They are locally made from HF industrial current transformer cores. You know it is not going to be really cheap but a good chance for less than $100 for a matched pair. I'm guesstimating it would take another 6-8 weeks due to production scheduling. Still negotiating on order quantity, winding technique and shielding, will inform you as soon as I have satisfactory measurements.
Uh oh, you miss the important word ... pair
They are locally made from HF industrial current transformer cores. You know it is not going to be really cheap but a good chance for less than $100 for a matched pair. I'm guesstimating it would take another 6-8 weeks due to production scheduling. Still negotiating on order quantity, winding technique and shielding, will inform you as soon as I have satisfactory measurements.
Uh oh, you miss the important word ... pair
Even better
They are locally made from HF industrial current transformer cores. You know it is not going to be really cheap but a good chance for less than $100 for a matched pair. I'm guesstimating it would take another 6-8 weeks due to production scheduling. Still negotiating on order quantity, winding technique and shielding, will inform you as soon as I have satisfactory measurements.
Uh oh, you miss the important word ... pair
if there is any way of obtaining just cores , and it's not pain in the back to acquire that info , let me know
TIA
They are not disclosing detail info of origin, only willing to admit cores are imported. A bit smaller in size and mentioned Al spec a tad lower than Vacuumschmelze Vitroperm T60006-L2040-W424, light grey plastic encased and does not look as nice as Vacuumschmelze stuff. For small quantity I think Vitroperm core is way more convenient to procure for you.
I've made few Iron Pre (those seen on my Blog) with Ferite core autoformers ...... though , I don't think so that these were called Nanocrystaline
frankly , I was surprised that these Telephone repeaters are so linear , while looking so cheap and ugly
maybe because I saw them zillion on junkyards in the past , when old relay based tel. centrals were changed to modern digital ones
frankly , I was surprised that these Telephone repeaters are so linear , while looking so cheap and ugly
maybe because I saw them zillion on junkyards in the past , when old relay based tel. centrals were changed to modern digital ones
same principle as Iron Pumpkin ........
see here (post #3):Iron Pumpkin(s) and other smaller vegetable animals, Tips 'n' Tricks thread
to enable IN1 to be SE , solder DIN1
same way for any other input
everything is on schematics
Are the boards from post #569 available? Or must we wait until it appears in store? I'm good either way.
Russellc
to enable IN1 to be SE , solder DIN1
same way for any other input
everything is on schematics
Solder in the corresponding DN# diode to get SE for the input selected
Now I get it.
Thanks. nash
What a Combination!
What follows is a wall-o-text with 100% subjective opinions re: the Iron Pre / Babelfish J2 combination.
I’ve had my Iron Pre (SE) / Babel J2 combination in my system for just over a week now. I swapped from a well-regarded commercial solid state pre-amp and my DIY F5. I had been using that combination for several weeks. Over some time, I had fiddled with the bias on the F5 in a number of controlled steps in an attempt to hear differences. With the F5, higher bias, seemed to improve the sound. I really like the F5 sound. For clarity, I have not attempted to alter H2 using P3 in my F5 build. That will come later after I get some proper test equipment. I rarely change two components at once, but in this case, I couldn’t resist.
The timing just worked out well. I received my Babel J2 boards right around the same time that Zen Mod and 6L6 were kind enough to allow me to build a set of the prototype boards for the Iron Pre. For those that don’t know – the Iron Pre is coming to the store!!! There will be balanced and SE versions. I am unsure of dates, but patience will be rewarded. I made two dodo errors. I was a little long with the iron and melted insulation between a twisted pair of output wires - that created an intermittent short. I also failed to push one of the gain jumpers fully into place. Other than that, the build went flawlessly. I can’t wait to get it into a chassis. I'll post some proper porn vs. the amateur shots previously shared once it's all done.
Thanks to the Mighty ZM for making these designs available, 6L6 for helping choose this incredible project, and of course to Papa.
Thoughts -
The tl;dr version is that there is something very special about this combo that makes my toes tap, my head bob, and goosebumps appear.
I’ve found that to my ears certain amp/speaker combos favor each other. In my case, this combo was paired with Tekton DIs (stock 4ohm version) that replaced a pair of Vandersteen 3A. My music was all streamed from Qobuz (lossless) and FLACs from my NAS. I did not change any source gear during the time I was listening and collecting some thoughts.
So, what everyone always wants to know is - how does it sound? That’s the hardest question anyone can ask me, but I can try.
I like a Zen Mod quote a while ago describing the difference between the Aleph J and the F5. It was something akin to with the F5 you can hear an insect crawling behind a musician, and with the Aleph J he turns and smiles. I find that to be generally true. When I built the Aleph J, I thought it could be the last amp I’d ever build, but we all know how that turns out in DIY.
Sticking to ZM’s theme - I’ll add to it and say that with the Iron Pre / Babel J2 you can hear whether the little fella is wearing slippers or socks and the grin is bigger. I have no idea which piece contributed to the overall change the most. I had told a friend that the SissySIT to me sounded like the F5 and Aleph J had the perfect child. The Babel J2 / Iron Pre feels “warmer” than both the F5 and what I recall of the SissySIT with the previous pre-amp. I think this combo allows me access to all the detail (if not more) from any previous combo. However, as mentioned, I did change two components.
I listened to 100’s of tracks over the week. Some I concentrated upon, but the vast majority of the time, I listened just like I normally would. Sometimes I was in the “sweet spot” with no other thoughts but the music, sometimes I was working with music in the background. When I was paying attention, I jotted a few notes.
So, what’s changed?
- Bass. The bass is remarkable. This has to be measurable in some way. Once I get some proper test gear, I want to check out this specific aspect. I also owe it to myself to try the Iron Pre with other amps. The bass control and timbre have improved (to my ears) dramatically. A non-golden-eared person like me thinks that everyone should be able to hear the difference. To me, it was not subtle. I assume this change comes primarily from the amp being able to drive the speakers more properly. However, it could equally be that my other pre-amp was attenuating or dulling the signals at some frequencies. Either way, I have bass control equal to a big commercial class A/B amp. Plus, I have better texture / timbre. EDM will shake the room, and I can hear mid-bass notes from bass guitars, cellos, stand-up bass, lower registers on the piano etc. etc. clearly. My speakers were not moved, so room nodes etc. are not the root cause. Examples - Bela Fleck’s Flight of the Cosmic Hippo is remarkable. Boz Skaggs, Lido Shuffle and Lowdown had me tapping my toes. Primus, I say unto thee… this combo works.
- Vocals (focusing on female) Alison Krauss is one of my favorite female artists. A Hundred Miles or More and her Live recording with Union Station are commonly heard from the man cave. I find that a few of her songs work well to determine if female vocals are too “piercing”. It’s highly subjective, but perhaps others know what I’m trying to describe. With this combo, her voice still carries all the power and emotion you’d expect, but is smooth as silk. Molly Bawn and Jacob’s dream still choke me up. However, in Jacob’s dream, there’s no cringe moment at “Oh Mommy Daddy, Why Can’t You Hear Our Cries”. Those familiar with the song may have a similar reaction with some gear. If you haven’t – excellent! For me, it can range from: I never want to hear that song to utter bliss based on the system. Bliss with this.
- Vocals (sibilance) - On the male side, Paul Simon is one of my favorites. I often use some tracks on Graceland to see what I can hear (or not) and how it’s presented. Diamonds on the soles of her shoes carries none of the harsh sibilance that can grate on me using some gear.
- Vocals (harmonies) - This may also be one of the top characteristics I noticed with this combo. Homeless on Graceland brings goosebumps. I found myself having an incredibly good time with some CSNY recordings. With Find the Cost of Freedom and Helplessly Hoping; the ability to pick a vocalist out of the mix and still retain each person’s vocal character is exceptional. For some reason (I wish my notes were better) I put a huge smiley face and a “WOW” next to Bare Naked Ladies - If I had $1,000,000. As I was tidying this up to post Down to the River to Pray off A Hundred Miles or More came on – Another WOW! I stopped typing to listen. Maybe that ties to a common comment of “the music pulling you in”.
- Guitar work - I’ve heard a lot of guitars live and/or in person in very small settings. I occasionally use some close-miked recordings of a buddy’s work. Trying to say a guitar sounds like “it should” is just way too hard without a reference point. Suffice it to say, I’m happy. If you’re a tone junky, you’ll likely be pretty happy too.
What’s next - I’ll use the Iron Pre with other amps and the Babel J2 with other pre-amps in the future, but right now I’m just enjoying listening too much. My F5 boards lost their home to the Babel J2, so I may put the F5 boards back in another chassis just so I can compare single changes. When I get my SissySIT back from a friend, that will be my first comparison to the Babel J2 with the Iron Pre as a common denominator. After that, I’ll likely try the Aleph J with Iron Pre. I’m curious if there is such a thing as too much “sugar”. I also want to see which one brings the most “magic” and/or if the whole is greater than the sum of the two (or three if I include speakers) parts.
Back to listening.
What follows is a wall-o-text with 100% subjective opinions re: the Iron Pre / Babelfish J2 combination.
I’ve had my Iron Pre (SE) / Babel J2 combination in my system for just over a week now. I swapped from a well-regarded commercial solid state pre-amp and my DIY F5. I had been using that combination for several weeks. Over some time, I had fiddled with the bias on the F5 in a number of controlled steps in an attempt to hear differences. With the F5, higher bias, seemed to improve the sound. I really like the F5 sound. For clarity, I have not attempted to alter H2 using P3 in my F5 build. That will come later after I get some proper test equipment. I rarely change two components at once, but in this case, I couldn’t resist.
The timing just worked out well. I received my Babel J2 boards right around the same time that Zen Mod and 6L6 were kind enough to allow me to build a set of the prototype boards for the Iron Pre. For those that don’t know – the Iron Pre is coming to the store!!! There will be balanced and SE versions. I am unsure of dates, but patience will be rewarded. I made two dodo errors. I was a little long with the iron and melted insulation between a twisted pair of output wires - that created an intermittent short. I also failed to push one of the gain jumpers fully into place. Other than that, the build went flawlessly. I can’t wait to get it into a chassis. I'll post some proper porn vs. the amateur shots previously shared once it's all done.
Thanks to the Mighty ZM for making these designs available, 6L6 for helping choose this incredible project, and of course to Papa.
Thoughts -
The tl;dr version is that there is something very special about this combo that makes my toes tap, my head bob, and goosebumps appear.
I’ve found that to my ears certain amp/speaker combos favor each other. In my case, this combo was paired with Tekton DIs (stock 4ohm version) that replaced a pair of Vandersteen 3A. My music was all streamed from Qobuz (lossless) and FLACs from my NAS. I did not change any source gear during the time I was listening and collecting some thoughts.
So, what everyone always wants to know is - how does it sound? That’s the hardest question anyone can ask me, but I can try.
I like a Zen Mod quote a while ago describing the difference between the Aleph J and the F5. It was something akin to with the F5 you can hear an insect crawling behind a musician, and with the Aleph J he turns and smiles. I find that to be generally true. When I built the Aleph J, I thought it could be the last amp I’d ever build, but we all know how that turns out in DIY.
Sticking to ZM’s theme - I’ll add to it and say that with the Iron Pre / Babel J2 you can hear whether the little fella is wearing slippers or socks and the grin is bigger. I have no idea which piece contributed to the overall change the most. I had told a friend that the SissySIT to me sounded like the F5 and Aleph J had the perfect child. The Babel J2 / Iron Pre feels “warmer” than both the F5 and what I recall of the SissySIT with the previous pre-amp. I think this combo allows me access to all the detail (if not more) from any previous combo. However, as mentioned, I did change two components.
I listened to 100’s of tracks over the week. Some I concentrated upon, but the vast majority of the time, I listened just like I normally would. Sometimes I was in the “sweet spot” with no other thoughts but the music, sometimes I was working with music in the background. When I was paying attention, I jotted a few notes.
So, what’s changed?
- Bass. The bass is remarkable. This has to be measurable in some way. Once I get some proper test gear, I want to check out this specific aspect. I also owe it to myself to try the Iron Pre with other amps. The bass control and timbre have improved (to my ears) dramatically. A non-golden-eared person like me thinks that everyone should be able to hear the difference. To me, it was not subtle. I assume this change comes primarily from the amp being able to drive the speakers more properly. However, it could equally be that my other pre-amp was attenuating or dulling the signals at some frequencies. Either way, I have bass control equal to a big commercial class A/B amp. Plus, I have better texture / timbre. EDM will shake the room, and I can hear mid-bass notes from bass guitars, cellos, stand-up bass, lower registers on the piano etc. etc. clearly. My speakers were not moved, so room nodes etc. are not the root cause. Examples - Bela Fleck’s Flight of the Cosmic Hippo is remarkable. Boz Skaggs, Lido Shuffle and Lowdown had me tapping my toes. Primus, I say unto thee… this combo works.
- Vocals (focusing on female) Alison Krauss is one of my favorite female artists. A Hundred Miles or More and her Live recording with Union Station are commonly heard from the man cave. I find that a few of her songs work well to determine if female vocals are too “piercing”. It’s highly subjective, but perhaps others know what I’m trying to describe. With this combo, her voice still carries all the power and emotion you’d expect, but is smooth as silk. Molly Bawn and Jacob’s dream still choke me up. However, in Jacob’s dream, there’s no cringe moment at “Oh Mommy Daddy, Why Can’t You Hear Our Cries”. Those familiar with the song may have a similar reaction with some gear. If you haven’t – excellent! For me, it can range from: I never want to hear that song to utter bliss based on the system. Bliss with this.
- Vocals (sibilance) - On the male side, Paul Simon is one of my favorites. I often use some tracks on Graceland to see what I can hear (or not) and how it’s presented. Diamonds on the soles of her shoes carries none of the harsh sibilance that can grate on me using some gear.
- Vocals (harmonies) - This may also be one of the top characteristics I noticed with this combo. Homeless on Graceland brings goosebumps. I found myself having an incredibly good time with some CSNY recordings. With Find the Cost of Freedom and Helplessly Hoping; the ability to pick a vocalist out of the mix and still retain each person’s vocal character is exceptional. For some reason (I wish my notes were better) I put a huge smiley face and a “WOW” next to Bare Naked Ladies - If I had $1,000,000. As I was tidying this up to post Down to the River to Pray off A Hundred Miles or More came on – Another WOW! I stopped typing to listen. Maybe that ties to a common comment of “the music pulling you in”.
- Guitar work - I’ve heard a lot of guitars live and/or in person in very small settings. I occasionally use some close-miked recordings of a buddy’s work. Trying to say a guitar sounds like “it should” is just way too hard without a reference point. Suffice it to say, I’m happy. If you’re a tone junky, you’ll likely be pretty happy too.
What’s next - I’ll use the Iron Pre with other amps and the Babel J2 with other pre-amps in the future, but right now I’m just enjoying listening too much. My F5 boards lost their home to the Babel J2, so I may put the F5 boards back in another chassis just so I can compare single changes. When I get my SissySIT back from a friend, that will be my first comparison to the Babel J2 with the Iron Pre as a common denominator. After that, I’ll likely try the Aleph J with Iron Pre. I’m curious if there is such a thing as too much “sugar”. I also want to see which one brings the most “magic” and/or if the whole is greater than the sum of the two (or three if I include speakers) parts.
Back to listening.
...... The Babel J2 / Iron Pre feels “warmer” than both the F5 and what I recall of the SissySIT with the previous pre-amp. .......
what a report!
anyway , I've put in bold what I think is of primary importance , when speaking of SissySIT vs. Babelfish J2
comparing to B. J2 , with SissySIT - that Cricket from the story is maybe going to have slightly fatter Slippers , but certainly even wider Green
what a report!
anyway , I've put in bold what I think is of primary importance , when speaking of SissySIT vs. Babelfish J2
comparing to B. J2 , with SissySIT - that Cricket from the story is maybe going to have slightly fatter Slippers , but certainly even wider Green
Meaning fatter slippers with B. J2?
Russellc