... could you please give me suggestion ?
 
So please does anybody has a concrete calculation regarding above mentioned concernes ... ?? I am also interested in those. Sadly I am not the tube expert - otherwise I would had done it by myself.

What I read till now is that pre-tubes live much more longer than power-tubes and the power consumption depends on the gain.
Should I reduce at least the vol.pot on the board when I have finished the listening ??
BITF - you seem a litle bit more expert in that area than me ... could you please give me suggestion ?

If tubelife is 10000 hours, it would equal 415 days if constantly on. I think that not too many people would be comfortable with keeping an amplifier on 24/7all year. if if it only cost you 10-20EUR a year.

But I don't really understand this issue, cant you just turn on the tube buffer before the amp? or does it still pop just by having the buffer there?
 
But I don't really understand this issue, cant you just turn on the tube buffer before the amp? or does it still pop just by having the buffer there?
Most people on this forum have built integrated amps, TA2020 Amp, Tube buffer and a single PSU all operated by one switch.
When the buffer goes off the amp does as well, resulting in POP!
Don't really want to include another switch in my integrated (no room).

Arjen's eBay site states 'This new product is specially designed for the Tripath TA2020-TA2022-TA2024 based amplifiers as a Buffer stage to add that smooth silky sound to your system'.............or not, as the case is!

BITF
 
If tubelife is 10000 hours, it would equal 415 days if constantly on. I think that not too many people would be comfortable with keeping an amplifier on 24/7all year. if if it only cost you 10-20EUR a year.

not only that. The decrease of tube performance will move faster --- so my views of persistent switched ON have meanwhile changed. But though that I will let the buffer amp still persistent ON. Just for some days till a solution is found I am baking electron-pizzas night and day:p
 
Well I tried connecting my Klipsch Forte II speakers to my tube buffer/TA2020 amp yesterday after I turned it on, and no pops as expected. I inserted an OS RCA 12AU7A clear top with side getter in the tube buffer. I have to say that the sound quality was very impressive with a tall, wide and deep holographic soundstage. Arjen is right in his eBay ad that this does smooth the T-amp's sound without sacrificing detail. I didn't hear any tube hiss or hum, although I could hear a faint hiss when I put my ear up to the speaker, but in my listening position about 8 feet away, I couldn't hear anything other than music.

I would say that this combination competes well with my modified EL84 P-P amp and runs cooler too. I have another OS tube--I think it's a Tung-Sol 12AU7 with black plates--to try in the buffer. I think this combination of tube buffer and T-amp has tremendous potential and I am hopeful that Arjen can come up with a solution to the turn-on/turn-off pops. Having to disconnect my speakers from the T-amp before switching it off is not my idea of fun. I'm certainly not going to kill my tubes leaving the buffer and amp turned on. They are both powered by a single regulated Power-One SMPS that I modded.
 
Cured pop on/off problem by fitting two small 'Lorlin' rotary switches to the 13v feed to the tube buffer and ampliifier. First switch switches buffer, second switches amplifier. Turn on switch one, wait a few seconds. Turn on switch two no pop!. Turning off is a reversal of above. Switches off eBay 2 pack Rotary Mains Switch - High Inrush Current on eBay (end time 28-May-10 11:12:22 BST).
£4.49 to save your speakers seems a bargain!
Note my buffer is the Mk 1, but same problem existed!

BITF
 

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Hi borninthefifties,

I was thinking about using this:

New AC Selector Switch

and now your post pretty much confirms that the ability to switch the power on to the tube buffer followed with turning on the T-amp is probably the way to go. Thanks for the information.

With the exception of the turn-on and turn-off pop problem, the MkII tube buffer really does improve the sound quality of the T-amp, especially when rolling in a good OS tube like the RCA black plate 12AU7 or RCA clear top 12AU7. The soundstage gains depth and loses the slight edginess inherent in many Class D amps. The overall presentation is smoother and more natural.
 
Hi borninthefifties,

I was thinking about using this:

New AC Selector Switch

and now your post pretty much confirms that the ability to switch the power on to the tube buffer followed with turning on the T-amp is probably the way to go. Thanks for the information.

With the exception of the turn-on and turn-off pop problem, the MkII tube buffer really does improve the sound quality of the T-amp, especially when rolling in a good OS tube like the RCA black plate 12AU7 or RCA clear top 12AU7. The soundstage gains depth and loses the slight edginess inherent in many Class D amps. The overall presentation is smoother and more natural.

Hi rhing

That switch looks a neater one switch option and should work well.
At the moment I am using the cheapo chinese tube that came with the buffer, not that up on tube technology, so will have to do a bit of research into a quality replacement now that the pop problem is rectified.

Rgds BITF
 
No pop

I have Arjen's 12AU7 buffer board in front of Yuanjing TA2020 amp (similar to the one pictured) and never had any pops, neither when turning on nor off.
Both are fed from the same external 12V 3.33A supply that came from an LCD display.

With 90dB bookshelf speakers 1 meter away even when volume pots are not down nothing is heard when switching on, with 96dB floorstanders I routinely turn the volume down on both buffer and amp anyway and never heard any pops or cracks.

As for the tube choice, I find Sylvania Jan 5963 sweeter sounding than RCA 12AU7 cleartop in this this board. It definitely has warmer and slightly deeper bass.
 

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Hi all
to solve the on and off pop .... i didn't have any electronic equipment to adjust my trim pot so what i did , is use a stand alone cheap speaker and hooked it on to left or right channel ,
had the (-) wire connected to speaker ,

i tapped the (+) positive wire on and off the positive wire on the speaker... imitating the off and off switching of the amp and at the same time adjusted the trimpot screw till popping noise is heard no more ,

did the same with the other channel and now that pop problem is solved . Now i can hook up proper speakers to the amp without fear of inflicting damage to speakers .
reo
 
Hi Ipanema
Ah , i had my good speakers hooked up and everytime i turned on the amp and the mk2 buffer , i had this loud pop and disconected my speakers and put on a small stand alone speaker and started fiddling with the offset adjustments and got the noise to go down to almost no noise . i didn't even know what offset adjustments was before you mentionned it , but i had to try something to stop that pop and that procedure as mentionned on the above tread worked for me .
reo
 
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