Salas & Co.:
All is well and the UFSP sounds terrific. It bothered me that the UFSP had worked perfectly and then it didn't and, lacking any diagnostic equipment, I focused on what might have suddenly broken. The answer: the right channel's ground connection. When I put probes on the ground wire at the pcb and the right channel's output the reading was 0 ohms. But when the probe was moved from the wire to the solder surrounding it, the reading shot up. A little heat was all that was needed.
Sorry for the freak-out, and many, many thanks to Salas for the support and encouragement. On the turntable at the moment: Rescue Me, by the Alarm. Fitting, no?
Regards,
Scott
All is well and the UFSP sounds terrific. It bothered me that the UFSP had worked perfectly and then it didn't and, lacking any diagnostic equipment, I focused on what might have suddenly broken. The answer: the right channel's ground connection. When I put probes on the ground wire at the pcb and the right channel's output the reading was 0 ohms. But when the probe was moved from the wire to the solder surrounding it, the reading shot up. A little heat was all that was needed.
Sorry for the freak-out, and many, many thanks to Salas for the support and encouragement. On the turntable at the moment: Rescue Me, by the Alarm. Fitting, no?
Regards,
Scott
Ok — pretty much done here. Got it fired up for a quick listen at 40db gain on my Pioneer PL-560 and Ortofon 2M Bronze. Listened to the Analogue Productions 33 of Nina Simone — Little Girl Blue. Piano was particularly noteworthy, and the UFSP is dead silent. Looking forward to spending more time and messing around with C2Y a bit. Clarity and Miflex caps should arrive in the next week or so.
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Very nice tidy build. Congratulations. You will surely put it through its paces soon. Give it some hours of play or simply power on idle time for electrolytics to flex a bit until the boutique films arrive.
By the way if anybody who feels well acquainted with his UFSP build sound by now, wants to also try hear possible differences for somewhat hot-rod PSU CCS current, all you have to do is piggyback a 10 Ohm resistor over the 5.6R R1 in each shunt reg section. You may weigh if worthwhile vs some extra dissipation or not for yourself. If not worthwhile, simply remove the 10 Ohm. Takes no disassembly anyway. Fun test.
First impression.
This is a damn good phono stage !
More tests and adjustments will follow, but this is already a top performer.
Rega RP1, Hana EH-MC
Thank you, Salas !
Thank you, Tea-Bag !
Regards,
Tibi
First (?) noob question on the ultrafsp's transformer...
I guess I am the one who lowered the bar:
The transformer recommendation for the ultrafsp is the same as for the previous version,
Single 36VAC or 18+18VAC secondaries, 30VA power
as according to the build guide?
I'm pretty sure it's the case, just show me the green light please?
thank you!
david
I guess I am the one who lowered the bar:
The transformer recommendation for the ultrafsp is the same as for the previous version,
Single 36VAC or 18+18VAC secondaries, 30VA power
as according to the build guide?
I'm pretty sure it's the case, just show me the green light please?
thank you!
david
The updated schematic mentions 30 VAC or 32 VAC from a transformer. So two transformers with 15 or 16 VAC secondaries or one with 30 or 32 V secondaries. I picked up a 50VAC transformer with a pair of 32V secondaries.
The previous could handle higher Raw DC because it had voltage eating LEDS and R1x for shunt PSU CCS reference, and 2SK117GR 50V max tail CCS. This one has transistor reference, its LEDS are located further downstream for voltage drop to protect the lower voltage spec PF5102 tail CCS. Follow the 30-32VAC Raw PSU schematic guideline in UFSP and it will work fine without RDLINK high value EMI RC filter experiments other than standard 1R avoiding possible need to voltage drop against higher VAC stronger overshooting transformers.
looking for your thoughts
I am working my way through the UltraFSP build. It obviously is impacted by your TT and cart. I have to get one cause my really old TT is not of the caliber needed for Salas's stuff. So....
Any thoughts on high quality TT's and cart's would be appreciated. I know just enough that there is a wide variety of equipment and cost. Just like Amps and pre Amps. The problem is there is lots of talk in the diy community about the subjective end of amps and pre's which gives guidance along the way. Not so much with the TT's and cart's. There is no point in having a TT and cart that can't take advantage of Salas's work. So that is the starting point. But, how high is up???
At the present time it is not realistic for me to go on a listening expedition. How do I go about making a decision? How do I know how to determine the value proposition is even if it is not inexpensive. What do you look for in making a decision?
Any thoughts, guidance or direction would be greatly appreciated.
A benchmark for me might be "if you go there you better have z-foils."😀
Thanks for anything and everything.
Regards,
Don
I am working my way through the UltraFSP build. It obviously is impacted by your TT and cart. I have to get one cause my really old TT is not of the caliber needed for Salas's stuff. So....
Any thoughts on high quality TT's and cart's would be appreciated. I know just enough that there is a wide variety of equipment and cost. Just like Amps and pre Amps. The problem is there is lots of talk in the diy community about the subjective end of amps and pre's which gives guidance along the way. Not so much with the TT's and cart's. There is no point in having a TT and cart that can't take advantage of Salas's work. So that is the starting point. But, how high is up???
At the present time it is not realistic for me to go on a listening expedition. How do I go about making a decision? How do I know how to determine the value proposition is even if it is not inexpensive. What do you look for in making a decision?
Any thoughts, guidance or direction would be greatly appreciated.
A benchmark for me might be "if you go there you better have z-foils."😀
Thanks for anything and everything.
Regards,
Don
Entire chain is as follow:
Moded Rega RP1, Hana EH-MC, Furutech pure Ag cables, Salas phono with Saligny synchronous rectifiers, handmade Mundorf Ag-Au interconnects, Quasar amplifier, High Density speaker cables, Triangle Genese Quartet.
Regards,
Tibi
Hi Don
These are complicated questions...
It not least depends your taste—minimalist, high-tech, vintage?
I‘m sure you can find great gear without spending astronomic sums. A good combination of turntable, arm and cartridge is important.
I often lust for these nice sleek modern minimalist TT‘s like the old Rega Planar 1...
I avoid mainstream products, and dislike pro-ject for reasons unknown to me.
I‘m fascinated of „weird“ designs like the well tempered, or the Thales.
Also, some of the big buggers like pioneer pl-70 catch my eye.
I believe the turntables and arms from „back then“ were really good already (td-125, sl 1200, sl-1000, linn, fidelity research, sme, emt, ...)
Considering the cartridges, it gets complicated. They (or parts of them) age, so you‘ll have to find something fresh. There are plenty! Audio Technica, Ortofon, Benz Micro, Denon, Hana pop up.
I want them all [emoji39]
I don‘t think this helps much, but this is where I am...
Bottom complete TT choice no less than a Fluance RT85, medium a Technics SL-1200GR with no less than an Audio Technica VM540ML cartridge, from there on you should be more involved in seeking your choices because the sky is the limit. Serious investment territory.
humble self-irony...
Not to voice any critique, but rather mocking myself a bit
(and hoping to entertain folks a bit):
this is how your reply (#18070) first came to me.
I switched between reading, laughing, reading/thinking (yes!) etc. for a minute or two.
Salas, please don't take it personal. It's just overwhelming and I like it.
(and it's not _that_ bad 🙂
Not to voice any critique, but rather mocking myself a bit
(and hoping to entertain folks a bit):
this is how your reply (#18070) first came to me.
I switched between reading, laughing, reading/thinking (yes!) etc. for a minute or two.
Salas, please don't take it personal. It's just overwhelming and I like it.
(and it's not _that_ bad 🙂
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The Schiit Sol looks like an interesting table, particularly for the DIYer.
Schiit Audio: Audio Products Designed and Built in California
Schiit Audio: Audio Products Designed and Built in California
BTW, I only have about an hour of listening on the UFSP, don’t have my boutique caps, and have only tried one setting of C2Y (220pf), but even with that little experience I know that this thing is special. If you have the means and the need, building one of these is a no-brainer. I built it with the plan to move to a low output cartridge, but with all the detail the UFSP is pulling at 40db through a 2M bronze I’m almost afraid to hear what this thing could do with an LOMC..
The big A/B between the UFSP and the Valve Itch may happen this weekend. We’ll see.
The big A/B between the UFSP and the Valve Itch may happen this weekend. We’ll see.