30db, not easy to change.
Sounds really, really good. How does it compare to the commercial products? Thats really subjective and has a lot to do with your taste, but if you look at the input stage of Pearl vs. the earlier phonostages, particularly the Ono, it's going to look very familiar.
I kick myself for selling mine.
Sounds really, really good. How does it compare to the commercial products? Thats really subjective and has a lot to do with your taste, but if you look at the input stage of Pearl vs. the earlier phonostages, particularly the Ono, it's going to look very familiar.
I kick myself for selling mine.
Read the Pearl 1 description (Hikari posted before), page 6, under 'subjective performance'. Wayne Colburn describes his impressions with the Pearl 1 - phonostage compared to the Pass XONO.
I use my Pearl 1 most often with my Thorens vinyl player and a Ortofon cartridge (MC20 MKII). Between the cartridge (Moving Coil) and the Pearl1 I use a transformer or a super simple 'Le pacific' MC-pre.
If I listen to vinyl I prefer the BA-3 preamp (a lot of gain) and then into the poweramp. This is a very good sounding combination. And it can play loud.
With the B1 as a preamp i do not have enough gain.
I also added switchable resistors and capacitances to the input (via dip-switch on a proto-board). Makes adjusting the cartridge to the Pearl 1 much easier.
If your Pearl 1 is back to life - Enjoy it!
I also built a XOno and a Pearl II. My personal ranking of this 3 phono stages is: Pass XOno - Pearl I - Pearl II. But they are very close to each other in soundquality. Before I would exchange one of these Phono stages, I would invest into a better cartridge. My opinion. 😀
Greets
Dirk
I use my Pearl 1 most often with my Thorens vinyl player and a Ortofon cartridge (MC20 MKII). Between the cartridge (Moving Coil) and the Pearl1 I use a transformer or a super simple 'Le pacific' MC-pre.
If I listen to vinyl I prefer the BA-3 preamp (a lot of gain) and then into the poweramp. This is a very good sounding combination. And it can play loud.
With the B1 as a preamp i do not have enough gain.
I also added switchable resistors and capacitances to the input (via dip-switch on a proto-board). Makes adjusting the cartridge to the Pearl 1 much easier.
If your Pearl 1 is back to life - Enjoy it!
I also built a XOno and a Pearl II. My personal ranking of this 3 phono stages is: Pass XOno - Pearl I - Pearl II. But they are very close to each other in soundquality. Before I would exchange one of these Phono stages, I would invest into a better cartridge. My opinion. 😀
Greets
Dirk
Desoldering the tiny legs of the transistors was tricky — to small for the nozzle of my solder sucker and solder wick just didn’t seem to pick up the last bits filling the holes. But I got it done. 2k369 in place of the 2sk389GR and new zeners. It measures close to specs, a little lower at Q4 (13.5 mV). The top of R23 still measures 12.5 instead of 15 (both channels) but I can’t see why and am not sure this is concerning considering every other node is within 5%.
Here’s a picture.
Today I’ll get it hooked up to the turntable, see how it performs and make sure it’s stable.
Here’s a picture.
Today I’ll get it hooked up to the turntable, see how it performs and make sure it’s stable.
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try it as is
if you're interested to pursue that difference - you're having slightly greater current through input JFets; increase all 4 source resistors by notch (thus decreasing Iq) and you'll be there
13V5 instead of 14V at base of Q4 - irrelevant difference
After taking the weekend to burn in the replacement transistors, the Pearl sounds as good as ever.
Thank you for all the help.
Thank you for all the help.