Hi All,
I've been lurking on here for the last year and am about to make a celebratory post in the F5 forum but thought I ought to introduce myself first.
My main hobby for many years was old sports cars and I still like them but got tired of spending all my time working on them. A few years ago I got into listening to music again after many years of not really having a home stereo. I started with my old equipment and then started upgrading and learning more about it all. That led to things like finding the schematics for all the equipment I bought, which led to spice simulations, taking my own performance measurements etc. I just finished my third diy project. The first was a B1 buffer that I replaced a $4000 McIntosh pre-amp with (no affense Mac fans). Once I saw the schematic for the McIntosh I had, it went back on Audiogon where I bought it. My issue with it was that it was a so-called tube pre-amp, but there were several op-amps in the signal path and the volume control was an IC chip. Just wasn't what I was looking for.
Used the B1 for a while and then went after something with remote control which I missed having. Ended up building an auto-former passive pre with remote source select, volume and balance. No components in the signal path except the auto-former volume control. Then I decided I wanted to hear what a pure type of solid state amp could do for me. My Push-Pull vacuum tube amp sounds really good but has an abysmal damping factor because output impedence is 4.2 Ohm. What could this F5 with an output impedence of 0.2 Ohm sound like? I wanted to know, and at this moment I'm listening to the one I just built. It sounds great!
Anyway, I'll have to find a new project as soon I finishe the last details of this one.
best wishes, and hope all your projects are going as well as this one just did.
Phil
I've been lurking on here for the last year and am about to make a celebratory post in the F5 forum but thought I ought to introduce myself first.
My main hobby for many years was old sports cars and I still like them but got tired of spending all my time working on them. A few years ago I got into listening to music again after many years of not really having a home stereo. I started with my old equipment and then started upgrading and learning more about it all. That led to things like finding the schematics for all the equipment I bought, which led to spice simulations, taking my own performance measurements etc. I just finished my third diy project. The first was a B1 buffer that I replaced a $4000 McIntosh pre-amp with (no affense Mac fans). Once I saw the schematic for the McIntosh I had, it went back on Audiogon where I bought it. My issue with it was that it was a so-called tube pre-amp, but there were several op-amps in the signal path and the volume control was an IC chip. Just wasn't what I was looking for.
Used the B1 for a while and then went after something with remote control which I missed having. Ended up building an auto-former passive pre with remote source select, volume and balance. No components in the signal path except the auto-former volume control. Then I decided I wanted to hear what a pure type of solid state amp could do for me. My Push-Pull vacuum tube amp sounds really good but has an abysmal damping factor because output impedence is 4.2 Ohm. What could this F5 with an output impedence of 0.2 Ohm sound like? I wanted to know, and at this moment I'm listening to the one I just built. It sounds great!
Anyway, I'll have to find a new project as soon I finishe the last details of this one.
best wishes, and hope all your projects are going as well as this one just did.
Phil
Howdy Phil - and Welcome to diyAudio!!!! 
Austin TX is one of my favorite places on planet earth!!!!
We do have a couple of diyAudio suspects on the prowl down there, so be on the look out for 'em because they will influence into builder bigger and better stuff - and then drink up all of your beer when they invite themselves over to listen to it.....
Austin TX is one of my favorite places on planet earth!!!!
We do have a couple of diyAudio suspects on the prowl down there, so be on the look out for 'em because they will influence into builder bigger and better stuff - and then drink up all of your beer when they invite themselves over to listen to it.....
Thanks for welcome's everyone. I must say after being involved with car forums for many obscure makes, this is the most active forum I have ever seen. It always amazes me when I come here and find 15 to 20 posts each hour.
c2cthomas, I wish I could find other diy'ers here in Austin. There was at least an audio club that tried to start up a few times but never seemed to make it as far as I can tell. I'd love to get together with other audio heads. Maybe that will happen some day. I did go to an audio fest in Dallas a couple of months ago and that was pretty cool. I met the guy who personally made the auto-formers I have. Nice guy. I would imagine Nashville is great place to be too.
c2cthomas, I wish I could find other diy'ers here in Austin. There was at least an audio club that tried to start up a few times but never seemed to make it as far as I can tell. I'd love to get together with other audio heads. Maybe that will happen some day. I did go to an audio fest in Dallas a couple of months ago and that was pretty cool. I met the guy who personally made the auto-formers I have. Nice guy. I would imagine Nashville is great place to be too.
Looks as if a couple of the local boys have logged in so that might be of some help in the DIY world of audio. Shows such as the Dallas show are a good place to make some contacts. It's hard to find DIY buddies - I go to the audio shows and am a member of the Nashville Audio Society and I met a couple of buddies that DIY through the NAS - so check out your local audio society too. Right now I think that there are me and maybe two other guys that actually DIY audio stuff in the Nashville area - I would love to meet more, or encourage more, people to get involved in the fun....
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