New Aleph J builder from Wisconsin, USA

[poseidonsvoice]

Chris,

Are those black nylon cable clamps?

Where do you get them?

Best,
Anand.

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Chris,

Are those black nylon cable clamps?

Where do you get them?

Best,
Anand.

They are. I picked them up at my local home improvement store (Menards). With the wire ties, crimp connectors, etc.

https://www.menards.com/main/electr...-cable-clamps/ppc-1525uvb/p-1444431021522.htm

 

[flamethrower1]

Very sneaky Chris using Menards, I do have to confess for using them as well

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Very sneaky Chris using Menards, I do have to confess for using them as well

They really have a nice selection of low-voltage accessories. Better than some of the others, for sure.

 

[poseidonsvoice]

Found something similar on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07F..._1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07FQ8PZRZp13NParams

Best,
Anand.

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

First heat! So far it’s going perfectly. Giving the requisite half hour warm up at 350mV before bumping to 400mV. One board tonight, the second one in the morning.

Did I read that 450mV is suitable for the 5U case provided the heat stays at 55°C on the heat sink, 65°C on device?

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

It’s sitting at about 43°C now at 400mV. I’ll go with that for a while and see how it sounds. If it will, indeed, improve the sound, I’ll bump it up a bit later after things have burned in a bit. There seems to be a phrase that pays in these parts, something about not being afraid of a little heat.

 

[poseidonsvoice]

Enjoy!

Since you’ve got 400mm deep heatsinks, you can play with the bias a bit...

Best,
Anand.

 

[dBel84]

Looking good. Remember when you close the lid, you will have less airflow and higher temps. I think you are at a good place to do the next channel.

great progress - really well done.

 

[6L6]

Very nice!

Remember that playing with the “bias” pot in an Aleph is actually changing the AC current gain of the Aleph Constant Current Source... in English, that means the adjustments are doing more than just changing the Iq (quiescent current, ‘bias’) of the output devices... it also changes how the CCS reacts to the load.

I.E., experiment with it, yes, but go in knowing that more Iq may not be “better”, and that the recommended starting value is the AC current gain that is the sweet spot in terms of most listener’s preference.

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Board #2 is cookin’. Just as perfect as the first. I’m super excited and hope to be listening today. Give it a couple more hours of warmth and then see if tunes come out if it.

While I’m waiting, I’m sitting here wondering if my Aleph P boards and semis coming from HK are stuck somewhere in the Suez.

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Looking good. Remember when you close the lid, you will have less airflow and higher temps. I think you are at a good place to do the next channel.

great progress - really well done.

Thanks! Very enjoyable project.

Very nice!

Remember that playing with the “bias” pot in an Aleph is actually changing the AC current gain of the Aleph Constant Current Source... in English, that means the adjustments are doing more than just changing the Iq (quiescent current, ‘bias’) of the output devices... it also changes how the CCS reacts to the load.

I.E., experiment with it, yes, but go in knowing that more Iq may not be “better”, and that the recommended starting value is the AC current gain that is the sweet spot in terms of most listener’s preference.

Not knowing what I don’t know, I’ll leave it at the recommended settings as suggested. Appreciate your guidance!

 

[Zen Mod]

Very nice!

Remember that playing with the “bias” pot in an Aleph is actually changing the AC current gain .........

may I differ?

slightly yes, but not that much to make any practical difference, if you're talking about varying resistor in Aleph CCS, bjt B to C

 

[twitchie]

To steal someone else's favorite phrase - Me Likey!

Your patience clearly paid off with a very neat and tidy build. Congratulations and I hope this amp brings you many hours of beautiful music ... while you are working on the next one of course

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Thanks for all the kind words, encouragement, and build scrutiny throughout this project! After a few hours of heating up, I carried it over to the other bench where I could access my workhorse speakers, my JBL L20Ts. Those things have been through hell and back (literally) having done two tours of the Persian Gulf with me, and have stayed by my side for over 30 years.

First thing that happened is I plugged in the amp, turned it on, and promptly blew a fuse. The ones that came with the IEC fuse holder are fast-blow, unlike the other two I installed as extras. I read this would happen, too, if you don’t let it rest and give the CL60s a chance to relax. I guess I thought I was special. I’m not. So off to the hardware store for fuses.

Got back, replaced fuses, turned it on, all well. All the lights stayed on this time. . With the panels off, just wanted to see if sound came out of it. Plugged in a couple of RCAs to a pair of XLR adapters, RCA-to-headphone adapter, headphone-to-lightning adapter, and straight to my phone. Yeah, iPhones are fun like that. Put in the first song on my playlist I thought would sound great: REM - “Nightswimming”. Holy crap. I’m blown away. My shop speakers are in less-than-ideal install locations on swing arms on a concrete basement wall, so wasn’t sure what I was going to get. I swear, those speakers have never sounded this good! I can’t wait to put the amp together, get it out in the other room, and get it on the Klipsches with a better source. I’m over here vibrating in my sneakers with joy!

My test drive today included these titles. Much more listening to go!

Edit: Sorry for the sideways speaker photo.

 

[6L6]

“I’ve never heard my speakers sound this good!”

It’s a very common refrain from Aleph builders, we hear it agin and again..


Because it’s true.







Congratulations, and enjoy hearing your music for the first time again.

 

[Zen Mod]

Alephs are for Sissies

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

We’re gonna need a bigger boat. Doesn’t fit in my equipment rack at the moment, so going to have to move some shelves. In the interim, it’ll just have to live in the console. Tried using my Technics preamp with it, but they weren’t getting along. 60Hz will scare you out of your shorts if you aren’t expecting it! Maybe dirty contact, junk cable... I’ll figure it out later. Right now it’s on my AV receiver’s pre-out. Turntable sounds lovely. Haven’t heard it that nice and open and detailed since Ive owned it. New stylus comes in next week, so looking forward to seeing if I can get it to sound better than my digital sources. I’ve never really wanted to try until now.

Klipsches, well what do I say. Killer sound. Insert “Ive never” quote here. Stupid bright now around 6-8K. I think one of my favorite female artists tried to bore through my head. Some corrections are in order. Similar scenario with my friend’s M2X (not sure which input board we were using). Wondered if Aleph J would tame it. If nothing else, it revealed a problem. More projects.

So, it’s big. Silly big. And I love it. Can’t wait to get started on the preamp project, Planet10 speaker projects, and beyond.

 

[ItsAllInMyHead]

Congratulations!!!!!!

Loved watching the journey. BTW... Song on the lower right is also one of my "audition tunes" along with ... "if you believe in things that you don't understand... "

If Alison Krauss bores through your head with an Aleph J, then there are a few other things to potentially look at. Not that one of your favorite female artists must include her, but .... she's one that I use often to see what's what. In some cases, she's a soothing angel... in others... she's boring through my head with a dentist's drill.

From my perspective an absolutely wonderful build. Thanks for sharing the experience with us.

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Congratulations!!!!!!

Loved watching the journey. BTW... Song on the lower right is also one of my "audition tunes" along with ... "if you believe in things that you don't understand... "

If Alison Krauss bores through your head with an Aleph J, then there are a few other things to potentially look at. Not that one of your favorite female artists must include her, but .... she's one that I use often to see what's what. In some cases, she's a soothing angel... in others... she's boring through my head with a dentist's drill.

From my perspective an absolutely wonderful build. Thanks for sharing the experience with us.

I love Alison Krauss. Why isn’t she on my playlist yet?! So much to explore...

I need to step away from horns and fine myself a nice soft dome. Loves me some silk.

I appreciate your assistance and encouragement during the project!