That's wonderful pfarrell! I recall some discussions about mono cases at BAF last year.
Looking forward to seeing how that and the Iron Pre cases develop.
Did the BAF discussion give any advantages (in sound terms) to the use of mono blocs - as opposed to normal stereo single-case? [My main concern is that they can be slightly lighter to hump around and of course can be sited near the individual speakers]
@pfarrel -
Very well executed.
Hope you are successful, I helped with getting heatsinks with ums drill pattern in the store by themselves, so they are open to this kind of thing. Yes, with existing store sinks please!
Russellc
No, it was just some folks chatting about it and nothing official.
I think someone had talked to Hifi2000 and they were open to it
provided a design can be supplied and a minimum initial order.
But now it seems like something is actually in the work.
Guys, we are always open to suggestions! 
I remember talking with someone about this last year at BAF, I think it was JeffreyJuice!
Anyway, main thing is finding enough people interested in this kind of projects because customizing our standard chassis is one thing but changing the layout of a chassis (in this case it would be something similar to a Dissipante chassis but with only one heatsink instead of two) is another story.
Doing so for a single chassis would be quite expensive but if we can get enough people interested (let's say around 20) this would keep the costs a lot down and everyone could benefit from this as it would allow us to work with an economy of scale.
Just to give you an idea of what other folks are coming up with Ultimate 4U 500mm Chassis - Who is interested?
I remember talking with someone about this last year at BAF, I think it was JeffreyJuice! Anyway, main thing is finding enough people interested in this kind of projects because customizing our standard chassis is one thing but changing the layout of a chassis (in this case it would be something similar to a Dissipante chassis but with only one heatsink instead of two) is another story.
Doing so for a single chassis would be quite expensive but if we can get enough people interested (let's say around 20) this would keep the costs a lot down and everyone could benefit from this as it would allow us to work with an economy of scale.
Just to give you an idea of what other folks are coming up with Ultimate 4U 500mm Chassis - Who is interested?
Thanks for that! Been wanting to try them, I've got mica I have never used either. Usually just go Keratherm.
Russellc
Gianluca - Would it be practical for your team to have a side panel with the same hole layout as the heatsink(s) to substitute in/out as necessary for single / dual heatsink chassis? I realize it would need to be a bit thicker for the tapped holes, but the existing rails could be used. It would make it easy for DIYers to have a modular set-up for various uses and re-uses for the same parts.
re: rear panels, I think we could/should leave that to ourselves based on preferences, but a back panel developed for a single channel could be nice as an additional thought for those that don't want too many holes and don't want to cut their own back panel.
What says the group? Is this worth a dedicated thread? Don't want to hijack this one.
re: rear panels, I think we could/should leave that to ourselves based on preferences, but a back panel developed for a single channel could be nice as an additional thought for those that don't want too many holes and don't want to cut their own back panel.
What says the group? Is this worth a dedicated thread? Don't want to hijack this one.
10mm stock, same as fronts, is what I'm using for my side panels (~.375"), so no new materials required—emails sent to Jason and Gian—so this thread doesn't get too derailed—Sorry ZM!
P.A.—if you want to spearhead a separate thread—I will do all the drawings on behalf of everyone. I don't personally want to commit funds to it as part of a GB, since I have my own thing. I will happily do whatever to support the community though with skills.
P.A.—if you want to spearhead a separate thread—I will do all the drawings on behalf of everyone. I don't personally want to commit funds to it as part of a GB, since I have my own thing. I will happily do whatever to support the community though with skills.
Some progress! And observations:
—For anyone curious about the SLB PSU—I have +/-27 rails loaded. Only reason for using it really was to play with something different after several DIY store PSUs—also physical size—which in the end turned out to be not relevant since I upped the sink height—which was a smart move. So, I could have L-bracketed the donuts and used the store PSU no problem. No way would I build this amp on anything less than 165 x 400mm sinks.
—Nice and warm—nothing crazy. During biasing procedure, LID ON seems very important per ZM instructions. Readouts are currently 182-187mV Iq and 0-20mV offset. Some fluctuations normal here ZM? Any lid off action will cause a swing. Seems to like around 185mV. Left (Right? =) channel was way more sensitive during offset adjustment—some "wild" swings there that I didn't experience on the right channel (30-100mV)—but also seems stable once "zeroed". Initially started Left with jumper installed—readings were way more stable until I figured it out! If I change meter resolutions, solid .18 Iq and .009 offset (or so). ZM—reasoning behind 1.8 vs 2A? Sound impressions? Higher bias better if sinks can handle it?
—Total failure on my part to zero Iq pots. NO idea—dialed out to as close to zero R as possible before install. When initially fired up—pretty much nailed both at 160mV... ? Per ZM "cry here" instructions—I took the more important concern to be the DC offset which was around 1V per instructions—So I just proceeded without crying. No smoke. Dim bulbed all initial fire-ups. No drama.
—Totally stole ZM technique of heatshrink dressing on wires—very cool—and I can use up random colored wire.
—FWIW this is the first build where the Anteks are truly not making any noise. I don't know if this is PSU related, or the massive steel cans?
I'll get them both up to temp again today—together—and verify readings—then solder in Neg and move on to buffer setting. Hopefully a bench listen later. Then I'll make the fronts—and finish aluminum surfaces. My super bad-*** speaks are currently not as awesome as they were/should be since it would appear that I have a rubbing voicecoil on one of the mids—waiting on a new part under warranty—might be here today!
Also plan to plug in headphones to jacks and listen to the "noise" and tune the transformer, and see what might be loud in terms of wiring...
—For anyone curious about the SLB PSU—I have +/-27 rails loaded. Only reason for using it really was to play with something different after several DIY store PSUs—also physical size—which in the end turned out to be not relevant since I upped the sink height—which was a smart move. So, I could have L-bracketed the donuts and used the store PSU no problem. No way would I build this amp on anything less than 165 x 400mm sinks.
—Nice and warm—nothing crazy. During biasing procedure, LID ON seems very important per ZM instructions. Readouts are currently 182-187mV Iq and 0-20mV offset. Some fluctuations normal here ZM? Any lid off action will cause a swing. Seems to like around 185mV. Left (Right? =) channel was way more sensitive during offset adjustment—some "wild" swings there that I didn't experience on the right channel (30-100mV)—but also seems stable once "zeroed". Initially started Left with jumper installed—readings were way more stable until I figured it out! If I change meter resolutions, solid .18 Iq and .009 offset (or so). ZM—reasoning behind 1.8 vs 2A? Sound impressions? Higher bias better if sinks can handle it?
—Total failure on my part to zero Iq pots. NO idea—dialed out to as close to zero R as possible before install. When initially fired up—pretty much nailed both at 160mV... ? Per ZM "cry here" instructions—I took the more important concern to be the DC offset which was around 1V per instructions—So I just proceeded without crying. No smoke. Dim bulbed all initial fire-ups. No drama.
—Totally stole ZM technique of heatshrink dressing on wires—very cool—and I can use up random colored wire.
—FWIW this is the first build where the Anteks are truly not making any noise. I don't know if this is PSU related, or the massive steel cans?
I'll get them both up to temp again today—together—and verify readings—then solder in Neg and move on to buffer setting. Hopefully a bench listen later. Then I'll make the fronts—and finish aluminum surfaces. My super bad-*** speaks are currently not as awesome as they were/should be since it would appear that I have a rubbing voicecoil on one of the mids—waiting on a new part under warranty—might be here today!
Also plan to plug in headphones to jacks and listen to the "noise" and tune the transformer, and see what might be loud in terms of wiring...
Attachments
OKAY! MUSAK!!!! YEEEESSSS!
Pics later... might be a couple of days—need to finish the fronts—Test speaks aren't very sensitive—phone as direct source is maxed, but sounds fabulous in the work cave. Lush and full clarity sweetness, getting just MORE as they heat up. Threw ACP+ in front of them cause it was handy—nice!
Buffer settings went per instructions. Again, no dramas. Finally gave up chasing the dragon that seems to be—by other posts and ZM responses in this thread—looking at the constant fluctuations in bias at 200mV range. They were both around 180mV and change with very close to 0 hovering offset when I soldered in Neg and moved on to next steps.
Pics later... might be a couple of days—need to finish the fronts—Test speaks aren't very sensitive—phone as direct source is maxed, but sounds fabulous in the work cave. Lush and full clarity sweetness, getting just MORE as they heat up. Threw ACP+ in front of them cause it was handy—nice!
Buffer settings went per instructions. Again, no dramas. Finally gave up chasing the dragon that seems to be—by other posts and ZM responses in this thread—looking at the constant fluctuations in bias at 200mV range. They were both around 180mV and change with very close to 0 hovering offset when I soldered in Neg and moved on to next steps.
Haha—thanks ZM!
BTW—forgot to note—did my usual plugging in of headphones to the speak jacks to listen to some noise... uh... no clue what I might have done here—circuit topology, steel can on donut, wiring, combo of all? —I thought the amps were off. Just literally NOTHING to hear—except a pop when I pulled out and put back in the shorting plug......IDK. Real test will be in the main sys of course...
BTW—forgot to note—did my usual plugging in of headphones to the speak jacks to listen to some noise... uh... no clue what I might have done here—circuit topology, steel can on donut, wiring, combo of all? —I thought the amps were off. Just literally NOTHING to hear—except a pop when I pulled out and put back in the shorting plug......IDK. Real test will be in the main sys of course...
Catching up on the threads—thanks for all the props guys! I missed a few posts.
Ran Sissys all day on the test speaks, made some fronts—not installed yet—had to do some other work today as well. Likely monkey coffins tomorrow (warranty voice coil newly installed on the Volt mid—solid now).
Ran Sissys all day on the test speaks, made some fronts—not installed yet—had to do some other work today as well. Likely monkey coffins tomorrow (warranty voice coil newly installed on the Volt mid—solid now).
Trouble in paradise!
YES! Some drama!
Day before yesterday:
—Ran Sissy beasts all day in the test environment: Sounded fabulous. Added DC blockers, confirmed power, little LED lights up, all good. Play some more music. Yah! (No faceplates yet)
Yesterday:
—Added faceplates. Little messing about with a screwdriver from inside the case—being VERY careful, no drama to report, really no big deal. Added LEDs, Added final PWR switch.
—Then. Added them to main sys for a nighttime record. Remove M2Xs, add Sissys. Power left, great! Power right, no LED? Also no LED on DC blocker. Hmmm. Think fuse? Checked okay. Bummer. Back on the bench. Pull amp PWR leads. Confirm PSU is okay, no change in unloaded rails—DC blocker lights up. Happened to be on with 6L6. He makes me do math! Always a good thing. Hook amp board back up to PSU. Disconnect DC blocker, plug in amp to speak jacks, check offset—blocker works! BUT Pos 15-16VDC on jacks. Bad joint? Dunno, pretty careful there these days—flexing board, touching components whilst watching offset… no changes. Hovering around 14.95 and a bit over 16….
Sinks getting warm. No weird “power pulling sounds”. Sinks not warmer than previous all day music fest…No smoke, no suspect looking parts—instinct is telling me it’s something “simple”…but….enter dodo here.. Don’t see any evidence of shorts…
(BTW the "no LED" issue was that I had the leads reversed on Mark’s board.)
Fancy speaks on left channel sounded incredible for 5 minutes. Cry here. BUT DC blocker maybe saved some complex 4-order Xover madness and a ton of work.
Consult our Sissy leader—he has me do some basic checks—7805 (5V on output), R16, R17 V on all legs ref to GND, both gate resistors okay, reconfirm AC though rail voltages all good = must be 9140!? Only have some 9240s. Swap it out. Re-biasing right side now! Whew. It IS behaving in a more stable manner than previous.
All hail ZM.
YES! Some drama!
Day before yesterday:
—Ran Sissy beasts all day in the test environment: Sounded fabulous. Added DC blockers, confirmed power, little LED lights up, all good. Play some more music. Yah! (No faceplates yet)
Yesterday:
—Added faceplates. Little messing about with a screwdriver from inside the case—being VERY careful, no drama to report, really no big deal. Added LEDs, Added final PWR switch.
—Then. Added them to main sys for a nighttime record. Remove M2Xs, add Sissys. Power left, great! Power right, no LED? Also no LED on DC blocker. Hmmm. Think fuse? Checked okay. Bummer. Back on the bench. Pull amp PWR leads. Confirm PSU is okay, no change in unloaded rails—DC blocker lights up. Happened to be on with 6L6. He makes me do math! Always a good thing. Hook amp board back up to PSU. Disconnect DC blocker, plug in amp to speak jacks, check offset—blocker works! BUT Pos 15-16VDC on jacks. Bad joint? Dunno, pretty careful there these days—flexing board, touching components whilst watching offset… no changes. Hovering around 14.95 and a bit over 16….
Sinks getting warm. No weird “power pulling sounds”. Sinks not warmer than previous all day music fest…No smoke, no suspect looking parts—instinct is telling me it’s something “simple”…but….enter dodo here.. Don’t see any evidence of shorts…
(BTW the "no LED" issue was that I had the leads reversed on Mark’s board.)
Fancy speaks on left channel sounded incredible for 5 minutes. Cry here. BUT DC blocker maybe saved some complex 4-order Xover madness and a ton of work.
Consult our Sissy leader—he has me do some basic checks—7805 (5V on output), R16, R17 V on all legs ref to GND, both gate resistors okay, reconfirm AC though rail voltages all good = must be 9140!? Only have some 9240s. Swap it out. Re-biasing right side now! Whew. It IS behaving in a more stable manner than previous.
All hail ZM.
Attachments
Last edited: