My_Ref Fremen Edition - Build thread and tutorial

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#2,741
I agree that short runs are the best sounding.

I once twisted the two (1.5mm) cores from twin & earth using a battery drill. I made two cables 5 meters long, tried them in my system and quickly removed them. A dull veiled sound with closed in/reduced sound stage was the result. Maybe the twist rate of roughly 1 turn per inch was to blame or less pure copper. The basic QED stuff i put back in was much better, it was/is the biggest difference i have heard between speaker cables to date.
I'd say it was probably more due to capacitance and resistance differences than copper purity but all three may well have played their part.
 
#2,746
Just checked on my yet to be completed 1.7 boards.

The signal ground on the input connector is unexpectedly floating as reported by BC108.

I'm really sorry, it seems that after redrawing the schematic for this last run the schematics' wires of the input connector, while apparently connected, they were not... 😡

This can be fixed with a perfect functional and aesthetic result, though.

Scrape a bit of solder mask near the ground pad (remain in the connector frame):

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Solder a 2mm piece of copper wire (can be a trimmed wire from a resistor):

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Invisible:

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I've updated the build tutorial accordingly (it includes some other small fixes).
 

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#2,752
Well, 4 hrs in and i think they are starting to open up a bit. Initial impressions (layman's) are very silent with no signal, snare and acoustic guitar attacks very well and the bass is controlled but prominent enough. Vocals are not harsh or have any, how can I say, hissing or shhhh'ing which I have experienced on lesser 3886 kits. Well done Dario, hats off to you!
(My setup if your interested - RPI3 -> Soekris DAM1021 Dac (with salas BiB regulators) -> lightspeed attenuator -> My_ref (stock BOM evo) -> IPL acoustics SM2 speakers (kit built out of 40mm solid walnut))
 
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#2,753
bc108 said:
Well, 4 hrs in and i think they are starting to open up a bit. Initial impressions (layman's) are very silent with no signal, snare and acoustic guitar attacks very well and the bass is controlled but prominent enough. Vocals are not harsh or have any, how can I say, hissing or shhhh'ing which I have experienced on lesser 3886 kits. Well done Dario, hats off to you!
Click to expand...

I'm happy you like it 🙂

It will improve further as use time passes.

Will you upgrade some parts?
 
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#2,754
ClaveFremen said:
For output any AWG12 to AWG14 speaker cable will do but I suggest solid copper wire, preferably OCC and teflon insulated like Neotech SOCT [...]
A good low cost alternative is VanDamme LC-OFC 268-503-000

For input a good quality twisted pair like the ones from Amtrans [...] or a miniature balanced OFC cable like Mogami W2944 console cable (available from eBay or pro audio stores).

The Mogami is much cheaper but still very good.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing me out the Mogami: I was near to use a coax cable (by Thender, OFC silver plated), but this one looks better for this job.

I can get some spare cable for output from my car : 2x2,5mmq Monacor OFC. I use in everyday, not bad really.
 
#2,756
bc108 said:
Yes I'm sure some z foils are on the cards sometime soon.
Click to expand...

Fine, remember that some (other) parts should be upgraded first for best results (like Amtrans over FKP2s or Cerafine over KZ)

bc108 said:
I have some Mundorf Mcap supreme's but in 2.2 uf. I know fundamentally it will just lower the cut off frequency but will it effect the sound?
Click to expand...

According Penasa (the designer of the orginal My_Ref) the value has a role (and effect) on LM318.

Sincerely I never heard any difference using higher value caps (up to 1.5uF) but keep in mind that a 2.2uF will be way (physically) bigger so it will not mount perfectly and could pick up more noise.
 
#2,758
Speaker cable result, now got 3 Meter runs of this stuff (off the reel from an ebay shop) - QED Ruby Anniversary Evolution

Improved clarity, definition and tighter bass. Not huge differences but quite noticeable. Wish i paid a bit more for pre-terminated though cos it's not nice to work with.

Changing interconnects doesn't make any noticeable difference in my current system but changing speaker cable does.
 
#2,759
Continuing the full diy theme, im using UBYTE-2 cables. Have quite a high capacitance but I opted for the evo version to compensate.
Just swapped back to some standard side by side cable to jog my memory and it doesn't sound as open or as detailed as the UBYTE-2.
 
#2,760
davym said:
Changing interconnects doesn't make any noticeable difference in my current system but changing speaker cable does.
Click to expand...
Now that you have better speaker cables, try again... using RG400 coax cable. 😉

(but make sure to get a genuine one by some well known, good manufacturer from a trustworthy RF hardware shop. Stay away from the no-brand ones often found on eBay).



Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 utilizzando Tapatalk
 
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