Put in 650R resistors for R27 and got the current across the resistors to 4.1mA/4.2mA for the R/L channels.
The only other modification was R22 being changed to 1K, to give a “jumpered” gain of 61dB.
This was quick project, swapping the guts of my Pearl 2 for the new Pearl 3. I built the Pearl 2 in 2021, and have really enjoyed it’s sound in my system.
Now I am not sure if the slight gain increase of the Pearl 3 vs the Pearl 2 (61dB vs 60dB) contributes at all, but right away from the first listening of the Pearl 3 I was impressed! I won’t get in to using audio words but I much prefer the Pearl 3.
Looking forward to trying different op-amps, and experimenting with the cartridge loading DIP switches.
The only other modification was R22 being changed to 1K, to give a “jumpered” gain of 61dB.
This was quick project, swapping the guts of my Pearl 2 for the new Pearl 3. I built the Pearl 2 in 2021, and have really enjoyed it’s sound in my system.
Now I am not sure if the slight gain increase of the Pearl 3 vs the Pearl 2 (61dB vs 60dB) contributes at all, but right away from the first listening of the Pearl 3 I was impressed! I won’t get in to using audio words but I much prefer the Pearl 3.
Looking forward to trying different op-amps, and experimenting with the cartridge loading DIP switches.
Attachments
nice! I have finished and tested the power supply and its chassis today and also the front and back plate of the phono pre. Will fire up within the next days. Have 3 different opamps on hand and I‘m very keen on to first listening session and the differences between the opamps.
The V7 Classics are very nice sounding indeed.
Have you tried the V7 Vivids? I found the V7 Classics are sort of like in between the V6 Classic and Vivids... Right now I got the Classics but I plan on doing some listening this weekend between the V7 Classic and Vivids.
I found the V7 to be a nice upgrade over the V6 and much nicer than the V5 and earlier ( got V4 too ).
To be honest, if someone were to sell me a pair of used either V6 Bursons I could live with them...
Right now I got V7 Vivids in the Burson Play DAC. ( Don't lose faith in me, I never pay MSRP, it was the entry level DAC and I got it on sale with the upgraded V4 op amps thrown in for cheap...).
Well....... I received the missing components ahead of time, and I finally did it.
Unfortunately, this kind of builds leaves you with an excess/overstock on components 🤣
As to the component valuse, I didn´t change anything. I measured the voltage over the input source resistors.
31 mV for the 2SK209´s and 40mV with the 2SK2145´s, so found no need to change anything,
Around 20 years ago, another diy´er in Denmark entered a new "phase" in his diy-life. Now opamps were
no good, so we swapped all of his opamps for some bottles of good redwine.
I got loads of OPA 604/2604, OPA132/134/2132/2134, AD797, org. NE5532 to name a few... and a hell of a bunch of others.
In between these were 2 little gem´s....... soic8 LME49722´s, which I put in this build.
The perfect matching of every component down to a 0,01%, every resistor and capacitor between left and right channel is time consuming "downer".
Was it worth it??
We´ll see. Take R27 for instance. Perfectly matched down to 0,1ohm, I started with 681ohm.
Left channel measured 2, 883 volt. Right channel?........... Look and behold..... 2,883 volt.
That equals 4,233mA. To not be on the "hot side" I swapped them to 815ohm.
Now we have 3,53mA, and this is where I left it.
The thing I wondered during these different builds, is that the depth of the soundstage varied a bit from build to build.
So what now??
This is absolutely immaculate, and this build is here to stay. This is not just minor. This is obvious. The depth in soundstage is huge (when
provided in the records).
I can´t think of any other reason for this, but the time consuming immaculate matching of every component betwenn the two channels.
There you have it guys. My 5 cents.
Did I forget anything?.... Oh.... are the 2SK2145 (actually 8 parallel fet´s) less noisy than the 2SK209´s??
Yes.... definitely.
Turning my tube pre to max volume (14dB gain) on my 600w monoblocks to the 97dB sensitive speakers only reveals the
slightest hiss and no hum. Far the lowest of the 4 builds I´ve made so far.
As usual I made a recording. Apologize for a couple of spots in the right channel due to a not perfect pressing.
Audio Technica AT-33PTG/2 / Pearl-3 64dB gain, 195R load / Vincent SA-T7 tape out to PC / 16bit/44.1 KHz.
Lazy
@Boydk That's a fascinating write up.
Could the improved soundstage not have more to do with the 2SK2145s rather than the tighter tolerances on resistors and capacitors? 2 sets of 8 transistors in parallel as well as being lower noise than 4, should give a closer match in combined beta/transconductance between the channels.
By the way, how many (1%?) resistors and (5%?) capacitors did you select from to get such close matching?
Could the improved soundstage not have more to do with the 2SK2145s rather than the tighter tolerances on resistors and capacitors? 2 sets of 8 transistors in parallel as well as being lower noise than 4, should give a closer match in combined beta/transconductance between the channels.
By the way, how many (1%?) resistors and (5%?) capacitors did you select from to get such close matching?
Don´t think so. I´m 100% convinced, that this has to do with phase, and the however small differences there might be
between channels, due to compenet-value-variations.
I´d rather forget 🤣 🤣
This was an immense job. Just the source resistors for the input fet´s, I had a bunch of 0,1% 10R resistors in the drawer, and I think I went
through all of them, just to get 8 pieces matched yo 0%.
Sometimes you´re lucky, and don´t have to pick more than 10-20 pieces to get 2 perfectly matched.
Other times...... not so lucky 🤣
Same for capacitors/electrolytics/transistors.
If anyone would ever convince me of selling this one, I guess, my hourly salary would amount to less than 50c an hour.
BUT...... having this one in my setup now, it sure was worth it for me.
Would I recommend anyone to do the same???
If your drawers are full of components, you know you´ll never be able to use up in your lifetime.... the answer is a definite YES😍
Hmm..... so component matching is crucial.. for everything, specially for very low level signals...
Is this why High End components can be so expensive? You have to price the labor and extra parts to do the matching into the BoM.
What is the best quality/matching that can be purchased from a vendor?
Is this why High End components can be so expensive? You have to price the labor and extra parts to do the matching into the BoM.
What is the best quality/matching that can be purchased from a vendor?
@Boydk and @tonyEE
just an observation...
Boyd, you and Craig have noted that there are very real benefits from doing things that hobbyists can often do well because they don't have a tight bottom line constraint... heroic component matching, careful choices (via rolling etc) and near-obsessive attention to power supplies (separate supplies for each channel, super regulation, pre-regulation etc)
confirmation bias aside we trust that you guys felt the effort was worth it.
now say you made one of these for your brother... or sister... and the unit developed a fault while you were exploring another planet. shipping to Mars would be prohibitive. but she needs her system up and running... now! her Pearl is the best phono stage she has ever heard. you love your sister.
would you expect that a repair guy off the web -- say a YouTube celebrity -- would likely be able to bring her unit back up to spec to her (and your) satisfaction?? how would he know on the face of it what lengths you went to to achieve a perfect Pearl and why you think it was worth it.
just wonderin'
just an observation...
Boyd, you and Craig have noted that there are very real benefits from doing things that hobbyists can often do well because they don't have a tight bottom line constraint... heroic component matching, careful choices (via rolling etc) and near-obsessive attention to power supplies (separate supplies for each channel, super regulation, pre-regulation etc)
confirmation bias aside we trust that you guys felt the effort was worth it.
now say you made one of these for your brother... or sister... and the unit developed a fault while you were exploring another planet. shipping to Mars would be prohibitive. but she needs her system up and running... now! her Pearl is the best phono stage she has ever heard. you love your sister.
would you expect that a repair guy off the web -- say a YouTube celebrity -- would likely be able to bring her unit back up to spec to her (and your) satisfaction?? how would he know on the face of it what lengths you went to to achieve a perfect Pearl and why you think it was worth it.
just wonderin'
@mhenschel Going DIY by having someone build for you has very specific dangers of lack of maintenance. But at the same time, so does purchasing consumer High End components, the more High End, the greater the risk, IMHO.
I would say that when thinking of easy maintenance, the product should be no better than the best products that can be purchased commercially, and even so limited by the future availability of such products... vide Nelson Pass purchasing the World Wide supply of Sony VFETs and the earthquake in Japan that knocked out a bunch of small manufacturers...
Ideally, having someone build you a DIY product means that you take ownership of the maintenance and warranty. Long term. Short term the other party might be nice to repair it for you -but you should definitely provide lots of good beer and pay for the parts and subsidize their labor.
I doubt very much that a technician would spend the time to perfectly match the parts to perfection, UNLESS they were paid to do so.
And at that point you run into the non recurring expenses of a One Of A Kind: Do It Yourself means Build It Yourself and Fix It Yourself.
If @Boydk were to build me the World's Best P3 it would not be fair for me to make sure he takes no risks with his life! BUT, I might buy him a lot of good beer to make sure he goes and matches another set of parts for my preamp. ;-)
I believe this is why the resale value of a DIY product is so much lower than a commercial product. Even though, as engineers and audiophiles we know DIY can actually outperform even the best of the High End.
I would say that when thinking of easy maintenance, the product should be no better than the best products that can be purchased commercially, and even so limited by the future availability of such products... vide Nelson Pass purchasing the World Wide supply of Sony VFETs and the earthquake in Japan that knocked out a bunch of small manufacturers...
Ideally, having someone build you a DIY product means that you take ownership of the maintenance and warranty. Long term. Short term the other party might be nice to repair it for you -but you should definitely provide lots of good beer and pay for the parts and subsidize their labor.
I doubt very much that a technician would spend the time to perfectly match the parts to perfection, UNLESS they were paid to do so.
And at that point you run into the non recurring expenses of a One Of A Kind: Do It Yourself means Build It Yourself and Fix It Yourself.
If @Boydk were to build me the World's Best P3 it would not be fair for me to make sure he takes no risks with his life! BUT, I might buy him a lot of good beer to make sure he goes and matches another set of parts for my preamp. ;-)
I believe this is why the resale value of a DIY product is so much lower than a commercial product. Even though, as engineers and audiophiles we know DIY can actually outperform even the best of the High End.
Yes... I sure did.
Why would would they??
I+m pretty sure, the precition in Opamp making far surpasses my matching of components..... And..... I was referring to
soundstage improvement, not sound character.
And NO...... I soldered these in directly to the board, and they are staying 😉
I´ve been listening to music all day from early morning to around 5:45 PM (when it was time to watch the Danish national
Handball team win the World Championship Final for the 4.th time in a row) Danish flag here.
Bright smile on my fave all around and throughout. Nothing sticks out. I´m totally happy.
And...... I don´t have a sister....... But my brother can have it, the day he carries me the final trip to 6 feet under🤣🤣
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Too much of conspiracy theory to get involved in here.... I´m sorry......
But I get your point. And no...... any other repair guy would probably just pick a random component and fix it.
Would my "sister" hear any differnce?? Maybe....... Maybe not.
You know, I´m i Denmark (EU), right??
If you on top of the beers also paid for shipping and import taxes, then we might have a deal for all the components excluding opamps.🤣
Building.... you´ll have to do yourself 👍 It´s called DIY after all🤣
Or even better. Take a vacation and bring them.
I guarantee you, that Denmark is a much nicer place to be than US for at least the next 4 years. Cheaper too (who would have thought??)
BTW, P3 op amps..... done with the first go around with the Bursons. Tried V4, V5, V6s and V7s. The V7 are really better. I'm not quite sure which one I like better, the Vivid or the Classic. Now I got another 8 to go through. It's slow, as it takes time to listen and then I'm trying to limit how many times I play a record within 24 hours - to let the vinyl rest.
BTW, the sound of the op amps in the P3 really affects things a lot, more than when I op-amp roll them in the DAC. Might be that the lower levels in the phono preamp really shows up the dynamics of the op amps better? Also the DAC uses a double and a single per side, whereas the P3 uses a double per side.
@Boydk Yeah, to most of what you said... I do know you're in Denmark. Western Europe is indeed cheaper than the US. So, is Japan too. The USD is quite strong right now. Yes, I do mention "beer" as a measure of wealth... I guess it's a rather universal way of comparing things. DIY... it's a complicated thing. I have built small things and I have smoked big things. Some people like to build, some like to design, some like to specify requirement, some do it all. The main thing is that you don't go into a store and buy a commercial product. with an off the shelf product.. it's all different ways of DIY. The rest is politics and I'd rather not get into it. 🙂
BTW, the sound of the op amps in the P3 really affects things a lot, more than when I op-amp roll them in the DAC. Might be that the lower levels in the phono preamp really shows up the dynamics of the op amps better? Also the DAC uses a double and a single per side, whereas the P3 uses a double per side.
@Boydk Yeah, to most of what you said... I do know you're in Denmark. Western Europe is indeed cheaper than the US. So, is Japan too. The USD is quite strong right now. Yes, I do mention "beer" as a measure of wealth... I guess it's a rather universal way of comparing things. DIY... it's a complicated thing. I have built small things and I have smoked big things. Some people like to build, some like to design, some like to specify requirement, some do it all. The main thing is that you don't go into a store and buy a commercial product. with an off the shelf product.. it's all different ways of DIY. The rest is politics and I'd rather not get into it. 🙂
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No..... The forum rules state that. Got as close, as I could 😉
I guess, I´ve taken my summer vacation in the US 6 or 7 times over the last 15 years, on top of being "shipped" to Orlando
for my "old" company before I retired. In my spare time, I always found US to be a small "Mekka" for beer lovers 😍
The loads of brands to chose from, just going into a Wall Mart.
Found a very small place just outside Orlando last time---- "The Gnarly Barley" with some 30 different small breweries on draft..... Awesome.
My friends in NH fortunately have good salaries now, so they come here every fall instead. Suits me just fine.
Interresting to read of your opamp experience. 👍 👍 👍