Thanks Vince...
Here in Norway they have good healthcare and cancerrelated sickness shall be treated within 20 days after diagnosis! So after my last MR the 29 of desember there should be something happening soon. Have been fairly early discovering every changing(and not afraid of sickness) - so hope for a fairly good recovery.
Happy NewYear to you Vince and the rest of the DIY-community!
Best
Olav
Here in Norway they have good healthcare and cancerrelated sickness shall be treated within 20 days after diagnosis! So after my last MR the 29 of desember there should be something happening soon. Have been fairly early discovering every changing(and not afraid of sickness) - so hope for a fairly good recovery.
Happy NewYear to you Vince and the rest of the DIY-community!
Best
Olav
Attachments
Hi Olav
first: best wishes concerning your health!
second: happy to hear you feel fine now
third: happy to hear your voice concerning Luminaria
fourth: some comments.
Shortly after hearing Luminaria, I had a very good impression (even only having a 5k blue alps pot in front), I sent it to my friend permaneder in August. He sent me some emails concerning the sound……
normally he uses the XP20 and he was really astonished about Luminarias dynamics and vividness he rated it a bit over the XP20 in this aspects
and in one mail he wrote: Fazit: Luminaria muss man bauen. in English: Conclusion: Luminaria must be built.
After some time he remarked that the XP20 had the better deep bass.
We drove the SIT directly and we decided to put the buffer in front, I sent him all parts for the buffer, but as many of you know he died suddenly in August.
I never wanted back Luminaria…….. the whole story was too sad.
Now reading your lines Olav, full of enthusiasm I will make a new try and rebuild Luminaria the next months with buffer again.
first: best wishes concerning your health!
second: happy to hear you feel fine now
third: happy to hear your voice concerning Luminaria
fourth: some comments.
Shortly after hearing Luminaria, I had a very good impression (even only having a 5k blue alps pot in front), I sent it to my friend permaneder in August. He sent me some emails concerning the sound……
normally he uses the XP20 and he was really astonished about Luminarias dynamics and vividness he rated it a bit over the XP20 in this aspects
and in one mail he wrote: Fazit: Luminaria muss man bauen. in English: Conclusion: Luminaria must be built.
After some time he remarked that the XP20 had the better deep bass.
We drove the SIT directly and we decided to put the buffer in front, I sent him all parts for the buffer, but as many of you know he died suddenly in August.
I never wanted back Luminaria…….. the whole story was too sad.
Now reading your lines Olav, full of enthusiasm I will make a new try and rebuild Luminaria the next months with buffer again.
Hi Tea-Bag.
thanks for your fine thoughts - and my new operation will be in ca 10 days. And it should run just nice - they tell me.
Let the Universe take care of it all - be thankful for every day one get...
The big speaker is the Alp10,2 in FHXL built in pine (oiled) and the front is a kind of wallpaper.... Not so bad...
Best
Olav
Olav,
Wishing and thinking of you on a easy recovery.
Thanks for sharing that, it's tough stuff to deal with alone.
The speakers in the bigger cabinets, the wood looks amazing.
I suspect it doesn't grow in Maine
thanks for your fine thoughts - and my new operation will be in ca 10 days. And it should run just nice - they tell me.
Let the Universe take care of it all - be thankful for every day one get...
The big speaker is the Alp10,2 in FHXL built in pine (oiled) and the front is a kind of wallpaper.... Not so bad...
Best
Olav
Hi Generg...
Sorry to hear about permaneder - life can be a trial.
Thanks for your nice words - I keep my spirit high, and believe we are part of a bigger reality(that we ordinarily don`t see).
And the words you use about the LuminAria is just so presisely: dynamic and vivid. I was listening to Leonard Cohen a day ago - and I can`t remember hearing him lively and so close ever before. It reminds me of the way my friends Martin Logan with some expensive Dynamic Precision was displaying him in the room.
But the 2 pre/power SIT`s with the Alp12P has even better dynamic - and not quite as good see through transparency - but not far behind.
So in 1 month or 2 I will rebuild my box and try some resistors maybe. If God will....
Take care of yourself - and have a good year with good company!
Best
Olav
Sorry to hear about permaneder - life can be a trial.
Thanks for your nice words - I keep my spirit high, and believe we are part of a bigger reality(that we ordinarily don`t see).
And the words you use about the LuminAria is just so presisely: dynamic and vivid. I was listening to Leonard Cohen a day ago - and I can`t remember hearing him lively and so close ever before. It reminds me of the way my friends Martin Logan with some expensive Dynamic Precision was displaying him in the room.
But the 2 pre/power SIT`s with the Alp12P has even better dynamic - and not quite as good see through transparency - but not far behind.
So in 1 month or 2 I will rebuild my box and try some resistors maybe. If God will....
Take care of yourself - and have a good year with good company!
Best
Olav
Tnx Michael...
From the rainy coast of Norway in early 06.00 hours - life is tough but we steer through with fine music and good chaps who know and show how to keep us occupied with building boxes full of wonder(that would be you Michael and Nelson and Mark Fenlon + some other)
May the New Year be blessed!
Olav
From the rainy coast of Norway in early 06.00 hours - life is tough but we steer through with fine music and good chaps who know and show how to keep us occupied with building boxes full of wonder(that would be you Michael and Nelson and Mark Fenlon + some other)
May the New Year be blessed!
Olav
Redressing my Lum.....
Slowly recovering from my hospitalization – which seems fairly succesful(doctors said). Now 6 months with chemoterapy has started. And 6 months or more with sickleave!
But even though I`m somewhat more tired than ordinary, I found the days to be VERY long(have to rest 1 hour every day) – so I started my replacement of some components on this remarkably amp.
My first version was very good, but there was a loud humming from the trafo that was amplified through the chain. I moved the trafo, bridge and the electrolytics on the psu-section on the top under a round trafo-enclosure. THAT killed all the humming. Then i replaced the resistor on the gate with a thinfilm resistor.
So now it is dead-quiet and very involving. It has so much air around each instrument – so you can focus on each in relation to all else. While I did the remounting/changing I used my old B1 preamp – and even though it is very good – it does not distingues each player and their instrument with such vivid presence as the superb Luminaria! Part of this is maybe also because the SitClone with 2SK82 – which is also a single stage performer AND also a nice project that Michael has been kind to offer us diy-ers.
So the whole chain is short and simple – toward my Alpair12 in Fonken enclosure!
Once again – thanks Michael for your effort in our search for the good sound!!
Best to all
Olav
Slowly recovering from my hospitalization – which seems fairly succesful(doctors said). Now 6 months with chemoterapy has started. And 6 months or more with sickleave!
But even though I`m somewhat more tired than ordinary, I found the days to be VERY long(have to rest 1 hour every day) – so I started my replacement of some components on this remarkably amp
. My first version was very good, but there was a loud humming from the trafo that was amplified through the chain. I moved the trafo, bridge and the electrolytics on the psu-section on the top under a round trafo-enclosure. THAT killed all the humming. Then i replaced the resistor on the gate with a thinfilm resistor.
So now it is dead-quiet and very involving. It has so much air around each instrument – so you can focus on each in relation to all else. While I did the remounting/changing I used my old B1 preamp – and even though it is very good – it does not distingues each player and their instrument with such vivid presence as the superb Luminaria! Part of this is maybe also because the SitClone with 2SK82 – which is also a single stage performer AND also a nice project that Michael has been kind to offer us diy-ers.
So the whole chain is short and simple – toward my Alpair12 in Fonken enclosure!
Once again – thanks Michael for your effort in our search for the good sound!!
Best to all
Olav
Attachments
I've made a few posts in the Lab Hangout thread about my LuminAria build, and I think it probably makes sense to add a post here, to record that one more LuminAria has been built (actually this is still a test channel, waiting for some components to build the 2 production channels).
A few things I noticed:
Attached is the board and the THD measurement, it's a amazing that a non-feedback circuit can reach such a low THD
A few things I noticed:
- I tried 10 different pieces of 2SK82 in circuit, most can reach 10-12ppm THD, but one cannot go lower than 30ppm.
- All 2SK82s I tested are having lowest THD when Vds is between 60-70V
- 7 2SK82s are having lowest THD with 65-85mA Id, while 3 2SK82s are lowest at around 50-55mA.
- The gain of all 10 pieces are different, but gain of some are within 2% of one another.
- I selected a pair with similar gain and 55mA Id (to lower heat dissipation), and then use different B+/Id to equalize the gain. No need to use source degeneration to adjust gain at the end.
- The actual THD drifts between 8ppm to 12ppm, but at such low THD I guess it doesn't matter anymore
Attached is the board and the THD measurement, it's a amazing that a non-feedback circuit can reach such a low THD
Attachments
I like that case !
Hi Tim,
That is a nice layout. I also built Lumiaria and listened to it yesterday. Yes this is a fine pre amp, and as parts are breaking in it sounded different today. I am waiting for the film resistor for the drain load and I expect even better change. The sound reminds me a 10Y DHT pre, but without the microphonic, residual white noise, and hassle for the heater setup.
I could do this with your PCB design. Since I have two PCBs that I can spare, may I give this to anyone who is interested?
Cheers,
Chul
Hi Tim,
That is a nice layout. I also built Lumiaria and listened to it yesterday. Yes this is a fine pre amp, and as parts are breaking in it sounded different today. I am waiting for the film resistor for the drain load and I expect even better change. The sound reminds me a 10Y DHT pre, but without the microphonic, residual white noise, and hassle for the heater setup.
I could do this with your PCB design. Since I have two PCBs that I can spare, may I give this to anyone who is interested?
Cheers,
Chul
Wow! Really spectacular work there, Tim. PCB's, chassis, all top notch
Thanks Michael for your nice design, pairing it with the 2SK180 L'Amp right now, sounds like heaven but too much heat dissipation (200W) with the L'Amp so I'm building a scaled down F4 to see how they match.
One day I'll also try the Iron Amp