I've re-routed the speaker returns and amp PCB grounds as follows;
Result.. quite a signifiant improvement in bass and lower midrange resolve and detail. Acoustic guitars sounds way better, more natural resolve and overtones are now clearly portrayed. Also the soundstage seems to now seperate instruments much better. Great rewards for such a simple correction to wiring. Thanks!
I'm currently using twisted CAT5 for the inputs, I have some Kimber 8TC here.. think I might give the 8TC a crack next
- speaker return(s) go directly to PSU PCB ground
- amp PCB ground fed from PSU PCB ground
Result.. quite a signifiant improvement in bass and lower midrange resolve and detail. Acoustic guitars sounds way better, more natural resolve and overtones are now clearly portrayed. Also the soundstage seems to now seperate instruments much better. Great rewards for such a simple correction to wiring. Thanks!
I'm currently using twisted CAT5 for the inputs, I have some Kimber 8TC here.. think I might give the 8TC a crack next
.. Nope, hang on minute, I'm leaving everything as is after changing the interconnects between disc drive & Pre.
The replacement interconnects have ~50% less capacitance (-40pf) compared to what I was using.
The sound has just opened right up, instruments are now so easy to pick out and focus on individually. The overtones are real nice now, drum snares when wacked good and hard come across exactly like that plus the whole system has huge lungs. Bass is rich, clean, excellent depth, full of overtones and is tighter than a duck's backside. Mids and female vocals are sweet as cherry pie. There's is not the slightest bit of harshness to the top end, drum high hats shimmer and ring very nicely - extended hour long sessions not a problem. I recon I could pick a Maton from a Martin through this system now.
Playing some Doug Macleod, SACD by Valley Entertainment "Whose Truth, Whose Lies". Its the best I have ever heard this disc, easily!
Front end is Marantz 9500 (analog out), Onkyo 3000 pre (direct) and of course F5 (cheers Nelson 👍 0.61v bias, ~47deg) and some ProAc 125 Studio's I've had since new & would never sell. This system could very very easily be a holy grail. Its has synergy, it sits right amongst some big player systems I've owned (over $100k in todays money). Bout time I had a win 🙂 Righto... time to move forward with the home brew F5 chassis. PSU will see some flipping / rearrangement in the chassis
Mery Xmas & Happy NY to u all
The replacement interconnects have ~50% less capacitance (-40pf) compared to what I was using.
The sound has just opened right up, instruments are now so easy to pick out and focus on individually. The overtones are real nice now, drum snares when wacked good and hard come across exactly like that plus the whole system has huge lungs. Bass is rich, clean, excellent depth, full of overtones and is tighter than a duck's backside. Mids and female vocals are sweet as cherry pie. There's is not the slightest bit of harshness to the top end, drum high hats shimmer and ring very nicely - extended hour long sessions not a problem. I recon I could pick a Maton from a Martin through this system now.
Playing some Doug Macleod, SACD by Valley Entertainment "Whose Truth, Whose Lies". Its the best I have ever heard this disc, easily!
Front end is Marantz 9500 (analog out), Onkyo 3000 pre (direct) and of course F5 (cheers Nelson 👍 0.61v bias, ~47deg) and some ProAc 125 Studio's I've had since new & would never sell. This system could very very easily be a holy grail. Its has synergy, it sits right amongst some big player systems I've owned (over $100k in todays money). Bout time I had a win 🙂 Righto... time to move forward with the home brew F5 chassis. PSU will see some flipping / rearrangement in the chassis
Mery Xmas & Happy NY to u all
Attachments
Last edited: