DIY Sony VFET pt 2 (N-Channel Build)

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Having to use the amp with some elderly Focal floorstanders while the ESLs charge up - they've been idle for over a year and one is protesting slightly.
I'm expecting great things, partly because the Focals have never sounded so good, (I might even award them a crossover upgrade!) but also because the presentation with a Roksan pre-amp is so much lighter all round than the Cyrus back home. I must finish re-casing the WHAMMY and the Korg Nu-Tube asap, plus a couple of others in the pipeline, because they've suddenly become crucial. Improving the clarity and micro-detail of one component immediately spotlights the next. What's the latest 'best ever' DAC under £1000 these days? (Rhetorical)
 
I've only been casually following this switch/relay fun so forgive me if it's been addressed.

Wouldn't the relay require a diode? Most circuits I've seen with a relay have a diode to protect currents flowing when de-energizing rapidly.
 
Having to use the amp with some elderly Focal floorstanders while the ESLs charge up - they've been idle for over a year and one is protesting slightly.
I'm expecting great things, partly because the Focals have never sounded so good, (I might even award them a crossover upgrade!) but also because the presentation with a Roksan pre-amp is so much lighter all round than the Cyrus back home. I must finish re-casing the WHAMMY and the Korg Nu-Tube asap, plus a couple of others in the pipeline, because they've suddenly become crucial. Improving the clarity and micro-detail of one component immediately spotlights the next. What's the latest 'best ever' DAC under £1000 these days? (Rhetorical)

Try the Khadas Tone Board 1. Uses ESS9038 - truly great sounding. Don’t let the low cost dissuade you.

The Tone Board 2 has a mini chassis and selector knob and balanced output for a little more.
 
Try the Khadas Tone Board 1. Uses ESS9038 - truly great sounding. Don’t let the low cost dissuade you.

The Tone Board 2 has a mini chassis and selector knob and balanced output for a little more.

Thanks for the recommendation: I'll have a look at those, although the preamp will probably be my first 'upgrade'. The Maverick Tubemagic I have at the moment is sounding superb - having discovered how sensitive the VFET is, I'm using the tube, as opposed to the upgraded op-amp output and it's excellent.
The constant feed is Radio Paradise via a laptop, so not exactly hi-res. I wouldn't describe something that keeps stopping me in my tracks as 'background', though.
The ESL57s have never sounded this good, with ample volume in a medium sized living room. Happy Days!
 
#179 is up and running! Though I did have doubts that I might have fried the outputs when I discovered the relay was keeping them shunted. I haven't decided how or whether to deal with that.

I'm measuring a little less distortion than in the graphs. Slightly under 1.5% at ~10.7W into 8 ohms, either channel. Input is 2.7Vrms then.

Sounds great too! (No hum, though I do have a Jensen isolation transformer ahead of it, just because it was already in the system.)
 

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