FS: my completed Pass DIY Pearl phono pre

[Ren]

I recently switched over to an MC cartridge. I don't need this Pearl any longer, and it should be in a good home where it is used every day.

This is not a commercial venture. I have one unit to sell and I'm asking what I estimate to be my total parts cost to build it: $350 USD.

It's built into two PAR-Metal cases, painted gray with clear anodized front panels. The umbilical power cord is made from multiple runs of hook-up wire, shielded and covered with nylon mesh. It was a pain in the neck to assemble, but it's quite flexible. It's captive at the PS chassis and connects to the phono pre chassis via a 5-pin DIN connector.

This unit is built on original Pass DIY PCBs and Q Pack. I'll include the original article which came with the PCBs when I bought them.

I implemented the AC line filter as suggested in the original article: two 4.7R, 3W resistors and a 0.1 uF line rated cap. The AC input module includes a 1A fast-blow fuse. Both cases and the umbilical cord shield are tied to house AC 3rd-wire ground, for safety.

I used exactly the components listed in the original article (sourced from DigiKey and Michael Percy Audio), and used Cardas solder for assembly. Internal signal hook-up wire is 21 AWG, four 9's solid silver with Teflon insulation.

I had some initial hum problems after I built this Pearl, due to my lack of understanding. Once I got that sorted out, the unit has been quiet and 100% reliable, used with a Grado Platinum (5 mV output) cart.

I won't describe the character of the Pearl's sound; there are hundreds of posts here on DIY Audio discussing it.

The photos don't show a power cord, but I'll include one.

Thanks for looking. I'll be happy to answer any questions. I prefer to not ship this outside the US. Actual shipping costs are the buyer's responsibility.

Ren

[Ren]

I thought this Pearl was sold, but the buyer changed his mind. Sooo... it's still available.

One thing I forgot to mention is that the original Pass DIY boards include two open positions (C14 and C16) for adding user-chosen caps or resistors to adjust the nominal 47k input impedance. Those positions are in parallel with R27 (47k).

With components soldered into positions C14 and/or C16, you can easily include those components in the input circuit (closing adjacent jumper) or exclude them (adjacent jumper open).

Happy New Year!

Ren

[Ren]

Still available... anyone like to make an offer?

-Ren

[Arkudos]

Is this Pearl still available?