B1 Buffer Preamp

[seemtorecall]

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone here could clarify if I would be able to use 2 x 12v sla batteries in series as 24v to power the b1 buffer. In the description it says 18-24v but since the fully charged batteries output a bit more than that, will it still be fine?

Thanks for your help!

[seemtorecall]

Another question I ran into is regarding the 1uf and 10uf caps, how important is the voltage rating here, I see some use 1uf and 10uf 400vdc, but would it be fine to use 1uf and 10uf 200vcd?

Thanks for any help... I'm really starting from scratch here so pardon the possibly ridicules questions.

[tabarddn]

Hi, Can answer the battery question and it it yes. but it is better to put a voltage regulator after it. Look at Ebay you can buy for as little as $5-00

[AndrewT]

If the worst case battery voltage is 13.8Vdc and you have two connected in series, then the capacitor voltage rating never needs to be above 35V. 25V rating might work in all locations but there may be a few location that could just exceed that lowish rating in exceptional operation.

[KatieandDad]

The B1 will work quite comfortably at 36V, I wouldn't go any higher than that.

Just make sure that all the rail caps are rated sufficiently.

[seemtorecall]

Thanks a lot for answering my battery questions, if I understand correctly I should be fine if I just change the value of C1 and C2 (15.000uf 25v) to 35v type caps instead?

Thanks!

[bassnkeys]

I recently finished my 2nd B1.
Both sound great but they are different.
I made 3 main changes.
Which of these changes would make the biggest differences in the sonics?
1. Different caps in the signal path, same type and value, different brands.
2. Wall wart power supply (measures solid) vs built in regulated.
3. Goldpoint vs Seiden/Takman metal foil stepped attenuator.

[bassnkeys]

Originally Posted by seemtorecall

Thanks a lot for answering my battery questions, if I understand correctly I should be fine if I just change the value of C1 and C2 (15.000uf 25v) to 35v type caps instead?

Thanks!

Yes.

[jean-paul]

Originally Posted by bassnkeys

I recently finished my 2nd B1.
Both sound great but they are different.
I made 3 main changes.
Which of these changes would make the biggest differences in the sonics?
1. Different caps in the signal path, same type and value, different brands.
2. Wall wart power supply (measures solid) vs built in regulated.
3. Goldpoint vs Seiden/Takman metal foil stepped attenuator.

Well you are the one that made 2 different B1's so it would be most easy if you compare and tell us what causes the differences.

Some ideas:

1.Caps sound different so you can go on till you are very old with hearing differences. The question is if cap A is better than cap B. My hint is that no caps at all would give the best results like in the DCB1/Mezmerize. Better still, I tried and can tell it sounds better than a B1 with very expensive caps.

2. Built in regulated PSU should be better technically. Wall warts in HiFi is like girls watching football.

3. Boutique parts, one of the two will be preferred but both are better than standard potentiometers. Matter of taste.

[bassnkeys]

Thanks for that.
I am going to try a Mesmerize build... boards are out of stock currently but they have a notice list... I'm on it!
I like the idea of direct coupling... am in the final stage of my F5 build.
Thanks again.
10°f in Minnesota at a quarter to noon