Hi everyone,
I've been lurking for a bit now and slowly getting tooled up ready for my first build. Started to ask a newb question then realised I haven't introduced myself.
My name's Haden, I'm in England where I work as a Business Services professional in Utilities.
I DJ now and again and occasionally output the odd bit of techno myself.
HiFi-wise, I have a turntable which gets occasional use, an old Technics SL-110 / SME 3009 / Sure V15 III combo, but I'm mostly digital - I run Roon off a fanless Intel NUC and have a RPi configured as an endpoint with an Allo Digione HAT on.
I have a few DACs, nothing too costly, and a nice little Temple Audio Bantam Gold digital amp which I think is an absolute steal when paired with reasonably sensitive speakers.
Speaker-wise, I have just acquired some unidentified passive monitors which sound really nice, if unforgiving. Seem to pair well with a TDA1543 DAC I happen to have. I have just rinsed my local branch of Maplin for a job lot of speaker cable before they close down.
My first build will be Peter Millet's Korg Nutube 6P1 buffer board. After that I have some OEM (Monacor-esque I would say) 10" full range drivers lying around that I'd like to try and do something over the summer with - maybe a boombox.
I've not picked up a soldering iron since school and have almost zero working electronics knowledge but I am not in a rush and would hope that you are patient with me if I ask annoying questions from the steepest part of the learning curve.
Anyway, howdy.
I've been lurking for a bit now and slowly getting tooled up ready for my first build. Started to ask a newb question then realised I haven't introduced myself.
My name's Haden, I'm in England where I work as a Business Services professional in Utilities.
I DJ now and again and occasionally output the odd bit of techno myself.
HiFi-wise, I have a turntable which gets occasional use, an old Technics SL-110 / SME 3009 / Sure V15 III combo, but I'm mostly digital - I run Roon off a fanless Intel NUC and have a RPi configured as an endpoint with an Allo Digione HAT on.
I have a few DACs, nothing too costly, and a nice little Temple Audio Bantam Gold digital amp which I think is an absolute steal when paired with reasonably sensitive speakers.
Speaker-wise, I have just acquired some unidentified passive monitors which sound really nice, if unforgiving. Seem to pair well with a TDA1543 DAC I happen to have. I have just rinsed my local branch of Maplin for a job lot of speaker cable before they close down.
My first build will be Peter Millet's Korg Nutube 6P1 buffer board. After that I have some OEM (Monacor-esque I would say) 10" full range drivers lying around that I'd like to try and do something over the summer with - maybe a boombox.
I've not picked up a soldering iron since school and have almost zero working electronics knowledge but I am not in a rush and would hope that you are patient with me if I ask annoying questions from the steepest part of the learning curve.
Anyway, howdy.
We are all learners.
I have been building my own audio gear for 37 years and still learning.
Get yourself some stripboard and a bag of cheap resistors for some soldering practice before you commit. A pcb cleaning rubber makes it loads easier too.
Good luck
Good luck
Helpful, thanks John. I picked up various assorted bags of resistors, caps and so on from Maplin (RIP) and will add some stripboard and a rubber to the BOM for the buffer build.
Update - so last year, after a couple of false starts I built Nelson Pass's wonderful B1-K Nutube pre-amp.
Nelson generously provided some matched Toshiba JFETS along with the initial batch of boards.
I managed to blow up a few caps - turns out wiring your DC input the right way round is important.
Got there in the end, though, even modestly upgraded a couple of components.
I will never forgot the thrill on switching it on and hearing music play through something that I built.
Since then it's been calibrated, is stable and in everyday use connected to our living room multimedia PC. A new DAC last year too - it's really singing through the B1-K.
Next further B1-K development - Mark Johnson's PO89ZB inline DC filter, then a Silas UltraBiB power supply - I participated in a group buy for the parts and also managed to score a suitable Toroidy transformer. Then, I've got my eye on some ex-BBC (Sowter?) mu-metal output transformers, to correct the B1-K's phase inversion.
Nelson generously provided some matched Toshiba JFETS along with the initial batch of boards.
I managed to blow up a few caps - turns out wiring your DC input the right way round is important.
Got there in the end, though, even modestly upgraded a couple of components.
I will never forgot the thrill on switching it on and hearing music play through something that I built.
Since then it's been calibrated, is stable and in everyday use connected to our living room multimedia PC. A new DAC last year too - it's really singing through the B1-K.
Next further B1-K development - Mark Johnson's PO89ZB inline DC filter, then a Silas UltraBiB power supply - I participated in a group buy for the parts and also managed to score a suitable Toroidy transformer. Then, I've got my eye on some ex-BBC (Sowter?) mu-metal output transformers, to correct the B1-K's phase inversion.
Maplin has been back for a while ! maplin | the electronics specialist | FREE delivery over PS20!
Still expensive but now no components.
Maplin
Thanks Nigel, I hadn't noticed.
It's such an odd mix of stuff. Still, I guess they think their margins on kits etc. are sufficient to give it another go.
Thanks Nigel, I hadn't noticed.
It's such an odd mix of stuff. Still, I guess they think their margins on kits etc. are sufficient to give it another go.
Jumbo chip amp
Next project - TDA7293 chip amp.
Some parts collected, including the TDA chips themselves, a fine pair of Dell heatsinks and two magnificent NOS hand-wound audio grade toroids which are massively over-specced. Sensible and proportionate, I mean.
The amp designer recommends the use of speaker protection circuits, as the TDA7293 is known to fail. The trafo man has another multi-secondary toroid which would fit the bill.
Going full monoblock adds ££ and I've seen a good price on a blank 19" 2u amplifier enclosure.
Here, then, is the current concept.
Next project - TDA7293 chip amp.
Some parts collected, including the TDA chips themselves, a fine pair of Dell heatsinks and two magnificent NOS hand-wound audio grade toroids which are massively over-specced. Sensible and proportionate, I mean.
The amp designer recommends the use of speaker protection circuits, as the TDA7293 is known to fail. The trafo man has another multi-secondary toroid which would fit the bill.
Going full monoblock adds ££ and I've seen a good price on a blank 19" 2u amplifier enclosure.
Here, then, is the current concept.
Attachments
Another B1-K Nutube pre-amp build - this one will have polypropylene output caps and be powered by a Silas UltraBiB 3.0 shunt reg.
I found some solder which flows just right for me so I've finally been able to tighten up my soldering game.
Made up some speaker cables from some NOS Audio Innovations silver hybrid cable that I picked up on fleabay a few years ago.
Completed B1-K build, in donated chassis.
Added a pair of mic input transformers, kindly supplied by Rex Halfhide at RCH Audio Engineering, to correct the circuit's phase inversion.
Switchable outputs mean I can connect to a headphone amp and maintain my favoured negative phase harmonic profile.
Rotary switch is a NOS mil-spec Blore Edwards, found on fleabay.
Grounding post on the rear connected to signal ground and chassis - pre-amp now acts as a grounding hub for source components and their respective PSUs.
I'm really pleased with how this has turned out.
Added a pair of mic input transformers, kindly supplied by Rex Halfhide at RCH Audio Engineering, to correct the circuit's phase inversion.
Switchable outputs mean I can connect to a headphone amp and maintain my favoured negative phase harmonic profile.
Rotary switch is a NOS mil-spec Blore Edwards, found on fleabay.
Grounding post on the rear connected to signal ground and chassis - pre-amp now acts as a grounding hub for source components and their respective PSUs.
I'm really pleased with how this has turned out.
