You can use any Sil-Pad insulator or mica in TO-220 size or you can buy Keratherm Red insulator from diyAudio store .
Bear in mind that the insulators from diyAudio store have to be cut to TO-220 dimensions because they are bigger though .
I used these ceramic insulators that i had available but i would use mica or sil-pad as well .. Keratherm Red is supposed to be one of the best solutions and i have used them in TO-247 mosfets of class A amplifier but they are expensive and i keep them for more demanding projects .
Bear in mind that the insulators from diyAudio store have to be cut to TO-220 dimensions because they are bigger though .
I used these ceramic insulators that i had available but i would use mica or sil-pad as well .. Keratherm Red is supposed to be one of the best solutions and i have used them in TO-247 mosfets of class A amplifier but they are expensive and i keep them for more demanding projects .
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The easiest diagnostic first-step, is to find out whether the problem is caused by a loose connection and/or a bad solder joint.
Plug in your "lab" headphones (cheap and expendable), play music, and use your finger to poke every component leg & every flywire in the right channel. The flywires to the volume control and the headphone jack are especially vulnerable. If poking with your finger changes the behavior, shout Eureka and write it down in your lab notebook. After you've poked every single leg of every single component in the right channel, consult your notebook and re-solder all connections that gave wonky behavior. Perhaps the problem is now permanently fixed.
If the problem still persists, re-solder every connection in the right channel, every single one. Including both ends of every flywire. Perhaps the problem is now permanently fixed.
edit- It's also a good idea to find out whether the problem appears on both the headphone jack and the RCA output jacks. This can help you narrow down your search for faults.
Plug in your "lab" headphones (cheap and expendable), play music, and use your finger to poke every component leg & every flywire in the right channel. The flywires to the volume control and the headphone jack are especially vulnerable. If poking with your finger changes the behavior, shout Eureka and write it down in your lab notebook. After you've poked every single leg of every single component in the right channel, consult your notebook and re-solder all connections that gave wonky behavior. Perhaps the problem is now permanently fixed.
If the problem still persists, re-solder every connection in the right channel, every single one. Including both ends of every flywire. Perhaps the problem is now permanently fixed.
edit- It's also a good idea to find out whether the problem appears on both the headphone jack and the RCA output jacks. This can help you narrow down your search for faults.
I finally finished my Noir build! This is my first build of any consequence since about 1972. I spent a considerably longer time checking the schematic and cross checking with the build instructions than I would expect from this group, but the results paid off -- no errors and first power-up and biasing went without a hitch. Thanks for the great build instructions and excellent circuit board. It really couldn't have gone smoother except for my rusty soldering skills.
Wow -- I had no idea what I have been missing. I dipped my toe in the DAC pond with a Topping E30 II, and AT ATH-M50X cans. I was blown away by how much better everything sounds. Currently listening to Holt's The Planets, and as another Noir reviewer has described, I was suitably terrified by "Mars, the Bringer of War." I had no idea how much detail and nuance I have been missing.
Wow -- I had no idea what I have been missing. I dipped my toe in the DAC pond with a Topping E30 II, and AT ATH-M50X cans. I was blown away by how much better everything sounds. Currently listening to Holt's The Planets, and as another Noir reviewer has described, I was suitably terrified by "Mars, the Bringer of War." I had no idea how much detail and nuance I have been missing.
I'm going to order the full BOM for my new noir build this weekend, however I'm planning to use it as a stereo preamp and would like to bump up the gain. I'm not able to open the files showing the increased gain mods. Can someone please let me know what values and a pic of the modded circuit? Will be between a Pearl 3 phono stage and an Aleph 30 amp.
I was talking with Wayne and mentioned about building the noir and suggested I'd like a little more gain and he agreed. I will build it as designed, but would still like to know the what, where and how much to adjust the gain to 9db. Electronic circuits are still very new to me, I can't confidently read and modify a circuit diagram myself, yet. I can build nearly anything with instructions, though.
CROSSFEED.
Has anyone experimented with this using a Noir?
Rod Elliot offers a good explanation of the benfits:-
https://sound-au.com/project109.htm
It would be simple to add it to the input (upto U2L & U2 R)
Crossfeed
To locate and externalise sources of sounds, we use both of our ears. The sound from a source on the right (say, the right speaker) is heard not only by the right ear, but also heard, delayed and attenuated, by the left ear. The brain compares the delayed and attenuated sound with the original to deduce the exact location of the sound source.
Of course, this is some what an over simplification as reflections at the ear pinnae and from the walls of the listening area also contribute complex information important to the localisation process. All the info from these sources is furthered by the movements of the head.
When listening to a headphone, all these sources of info are absent. Transducers mounted directly on the ears cause the unnatural 'super-stereo effect', where one ear doesn't hear, in any form, what the other is hearing. The perceived spaciousness, which doesn't occur in normal listening conditions, might be very impressive in the beginning but quickly fatigues the listener with headaches and occasionally, dizziness.
This is where a crossfeed comes in. It is an acoustic simulator of the simplest from. The crossfeed electronically mimics the inter-channel interactions of the real world by delaying and attenuating the signal from one channel and feeding it to the other.
The use of the crossfeed results in a realistically spacious sound stage where instrument locations seem more natural. The perceived depth also lowers the listener fatigue considerably.
The crossfeed presented was originally designed by a Swedish audio engineer named Ingvar Ohman. It was published in an article called "Den Lilla Stereo-kontrollboxen SP12" in the December 1994 issue of the "Musik och Ljudteknik" ("Music and Audio Technical Society") magazine.
Has anyone experimented with this using a Noir?
Rod Elliot offers a good explanation of the benfits:-
https://sound-au.com/project109.htm
It would be simple to add it to the input (upto U2L & U2 R)
Crossfeed
To locate and externalise sources of sounds, we use both of our ears. The sound from a source on the right (say, the right speaker) is heard not only by the right ear, but also heard, delayed and attenuated, by the left ear. The brain compares the delayed and attenuated sound with the original to deduce the exact location of the sound source.
Of course, this is some what an over simplification as reflections at the ear pinnae and from the walls of the listening area also contribute complex information important to the localisation process. All the info from these sources is furthered by the movements of the head.
When listening to a headphone, all these sources of info are absent. Transducers mounted directly on the ears cause the unnatural 'super-stereo effect', where one ear doesn't hear, in any form, what the other is hearing. The perceived spaciousness, which doesn't occur in normal listening conditions, might be very impressive in the beginning but quickly fatigues the listener with headaches and occasionally, dizziness.
This is where a crossfeed comes in. It is an acoustic simulator of the simplest from. The crossfeed electronically mimics the inter-channel interactions of the real world by delaying and attenuating the signal from one channel and feeding it to the other.
The use of the crossfeed results in a realistically spacious sound stage where instrument locations seem more natural. The perceived depth also lowers the listener fatigue considerably.
The crossfeed presented was originally designed by a Swedish audio engineer named Ingvar Ohman. It was published in an article called "Den Lilla Stereo-kontrollboxen SP12" in the December 1994 issue of the "Musik och Ljudteknik" ("Music and Audio Technical Society") magazine.
SonyWireless Noise Canceling Stereo Headset WH-1000XM5.
Spec:
48 Ω (1 kHz) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned on)
16 Ω (1 kHz) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned off)
Sensitivity:
102 dB/mW (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned on)
100 dB/mW (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned off)
Frequency response:
4 Hz - 40 000 Hz (JEITA) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned on)
I recently purchased these, primarily for use via BT from my Lg Oled tv to avoid annoying the new neighbours.
At £279 they cost much more than I would usually pay for cans but they do deserve the accolades, with exceptional depth and localisation as well as grear bass.
However, they do also have a 3.5mm stereo jack input which is 16r impedance with the phones not switched on, (48r when switched on, but then the internal amp and DSP would be active).
Will the Noir be happy driving a 16ohm load?
I am pondering over which HP amp to build, or to just use my Chinese SE valve amp with the output attenuated.
Spec:
48 Ω (1 kHz) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned on)
16 Ω (1 kHz) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned off)
Sensitivity:
102 dB/mW (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned on)
100 dB/mW (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned off)
Frequency response:
4 Hz - 40 000 Hz (JEITA) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the headset turned on)
I recently purchased these, primarily for use via BT from my Lg Oled tv to avoid annoying the new neighbours.
At £279 they cost much more than I would usually pay for cans but they do deserve the accolades, with exceptional depth and localisation as well as grear bass.
However, they do also have a 3.5mm stereo jack input which is 16r impedance with the phones not switched on, (48r when switched on, but then the internal amp and DSP would be active).
Will the Noir be happy driving a 16ohm load?
I am pondering over which HP amp to build, or to just use my Chinese SE valve amp with the output attenuated.
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You'll have to study post #13 of this thread and decide for yourself whether that'll be "loud enough" for you. Remember
Power_to_load = Vrms * Irms
Power_to_load = Irms * Irms * Rload
SPL_in_dB = [ 10 * Log10(PowerIn / 1mW) ] + Sensitivity_in_dB_@_1mW
I have a feeling that after punching it up on a calculator, you may very likely conclude: yes, that is plenty loud enough for me
Power_to_load = Vrms * Irms
Power_to_load = Irms * Irms * Rload
SPL_in_dB = [ 10 * Log10(PowerIn / 1mW) ] + Sensitivity_in_dB_@_1mW
I have a feeling that after punching it up on a calculator, you may very likely conclude: yes, that is plenty loud enough for me
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Thanks. Yes it will be fine for my cans. (brain was still asleep when I posted!)
I'll order the pcbs next month but I hate switch mode power supplies even with very good filtering, so will be using an 18v AC wallwart from Amazon with psu section mods or there is space in my case for an off the shelf adjustable LM337 pcb.
I'll order the pcbs next month but I hate switch mode power supplies even with very good filtering, so will be using an 18v AC wallwart from Amazon with psu section mods or there is space in my case for an off the shelf adjustable LM337 pcb.
Pcbs ordered, + parts I don't have, ordered from Mouser.
24v 15va linear psu ordered from China. Can't build similar myself for the price.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125867248299
Looking forward to listening tests next month and also experimenting with Rod Elliot's crossfeed.
24v 15va linear psu ordered from China. Can't build similar myself for the price.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125867248299
Looking forward to listening tests next month and also experimenting with Rod Elliot's crossfeed.
^ It doesn't have the PCB dimensions specifically noted, but the mounting dimensions are noted on the last page of the build guide as 170mm x 110mm. If you need to... you can print the page at 100% scale per the guide and measure or get a pretty decent ballpark with screen measuring tools.
Better yet, someone, may know the exact dimensions or have a reference off hand. Hope it helps.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1006/5046/files/Noir_HPA_build_instructions_rev_F.pdf?361
Better yet, someone, may know the exact dimensions or have a reference off hand. Hope it helps.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1006/5046/files/Noir_HPA_build_instructions_rev_F.pdf?361