i think the Sapphire is like a good single malt whisky, the older it gets the smoother it is.
things are settling in just nicely. its been on non stop for days with music playing from an mp3 player threw cheep headphones.
sounds much much better. i just listened to Judas Priest - Stained Class and was blown away apart from the bottom end and i'm hoping the .68uf caps i have in the post cure it.
cant wait to hear my PTTOO threw this (awaiting some resistors for the phonoclone)
things are settling in just nicely. its been on non stop for days with music playing from an mp3 player threw cheep headphones.
sounds much much better. i just listened to Judas Priest - Stained Class and was blown away apart from the bottom end and i'm hoping the .68uf caps i have in the post cure it.
cant wait to hear my PTTOO threw this (awaiting some resistors for the phonoclone)
very slightly and nowhere as bad as it was. going to have to go threw it all again when my new caps arrive :-(
just a thought but is there any point in putting smoothing caps across the Vsec and V0 just before the bridge rectifiers? i was reading TNT audio about the power supplies and noticed that #4 is pretty much what you've done to the Sapphire but Mr Veselinovic has put caps before the bridge recs. it's all pretty much over my head though.
if i could only do the equations i think i would get on a bit better.
just a thought but is there any point in putting smoothing caps across the Vsec and V0 just before the bridge rectifiers? i was reading TNT audio about the power supplies and noticed that #4 is pretty much what you've done to the Sapphire but Mr Veselinovic has put caps before the bridge recs. it's all pretty much over my head though.
if i could only do the equations i think i would get on a bit better.
well that was painless 🙂
i got some Mundorf Mcap Evo Oil .68uf and put them in hoping to increase the low end of things and while it has it's still not right. anyway to my surprise they have only taken about 5hrs to bed in about 90%. they have added some weight to the vocals which now sound more natural and smoothed things out a bit.
i would like to hear the kick drum coming threw a bit more as i personally feel its lacking, any ideas?
there is no rose tinted spectacles with this headphone amp and it's been quite a pleasant shock hearing everything in the mix 🙂
would 2.2uf be overkill?
i got some Mundorf Mcap Evo Oil .68uf and put them in hoping to increase the low end of things and while it has it's still not right. anyway to my surprise they have only taken about 5hrs to bed in about 90%. they have added some weight to the vocals which now sound more natural and smoothed things out a bit.
i would like to hear the kick drum coming threw a bit more as i personally feel its lacking, any ideas?
there is no rose tinted spectacles with this headphone amp and it's been quite a pleasant shock hearing everything in the mix 🙂
would 2.2uf be overkill?
The TNT Audio article on power supplies is pretty dubious. A lot of the "this is better" logic doesn't hold up to scrutiny. A small cap on over the primary winding is not uncommon. Also sometimes over the diodes. Across the secondary ... that's not going to do much.
I've noticed you are conflating "troubleshooting" and "tuning". Obviously changing components will alter the sound slightly, but its not materially altering the circuit. It's not going to help you get any closer to solving the distortion problem, except by accident.
I've noticed you are conflating "troubleshooting" and "tuning". Obviously changing components will alter the sound slightly, but its not materially altering the circuit. It's not going to help you get any closer to solving the distortion problem, except by accident.
well i have had a happy accident 🙂
ok so i don't know what i'm doing but i's fun experimenting which brings me to my latest. i put 2.2uf Mcap Evo oil in and for me its simply superb. the caps haven't even bedded in and from the very first track it's blown me away. no grain, no distortion, lush vocals and a nice bottom end and everything in between including that lovely extended top end. are the larger caps masking the underlying problem that's not there any more i don't know all i know is it sounds (to me) stunning.
i don't know what i'm doing but i would like to know but apart from going back to uni and doing a degree i suppose i'll never know, that's why i admire people like you Richard as you understand and can create things like the Sapphire. if you were after some cast iron gates and railings then i'm your man. we all have our own special talents but i'm afraid mine is not electronics and that's why i ask questions to people like yourself as you know the answers.
ok so i don't know what i'm doing but i's fun experimenting which brings me to my latest. i put 2.2uf Mcap Evo oil in and for me its simply superb. the caps haven't even bedded in and from the very first track it's blown me away. no grain, no distortion, lush vocals and a nice bottom end and everything in between including that lovely extended top end. are the larger caps masking the underlying problem that's not there any more i don't know all i know is it sounds (to me) stunning.
i don't know what i'm doing but i would like to know but apart from going back to uni and doing a degree i suppose i'll never know, that's why i admire people like you Richard as you understand and can create things like the Sapphire. if you were after some cast iron gates and railings then i'm your man. we all have our own special talents but i'm afraid mine is not electronics and that's why i ask questions to people like yourself as you know the answers.
I think both Fran and I were concerned your Sapphire wasn't working properly. As long as it is - as long as you are satisfied it is - then you can enjoy playing around switching input caps and so forth.
If you want a smoother presentation, you can replace the gain-set resistor with carbon composition. That will de-zing the sting, and make everything pillowed.
If you want a smoother presentation, you can replace the gain-set resistor with carbon composition. That will de-zing the sting, and make everything pillowed.
Richard
i might be barking up the wrong tree here but, are R7&R8 calculated in parallel?
for instance if i were to up R8 to 2k and drop R7 to 1.8k it would be aprox 0.94k and would be just the same as R8-1k, R7-18k aprox 0.94k?
it seems that there is very little gain adjusting R7 with my cans and i think it's due to them being 600ohm. i have upped R7 to 26.8k and there is very very little difference in gain compared to 10k but it seems that the cans are opening up more and have more drive but not much in terms of volume gain.
i might be barking up the wrong tree here but, are R7&R8 calculated in parallel?
for instance if i were to up R8 to 2k and drop R7 to 1.8k it would be aprox 0.94k and would be just the same as R8-1k, R7-18k aprox 0.94k?
it seems that there is very little gain adjusting R7 with my cans and i think it's due to them being 600ohm. i have upped R7 to 26.8k and there is very very little difference in gain compared to 10k but it seems that the cans are opening up more and have more drive but not much in terms of volume gain.
Not really. The gain is (for rev 14s) R7/R8+1. Increase the gain by increasing R7. It's surprising perhaps but your ear is not very sensitive to these changes in volume. You have to double R7 before it is obviously louder.
i'm now up to 36.8k on R7 (14s) and my lord things are now starting to come alive, the grip on the low end is getting better and better with each 10k i add. with the same tracks i could not hear very low bass but now its there and prominent. up until the 36.8k the kick drum sounded like someone in the background was whacking a wooden box but now its starting to sound like a kick drum another weird thing is there is less distortion s/t's are less and things are really starting to go the right way. soundstage has also got wider/deeper and less 'lefty/righty/in yer earsy'.
i thought the Sapphire sounded good before but now it's just getting better and better.
there is a slight increase in the volume but what's more startling is the sheer grip. it's now starting to sound mid/high end hifi.
i was about throwing these DT880's in the bin as they sounded very tinny but not now. before when i was turning the volume up the headphones would start to distort but now i can keep going and it just gets louder and fuller.
i knew the Sapphire had more to offer i just did not know how to get it and my blind tinkering is paying off.
i thought the Sapphire sounded good before but now it's just getting better and better.
there is a slight increase in the volume but what's more startling is the sheer grip. it's now starting to sound mid/high end hifi.
i was about throwing these DT880's in the bin as they sounded very tinny but not now. before when i was turning the volume up the headphones would start to distort but now i can keep going and it just gets louder and fuller.
i knew the Sapphire had more to offer i just did not know how to get it and my blind tinkering is paying off.
There is excellent headphone amp in solid state thread: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/235695-no-nfb-line-amp-gainwire-mk2-25.html#post3799212
i took the Sapphire over to my mates house again tonight and his reaction was bleedin 'eck what a difference, it's still got that top end but the bottom end is much much better. while there one of the other mates arrived and had a listen and his reaction was 'gob smacked'.
personally i think it's there but i would like a little more 'drive' as to me it sound like it's running out off puff sometimes as it still sounds similar to 'small amp big speakers' where i have always preferred 'big amp small speakers' if you know what i mean.
personally i think it's there but i would like a little more 'drive' as to me it sound like it's running out off puff sometimes as it still sounds similar to 'small amp big speakers' where i have always preferred 'big amp small speakers' if you know what i mean.
hahahahahaaaa. i cant stop giggling.
i'm a plonker. lol
yes you have to go into the setup options of the OPPO and turn the audio to stereo. once done you then get the low end, lots and lots of it. tell you what though in my search for more bass it's turned out gooooooooood. in fact its simply stunning. the base lines are now thumping like they should. the difference is HUGE.
i'm now a happy happpy camper 🙂
i'm a plonker. lol
yes you have to go into the setup options of the OPPO and turn the audio to stereo. once done you then get the low end, lots and lots of it. tell you what though in my search for more bass it's turned out gooooooooood. in fact its simply stunning. the base lines are now thumping like they should. the difference is HUGE.
i'm now a happy happpy camper 🙂
yes, headphones don't have subwoofers... lol
i'm loving the Sapphire and i'm rediscovering my music collection. i cant stop listening to music. just to do some housekeeping then i'll be make more for the rest of the family.
cant wait to try out the 20f
i'm loving the Sapphire and i'm rediscovering my music collection. i cant stop listening to music. just to do some housekeeping then i'll be make more for the rest of the family.
cant wait to try out the 20f
No, and the compensation works the other way: increasing R14 decreases the overall gain (though insignificantly for 600 ohm headphones) so you'd increase R7 to counteract this.
ahhh. so in fact you could just dispense with R14 and put a bridge in as it's there to protect headphones as sorts?
Yes. In practice I use 1 ohms, which is as good as a bridge. I was surprisingly unhappy with the influence on the sound quality when larger values were substituted, but its a nice convenience feature to have.
Richard, could i use the B2 pad and the -out pad on the 14s1 boards to fit a zobel filter?
like this:
like this:
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