Here's an article that another member posted, where they found some regulated supplies actually were quieter than batteries...
Simple Voltage Regulators Part 1: Noise - [English]
Its from this thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/267505-ba-3-preamp-rebuild-b1-4.html
Russellc
Simple Voltage Regulators Part 1: Noise - [English]
Its from this thread:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/267505-ba-3-preamp-rebuild-b1-4.html
Russellc
6L6, PKI or whoever, did I ground this B-1 correctly?
When I first built this thing, I was using a lap top power supply. Recently, I built the power supply you (6L6) used with your B-1, on the Daniels boards.
I only have two inputs, just as board was made for so I am using a switch as was originally intended. I did not use a selector switch like you and PKI did, so I understand your guys slightly different input wiring scheme, and this MAY explain the differences I am about to note.
I see on your, as well as PKIs build, you guys tied the ground tabs together and the wire goes somewhere, I guess to one of the extra ground tabs on the board, left over from your guys selector switch input version.
I did not, the two pairs of RCA inputs only have the individual ground wires running from the RCA ground tabs, to their individual ground pads on the board.
Is this correct? (for my hook up) I dont need to hook all the ground tabs together, that was only because you guys used the selector switch, right?
My other inquiry concerns my changing over to the Daniels board regulated power supply. I used the umbilical cut off of my Laptop Power supply and put it and the Antek transformer & Daniels board in a separate metal box for now....I did not have enough room in my B-1 box for the power supply, it is not out where anyone but myself is messing with it. Well, I dont think I did the right thing in that I used a power cord that DOES NOT have a third lug on the plug....shouldnt I have used a three wire cord and fastened this lower lug to the chassis of the project box? I just had a two wire cord laying around, so I used it to see if the supply was working on my work table....
Obviously, I want this to be safely wired before I have it sitting in a system and this bugging the crap out of me. I read the rather long article concerning grounding here on the site, but its a little over my head for this question.
I really dont want to use it until I have an answer to this, I cant tell from the build pics what sort of cord you used...or PKI.
Thanks for any safety insight on grounding this contraption,
Russellc
When I first built this thing, I was using a lap top power supply. Recently, I built the power supply you (6L6) used with your B-1, on the Daniels boards.
I only have two inputs, just as board was made for so I am using a switch as was originally intended. I did not use a selector switch like you and PKI did, so I understand your guys slightly different input wiring scheme, and this MAY explain the differences I am about to note.
I see on your, as well as PKIs build, you guys tied the ground tabs together and the wire goes somewhere, I guess to one of the extra ground tabs on the board, left over from your guys selector switch input version.
I did not, the two pairs of RCA inputs only have the individual ground wires running from the RCA ground tabs, to their individual ground pads on the board.
Is this correct? (for my hook up) I dont need to hook all the ground tabs together, that was only because you guys used the selector switch, right?
My other inquiry concerns my changing over to the Daniels board regulated power supply. I used the umbilical cut off of my Laptop Power supply and put it and the Antek transformer & Daniels board in a separate metal box for now....I did not have enough room in my B-1 box for the power supply, it is not out where anyone but myself is messing with it. Well, I dont think I did the right thing in that I used a power cord that DOES NOT have a third lug on the plug....shouldnt I have used a three wire cord and fastened this lower lug to the chassis of the project box? I just had a two wire cord laying around, so I used it to see if the supply was working on my work table....
Obviously, I want this to be safely wired before I have it sitting in a system and this bugging the crap out of me. I read the rather long article concerning grounding here on the site, but its a little over my head for this question.
I really dont want to use it until I have an answer to this, I cant tell from the build pics what sort of cord you used...or PKI.
Thanks for any safety insight on grounding this contraption,
Russellc
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Hi,
I just finished an Aleph J that I use as an integrated amplifier, with a volume pot and a source selector inside.
Will a B1 be an improvement in this project. (I've read problems with passive preamp comes from the lenght of cables between preamp and amp but, in my case, it's obviously short.)
If yes, is it possible to power it with the positive rail of the Alpeh's PSU or will it cause a problem with different loads on positive and negative rails. I use a 300VA transformer, CRC filtering, 120000µF, will it be enough to power both Aleph and B1 stages?
I just finished an Aleph J that I use as an integrated amplifier, with a volume pot and a source selector inside.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Will a B1 be an improvement in this project. (I've read problems with passive preamp comes from the lenght of cables between preamp and amp but, in my case, it's obviously short.)
If yes, is it possible to power it with the positive rail of the Alpeh's PSU or will it cause a problem with different loads on positive and negative rails. I use a 300VA transformer, CRC filtering, 120000µF, will it be enough to power both Aleph and B1 stages?
I had a B1 clone with my Aleph J clone. For me it was an improvement. Passive it was very direct a Little bit sharp (alps 10K pot). with B1 the Sound was more round / ordered.
Power normal B1 from Amp PSU i have not tested. I had separate cassis.
A Little bit more drive can not hurt (I drive mine J with a Aleph P clone).
Maybe you could look for the BA3 frontend, the new VFET2 Amp frontend or a bipolar B1 (dont know where to get the schematics). Then you could use carefree the bipolar Amp-PSU too.
Power normal B1 from Amp PSU i have not tested. I had separate cassis.
A Little bit more drive can not hurt (I drive mine J with a Aleph P clone).
Maybe you could look for the BA3 frontend, the new VFET2 Amp frontend or a bipolar B1 (dont know where to get the schematics). Then you could use carefree the bipolar Amp-PSU too.
Thanks for the feedback.
Gain of the Aleph J alone is OK for me. I always had problems with gain being too high with my previous amps. I could hardly crank the pot more than nine o-clock. Why amplify more first to attenuate after that? Unity gain of the B1 seems to fit my needs, I'll look for bipolar B1.
Gain of the Aleph J alone is OK for me. I always had problems with gain being too high with my previous amps. I could hardly crank the pot more than nine o-clock. Why amplify more first to attenuate after that? Unity gain of the B1 seems to fit my needs, I'll look for bipolar B1.
They are one and the same. There were versions without input relays and with them. The version with relays is called Mesmerize, the version without the relays can not be ordered anymore (funny thing is that I recall people wanted to discard the Mesmerize as assumption was that it would be less popular). It is way better than a standard B1 for less cost as expensive coupling caps are omitted. Since that caps are gone the DCB1 is more neutral. It also has better power (shunt) supplies. PCBs can be ordered in the Diyaudio shop. If you want a ready made one, I have one waiting for a new owner. I made quite a few of them and I still use one regularly. I love the simplicity of the design and I have to chuckle when I read negative comments by "golden ears". It is a plain and simple but excellent buffer that can be build for an acceptable price.
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My (personal) rule of DIY audio projects is this - once it's quiet, hum-free, and working properly, it's finished.
I've had too many things so wrong when trying to modify or change where a hum was re-introduced, and couldn't find it.
I suggest that if everything is working properly and well, it's time to start a new project.
I've had too many things so wrong when trying to modify or change where a hum was re-introduced, and couldn't find it.
I suggest that if everything is working properly and well, it's time to start a new project.
I keep having to remind many here that a Buffer is only needed where a Source is not capable of driving the cable+parallel Receiver impedances.
This demands that the Buffer is at the Source, NOT at the Receiver.
In general, but not exclusively, a low output impedance Source is more capable of driving the next interconnect, than a higher output impedance.
This demands that the Buffer is at the Source, NOT at the Receiver.
In general, but not exclusively, a low output impedance Source is more capable of driving the next interconnect, than a higher output impedance.