Finally, an affordable CD Transport: the Shigaclone story

Re: Re: shigaclone

kevinkr said:

Johnm:
I think my RCEZ32 based clone significantly outperforms my media server in some ways. It seems generally a touch more refined - nothing earth shattering as the server is quite good, and the differences aren't immediately apparent in casual listening. I think one particular area where the clone really seems to stand out is in the frequency extremes, the bottom octaves are extremely well defined, controlled and convincing, and in the very top octaves this is some of the cleanest "undigital" sound I have heard from cd.


Kevin, what might you be using as your media server? Anything special about its setup? I have the ez31 in shipment and look forward to comparing it to the Linux server I have setup based on SoundCheck's WIKI mod's
 
Ed LaFontaine said:


The o-rings are used as tensioners. An o-ring is hooked onto a point of attachment on the plinth and then stretched gently to another point on the sub-base. This tension compresses the springs slightly. Each additional o-ring increases the compression of the springs. The compression of the springs is balanced against the tension in the o-rings along with the weight of the plinth.
I think I'll start with 2 o-rings on all 4 sides of the plinth, 1 on each side of a corner, 8 o-rings.

Hi

That´s what came up in mind when I was putting some sketchtes on paper this morning . Belive it. Useing wooden plinth and sub-base you can hook the o-rings with brass hook screws. I estimated four spring, three o-rings around each, 120 dgr apart, YMMV.

I just didn´t realise this could substitute a heavy metal plinth, but came close :D

http://www.allproducts.com/metal/ucando/18-cup_hooks.html

I can laminate 1/4" aircraft grade plywood left of RC airmodeler time. Primitive but cheap. :D:D

Thanks for clarification
 
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hayenc said:
Having applied too high voltage to the transport myself, I might offer a small glimmer of hope. Kevin is right in that if the voltage was applied backwards, there might not be hope. But I applied about 14 volts and the 10 v electrolyitc went, and the supply itself went (or was already bad), but the rest of the transport survived. The motor driver chip is rated about 14 volts with internal regulator. The rest of the chips on the 32 have regulators in front of them. Now those transistors may be fried, but the chips themselves may have survived.

Since you have a 31 and the service manual has been posted, it would be worth checking against the regulation in the schematic before tossing the transport to see if only the regulation was damaged.

But I do agree with Kevin. First step is to ensure you have a properly functioning power supply indepedent of the transport. I was able to fit short power wires into the holes that used to hold the inductor, but checked way too many times to ensure I did not hook them up backwards.

Good luck in your trials.

Craig

Hi hayenc,
Actually there is only one main voltage regulator which is part of the motor controller IC and it supplies 5V via an external pass transistor to everything on the board, any other lower voltages present are derived from this supply.

Hi Quan,
That is unfortunate.. Better luck next time..
 
I made some listening test today.

As I had no XLR cable to attach SPDIF to the Studer D730, I compared the audio out from the D730 to the Shigaclone connected to a modified Super Pro (CS8416 and CS4398).

The D730 is based an a CDM4 drive, SAA7350 bitstream connected to TDA1547.

I cannot say, what is better. There is a difference, but it seems to be a matter of taste.

The Studer is a little bit better balanced, very comfortable sound.

The Shigaclone with the 24 Bit DAC shows some more details in the music, maybe a little bit better differentation in the soundstage.

Next weekend, I will compare SPDIF out of the Studer with the Shigaclone over the same DAC.

Franz
 
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Re: Re: Re: shigaclone

bluemartini said:



Kevin, what might you be using as your media server? Anything special about its setup? I have the ez31 in shipment and look forward to comparing it to the Linux server I have setup based on SoundCheck's WIKI mod's


Here is the thread detailing what I went through to get this thing to work. Built expressly from scratch for serving music and video. The addition of another drive has made it a bit noisier than I would like, but it is acceptably quiet at any listening volume I employ. I have also upgraded to 1GB of ram - other than that and the latest version of J River media player it is as described towards the end of the thread.

Here is the thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60909&highlight=

Were I to do it again I would not use a mobo with integrated audio or video, although the video performance is more than ok, the onboard chipset was not bit perfect. (Hardware resampled everything to 48K) The M-Audio Audiophile 2496 sound car I selected cured the bit perfect issues and is a good performer and reasonably priced.

Today I might select Linux over winXP Pro, but various issues at the time made windoz a more logical choice I thought - these days I am less convinced that is the case, however I am not sure how good driver support is for some of the higher performance sound cards. At the time my Audiophile 2496 was not supported by any distribution I was familiar with, and there were some issues with the quality of the alsa mixer and package as well. (There is another mixer preferred for quality critical audio applications, but of course I cannot remember the name at this moment.)

It performs similarly to the shigaclone, but in some areas the shigaclone surpasses it very slightly in terms of sound quality. I think the clone manages slightly more open and extended highs, and slightly more detail, along with somewhat better bass definition. The clone is still a moving target and I expect it to improve with further tweaks and as I move closer to completing the case work and mass loading.
 
parts

Does anyone have one of the ribbon cables that go to the display that the would be willing to sell me or give me. I would pay postage of course.

There has to be someone out there with a unit that they bricked that would be willing to part with one.

Mine was damaged in shipping.

Thanks!

-claiborne
 
Thanks Kevin for the explaination of your media server. The post man dropped off a failed to delivery notice for my EZ31 parts so I will get the chance to build out the clone and compare it to my linux setup.

I have mixed emotions, as the media server makes things so eazy to kick back, play some smooth jazz and sip at a nice red wine or a single malt.
 
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bluemartini said:
Thanks Kevin for the explaination of your media server. The post man dropped off a failed to delivery notice for my EZ31 parts so I will get the chance to build out the clone and compare it to my linux setup.

I have mixed emotions, as the media server makes things so eazy to kick back, play some smooth jazz and sip at a nice red wine or a single malt.

I wouldn't worry too much, I still use the media server on a pretty regular basis, and as I said the differences between the two in my case are pretty subtle. There are also many instances where much greater convenience and flexibility may overcome some minor performance deficits for normal use. I built this to supplement my Sony sacd as a source, not to replace either it or the server.. Shigaclone may win in very critical listening, but for casual listening the differences are not very apparent. Also bear in mind that a few months ago the Sony was my new toy, now the shigaclone is, and soon the attention will turn back to the server, and it too will get better.. (It's a vicious cycle, but I win in the end through better sound.) All of my digital sources are quite good, and I could live with any one.

:D
 
clamp update

i managed to get a couple of hours in the machine shop before work on tuesday. i was able to complete the bottom section. here is a photo, the first and last images are duplicates.

i did this on a lathe that when it was new in 1943 had an accuracy of 1/1000th of an inch (0.025mm). it runs a little looser now so you have to "feel" your way to the final measurement.

i expect to do the nut this weekend.


collage.jpg
 
the cd clamp will slide down the spindle and will hopefully friction fit. i chose the diameter of the hole in the clamp based on available reamer sizes and the appropriate references - there are reference tables dedicated to fitting different materials together which suggest appropriate diameters. i will stop the clamp at the appropriate position on the shaft by placing a custom spacer between the motor and the clamp.

there is a lot of interest in this clamp and i am not ignoring requests but i need to make a few before i make any commitments to making any more than that.

for those who have offered to pay for a clamp, would any of you consider paying $50 USD for one? This seems like a lot for piece of plastic but it does not come close to covering my time investment, shop time, or materials. My feeling is that most people would find this price outrageous, that is why i was just going to do a limited run of 3 or 4 and give one or two away for free.

next week i may inquire at the pro machine shop (next door to the student MS that i work in) what a run of 50 of these would cost.
 
Peter Daniel said:
As I was working recently on a new display board, here's the actual schematic, the one in service manual is not exactly accurate.

I also simplified it for my needs, with only 4 main buttons. The other 2 buttons are for programming and repeat. I only need them on remote.

The digital output resistors are also explaned there.


Peter

Refer to your post #148. Can pins 1 and 9 to 16 from CN701 left open to discard display but keep operation with remote

Thanks