It might be, but there was no specific tube forum to post it in so I made the other post first before deciding to post this one for tube specific responces.
Now that you made a choice about using tubes there's a bunch of good tube preamps.My first choice would be a hybrid transistor+tube preamp so my second choice is Luxman cl 34.That's because it is NOT warm, smooth and lush, just the best all tube mm phono preamp you'll ever be able to build and the only design i found able to take a full 10V rms input signal without getting into hard clipping and that's not something you can get with any preamp , tube, topology.
Just try it and we'll talk later about what are the needed qualities of a phono preamp.
Just try it and we'll talk later about what are the needed qualities of a phono preamp.
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Depends on if you talk about sound or music! Sound is only the "material" of music, as bricks are the material of a house. Yes, the color of the bricks is important, but it's not everything...
Warm, smoothest and most lush - I don't really think you want the audio preamp to impart its own sound qualities on your audio. I think you mean transparent, open or blameless. The hybrid approach will get you the lower noise input - maybe a JFET - valve cascode. Failing that something with an e88cc as first stage may be ok.
SVP by Allen wright. I recommend using a denon dl103r MC cart.
You must build it with either his super reg, or use a salas sshv2 reg, or in my case 8!.
If you want good, it ain’t cheap either way you look at it.
You must build it with either his super reg, or use a salas sshv2 reg, or in my case 8!.
If you want good, it ain’t cheap either way you look at it.
read this:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/the-lcr-phono-stage.381065/
or
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/the-phono-stage-single-child.380977/
or
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/junior-phono.351084/
I suggest you to build the project with a complete test lab as insurance on good job
Walter
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/the-lcr-phono-stage.381065/
or
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/the-phono-stage-single-child.380977/
or
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/junior-phono.351084/
I suggest you to build the project with a complete test lab as insurance on good job
Walter
It's on merlins website.
However at closer look the board i was thinking of : 3-tube-riaa is replaced by
a 2 board set : 2-board riaa set The idea of 2 board might be easier to fit into compact designs and
in addition they already has a rca connector mounted.
I still have one of these boards in stock.
( as we both are discussing good phonostage projects i do not consider this threadjacking )
Get yourself a set of "Sound Practices" magazines. (But why are you blaming the format rather than, say your speakers or amplifier? See the discussions between Lynn Olsen and John Phelan, oh, 15 years ago)
P.s. by the way, the power supply is at least half of the circuit.
P.p.s see the example earlier on how to do RIAA passively. Feedback (think about slew rate vs noise sensitivity) is your enemy in the RIAA stage:
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Lots of excellent suggestions. I would add a few things. One is hum with the RIAA curve having most gain at LF. Heaters DC and regulating the HT depending on design. Careful layout avoiding power supply hum, using isolated RCA connectors. Miller capacitance can also change the cartridge loading. Its quite difficult to get accurate RIAA equ over one stage due to valve tolerances if driven from a plate load due to variations in Rp. The noise figure of the stage after the RIAA must also be good in this case. Some approaches take an op-amp method with the RIAA placed in the feedback or a bit of both. If only feedback you need a lot of gain. I've never built one as I have no vinyl unfortunately but would have loved to.
Here's an audio research one with RIAA in feedback path.
https://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/audio/ar_sp3.htm
Here's an audio research one with RIAA in feedback path.
https://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/audio/ar_sp3.htm
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OK, rather than trying to build the perfect audio warmifier on the first try, why not try a simple experiment to become acquainted with what the various distortions sound like?
One could take a simple cathode follower and play with its biasing. You could bias it so warm that it's on the verge of drawing grid current. That will distort the signal some (more or less, depending on bias point chosen).
Perhaps also employ a very large value grid stopper (10k ohms?), to vary the distortion characterstics.
You could use a choke input, tube rectified power supply. Go all-out old school. A single 12AU7, 6SN7 or similar twin triode could easily be powered from a small power transformer, a 6X4 rectifier tube, and a quite modest choke. Perhaps the higher impedance power supply is part of that 'vintage tube' sound.
I have found that some paper-in-oil capacitors have a 'rounding' effect on the sound. I picked up a bunch surplus back in the 1990s.
So, to sum up. design the triode cathode follower and its power supply to work with higher distortion than you'd normally aim for, and find out for yourself what the distortion sounds like. It could be just the thing to fatten up the sound from your digital source. Or you might find out that this is not what you're looking for.
One could take a simple cathode follower and play with its biasing. You could bias it so warm that it's on the verge of drawing grid current. That will distort the signal some (more or less, depending on bias point chosen).
Perhaps also employ a very large value grid stopper (10k ohms?), to vary the distortion characterstics.
You could use a choke input, tube rectified power supply. Go all-out old school. A single 12AU7, 6SN7 or similar twin triode could easily be powered from a small power transformer, a 6X4 rectifier tube, and a quite modest choke. Perhaps the higher impedance power supply is part of that 'vintage tube' sound.
I have found that some paper-in-oil capacitors have a 'rounding' effect on the sound. I picked up a bunch surplus back in the 1990s.
So, to sum up. design the triode cathode follower and its power supply to work with higher distortion than you'd normally aim for, and find out for yourself what the distortion sounds like. It could be just the thing to fatten up the sound from your digital source. Or you might find out that this is not what you're looking for.
My tubes are very warm(hot) 😇.
Try the phonodude from Dick. Not to difficult to build.
https://audio-creative.nl/projecten/het-complete-phonodude-verhaal-deel-1/
My build,
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/phonodude-koifarm-edition.293719/
Try the phonodude from Dick. Not to difficult to build.
https://audio-creative.nl/projecten/het-complete-phonodude-verhaal-deel-1/
My build,
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/phonodude-koifarm-edition.293719/
Yes, an 834 clone will make you happy - lots of build threads for them on lencoheaven.
Because it has no answer.
You are craving for very subjective words which have no actual or direct technical (or real world) meaning.
Those are buzzwords used by sellers.
Let me give you an example:
Soap "should" be promoted based on their cleaning properties, do we agree?
As in: "XXX soap cleans better than others"
Sales were average.
Then a GENIUS Publicity guy (or con man? .... you decide) invented the concept of "BEAUTY soap" which if you think 5 seconds is NONSENSE.
Sales went through the roof. 😱
Then others HAD to invent "9 out of 10 Cinema Stars use it" which again is nonsense, or , best case, irrelevant.
Again sales exploded.
Nowadays "salesmen" sell preamps, power amps, tubes, components, etc. with same sweet and enticing words:"warm - smooth - soundstage" - etc.
Forgive us Techs and in general people caring for REAL Audio advancement for not caring much about such vague "emotional" meaningless descriptions.
A preamp (or any magical component) can bring as much of those as Palmolive soap can bring Beauty to user, think about that.
You mean THREE threads?
Two about phono preamps, one about a Buffer, all 3 with the same silly question about "warm smooth lush" sound .
I answered in one of them, no sense copypasting same answer in 3 basically identical posts.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/warm-smooth-and-lush-phono-stage.389955/post-7115499
This is clearly a problem on your end.
If you simply do not understand regular and very, very commonly used words, describing fantastic sound, beautiful music, delicious food, whiskey, beer or wine: you might start digging there.
🙂🤚
Forget wine, food, music, whiskey, or beer, we are talking electronic components and schematics here.
Looks like you are out of your field.
Unless manufacturers start publishing datasheets showing fantastic/beautiful/delicious graphs or curves, let alone equations calculating them.