I've recieved email from James last Thursday asking my phone number for the shipping label. So I'm assuming the transformer is ready within 8 days after ordering. No delivery date however...
Hi just read from a post of yours on another thread that you're not doing bare boards, so I'm pleased I took the plunge and ordered one while I had the chance. I must admit to curiosity about why you'd decided not to sell boards any more. Too many problems with borked builds? Too busy? Hope it's the latter and business is booming.
Well business is booming, but that's not the reason.
I'm also a little reluctant to start airing dirty laundry in public, but let's just say the only place to buy genuine, Fully up to spec built Bigbottle Phonostages is directly from me.
Ahh ok. I got to read the first version of your post on the DIY Phono Recommendation thread before you edited it. So I get the message. I can see it would be enough to cause you to rethink.
When I went back to read a later post on that thread I had a momentary dog shown card trick moment, I read your edit post didn't realise it had been edited and began to wonder if I'd been hallucinating earlier...
I remember the chap who runs Avondale (big IIRC) had some issues with the DIY end of things and decided to only sell assembled boards.
Shame that efforts to help the DIY community get abused.
When I went back to read a later post on that thread I had a momentary dog shown card trick moment, I read your edit post didn't realise it had been edited and began to wonder if I'd been hallucinating earlier...
I remember the chap who runs Avondale (big IIRC) had some issues with the DIY end of things and decided to only sell assembled boards.
Shame that efforts to help the DIY community get abused.
I ordered components from the BOM and upped the counts of 1% resistors in the hope I'd get a few that tested dead on, and where not, that I'd use pairs of the same closest value.
Had I known what a tediously painful process resistor binning actually turned out to be, I'd have ordered 0.1% resistors across the board.
Never again in a similar situation, my time and patience are limited.
Had I known what a tediously painful process resistor binning actually turned out to be, I'd have ordered 0.1% resistors across the board.
Never again in a similar situation, my time and patience are limited.
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Olli
On the subject of 1% components, what is the most important thing, to get as near to the specified tolerance, or to ensure left and right are as closely matched as possible.
Obviously, they want to be as near as the spec as possible, but I'm assuming that matching values in each channel is the really vital thing.
Am I right, or barking up the wrong tree?
No, you're right on that making sure the channels match is extremely important. But for RIAA accuracy, it's important to get the right values, even if you can only bare to do it for the ones marked (EQ) on the BOM.
The ability to get the values and precision you need availed by Texas Components and avoid the anxiety might be worth the extortionary price. Maybe.
http://texascomponents.com/pdf/tx2575.pdf
http://texascomponents.com/pdf/tx2575.pdf
There is absolutely no need to go down the Zfoil route.
You could buy a decent LCR meter and 10000 resistors for less than the cost of using Zfoils.
... but only if the values you want/need are actually available.
I can buy 100,000 511 ohm resistors from a distributor that sells "the full range of E48 values!!!" and never find the 499 ohm resistors I need for my RIAA network (say, in the Pearl phono preamp)
Amended to cite an actual E48 (and E96 and E192) value
I can buy 100,000 511 ohm resistors from a distributor that sells "the full range of E48 values!!!" and never find the 499 ohm resistors I need for my RIAA network (say, in the Pearl phono preamp)
Amended to cite an actual E48 (and E96 and E192) value
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There is only 1 value that rarely had the right tolerance and that's the 68k for R10
Per 1000, I'd find about 10-15....the rest are fairly reliable.
I buy 0.1% ones of those, but match them per channel
The tubes should be matched in this case aswel ... you are matching everything but tube sections aren't matched to 0.1% ... they differ up to 10% ... depends upon the tube.
Oh yes, definitely match them where possible but it gets very difficult when using NOS valves like I do.
That's the main thing, it's not the ultimate accuracy that I'm striving for, but to get as close as I can, and balanced across channels.
But I hadn't reckoned on the utter tedium of resistor binning :-| It's got to the point where if I assume a chargeable rate for my time (and boredom) I can't help feeling that 0.1% resistors are a bargain.
So I FINALLY got my chassis from Landfall (shipping is a bitch from US -> Canada), and just got it all assembled.
Very happy with the result. Love the power switch 🙂, and the whole thing worked out really well, other than the fact that this thing is a fingerprint magnet..
I didn't get a pic of the bottom plate, but it's a mesh plate, so with the venting in the top plate, everything should stay cool enough. Cool air coming in through the bottom and exhausting out the top.
I've attached some pics.
Very happy with the result. Love the power switch 🙂, and the whole thing worked out really well, other than the fact that this thing is a fingerprint magnet..
I didn't get a pic of the bottom plate, but it's a mesh plate, so with the venting in the top plate, everything should stay cool enough. Cool air coming in through the bottom and exhausting out the top.
I've attached some pics.
Attachments
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