Pass DIY Addict
Joined 2000
Paid Member
Yes- this was my conclusion as well after doing an A/B comparison with the same title on CD. Pretty cool, huh? 😀
Pass DIY Addict
Joined 2000
Paid Member
Update: careful with the claims of how much better vinyl is than digital, you're likely to upset some people: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analogue-source/279816-curses-all-you.html 😀 😉 😛
You'd have to be really deaf not to be able to hear the difference in dynamics. Of course it does depend on your source. I've got the Linn LP12 with an Ittock arm and Arkiv B MC cartridge.
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It was a rescued 1970s TT. It cost me about £1500 to bring it up to 2015 spec but well worth the effort.
These TTs are currently about £4500 in UK.
These TTs are currently about £4500 in UK.
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Previously I had a John Linsley Hood RIAA pre-amp. Words cannot express how much better the Pearl 2 sounds. It's like taking a blanket out of each ear.
Greetings, I've been a member of this forum for several years but haven't posted much because I am not knowledgeable to add much content. I have a Pass Pearl 2 with the Chipamp PSU. It's been up and running for about a years and I really like it with my MC cartridges. I am wondering what modifications would be needed to use it for MM carts. I have read through all 67 pages of this thread and see MM use referenced several times, but I am not able to conclude what modifications are required. I understand how to set the loading but am not sure how to reduce the gain. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Search the web for the Aleph Xono service manual -- you'll see what Pass Labs did to differentiate the MC front end from the MM version. It's pretty easy to find...
Thanks for the information. I am able to find the Aleph Ono manual but it doesn't seem to have a schematic included.
Thanks. I found the service manual for the Ono but not the Xono - I assume that is close enough or do I need to keep searching?
Thanks very much. I'll show my ignorance, but what does it mean "from Shunty output"?
I believe the Shunty is a power supply:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass...mp-more-boring-making-thread.html#post1330390
Cheers,
Dennis
I bought the Pearl 2 pcb's and fets from Pass many years ago after a friend of mine offered to build one for me. Due to circumstances he never got around to it so I decided to try it myself.
After reading and re-reading the manual and threads many times I decided to keep things pretty standard for now. One thing that did seem like an easy but worthwhile upgrade was not to use the standard 7824 and 7924 regulators but build Salas shunts instead. I had never built those before, but this seemed like a good time to learn so I ordered some boards and kits from Tea Bag.
To cut a long story short, my Pearl is working and playing music
Dead quiet. No hiss or noise.
I will leave it switched on for a while (I have read that with the Salas shunt it takes many hours to warm up properly) before I do any serious listening or comparing to digital. First impressions are that it is quite different from the digital source (Logitech Transporter) I am used to. Not necessarily better, just different. It will be interesting to see what it sounds like when it is properly burned in and warmed up. Also, when I have had time to have a good look at my old Thorens TD160S Mk IV and Denon DL110 that have not been used for 20 years or so and probably need a bit of adjusting and TLC.
Photo does not show the external power supply. It is in a separate box and consists of a 50VA 2 x 22V Amplimo transformer (a bit too small now that I am using the Salas shunts; it will be replaced by a 120VA 2 x 23V) followed by a CRC filter (10k, 2R, 10k). Standard GBPC bridge rectifiers for now (no snubber caps yet).
Thanks Wayne and Nelson for a great project!
After reading and re-reading the manual and threads many times I decided to keep things pretty standard for now. One thing that did seem like an easy but worthwhile upgrade was not to use the standard 7824 and 7924 regulators but build Salas shunts instead. I had never built those before, but this seemed like a good time to learn so I ordered some boards and kits from Tea Bag.
To cut a long story short, my Pearl is working and playing music
Dead quiet. No hiss or noise.
I will leave it switched on for a while (I have read that with the Salas shunt it takes many hours to warm up properly) before I do any serious listening or comparing to digital. First impressions are that it is quite different from the digital source (Logitech Transporter) I am used to. Not necessarily better, just different. It will be interesting to see what it sounds like when it is properly burned in and warmed up. Also, when I have had time to have a good look at my old Thorens TD160S Mk IV and Denon DL110 that have not been used for 20 years or so and probably need a bit of adjusting and TLC.
Photo does not show the external power supply. It is in a separate box and consists of a 50VA 2 x 22V Amplimo transformer (a bit too small now that I am using the Salas shunts; it will be replaced by a 120VA 2 x 23V) followed by a CRC filter (10k, 2R, 10k). Standard GBPC bridge rectifiers for now (no snubber caps yet).
Thanks Wayne and Nelson for a great project!
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I built mine totally standard. Dead quiet even with horns. Its one of my favorite builds. Really surprising sound quality. Plenty of gain for low output moving coils.
Russellc
Russellc
Thinking of changing the stock PSU to CRC or CRCRC. Would the latter be better than the first, or are the improvements only (very) small? What would be a good value vor R? 10R? 20R? 100R? Transformer is a 2x24V toroid, approx 39V unloaded after the rectifiers. So I have some voltage to spare. I would also change the 7x24 to LM3x7.
Do what you like in the raw supply. An extra RC certainly can't hurt. 10R will be fine.
317/337 have different pinout than 7824/7924. Also remember that Wayne uses 78xx/79xx all over the factory Pass Labs designs, so they work just fine.
All that said, there's so much PSU capacitance, especially local, in this design that any changes from stock will yield very small benefits.
Changing the stock regulator circuits to Salas Shunt or ZenMod Shunty... now that would be interesting... 🙂
317/337 have different pinout than 7824/7924. Also remember that Wayne uses 78xx/79xx all over the factory Pass Labs designs, so they work just fine.
All that said, there's so much PSU capacitance, especially local, in this design that any changes from stock will yield very small benefits.
Changing the stock regulator circuits to Salas Shunt or ZenMod Shunty... now that would be interesting... 🙂