Selling a pair of 41z boards if anybody wants to try this lovely design:
FS: Sapphire HPA 4.1z
Thanks again Richard for the PCBs!
FS: Sapphire HPA 4.1z
Thanks again Richard for the PCBs!
From the photo it seems the regulator section of the boards are not populated. You should probably mention that ..
Hello, Richard,
Long time no tweaking; still listening to my prototype 4.0b, with a resistor kludge on one board, goldpoint volume pot and Mu-metal shielding on my torroidals and separation from the boards. You sent me 4.1 boards back then, and I bought all the components to populate them so I could try the closed (or was it open?) configuration. That second build is still in the hopper - I haven't felt that I'm missing anything - I'm too happy - with my 4.0b. After a quick skip some of the last few years chatter I didn't see anything I felt I needed to try, or have I missed something? Very happy with Sapphire here!
Long time no tweaking; still listening to my prototype 4.0b, with a resistor kludge on one board, goldpoint volume pot and Mu-metal shielding on my torroidals and separation from the boards. You sent me 4.1 boards back then, and I bought all the components to populate them so I could try the closed (or was it open?) configuration. That second build is still in the hopper - I haven't felt that I'm missing anything - I'm too happy - with my 4.0b. After a quick skip some of the last few years chatter I didn't see anything I felt I needed to try, or have I missed something? Very happy with Sapphire here!
Don't worry, all 4.x boards are the same but for some cosmetics touch ups and additional convenience features!
R15-16 200R
R17-20 2.4R
R2A-475
How it sounds and plays! I didn't try to find the exact sound. I wanted music.
There is meat and there is finesse. There is power there!
At the same time, I have an ultra-linear DAC. And it did him good.
The headphones are AT-H5000 Raffinato.
R17-20 2.4R
R2A-475
How it sounds and plays! I didn't try to find the exact sound. I wanted music.
There is meat and there is finesse. There is power there!
At the same time, I have an ultra-linear DAC. And it did him good.
The headphones are AT-H5000 Raffinato.
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After a long break I had time to turn ON the project. 
The power supply is something basic LM317 / 337 and has a little 100Hz. I need to make one right ... Not one, two.
This aspect is very important as well as the selection of the transistors and other components. Keep that in mind!
The sound ... 😀
Compared to SE it is a little different but just as good, or vice versa.
Thank you @rjm.
The power supply is something basic LM317 / 337 and has a little 100Hz. I need to make one right ... Not one, two.
This aspect is very important as well as the selection of the transistors and other components. Keep that in mind!
The sound ... 😀
Compared to SE it is a little different but just as good, or vice versa.
Thank you @rjm.
Attachments
Nice to see the boards you made a while back up and running. The 100Hz hum might not be from the power supply directly, as the LM317 outputs would be pretty clean.
I'm very new to DIY audio.. I wanted to ask, is this a good project for someone who is just starting off with DIY? also I see that there is a blue pot on the board itself, do I need measuring equipment to finish this project? I did do some reading about the project so apologies if I've missed something very obvious..
This is of intermediate difficulty, I don't recommend it for beginners. You'll need a voltmeter and resistance meter.
Thank you for the reply.. I'm going to start with some small cheap tube preamp builds. And then move up to Sapphire. Is the Sapphire a good match for Planar Magnetic Headphones (Like the Susvara and the Arya)?
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Hello eveyone,
I have just finished my Sapphire HPA.
I made my own PCBs, because I am always doing it for my projects.
Other than described, I am running the amp on batteries. 2 x 15 eneloop cells (2000 mAh each) giving +/- 18-20 V per rail.
I have set the amp to close loop amplification with R2A set to 680 ohms and R3A set to 2200 ohms.
Sound is very crisp and clear and detailed, I really like it! I am using the amp with Denon AH-D7200 headphones with rather low impedance (about 25 ohms, I think)
The output trannies BD135 and BD136 are getting rather hot (ha, this is the high-current class A version!), so I am using bigger heatsinks, resulting in 60-70 degrees temperature.
I have not measured total power consumption or current draw, but I hope, that my batteries (2000 mAh per rail) will last some hours.
Thanks to Richard for this fine amp!
Best regards and happy diying
Michael
I have just finished my Sapphire HPA.
I made my own PCBs, because I am always doing it for my projects.
Other than described, I am running the amp on batteries. 2 x 15 eneloop cells (2000 mAh each) giving +/- 18-20 V per rail.
I have set the amp to close loop amplification with R2A set to 680 ohms and R3A set to 2200 ohms.
Sound is very crisp and clear and detailed, I really like it! I am using the amp with Denon AH-D7200 headphones with rather low impedance (about 25 ohms, I think)
The output trannies BD135 and BD136 are getting rather hot (ha, this is the high-current class A version!), so I am using bigger heatsinks, resulting in 60-70 degrees temperature.
I have not measured total power consumption or current draw, but I hope, that my batteries (2000 mAh per rail) will last some hours.
Thanks to Richard for this fine amp!
Best regards and happy diying
Michael
Attachments
Thanks for posting your build here. It's always interesting for me for learn the different build strategies that people choose to build the Sapphire amp.
A curiosity about C1.
The value of 0.47uF or higher is specified in Bom.
How big is the value?
Now 0.33uF is used on the boards.
Today I got something similar but with a much higher value of 3.3uF.
can i use it?
The value of 0.47uF or higher is specified in Bom.
How big is the value?
Now 0.33uF is used on the boards.
Today I got something similar but with a much higher value of 3.3uF.
can i use it?
Yes, it really doesn't matter if you use a bigger value, though in my experience they start to sound a bit flabby if you go too extreme.
Another Sapphire is born.
Hi everyone,
After a long time and other projects I have finally been able to finish it.
Unfortunately I no longer have access to the marking laser from the company where I work, so the housing is bare.
An error has crept in somewhere as well, since it is very quiet and starts to distort strongly from a poti position of around two o’clock.
Does anyone have any idea what the error could be?
Hi everyone,
After a long time and other projects I have finally been able to finish it.
Unfortunately I no longer have access to the marking laser from the company where I work, so the housing is bare.
An error has crept in somewhere as well, since it is very quiet and starts to distort strongly from a poti position of around two o’clock.
Does anyone have any idea what the error could be?
