Thoughts about PeeCeeBee
After many experiments with different components and various test-builds with modified PeeCeeBee´s I got the perfect sound, I wished to realize with the PeeCeeBee´s.
Many very good and productive discussions with Shaan where going ahead and so he asked me, if I would write a little bit about my experiences to share it with other fans of the PeeCeeBee.
I love things which apply to the statement: »Everything big and noble is of simple nature.« And for me it very often was proved as right. It´s not the brand and not the battle of material which makes a good product and very seldom You find something very special which never was planned to be special but serendipity let it happen. That´s was the reason why I tried the PeeCeeBee's.
Because of my advanced age and a lot of other equipment I know, heard, tested or owned, I had a very special idea how it should sound. During the years I collected a lot of sound-files and pieces of music which bare strength and weakness of various parts in the audio chain which I use for me and my ears for differentiation what´s good for my listening habit and what is not so good. Such which affect speakers or amps or dacs but not by fabulating with voodoo-like phrases then more with concrete facts. Instruments You do suddenly not hear, voices which are on a wrong place, recording procedure which affect the music by producing artifacts on different systems and many more. A lot of music I know very well because I was present at the recording and I know, how it was sounding life. So I know recording conditions in the hall where very bad, one musician was tipping on the Steinway with his fingers and You can here it on some systems on others You don´t hear it, a singer was beside an other but You hear him in the background on some systems.
So, I started with V4 Rev. 1 and modded it directly to Rev. 2 without testing the Rev. 1 and then the V4H. The aim was to build a dual mono version with two separated PSU´s and two transformers. Also I ordered some electronic parts I know as brilliant in other applications and built it with them.
And what shall I say? I believe the first what I asked Shaan was: Anyone wants to buy a Cambridge Power Amp? I have here one to give away for use as an electric heater. It was the first amp I compared with the PeeCeeBee's because I thought to give the PeeCeeBee a chance.
It was so brilliant, clear, full, rich, voluminous, voices are at the right place, Instruments are sounding as they should sound, mids are mids and also in a harmonic portion to highs and bass, and the bass was so expressive and impressing that I was really shocked. Deep, powerfull, coal-pitch-raven-black, precised without over-swinging membran »booom«, instead of this short precise stomach massaging and powerful »bupp«. Only the highs seemed to be a little bit too sharp for my ears but this is easy adjustable by changing one capacitor as described by Shaan in the forum or You let him run doing the correction from a PreAmp.
I started to build an other pair of boards but this time with the advised standard parts and I was really shocked. There was not the impressive sound from the first boards and I started to build the V4H because Shaan said it´s a little bit more exciting. I have to say that I built the V4H with Shaan’s described mod for 35V so that I am able to use the same transformers like for V4. But what I heard raised doubts if I made a mistake during soldering the parts or if one part differs too much in his values or V4H is not good for lower voltage then the advised 56V.
I started a little odyssey to find out what happened. Placed testing plugs on the boards for easy changing components on every strategic place and ordered every variation of parts I could find. I believe during this time I was a real pain in Shaan´s neck with all my thoughts and ideas. Thanks god and the wonderful fish meals in India that he never loosed patience. Firstly there was the idea that something is swinging or wrong placed cables will affect the function, but nothing of this.
By the way: during soldering, testing and measuring madness I experienced how damned stable this amp is, and that he excuses many faults and is still working.
Really late I noticed, that the very difference to my first version was not the circuit layout itself or the quality of resistors, capacitors or something else, but the transistors I used.
The first boards had a special combination of Exicon transistors with special version of BD139/BD140 from UTC which both I ordered from Profusion. And fortunately I ordered not the normal Exicons but the S-version which means preselected by Profusion (facts You will find there).
So I started to try any combination of BD139/B140 (normal, with the addition BD-XXX-10, with the addition BD-XXX-16, with and without metal backplane), KSE340/350 against Reneseas Transistors and Exicons. And here are results of the Eurovision Soldering Contest: If You like listening music authentic in a good way or master-recordings or if You own DSD-files and if You own speakers which are able to reproduce this music, try the Exicons S-Types ECX10P20-S and ECX10N20-S. If You buy them in a tube of ten they are not more expensive then the Reneseas and in a tube of 30 much cheaper. If You are listening to MP3 or only need a cheap party-amp: this all I wrote doesn't greatly matter. Sorry Shaan, I know You prefer the Reneseas and that's good. Nobody has the same color impression with his eyes or listening impression with his ears like somebody else. May be one day somebody finds out that the Exixons are cheating by using an integrated self-learning DSP like the Tripath-Chips.
At the moment to me there is a significant and noticeable difference between the V4 and my V4H running on 35V. In comparison to V4 the V4H is more voluminous. Bass and highs are really at the same level but mids take place more precised with V4H. At the same volume level it's a feeling like Your started a turbo booster. For my ears I had to tune the highs of V4 with the solution Shaan described, because I felt they are sometimes too sharp. The difference is only noticeable in direct comparison. Both amps are playing on a very, very high level of satisfaction. Understandably it depends very much on the speakers too or the source or the material You are using …
One word to the soldering of the Exicons: The thermal management of the body is so damn good that it becomes a little bit tricky to solder them, because all heat suddenly leads to the metal back-plane. Because of this I used ceramic insulators for them.
Last weekend I did again a listening session with some listening improved friends. Shaan, with tears in my eyes I have to tell You that my 35kg Vincent Amp will leave me next time too. And no, I will not compare it to my McIntosh as You asked me (at the moment) because I don´t want loose my faith in things.
The last stage I will test the next days is how V4H will behave on 56V with the Exicons and the KSE’s and how dual Transformer / PSU’s will behave in comparison to single Transformer / PSU.
So, have a lot of fun with it ...
Jo
After many experiments with different components and various test-builds with modified PeeCeeBee´s I got the perfect sound, I wished to realize with the PeeCeeBee´s.
Many very good and productive discussions with Shaan where going ahead and so he asked me, if I would write a little bit about my experiences to share it with other fans of the PeeCeeBee.
I love things which apply to the statement: »Everything big and noble is of simple nature.« And for me it very often was proved as right. It´s not the brand and not the battle of material which makes a good product and very seldom You find something very special which never was planned to be special but serendipity let it happen. That´s was the reason why I tried the PeeCeeBee's.
Because of my advanced age and a lot of other equipment I know, heard, tested or owned, I had a very special idea how it should sound. During the years I collected a lot of sound-files and pieces of music which bare strength and weakness of various parts in the audio chain which I use for me and my ears for differentiation what´s good for my listening habit and what is not so good. Such which affect speakers or amps or dacs but not by fabulating with voodoo-like phrases then more with concrete facts. Instruments You do suddenly not hear, voices which are on a wrong place, recording procedure which affect the music by producing artifacts on different systems and many more. A lot of music I know very well because I was present at the recording and I know, how it was sounding life. So I know recording conditions in the hall where very bad, one musician was tipping on the Steinway with his fingers and You can here it on some systems on others You don´t hear it, a singer was beside an other but You hear him in the background on some systems.
So, I started with V4 Rev. 1 and modded it directly to Rev. 2 without testing the Rev. 1 and then the V4H. The aim was to build a dual mono version with two separated PSU´s and two transformers. Also I ordered some electronic parts I know as brilliant in other applications and built it with them.
And what shall I say? I believe the first what I asked Shaan was: Anyone wants to buy a Cambridge Power Amp? I have here one to give away for use as an electric heater. It was the first amp I compared with the PeeCeeBee's because I thought to give the PeeCeeBee a chance.
It was so brilliant, clear, full, rich, voluminous, voices are at the right place, Instruments are sounding as they should sound, mids are mids and also in a harmonic portion to highs and bass, and the bass was so expressive and impressing that I was really shocked. Deep, powerfull, coal-pitch-raven-black, precised without over-swinging membran »booom«, instead of this short precise stomach massaging and powerful »bupp«. Only the highs seemed to be a little bit too sharp for my ears but this is easy adjustable by changing one capacitor as described by Shaan in the forum or You let him run doing the correction from a PreAmp.
I started to build an other pair of boards but this time with the advised standard parts and I was really shocked. There was not the impressive sound from the first boards and I started to build the V4H because Shaan said it´s a little bit more exciting. I have to say that I built the V4H with Shaan’s described mod for 35V so that I am able to use the same transformers like for V4. But what I heard raised doubts if I made a mistake during soldering the parts or if one part differs too much in his values or V4H is not good for lower voltage then the advised 56V.
I started a little odyssey to find out what happened. Placed testing plugs on the boards for easy changing components on every strategic place and ordered every variation of parts I could find. I believe during this time I was a real pain in Shaan´s neck with all my thoughts and ideas. Thanks god and the wonderful fish meals in India that he never loosed patience. Firstly there was the idea that something is swinging or wrong placed cables will affect the function, but nothing of this.
By the way: during soldering, testing and measuring madness I experienced how damned stable this amp is, and that he excuses many faults and is still working.
Really late I noticed, that the very difference to my first version was not the circuit layout itself or the quality of resistors, capacitors or something else, but the transistors I used.
The first boards had a special combination of Exicon transistors with special version of BD139/BD140 from UTC which both I ordered from Profusion. And fortunately I ordered not the normal Exicons but the S-version which means preselected by Profusion (facts You will find there).
So I started to try any combination of BD139/B140 (normal, with the addition BD-XXX-10, with the addition BD-XXX-16, with and without metal backplane), KSE340/350 against Reneseas Transistors and Exicons. And here are results of the Eurovision Soldering Contest: If You like listening music authentic in a good way or master-recordings or if You own DSD-files and if You own speakers which are able to reproduce this music, try the Exicons S-Types ECX10P20-S and ECX10N20-S. If You buy them in a tube of ten they are not more expensive then the Reneseas and in a tube of 30 much cheaper. If You are listening to MP3 or only need a cheap party-amp: this all I wrote doesn't greatly matter. Sorry Shaan, I know You prefer the Reneseas and that's good. Nobody has the same color impression with his eyes or listening impression with his ears like somebody else. May be one day somebody finds out that the Exixons are cheating by using an integrated self-learning DSP like the Tripath-Chips.
At the moment to me there is a significant and noticeable difference between the V4 and my V4H running on 35V. In comparison to V4 the V4H is more voluminous. Bass and highs are really at the same level but mids take place more precised with V4H. At the same volume level it's a feeling like Your started a turbo booster. For my ears I had to tune the highs of V4 with the solution Shaan described, because I felt they are sometimes too sharp. The difference is only noticeable in direct comparison. Both amps are playing on a very, very high level of satisfaction. Understandably it depends very much on the speakers too or the source or the material You are using …
One word to the soldering of the Exicons: The thermal management of the body is so damn good that it becomes a little bit tricky to solder them, because all heat suddenly leads to the metal back-plane. Because of this I used ceramic insulators for them.
Last weekend I did again a listening session with some listening improved friends. Shaan, with tears in my eyes I have to tell You that my 35kg Vincent Amp will leave me next time too. And no, I will not compare it to my McIntosh as You asked me (at the moment) because I don´t want loose my faith in things.
The last stage I will test the next days is how V4H will behave on 56V with the Exicons and the KSE’s and how dual Transformer / PSU’s will behave in comparison to single Transformer / PSU.
So, have a lot of fun with it ...
Jo
Hi Gabor.
I did reply to your inquiry on the same day, you may want to check the post where you posted your question.
Anyways, yes using the Hitachi mosfets with v4h instead of v2 will be better. And yes it does sound much better than v2.
Cheers.