Nasty habit of reading up on someone's posts before responding to an unfamiliar.
(under 300 is a piece of cake, sometimes it's 5k)
Please excuse the insolence of a whippersnapper, I loathe anything with wings.
(under 300 is a piece of cake, sometimes it's 5k)
Please excuse the insolence of a whippersnapper, I loathe anything with wings.
Some people makes a joke that the best girlfriend (or boyfriend) is a new gf (or bf).
For a hobby, I think the same applies. If your hobby is listening to the music, of course you wouldn't say that audio is your hobby. So if your hobby is audio (diy), then the best is trying something new. I don't think we can stop trying new, unless this is not our hobby any more.
For a hobby, I think the same applies. If your hobby is listening to the music, of course you wouldn't say that audio is your hobby. So if your hobby is audio (diy), then the best is trying something new. I don't think we can stop trying new, unless this is not our hobby any more.
A mono system is not going to provide a very good image/soundstage... so a non-starter if that is important to you.
dave
dave
Time to go to stacked FRL-FRR
SOmetimes I ask myself if the best is not a stereo point source ?
I mean, should we stack in reverse our stereo speakers to make a single stereo point source... or a FullRangeLeft stacked on a FullRangeRight as a single emission source like a center channel*
two LB12 stacked on the middle of the room ? http://www.emspeaker.com/fiche_LB12MKII.pdf
*Where do I putt the TV ?
* on an industrial point of view it's a good idea, sell just one Dynaudio flagship Master Evidence at the same price of two before ! I'm in if you launch a company 🙂
http://www.oemsystems.com/loudspeakers_singlepoint.html
SOmetimes I ask myself if the best is not a stereo point source ?
I mean, should we stack in reverse our stereo speakers to make a single stereo point source... or a FullRangeLeft stacked on a FullRangeRight as a single emission source like a center channel*
two LB12 stacked on the middle of the room ? http://www.emspeaker.com/fiche_LB12MKII.pdf
*Where do I putt the TV ?
* on an industrial point of view it's a good idea, sell just one Dynaudio flagship Master Evidence at the same price of two before ! I'm in if you launch a company 🙂
http://www.oemsystems.com/loudspeakers_singlepoint.html
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I've spent years learning about transistors, Spice simulations, pcbs layout, how to drill holes in a chassis, prepare a BOM and order parts. I've measured and tweaked and listened. I've a room full of stuff now, wires, parts, equipment, tools. I've read the books, the magazines and opened up my brain to the internet.
But today, I'm just listening to a single tube, a small little cheap pentode, a few cheap bits of iron and related parts. Connected up to just a single full range driver in a big box (Audio Nirvana 15). That's it.
It sounds amazing - a pity I had to go through so much exploration and work to discover that this is enough. I'm sure that if I had made this my first project I would have headed off in search for the next one. Well I have other projects to finish - since I've started them I will see them through.
My advice - get yourself one little pentode and a big paper cone.
I was thinking the same thing years ago, (and I build that ska150 too 🙂, (( I got Greg's I/V modules and they are a amazing)) with a set845 and cheap alnico 5 inches, listening would bring everyone to tears, believe me it never happened again with solid state and pp amps with low distortions...
Anyways, inside a speaker is a coil and magnet, so the best way to drive a signal is with another similar device: transformer.
After 20 years of my own exploration, my system has evolved to something that I feel happy with also. A 2-way with a (passive) series crossover, powered by a SE amp (running 6550's) makes for pleasurable listening. During the past couple of years, a pair of TH subs powered by class D plate amps was added for the low end, which really rounds out the system.
For me, the tube sound and the simple 2-way by itself is the basis for musical enjoyment. I know there are better-sounding components, and ways to improve mine, but I feel that I've reached a happy level. That said, I'm still planning on making more sawdust.
For me, the tube sound and the simple 2-way by itself is the basis for musical enjoyment. I know there are better-sounding components, and ways to improve mine, but I feel that I've reached a happy level. That said, I'm still planning on making more sawdust.
I started out 35 years ago with 10" full-range paper cones in BLH enclosures.
During the lengthy auditioning process I learned to hate everything with whizzer cones (Lowthers remain some of the worst speakers I've heard) and over time I learned that full-range drivers create problems I'm not prepared to accept anymore.
Wouldn't be happy to force any one driver to cover much more than 3 octaves these days.
Valve amps I love dearly as long as they are used as guitar or organ amps but they are not nearly accurate enough to become part of a replay chain.
During the lengthy auditioning process I learned to hate everything with whizzer cones (Lowthers remain some of the worst speakers I've heard) and over time I learned that full-range drivers create problems I'm not prepared to accept anymore.
Wouldn't be happy to force any one driver to cover much more than 3 octaves these days.
Valve amps I love dearly as long as they are used as guitar or organ amps but they are not nearly accurate enough to become part of a replay chain.
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OK, say diy audio has been your hobby for a long time. I have been building audio amps of some kind (HiFi and guitar) and various other electronic gizmos for about 50 years with a few breaks. This means that I have made a lot of (formerly) new audio amps. I have used germanium, silicon (discrete and chips) vacuum tubes, and various combinations of these.
About a year and a half ago I had to pack everything up and move 1200 miles, leaving the house where I have lived for 36 years. In 36 years you can make, and collect a lot of "new" amps....many had been forgotten over the years, stashed away in a box on a shelf in the warehouse full of "stuff". I even found some electronic devices that I made back in high school. I couldn't take it all with me, so I had to thin the herd.
You want an experience, dig out the old stuff you built years ago and listen to it. OK, some of it flat out sucks, and some blows up after being sleeping for 40 years, but there will be a few surprises. I found a "new" old amp, a long forgotten guitar effect, and a big old amp that got moved to the front of the rebuild list.
I found a 300 watt solid state mono amplifier that I build in 1969. It used some surplus RCA transistors that were sold as "super 2N3055's" in a local surplus shop. It ran on a 100 to 115 volt supply (depending on transformer tap) and was used to really annoy my neighbors with my guitar playing through 8 X 10 inch speakers. I took it outside and plugged it in.......poof, bang, sizzle, smoke, blown breaker. One of those quart sized electrolytics with the 1965 date code on it blew its guts out through the vent causing the rectifiers to short. I took some pictures and tossed it.
I worked at Motorola for 41 years. For a while we had an "audio club" where several members were diyers. We built our own home and car stereo systems. We could get free samples of most Motorola silicon just by filling out a request form, so we build the popular stuff of the day...the day was about 1973 through 1978, so we built all of the SWPTC "Tigers". I found my collection of leftover boards, and a couple of basket cases and a lot of parts. After screwing around with some Plastic Tiger boards, I made a stereo pair work, and realized why I quit making these things and just bought a Carver / Phase linear system. Some of the stuff got sold, some given away, the rest trashed.
Check out the disco era crushed velvet and maroon naugahyde speakers I made.....yeah it took me about 30 seconds to shred those vintage foam surrounds with a 100 watt guitar amp, then they went into the trash.
I found the remains of a digital music synthesizer I made in the early 70's. All of the large parts, cabinet, keyboard, huge analog power supply that made 3.6 volts at about 20 amps, and all the analog circuitry were long ago gone, but my hand wired digital boards still remained. They have followed me around for nearly 50 years. It took my almost a year to build these things, so I can't force myself to toss them. I now have a fancy SMPS that has the capability....do you thing these 50 year old RTL logic chips will still work as well as some 50 year old vacuum tubes????
I also found a Vox Tone Bender clone I made in about 1968. I traced the circuit from an original VOX pedal, and used some germanuim transistors borrowed from a Sony radio. I hooked it up, and surprise it still worked and sounded awesome. It made the trip up here and it will find its way into a new case. The old plastic pill box was crumbling. No pictures though.
The first Tubelab amp I ever made had been sitting on a shelf for about a year. I had left low powered the SE world and been building big powered push pull tube amps for a few years. I got this guy down from it's dusty corner, hooked it up and plugged it in. I was amazed at the sound it made, and forgotten what a pleasure it was to listen to. It remained hooked up until the day I put it in the box and said my final goodbye's to the house in Florida.
The big SE....an 845 SE amp that runs in class A2 and cranks out about 40 WPC. It hasn't been used in about 5 years because it pumps about 500 watts of heat into the room, which made it unworkable in a 10 X 10 foot room in south Florida. Now that I have a 2000 square foot basement, and it is currently 24 degrees F outside....it's time.
After seeing the electrolytic blow on the old solid state amp, I think this one will get rebuilt before power up. It is about 10 years old and has unknown quality caps and has a really BIG power transformer (480 Volts at 1 Amp) capable of blowing stuff all over the place.
Attachments
I've spent years learning about transistors, Spice simulations, pcbs layout, how to drill holes in a chassis, prepare a BOM and order parts. I've measured and tweaked and listened. I've a room full of stuff now, wires, parts, equipment, tools. I've read the books, the magazines and opened up my brain to the internet.
But today, I'm just listening to a single tube, a small little cheap pentode, a few cheap bits of iron and related parts. Connected up to just a single full range driver in a big box (Audio Nirvana 15). That's it.
It sounds amazing - a pity I had to go through so much exploration and work to discover that this is enough. I'm sure that if I had made this my first project I would have headed off in search for the next one. Well I have other projects to finish - since I've started them I will see them through.
My advice - get yourself one little pentode and a big paper cone.
Yeah can't beat that setup really. Not easily anyway.
Now go buy yourself a trail bike and get into enduro club racing for your new hobby.
Slowly. I have two partially built workbenches, functional, but still look ugly. They need some trim. I did finish my movable workstation. A purpose built budget Chinese made "recording studio workstation" desk, with a few Tubelab style modifications. It still looks nice but is quite functional. It now houses two PC's, 4 flat screen monitors, two audio interfaces, amps, speakers, several rack mounted pieces of equipment, and several MIDI controllers, all on 8 casters so I can push it around.
There is no insulation in here at all. Bare concrete floors and concrete block walls. I am still waffling back and forth on whether to delay the fun by taking considerable time to put in some insulation and sheetrock.....Funds for that are lacking right now, but the colder it gets, the more I am thinking it is necessary.
My current electrical distribution consists of extension cords and power strips. There is a 240 volt 200 amp breaker panel about 10 feet from where I'm sitting as I type this, just need to get some Romex and some outlets, but that brings me back the the sheetrock....
I did hang a bunch of LED lighting so I can actually see in here now.
I really need to address the acoustics....can you hear the echo....echo.....echooooo. But, that brings me back to the insulation / sheetrock thing again......
Its odd how sometimes you can go full circle.
I started off with Fane 50WRMS speakers and a Maplin 225WRMS bipolar amplifier.
I sold that as part of a mobile disco.
I then bought lots of other makes like Eminence, etc
I tried other amps.
Now 35 years on I am back with Fane speakers playing from a Maplin 225WRMS amplifier !
I started off with Fane 50WRMS speakers and a Maplin 225WRMS bipolar amplifier.
I sold that as part of a mobile disco.
I then bought lots of other makes like Eminence, etc
I tried other amps.
Now 35 years on I am back with Fane speakers playing from a Maplin 225WRMS amplifier !
The interesting thing about DIY electronics is,
I have so many memories from the time I was just learning and playing about while at school. My very first memory was from the age of 5 my Dad held up a bike lamp battery and made the lamp light using a teaspoon to connect the side connection. It had an impact I will never forget he didn't show me how to get the lamp working and just gave me the battery and lamp. It took me about 15 mins to get it to light. By the time I was in secondary school I had my first stereo up and running with pride of place in the family front room. No one in my family had any understanding about electricity it was the magic stuff. The first amp build buzzed like crazy (the PSU had only one electrolytic). The family room stereo started with revamped tube gear from record players and then failed attempts at circuits to complex for me to understand. That's why if they didn't work often they went in the bin! The Phillips electronics kits were some of the only source of info until I started physics at school..😀
I guess the electric train sets were also a good source of trial and error.
Then I discovered Practical wireless and it was like heaven..but still much of it was to complex. Often with like minded fiends we got stuff up and running.
Maplin and Tandy were my only reason for a trip to town. And the projects were one after the other.
Then I got an apprenticeship as an EE..and met the electronic engineers. The one asked me about my electronics interest and I sheepishly showed him a picture of a stereo amp I wanted to build but it had a circuit board. He took me in the back and showed me a pile of chemicals then put a huge piece of fiberglass PCB in my hand and said make it..😕😱..then I said I don't know how..he laughed and said if you don't know ask. I'll never forget those guys..most are gone now.
I pulled out of a cupboard some old circuits with home made PCB's and vero projects<<I cant believe I made them I can't even see the tracks of the PCB's with a magnifying glass now..😀 I remember soldering by hand <<I held my iron up under the magnifier and notice I shake more than the width of the gaps between the tracks now.
The rest is history..😀
Talking about full circle<<I started with valves went to SS then IC's, chips, modules and back to valves...😀
The trouble is computers came in and spoilt it..😀<<built a couple of them things as well converting ZX81's to PLC's etc (Marine Fish tank control)
One of my Uncles died recently just before he gave me stuff from his garage and a small box containing tubes which run in my RH amp..I often think about this hobby....People, friends gone and times in the past. (Anyway back to work me thinks)
I'll never forget seeing the first Integrated circuit in practical wireless when I was about 11 (1971) and my heart sank..oh no I thought its very complicated..😀 Whats an integrated circuit 😀 then the term IC on the board..LMAO I thought it won't last..how can you hard wire them...time went on and in industry the PCB equipment was thrown out and done at contract sites for H&S reasons and it was cheaper..I think possibly late seventies early 80's..a small reflection
Regards
M. Gregg
I have so many memories from the time I was just learning and playing about while at school. My very first memory was from the age of 5 my Dad held up a bike lamp battery and made the lamp light using a teaspoon to connect the side connection. It had an impact I will never forget he didn't show me how to get the lamp working and just gave me the battery and lamp. It took me about 15 mins to get it to light. By the time I was in secondary school I had my first stereo up and running with pride of place in the family front room. No one in my family had any understanding about electricity it was the magic stuff. The first amp build buzzed like crazy (the PSU had only one electrolytic). The family room stereo started with revamped tube gear from record players and then failed attempts at circuits to complex for me to understand. That's why if they didn't work often they went in the bin! The Phillips electronics kits were some of the only source of info until I started physics at school..😀
I guess the electric train sets were also a good source of trial and error.
Then I discovered Practical wireless and it was like heaven..but still much of it was to complex. Often with like minded fiends we got stuff up and running.
Maplin and Tandy were my only reason for a trip to town. And the projects were one after the other.
Then I got an apprenticeship as an EE..and met the electronic engineers. The one asked me about my electronics interest and I sheepishly showed him a picture of a stereo amp I wanted to build but it had a circuit board. He took me in the back and showed me a pile of chemicals then put a huge piece of fiberglass PCB in my hand and said make it..😕😱..then I said I don't know how..he laughed and said if you don't know ask. I'll never forget those guys..most are gone now.
I pulled out of a cupboard some old circuits with home made PCB's and vero projects<<I cant believe I made them I can't even see the tracks of the PCB's with a magnifying glass now..😀 I remember soldering by hand <<I held my iron up under the magnifier and notice I shake more than the width of the gaps between the tracks now.
The rest is history..😀
Talking about full circle<<I started with valves went to SS then IC's, chips, modules and back to valves...😀
The trouble is computers came in and spoilt it..😀<<built a couple of them things as well converting ZX81's to PLC's etc (Marine Fish tank control)
One of my Uncles died recently just before he gave me stuff from his garage and a small box containing tubes which run in my RH amp..I often think about this hobby....People, friends gone and times in the past. (Anyway back to work me thinks)
I'll never forget seeing the first Integrated circuit in practical wireless when I was about 11 (1971) and my heart sank..oh no I thought its very complicated..😀 Whats an integrated circuit 😀 then the term IC on the board..LMAO I thought it won't last..how can you hard wire them...time went on and in industry the PCB equipment was thrown out and done at contract sites for H&S reasons and it was cheaper..I think possibly late seventies early 80's..a small reflection
Regards
M. Gregg
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At that age, I climbed out the roof window to sit in the rain gutter.
Nowadays, I dream of sitting in a tuna tower with rough weather every day.
Different strokes for different folks.
You have a very strong point there!
Yes perhaps it is time to let go of the past, move forward and embrace the storm of what can be and try to make the most of any dreams that can be lived. Make haste while the sun shines..do what can be done before its to late..😉
I remember reading about a pop dancer from a group called Pans People and being shocked to find after the group split one of the women travelled to both poles because she could and wanted to do it..I though what a strange thing to do..
I guess there is never a better time to follow your heart..than now. (where do I want to be, what do I want to do, where do I want to go!)
Regards
M. Gregg
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At about the same age, the paper clip met the wall outlet. I didn't know what happened or why, but just knew that I had to find out, and conquer that power! Still working on it.
I took the same path. I had a 3 year vocational electronics program in high school. Transistors were taught in one of the textbooks, but all lab material was tubes. I got an IC chip from either the Lafayette or Allied catalog (RCA CA3020, 1/2 watt audio amp) and wired up a little breadboard. I took it to school and played my guitar through it. Everyone in class was astonished including the teacher.
I got my grandfathers old Lionel train set (worth $$$$ today, to bad I killed it). The train transformer was my primary toy! It was my go to heater transformer for unknown junkyard tubes, and I used it to feed into the heater windings on an old TV power transformer for variable HV. I think it went from 0 to about 18 volts, several amps at least....until it started smoking.
That was the beginning of the end of my career at work. As my hands shook more and more, the SMD parts we worked with became smaller and smaller. I could (and still can) hand solder the 0603's, but the peak to peak ripple at the end of the tweezers was about the same as the size of an 0402....then they had to go to 0201.
I think my heart is leading me to go back into the past and finish some of the things that were never finished, and re-explore some things that I never got back to......a few are quite old.
I posted some pictures from my past a few posts back. In about 1970 I went to an ELP concert and watched Keith Emerson make some cool sounds with a Moog synthesizer. I thought they were way cool, and way expensive. So, I decided that I had to build one. I got an analog synth kit from PAIA, built it, modded and expanded it, then set out to build the mother of all synths using digital technology. I never finished it, but still have the boards I built in 1971 and 72. In 1973 I got a job at the Motorola plant that paid good, so I just bought an ARP synth. I have looked all the current analog synth stuff in the DIY market, and even purchased a kit, but all of it is based on 40 year old designs.....time to redesign some of it with modern circuitry.
In my youth and teenage years I made some HiFi amps, but most of my projects were guitar amps. The earliest of my "designs" were based on the Fender Champ 5C1 circuit. I made several amps from trash dump parts that used a similar circuit, and remember that I, and several of my friends liked the sound they made. I have recently gone back to that old design, and found that there are some unique tones still remaining to be unlocked in that old design....with a bit of modern sand sprinkled around......Look at 90% of the tube guitar amps being made today. They are all 12AX7's feeding one, two or 4 of the common audio output tubes......they begin to all sound the same....Time for something NEW....or old.
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