Pearl is well in standards, accounting nowadays sources, in range of 2Vrms out
if preamp isn't able to cope with line sources as that, it's either made in Yore (say Quad 33) when 350mV was LOUD! .....or - if made in recent times... it is utter Drek
if first case, there is always the way to change circuit ........ if second, best to toss that Drek in nearest dumpster, if not in direction of fabricator head
same phenomena as guyz making Toob preamps these days with gain of 20db++, and combining/selling them with own amps, needing 500 or 750mV for full blast
if preamp isn't able to cope with line sources as that, it's either made in Yore (say Quad 33) when 350mV was LOUD! .....or - if made in recent times... it is utter Drek
if first case, there is always the way to change circuit ........ if second, best to toss that Drek in nearest dumpster, if not in direction of fabricator head
same phenomena as guyz making Toob preamps these days with gain of 20db++, and combining/selling them with own amps, needing 500 or 750mV for full blast
@DualTriode
If you build BA2018 or Whammy, have selection and volume there, and be happy. You won't need to think about anything else, you won't need to modify anything, it's going to work as you envision.
If you build BA2018 or Whammy, have selection and volume there, and be happy. You won't need to think about anything else, you won't need to modify anything, it's going to work as you envision.
sell that Drek, build Iron Pre
Now we need Iron K Pre Balanced K with Nutubes for that 20Vrms output to drive F4... best yet... drive bridged F4.
No more SMD please. I just got back to soldering stuff without burning my fingers and now you do this?
Toobes you say? Tits Up to me...
Pearl is well in standards, accounting nowadays sources, in range of 2Vrms out
if preamp isn't able to cope with line sources as that, it's either made in Yore (say Quad 33) when 350mV was LOUD! .....or - if made in recent times... it is utter Drek
if first case, there is always the way to change circuit ........ if second, best to toss that Drek in nearest dumpster, if not in direction of fabricator head
same phenomena as guyz making Toob preamps these days with gain of 20db++, and combining/selling them with own amps, needing 500 or 750mV for full blast
Hello,
I am half way in agreement otherwise not.
A CD player has a nominal 2 volt output. The Pearl 3 with a MM cartridge with the P3 set at the low gain setting has a output of about 1.7 volts. In terms of input to the next stage they are close enough.
CD's are mostly safe, they do not have any added clicks or pops that can add another 15 + dB to the output.
The P3 and 99% of the linestages have 15 + / - volt supply rails. If the P3 does not clip and stick to the rail the linestage will.
I have a LP collection that I have been dragging around for decades. There are some aggravating clicks and pops hear (pun) and there.
I have been purchasing a few new clean LP's lately
Thanks DT
Sans the click and pop clipping I suppose that I can get used to turning the gain into heat in the line stage pot.
Now as I punch the keys I am listening with a Benchmark HPA4 with variable gain volume control. Not a voltage divider.
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I would have never taken that into consideration. Thank you for taking the time to point this out.
You are welcome 🙂
Having the right capacitance mainly impacts (around the suitable value, talking fine tuning and not extreme gaps) the treble balance, so mainly the last octave or so. Some may call it brillance, other sharpness of the treble, well...
If you are loading with too much capacitance, your treble will be mostly tamed. Too Low and you are having more treble in the balance in terms of frequency response. It is though a way to adjust (slightly) the balance of a somewhat too sharp or too rounded off set up.
Ok, in real life it can be somewhat more complicated as you can have a small bump or raise / resonnance in the frequency response just before these treble changes on top of what I just said, but at the end - apart from scope fans - around the expected value, capacitance is mainly adjusted... as you prefer.
Oh, and if on the other side of teh spectrum you want to impact bass response and kick, Tracking Force allows also a slight adjustement - but always stick close to the recommended value or value band.
Have fun with your TT!
Claude
Having the right capacitance mainly impacts (around the suitable value, talking fine tuning and not extreme gaps) the treble balance, so mainly the last octave or so. Some may call it brillance, other sharpness of the treble, well...
If you are loading with too much capacitance, your treble will be mostly tamed. Too Low and you are having more treble in the balance in terms of frequency response. It is though a way to adjust (slightly) the balance of a somewhat too sharp or too rounded off set up.
Ok, in real life it can be somewhat more complicated as you can have a small bump or raise / resonnance in the frequency response just before these treble changes on top of what I just said, but at the end - apart from scope fans - around the expected value, capacitance is mainly adjusted... as you prefer.
Oh, and if on the other side of teh spectrum you want to impact bass response and kick, Tracking Force allows also a slight adjustement - but always stick close to the recommended value or value band.
Have fun with your TT!
Claude
Overloading preamp
A friend using the Pearl 3 with a Rotel preamp was experiencing loud pops. This particular preamp uses a chip for volume control: the Texas Instruments PGA2311. The specifications of this chip state that it will “clip” at input voltages exceeding 7.5 Volts peak-to-peak. On transients and scratches the Pearl 3 can output up to 27 Volts peak-to-peak. The Rotel’s PGA2311 clipping was causing the loud pops. Adding a passive volume control between the Pearl 3 and the preamp solved the problem. Around 6 dB of attenuation was enough for his particular setup.
A friend using the Pearl 3 with a Rotel preamp was experiencing loud pops. This particular preamp uses a chip for volume control: the Texas Instruments PGA2311. The specifications of this chip state that it will “clip” at input voltages exceeding 7.5 Volts peak-to-peak. On transients and scratches the Pearl 3 can output up to 27 Volts peak-to-peak. The Rotel’s PGA2311 clipping was causing the loud pops. Adding a passive volume control between the Pearl 3 and the preamp solved the problem. Around 6 dB of attenuation was enough for his particular setup.
Very strong source and as light as possible passive pre (avoiding lots of parts in the signal path).... that's the receipt at mine 🙂
OK, little choice with a DAC outputting 10V RMS (!) and and now a RIAA preamp with 42 dB gain coupled to an MM with nominal 6.5V/uS... but then what matters is that the gain chain is OK 😎
Enjoy!
OK, little choice with a DAC outputting 10V RMS (!) and and now a RIAA preamp with 42 dB gain coupled to an MM with nominal 6.5V/uS... but then what matters is that the gain chain is OK 😎
Enjoy!
I fully agree with ClaudeG,
capacitance of the phonocable and inputadjustment (C10/C11) of PEARL 3 sum up.
RCA-cables can influence this in the highs with MM-catridges. This is the reason why I like phonocables with low capacitance (pF/meter). Two examples for my cables are the SOMMER CABLE ALBEDO MKII (65pF/meter) and the van den Hul D501 Hybrid (75pF/meter). And i have no financial relationship with these companies...
But there are also other great phono-cables.
I mentioned this also different times in this thread... posts## 4631, 4691,...
Cheers
Dirk
capacitance of the phonocable and inputadjustment (C10/C11) of PEARL 3 sum up.
RCA-cables can influence this in the highs with MM-catridges. This is the reason why I like phonocables with low capacitance (pF/meter). Two examples for my cables are the SOMMER CABLE ALBEDO MKII (65pF/meter) and the van den Hul D501 Hybrid (75pF/meter). And i have no financial relationship with these companies...
But there are also other great phono-cables.
I mentioned this also different times in this thread... posts## 4631, 4691,...
Cheers
Dirk
I'm always in agreement with my self
and even after rereading what I wrote yesterdayif line stage isn't able to cope with Pearl 3, blame line stage and look for another one
to clarify - phono stage is not limiter .........
@cubicincher and @ClaudeG - I did a quick check, and his phono cable should be 17pF/ft. So, approximately 51pF / yd => 56 pF / m. I think the cable is close enough to 1yd / 1m for this purpose. That neglects tone arm cable etc. etc. So, we can add a bit.
According to the Orotofon site - they recommend "150pF to 300pF" (if he has the 2M Blue). So, I'll set it initially at 100. If he feels like the sound is a bit "bright", we can bump it to the 200pF and allow him to decide what he likes.
According to the Orotofon site - they recommend "150pF to 300pF" (if he has the 2M Blue). So, I'll set it initially at 100. If he feels like the sound is a bit "bright", we can bump it to the 200pF and allow him to decide what he likes.
I've measured the capacitance of all of my interconnects and marked them. Those with high capacitance get used in less critical locations, or if really high, not at all. Almost all of my interconnects are now ones I make using Canare or Mogami star-quad cable. Terminations add slightly to the per-foot rated capacitance of raw cable. Cable lengths vary quite a bit in our systems, but capacitance ranges from about 60pF to 165pF.
With MM, I suggest adding no additional capacitance, ever. The cable, even if very low capacitance, will be enough.
YMMV, of course.
YMMV, of course.
We are speaking gain structure and overhead. It may well both the P3 and line-stage that contribute to Clipping and Distortion.
The measured gain of the P3 with BOM recommended parts on the low gain setting is 50.4 dBs. MM cartridge Clicks and pops will clip and cause distortion. New / clean vinyl may not click or pop and not exceed the available headroom.
Not that it seems to matter a ton, but as is typical, my memory failed yet again... at least I remembered the "blue".
I got him a Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO III HO. When I checked the specs, it shows roughly the same recommendation for 47k loading and 100-200pF as the Ortofon, but this seems to be an MC cart.
With that said, does it generally differ for MC vs. MM whether the added capacitance is recommended? Either way, it can't seem to do any harm to start with 0pF in the RIAA and then see what adding 100pF over and above the cable / terminations does for his ears/brain.
Thanks again to those that have helped explain this to a TT dunce.
HOMC are their own kettle of fish. But generally MC are less influenced by loading capacitance than MM.
It’s so easy in Pearl 3 to adjust loading that your brother will be able to find the magic combination easily.
It’s so easy in Pearl 3 to adjust loading that your brother will be able to find the magic combination easily.
Hello IAIMH,
in a german HiFi-magazine they wrote, that the SUMIKO BLUE POINT SPECIAL EVO III HO should be loaded with around 1 kOhm (not the 47 kOhm). So you could try the resistor loading in your PEARL 3: If you switch in a 1kohm (dipswitch) in parallel to the 47kOhm = 979 Ohm (for me close enough). I wouldn't add capacitance in the beginning.
And this SUMIKO has an outputvoltage of 4.3 to 4.6 mV! So PEARL 3 set to low gain.
But your brother has to test and listen, and listen,...
Cheers
Dirk
in a german HiFi-magazine they wrote, that the SUMIKO BLUE POINT SPECIAL EVO III HO should be loaded with around 1 kOhm (not the 47 kOhm). So you could try the resistor loading in your PEARL 3: If you switch in a 1kohm (dipswitch) in parallel to the 47kOhm = 979 Ohm (for me close enough). I wouldn't add capacitance in the beginning.
And this SUMIKO has an outputvoltage of 4.3 to 4.6 mV! So PEARL 3 set to low gain.
But your brother has to test and listen, and listen,...
Cheers
Dirk
^ Very helpful! Thank you. I wonder (without knowing diddly squat myself) why the manufacturer has the spec on their own recommended cartridge loading so different. It all comes down to taste, I suppose.
Noted re: low gain. 🙂
Noted re: low gain. 🙂
It's been a few months now since I got my Pearl 3 running. Opamps are Burson V7 Classics. I'm using a SoundSmith Carmen moving iron cartridge. I have lowered the gain to 40db and I'm really, really enjoying the sound I'm getting. Previous phonostage is Pearl2. Many thanks to all the folks that have put in some much effort here for all the group buys and the EXCELLENT documentation. I'm building a second one for a buddy now. Thanks!!
If you mounted all components according to PCB/schematic, the DIP-switch is already there for HOMC = DIP-8 ON (all others off)
🙂