I'm starting to work on mine next week. It'll be the most complex kit I've put together thus far. Any general tips? And is that silicone adhesive in the last picture?
sun valley phono
Received my Sun Valley phono section 3 days ago and it truly is a giant killer. Its small package and gigantic sound makes it all the more magical. Images do not merely appear they jump to life out of a dead silent noise floor. Harmonics are excellent with a level of bloom that I only wished for until now.
Thank you Victor.
Received my Sun Valley phono section 3 days ago and it truly is a giant killer. Its small package and gigantic sound makes it all the more magical. Images do not merely appear they jump to life out of a dead silent noise floor. Harmonics are excellent with a level of bloom that I only wished for until now.
Thank you Victor.
Recently, in anticipation of retirement from "the working world", we sold our summer home and had a dedicated Audio Room constructed in the basement. The plan was to assemble an analog based 2 channel system (apart from the HT) to enjoy music and share with friends. Having always being a fan of tubes and electrostatic speakers, I purchased from VK Music an Elekit TU 8500 preamp and TU 8340 which then joined my Martin Logans. Near Bliss ensued, or so I thought.... Enter the SunValley EQ1616D mk3. WOW!
I received mine this past Thursday (assembled...the pictures convinced me I could NEVER replicate the beautiful job SunValley demonstrated) and have been discovering previously unheard information on vinyl, both new and old! Holy Molly Victor! This may be the BEST guilty pleasure money I have EVER spent! I Thank You, my wife Thanks You and my precious (to me) vinyl collection Thanks You. The SunValley EQ1616D is a legacy piece that will stay with me to the end... get one while you still can!!!
I received mine this past Thursday (assembled...the pictures convinced me I could NEVER replicate the beautiful job SunValley demonstrated) and have been discovering previously unheard information on vinyl, both new and old! Holy Molly Victor! This may be the BEST guilty pleasure money I have EVER spent! I Thank You, my wife Thanks You and my precious (to me) vinyl collection Thanks You. The SunValley EQ1616D is a legacy piece that will stay with me to the end... get one while you still can!!!
I’m about half way through. Having done 3 kits prior to this I have some experience and have collected a decent set of tools. I can say without hesitation that this kit is not for beginners. The instruction manual doesn’t provide clear steps, but rather stages or sections. The wiring is very intricate and the spaces are tight. Some tips:
- Get a precision tip for your soldering iron
- Get some tiny needle nose pliers
- Tin the bare wire each and every time before soldering
- Study the instructions and each picture closely and pay close attention to the order of things depicted in the diagram
- For point to point connections bend a tight curl before threading - you want a strong mechanical connection before soldering
- Go slow and methodical
- the toothpick tip in the manual is genius
- buy the right tools
Last edited:
Good tips. I'm on page 18/26 of assembly manual. A razor blade to remove insulation at ends and in the middle of a wire going through a lug connection point has been helpful. Unlike the Elekit assembly manuals with checklists, I've had to resort to checking off each wire and connection point on the drawings themselves. This way, I hope not to miss any wires or components along the way and can go back to double-check my work. I have a real appreciation of my dentist...working with small tools in small spaces. Patience is definitely a virtue on this project. Congrats to those who completed this kit - in proper working condition.
FROM OLIVER
hello Victor,
i got my phono stage built last night and have had a few listening sessions. initial impressions are that everything is more holographic but that the bass hits less hard. do you think that less bass is something that will change with break in or just to be expected going from solid state (lehmann audio black cube) to tube?
FROM DUBAI
Hey Victor,
Have connected and started listening to the soundstage. 4 hours down I am still listening. It has good me hooked to my precious LP jazz collection. can’t thank you enough, what a phonostage. Words cannot describe. It’s just stepped up my LP listening experience to a whole new level. Dead quiet, amazing soundstage, perfect instrument separation. Warm. WOW WOW WOW.
Love and respect to you Victor
hello Victor,
i got my phono stage built last night and have had a few listening sessions. initial impressions are that everything is more holographic but that the bass hits less hard. do you think that less bass is something that will change with break in or just to be expected going from solid state (lehmann audio black cube) to tube?
FROM DUBAI
Hey Victor,
Have connected and started listening to the soundstage. 4 hours down I am still listening. It has good me hooked to my precious LP jazz collection. can’t thank you enough, what a phonostage. Words cannot describe. It’s just stepped up my LP listening experience to a whole new level. Dead quiet, amazing soundstage, perfect instrument separation. Warm. WOW WOW WOW.
Love and respect to you Victor
"Unusually Vivid"
“The Sunvalley phono equalizer took "unusually vivid" several steps further. The sounds of recordings seemed to burst into my room, charged and luminous.” So said Herb Reichert in Stereophile, Nov. 2020.
My newly built SV-EQ1616D has been playing records for about 5 days. My first impression is that music from my records have a lot more “jump” than I ever recall hearing. I thought records from the 1970s were naturally soft, a bit muddled and 2 dimensional – not much better than FM radio. Upgrading to a VPI turntable and Hana cartridge were improvements but digital sources still sounded clearer, more dynamic and more engaging to me.
Well that’s all changed now. I understand exactly what Herb said in his review. Expensive audiophile records sound impressive on any audio system but the dozen or so records that I’ve played so far sound just as good. This phono preamp has transformed my listening into an emotionally engaging experience. Sure glad I kept my vintage record collection.
There is a TV commercial running in Canada showing an Italian lady trying Kraft hazelnut spread for the first time. At first she smiles, then runs off shrieking “Impossible! How do they make it taste so good?” In the context of Sunvalley I would rephrase to: “Incredible! How do they make music from records sound so vivid and alive?”
Thanks Victor for offering high value – high performance audio products to us audiophiles/music lovers. Would love your/Sunvalley’s recommendation on a suitably high value – high performance Japanese phono cartridge that would be an excellent match with the EQ1616D. Maybe another product offering from you?
“The Sunvalley phono equalizer took "unusually vivid" several steps further. The sounds of recordings seemed to burst into my room, charged and luminous.” So said Herb Reichert in Stereophile, Nov. 2020.
My newly built SV-EQ1616D has been playing records for about 5 days. My first impression is that music from my records have a lot more “jump” than I ever recall hearing. I thought records from the 1970s were naturally soft, a bit muddled and 2 dimensional – not much better than FM radio. Upgrading to a VPI turntable and Hana cartridge were improvements but digital sources still sounded clearer, more dynamic and more engaging to me.
Well that’s all changed now. I understand exactly what Herb said in his review. Expensive audiophile records sound impressive on any audio system but the dozen or so records that I’ve played so far sound just as good. This phono preamp has transformed my listening into an emotionally engaging experience. Sure glad I kept my vintage record collection.
There is a TV commercial running in Canada showing an Italian lady trying Kraft hazelnut spread for the first time. At first she smiles, then runs off shrieking “Impossible! How do they make it taste so good?” In the context of Sunvalley I would rephrase to: “Incredible! How do they make music from records sound so vivid and alive?”
Thanks Victor for offering high value – high performance audio products to us audiophiles/music lovers. Would love your/Sunvalley’s recommendation on a suitably high value – high performance Japanese phono cartridge that would be an excellent match with the EQ1616D. Maybe another product offering from you?
I’ve had mine finished and running for a couple weeks now. It has a great, wide open sound but I’m also getting some noise at high volumes. With my turntable off, near the upper end of any volume I’d ever listen to, I can hear a clear rumble or hiss from both channels. It’s not an electric sounding hum or buzz and it’s not present when I swap in my old solid state phono stage (NAD phono pp2, which doesn’t have a subsonic filter afaik). This is my first tube phono amp. Is that noise just to be expected or is there a problem area I should be looking at? All voltages on the plates measured within range and all components appeared to be in the right spots when I finished the build originally. Wiring from the transformer is routed as shown in the manual. Thanks!
Has anyone here built this that considers themselves 'less experienced' with these types of projects? I have built a Bottlehead Reduction and ACA and those were no problem for me, though I took a LONG time to do them just to be careful.
It looks like the factory assembled piece is a work of art in terms of how methodically and carefully it is assembled. It looks like you pay $450 for assembly - while I know this is a DIY forum, this seems to be a 'lifetime' component and there is value in knowing it was done perfectly and beautifully and I would never second guess my own work.
Thanks!
It looks like the factory assembled piece is a work of art in terms of how methodically and carefully it is assembled. It looks like you pay $450 for assembly - while I know this is a DIY forum, this seems to be a 'lifetime' component and there is value in knowing it was done perfectly and beautifully and I would never second guess my own work.
Thanks!
I think tube phono amps are generally noisier than solid state ones. I did hear some low level noise on both speakers but they weren't the same noise. Moving the interconnect cable between turntable and amp seemed to help. I now use an SUT for my MC cartridge and use the MM phono setting. The SUT has options to lift ground on primary and secondary sides of the transformer. There is no noise now.
As for build difficulty, this kit took longer than the Elekits I've built (TU 8500 & 8600). Elekits use PCBs and wiring harnesses; no wires were included or required. Point to point wiring in tight spaces can be a challenge. As for ongoing doubt if you made a mistake, doesn't that come with the territory of DIY? If both channels work and all voltages at test points are in spec, then the unit should operate the same as a factory built unit. I would have liked more test points for further assurance.
As for build difficulty, this kit took longer than the Elekits I've built (TU 8500 & 8600). Elekits use PCBs and wiring harnesses; no wires were included or required. Point to point wiring in tight spaces can be a challenge. As for ongoing doubt if you made a mistake, doesn't that come with the territory of DIY? If both channels work and all voltages at test points are in spec, then the unit should operate the same as a factory built unit. I would have liked more test points for further assurance.
Has anyone else noticed that this phono stage has less gain than other phono stages or other line level sources? My Lehmann phono was pretty closely matched to the level of my Luxman DAC. The sun valley is about 50% quieter.
The Lehmann is 46db of gain for MM and 47 ohm output impedance.
The Sun Valley is 35db for MM so it seems it should be quieter.
Is there any expected audio impact when comparing level matched phono stages with different gains? I am assuming the sun valley has more distortion and possibly less dynamic range. Would appreciate any input on this. It’s hard to a/b test and drawn reliable conclusions so looking for more perspectives. Thanks.
The Lehmann is 46db of gain for MM and 47 ohm output impedance.
The Sun Valley is 35db for MM so it seems it should be quieter.
Is there any expected audio impact when comparing level matched phono stages with different gains? I am assuming the sun valley has more distortion and possibly less dynamic range. Would appreciate any input on this. It’s hard to a/b test and drawn reliable conclusions so looking for more perspectives. Thanks.
Musical Surroundings Phenomena 2 (solid state) has adjustable gain starting 40 dB. Phono section of Elekit TU 8500 tube preamp is 37 dB (MM). On Sunvalley you can add 4 dB of gain to the 35 dB using Gain switch. I've not noticed any distortion or noise with the extra gain. CD and digital streamer line outputs do seem louder than phono preamps as I have to turn up the volume control on my preamp when switching to phono source (if not directly connected to the power amp).
If my cartridge is on Input 1 and I switch to Input 2, I don't hear anything on Input 2 and vice versa. I use the unused input as a "mute" if I am turning on/off the turntable. The Mono switch does put the left channel signal onto the right channel but I assume that's for either Input 1 or 2, not both.
https://flic.kr/p/2m8hWZG https://www.flickr.com/photos/64593884@N08/FedeX Air International Economy is a two days service but
It took fedex 2 months to ship from Vancouver to CALIF..
What an Odyssee this was!
Here is the beauty at her new home in California: