The soft-start is working beautifully. Power present and active leds as well as MyRef lights all on. Woopeee!
Next I will test powering both the Lighter Note and the JC-2 from the 18V toroid. Might even be able to eliminate a transformer rather than adding one. I'll still isolate all the toroids with fuses but may not need the additional relays. ?????
Next I will test powering both the Lighter Note and the JC-2 from the 18V toroid. Might even be able to eliminate a transformer rather than adding one. I'll still isolate all the toroids with fuses but may not need the additional relays. ?????
Hi Andrew,
Fuse added. Do you agree no additional timing elements need to be added? I want to incorporate as few components as possible but don't want to omit anything essential.
Also, with the SS mounted outside the shield, its transformer is close to the JC-2. It can be located inside the can if that is recommended to avoid interference. Manufacturer (BingZi) docs just say fully encapsulated but no mention of shielding.
Fuse added. Do you agree no additional timing elements need to be added? I want to incorporate as few components as possible but don't want to omit anything essential.
Also, with the SS mounted outside the shield, its transformer is close to the JC-2. It can be located inside the can if that is recommended to avoid interference. Manufacturer (BingZi) docs just say fully encapsulated but no mention of shielding.
As long as the limiting resistors in your softstart can handle the initial surge of your two large toroids and the relay contacts in your softstart can handle the "steady on" current for those toroids, you're "good to go". .....Should not be any problems......
One possible failure mode (and I'll admit, I haven't had time to study your schematics.....): If the softstart fuse pops, and your softstart does not operate, will this place the limiting resistors in series with their toroids until you turn power off to the unit? If so, they may overheat...... This is probably a pretty remote failure mode--if it is, in fact, what your schematic shows.
Had everything connected in the chassis but found the small toroid was overheating. The only thing found were a couple loose solder joints on the MyRef AC input tabs. Don't know if that was part of the problem.
Went back to modular approach (adding one component at a time) and everything is now stable at just above room temps.
I also had the power switch on the hot wire after the soft-start (with pin 1 & 2 on J2 jumpered) which kept the SS always on. I am revising to use the switch to activate the SS from J2 and that will leave it in standby with only the "power present" LED lit. My Denon receiver has two power switches - main and user - but I don't think that will be necessary here.
Went back to modular approach (adding one component at a time) and everything is now stable at just above room temps.
I also had the power switch on the hot wire after the soft-start (with pin 1 & 2 on J2 jumpered) which kept the SS always on. I am revising to use the switch to activate the SS from J2 and that will leave it in standby with only the "power present" LED lit. My Denon receiver has two power switches - main and user - but I don't think that will be necessary here.
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Up and sounding fine - kind -of.
Up and sounding fine - kind -of.
The AC wiring is functional and stable. The sound is clear, clean with not a trace of hum. Somewhere in my maneuvers I messed up the Lighter Note to where I cannot get one of the proper calibration readings. I suspect that will be solved easily by replacing one or a pair of the LDRs in the left channel. Uriah will let me know.
In the meantime I am auditioning this pot recommended by a forum member.
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
The pot allows full volume at about 11:00 o'clock (~ 40%) rotation. There is just a minor dimple of a click as the wiper crosses over the staggered gold plates inside - not really a problem.
The signal after the pre passes through Neotech solid core wire. I didn't order quite enough of the smaller size to get the lengths and placement that I want so I will buy some more before final assembly. For now, I'm using silver plated stranded copper wire from ApexJr for all the other connections.
As I said earlier, the front panel switch now activates the soft-start through the J2 block via the small cat-6 white and green wires. That allows the mains power to be available just up to the in of the SS til J2 is shorted.
The power leads for the LN are still in place.
Just for kicks, I am also going to audition the Lightspeed as the driver for the preamp. My general impression after a couple days is that I will prefer the adjustment capabilities of the LN to tailor the sound to my personal preferences - as described in the LN documentation. The mechanical pot does a great job with clarity, definition and volume control in this setup, but I think I'm missing some airiness and separation when comparred to the LN.
Up and sounding fine - kind -of.
The AC wiring is functional and stable. The sound is clear, clean with not a trace of hum. Somewhere in my maneuvers I messed up the Lighter Note to where I cannot get one of the proper calibration readings. I suspect that will be solved easily by replacing one or a pair of the LDRs in the left channel. Uriah will let me know.
In the meantime I am auditioning this pot recommended by a forum member.
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
The pot allows full volume at about 11:00 o'clock (~ 40%) rotation. There is just a minor dimple of a click as the wiper crosses over the staggered gold plates inside - not really a problem.
The signal after the pre passes through Neotech solid core wire. I didn't order quite enough of the smaller size to get the lengths and placement that I want so I will buy some more before final assembly. For now, I'm using silver plated stranded copper wire from ApexJr for all the other connections.
As I said earlier, the front panel switch now activates the soft-start through the J2 block via the small cat-6 white and green wires. That allows the mains power to be available just up to the in of the SS til J2 is shorted.
The power leads for the LN are still in place.
Just for kicks, I am also going to audition the Lightspeed as the driver for the preamp. My general impression after a couple days is that I will prefer the adjustment capabilities of the LN to tailor the sound to my personal preferences - as described in the LN documentation. The mechanical pot does a great job with clarity, definition and volume control in this setup, but I think I'm missing some airiness and separation when comparred to the LN.
Bob, impressive job! 
Very nice, maybe a bit overkill...
Just one thing, do you have space for the Fremen Edition PCBs?
they're 100x114mm
PS
If it's Neotech OCC, did you take care of determining the right direction?
That cable is directional
Very nice, maybe a bit overkill...
Just one thing, do you have space for the Fremen Edition PCBs?
they're 100x114mm
PS
If it's Neotech OCC, did you take care of determining the right direction?
That cable is directional
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Thanks Guys. It's been great fun.
Dario,
I remember that conversation about the Neotech. That's why I reinstalled the two pin signal in socket (gold) on the MyRefs. Once everything is in and working I'll do some of those comparisons. I have not yet found the gold male faston tabs to mount on the boards - maybe someone has a link. I'm also going to give the "angle hair" solid silver a try.
In terms of overbuilding - I agree. I still haven't determined if the larger discreet toroids actually make an audible difference. The 3"x3"x1/4" frame will hopefully eliminate the need for separate heat sinks. The transformer shield has more to do with the computer (matching chassis) that will sit on top, than the amp itself.
Depending on the output of the FE, a simpler straight forward buffer might be a good alternative to the JC-2. Remember the only reason for the JC-2 is the low efficiency of my speakers.
With fewer transformers the soft-start may not have been absolutely necessary. But when the occasional guest comes by, all those clicks and LEDs flashing gives me the chance to impersonate someone who really knows what he is doing.
Onward and Upward !
P.S. I'm planning to do a new build - maybe even back to monoblocks - for the FE.
Dario,
I remember that conversation about the Neotech. That's why I reinstalled the two pin signal in socket (gold) on the MyRefs. Once everything is in and working I'll do some of those comparisons. I have not yet found the gold male faston tabs to mount on the boards - maybe someone has a link. I'm also going to give the "angle hair" solid silver a try.
In terms of overbuilding - I agree. I still haven't determined if the larger discreet toroids actually make an audible difference. The 3"x3"x1/4" frame will hopefully eliminate the need for separate heat sinks. The transformer shield has more to do with the computer (matching chassis) that will sit on top, than the amp itself.
Depending on the output of the FE, a simpler straight forward buffer might be a good alternative to the JC-2. Remember the only reason for the JC-2 is the low efficiency of my speakers.
With fewer transformers the soft-start may not have been absolutely necessary. But when the occasional guest comes by, all those clicks and LEDs flashing gives me the chance to impersonate someone who really knows what he is doing.
Onward and Upward !
P.S. I'm planning to do a new build - maybe even back to monoblocks - for the FE.
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Well worth the wait.
Hi All !
Well after a long delay, the pieces of this project have finally come together. Calibrating the LighterNote took longer than I had hoped due to the fact that I apparently fried two of the LDRs on the board. Problems continued till I took the time to re-heat a bunch of points and install gold posts on the LN in/out terminals. Everything finally fell in place.
The results? Nothing less than glorious. The absolute clarity of the LighterNote pushes the JC-2 pre to feed the MyRefs to a quality of sound I have never experienced in my home. Period.
In the photo you can see my fifteen year old DIY reference speakers (Vifa and Peerless drivers - Leap custom X-over) flanked by the newer Sunflowers. The room is twelve feet wide and the SFs sit a foot and a half from the side walls. When playing the system through the inner speakers, instruments appear clear and distinct outside the Sunflowers. The dept of stage is more than I had hoped to achieve.
I intend to hard wire all internal leads eventually, but added a variety of posts and terminals and built a separate module to be able to do some "wire sound" testing. Currently there are about five flavors in the arsenal ranging from single strand solid 30ga silver through a couple boutique copper types.
This photo shows the volume and balance pots attached to the LN with cat-6 cable.
Here (bottom of pic) you can see the single strand silver wire in an interconnect experiment.
Fabrication of the matching chassis for the media center computer has started. (love those flac files) There will be at least two shielded modules - one for the MB/PS/Hard drive and a second for a DAC fed directly from the motherboard via S/PDIF. ....Water cooling -???
Yes, That is BONDO
The integrated amp should be completed by the end of next week.
Hi All !
Well after a long delay, the pieces of this project have finally come together. Calibrating the LighterNote took longer than I had hoped due to the fact that I apparently fried two of the LDRs on the board. Problems continued till I took the time to re-heat a bunch of points and install gold posts on the LN in/out terminals. Everything finally fell in place.
The results? Nothing less than glorious. The absolute clarity of the LighterNote pushes the JC-2 pre to feed the MyRefs to a quality of sound I have never experienced in my home. Period.
In the photo you can see my fifteen year old DIY reference speakers (Vifa and Peerless drivers - Leap custom X-over) flanked by the newer Sunflowers. The room is twelve feet wide and the SFs sit a foot and a half from the side walls. When playing the system through the inner speakers, instruments appear clear and distinct outside the Sunflowers. The dept of stage is more than I had hoped to achieve.
I intend to hard wire all internal leads eventually, but added a variety of posts and terminals and built a separate module to be able to do some "wire sound" testing. Currently there are about five flavors in the arsenal ranging from single strand solid 30ga silver through a couple boutique copper types.
This photo shows the volume and balance pots attached to the LN with cat-6 cable.
Here (bottom of pic) you can see the single strand silver wire in an interconnect experiment.
Fabrication of the matching chassis for the media center computer has started. (love those flac files) There will be at least two shielded modules - one for the MB/PS/Hard drive and a second for a DAC fed directly from the motherboard via S/PDIF. ....Water cooling -???
Yes, That is BONDO
The integrated amp should be completed by the end of next week.
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Thanks guys.
I thought I had the DAC completed but found out (again due to some cold solder joints) I fried one of the WM8740 chips. This was my first complex surface mount attempt and I made some noobie mistakes. The supplier (Jim's Audio - eBay) graciously offered to do the replacement and repairs. Hopefully it will be back by the time the second chassis is done.
Here is a posting from a different eBay supplier but it's the same design.
DAC DIR9001+PCM2706+WM8740 Kit (Coaxial + USB)WLX-1 | eBay
If I have any difficulties I might try the Mini2496 that Dario and friends have been perfecting over the past few months.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...dac-kit-cs8416-ak4393-5532-a.html#post2524643
I thought I had the DAC completed but found out (again due to some cold solder joints) I fried one of the WM8740 chips. This was my first complex surface mount attempt and I made some noobie mistakes. The supplier (Jim's Audio - eBay) graciously offered to do the replacement and repairs. Hopefully it will be back by the time the second chassis is done.
Here is a posting from a different eBay supplier but it's the same design.
DAC DIR9001+PCM2706+WM8740 Kit (Coaxial + USB)WLX-1 | eBay
If I have any difficulties I might try the Mini2496 that Dario and friends have been perfecting over the past few months.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digi...dac-kit-cs8416-ak4393-5532-a.html#post2524643
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squalor,
Thanks, I'm trying to keep all signal wires at a minimum. That's on of the benifits of using the LighterNote as the signal does not go through the volume and balance pots. Those pots use a small current to adjust the resistance of the LDRs on the board and eliminate mechanical contact (the wiper) in the signal path. When completed 90% of the signal wires will be 2 inches or less.
The CD player is a modified Sony PS-1. As the story goes, a rogue engineer decided to design a DAC chip with the characteristics of a tube amp and came up with the AKM4309AVM DAC Chip. Many have compared it's sound to players costing several thousand dollars. Unfortunately, Sony used that chip in only one version of the PS-1. Here is a link to the mods
Mick Feuerbacher Audio Projects
...and the extensive thread on user results.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/31123-playstation-cd-player.html
Thanks, I'm trying to keep all signal wires at a minimum. That's on of the benifits of using the LighterNote as the signal does not go through the volume and balance pots. Those pots use a small current to adjust the resistance of the LDRs on the board and eliminate mechanical contact (the wiper) in the signal path. When completed 90% of the signal wires will be 2 inches or less.
The CD player is a modified Sony PS-1. As the story goes, a rogue engineer decided to design a DAC chip with the characteristics of a tube amp and came up with the AKM4309AVM DAC Chip. Many have compared it's sound to players costing several thousand dollars. Unfortunately, Sony used that chip in only one version of the PS-1. Here is a link to the mods
Mick Feuerbacher Audio Projects
...and the extensive thread on user results.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/31123-playstation-cd-player.html
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