Finishing an AJ build. Plugged it in through a dim bulb tester. Light dimmed some but didn't go out. I don't know whether that is good or bad at this stage. I completed the power supply side of things months ago. It checked out fine so I'm thinking it's in the amp boards/wiring. LED 2s on both channels light up brightly and stay on after power off. LED 3s start bright and dim after a few seconds. I'm over my head at this point. I've included some pics hoping they might be helpful. Ideas very welcome!
light up brightly and stay on after power off. LED 2s are much much dimmer but have been brighter on previous starts. I'm over my head at this point. I've included some pics hoping they might be helpful. Ideas very welcome!
It's best if you ask for assistance on the Aleph J thread. This is the B1 Korg thread and it is best not to stray from that.
You will get plenty of assistance on the Aleph J thread.
Aleph J Noobs Thread
You will get plenty of assistance on the Aleph J thread.
Aleph J Noobs Thread
Hi guy's, Well I have had my new $100 Passive Pre using a PGA2311 from Ebay in my 2nd system for a few days now breaking in with a CD on continues play & yesterday I put my No2 B1/Korg back in the loop. Connected up my 2nd vinyl rig which is an SP15 T/T with a 12'' Teamad arm & a new S//H 103LCII, I have just picked up.
Boy I have never had my 2nd system sound so great, i even got shivers running down my back listening to Verdi's Requiem, That has never, never happened before.
So all I can conclude is even if the PGA2311 passive pre is using a fake chip, it is a dam good one. The is no noise between switching between channels or increasing the V/C. Which had happed with similar units I had tried, so this one is a winner. The only thing it cannot do, which my Muses C/C can do in my No 1 system is allow balance control adjustment.
Cheers
Boy I have never had my 2nd system sound so great, i even got shivers running down my back listening to Verdi's Requiem, That has never, never happened before.
So all I can conclude is even if the PGA2311 passive pre is using a fake chip, it is a dam good one. The is no noise between switching between channels or increasing the V/C. Which had happed with similar units I had tried, so this one is a winner. The only thing it cannot do, which my Muses C/C can do in my No 1 system is allow balance control adjustment.
Cheers
Hi, to clarify, I am loving my Passive PGA2311 controlling the signal going into my B1/Korg. The PGA2311 unit is working well & is NOT causing the B1/Korg valves to sing, which other units I had tried did.
So I have decided to keep them as a two box unit & will make two wooden face plates that make them match up. When they are fully encased I will try to do a comparison with my B1/Korg that is in my main system & is using a Muses V/C with Cornell Dubilier capacitors fitted
Cheers
So I have decided to keep them as a two box unit & will make two wooden face plates that make them match up. When they are fully encased I will try to do a comparison with my B1/Korg that is in my main system & is using a Muses V/C with Cornell Dubilier capacitors fitted
Cheers
That is a good question I’d like to hear views on, too.
I bought kits for B1 and ACA back in lockdown, tucked them away and only this week dug them out. Started on B1 yesterday. I can build well enough, with good instructions. But in no way does my understanding of electronics come anywhere near the average poster here. And it probably never will. I just like making things.
So, I have no real idea of the kind of speakers best suited to an ACA. And, apart from running a CD player or turntable to it, I really don’t know how best to feed the B1, either, given I do most of my listening on Spotify at work, via a Bluetooth speaker.
So any input would be gratefully received. Maybe imagine I’m a first-grader..
You are not the only DIY hifi person without and EE degree on this forum. If you can solder half-decently, work carefully and follow directions there is no issue with these two projects. Also, closely follow all the directions on the wonderful 6L6 instruction/build guides. ACA is a lower-power amp with 8 watts per channel maximum so you will benefit from having somewhat efficient speakers.
You can feed any analog (non-digital) source into the B1 Korg. If you bought the full kit you can select between two RCA inputs. The analog/RCA output of your CD player can feed one input. You can run a turntable into the other input but, be aware, your turntable will need to have a built in phono preamp, or you will need to purchase a phono preamp to place between your turntable and the B1 Korg. Turntable signals require their own unique equalization and preamplification. Many of today's turntables can be purchased with built in phono preamp.
If you listen to Spotify you will need to have some sort of interface between your source for Spotify (phone, computer, etc) and the B1 Korg. The simplist approach would be a Blue Tooth receiver. It would receive the BT signal from your phone, tablet or other device and convert and route it to an RCA output from which to connect to the BI Korg.
Here are some examples of Blue Tooth receivers: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-tpx3W...cNaPX9cS125y5UkKo8rp6rRPx6kVul2xoC09YQAvD_BwE
Those are just a few of the tons of them out there.
Again, realize the B1 Korg kit only has two analog inputs, so if you have a TT, CD and Blue Tooth Adapter, you will only be able to hook up any two of the three at one time to the B1 Korg.
You could add a third set of RCA inputs to the B1, but I would not recommend that on the orginal build, maybe down the road as you gain experience.
As to good speakers for ACA, I am sure a number of folks on this forum have some to recommend. Again, realize that 8 watts is not going to power low sensitivity speakers to high decibel levels.
Have fun.
You can feed any analog (non-digital) source into the B1 Korg. If you bought the full kit you can select between two RCA inputs. The analog/RCA output of your CD player can feed one input. You can run a turntable into the other input but, be aware, your turntable will need to have a built in phono preamp, or you will need to purchase a phono preamp to place between your turntable and the B1 Korg. Turntable signals require their own unique equalization and preamplification. Many of today's turntables can be purchased with built in phono preamp.
If you listen to Spotify you will need to have some sort of interface between your source for Spotify (phone, computer, etc) and the B1 Korg. The simplist approach would be a Blue Tooth receiver. It would receive the BT signal from your phone, tablet or other device and convert and route it to an RCA output from which to connect to the BI Korg.
Here are some examples of Blue Tooth receivers: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-tpx3W...cNaPX9cS125y5UkKo8rp6rRPx6kVul2xoC09YQAvD_BwE
Those are just a few of the tons of them out there.
Again, realize the B1 Korg kit only has two analog inputs, so if you have a TT, CD and Blue Tooth Adapter, you will only be able to hook up any two of the three at one time to the B1 Korg.
You could add a third set of RCA inputs to the B1, but I would not recommend that on the orginal build, maybe down the road as you gain experience.
As to good speakers for ACA, I am sure a number of folks on this forum have some to recommend. Again, realize that 8 watts is not going to power low sensitivity speakers to high decibel levels.
Have fun.
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If you do not require a lot of antique sources like FM tuners or tape recorders, two analogue inputs should be enough.
One input for a turntable. As mentioned above a so-called RIAA preamplifier goes between the turntable and the B1. Alternatively get a turntable with this amplifier built in.
The other input is fed by a DAC. DACs come with a selection of digital inputs; S/PDIF on coax and optical, USB. You can connect your PC via USB, your CD player via coaxial and the above mentioned BT receiver via optical.
Note that if you play Hi-Rez disks on a BluRay player you might want to connect that via analogue directly to the B1 as the digital output will most likely not support Hi-Rez, and absolutely not DSD (SACD disks). HiRez conversion only take place inside the player.
One input for a turntable. As mentioned above a so-called RIAA preamplifier goes between the turntable and the B1. Alternatively get a turntable with this amplifier built in.
The other input is fed by a DAC. DACs come with a selection of digital inputs; S/PDIF on coax and optical, USB. You can connect your PC via USB, your CD player via coaxial and the above mentioned BT receiver via optical.
Note that if you play Hi-Rez disks on a BluRay player you might want to connect that via analogue directly to the B1 as the digital output will most likely not support Hi-Rez, and absolutely not DSD (SACD disks). HiRez conversion only take place inside the player.
All very interesting, thank you both.
Number of inputs not really a problem - I don’t have a turntable (yet). Though that’s not stopped me getting hold of a Haglabs Bugle 2 kit and a Chvrches LP 😃
Started looking into BT receivers, more out of idle curiosity really. Then wanted to just shut that box as quickly as possible; it seems AAC either isn’t too well regarded, or there aren’t too many
BT receivers that specialise in that. Whole load on ASR here about that. What a minefield!
I could stream directly from my iPhone with an Apple DAC dongle thing, which I have, and a 3.5mm to twin RCA lead. But wireless really is more convenient. Hmm..
In terms of speakers, I’ll have to think. Don’t care too much about absolute volume. High sensitivity = lower impedance?
Number of inputs not really a problem - I don’t have a turntable (yet). Though that’s not stopped me getting hold of a Haglabs Bugle 2 kit and a Chvrches LP 😃
Started looking into BT receivers, more out of idle curiosity really. Then wanted to just shut that box as quickly as possible; it seems AAC either isn’t too well regarded, or there aren’t too many
BT receivers that specialise in that. Whole load on ASR here about that. What a minefield!
I could stream directly from my iPhone with an Apple DAC dongle thing, which I have, and a 3.5mm to twin RCA lead. But wireless really is more convenient. Hmm..
In terms of speakers, I’ll have to think. Don’t care too much about absolute volume. High sensitivity = lower impedance?
Working beautifully 😁 Now just to box it up. Since it's my first drawn pcb i feel quite proud, and a big hats down to pops for making this project happen. It's for all those that wanted to put bigger caps, 270r resistor (way less heat from it now), and larger footprint resistors overall. Fixing the jumper required for this version into trace now that i know it works properly, and if @Nelson Pass doesn't mind i'll put gerber here as well as BOM. I have few matched j113's i can send out to someone who decides to build it. As well as marks filter pcbs.
Big props to @Mark Johnson for filter, i haven't implemented it directly onto the pcb due to versatility (and size, tried to keep it small as possible), but i have implemented your recommended uhw nichicons onto the board and they rock. Even with all of these caps on board, it makes such a difference 💪🏻
Video link
https://files.fm/f/acatqn793
Big props to @Mark Johnson for filter, i haven't implemented it directly onto the pcb due to versatility (and size, tried to keep it small as possible), but i have implemented your recommended uhw nichicons onto the board and they rock. Even with all of these caps on board, it makes such a difference 💪🏻
Video link
https://files.fm/f/acatqn793
If the Aleph J amp is a high current drawing amp, even at rest, the dim bulb tester will never go out, depending on the wattage bulb you're using. As far as the one set of LEDs staying on after power off that just may reflect the slow bleed off of the charged PS capacitors you have (you do have 8x22000uF per Aleph J board). Still best to take your question to the Aleph J build forum
cheers,
pete
Here you go. A lot of tinkering in this thing of mine. It has a bit of nutube and a bit of b1.
It goes like this: b4 input selector and contorol of a separate pot in shunt configuration - voltage divider to reduce red book to 1.5v for the nutube - korg neb-2 board - on the board lme49860 to nutube, the board has 4 levels of distortion and another pair of opamps - pot - complementary b1 - 2.1 active crossover with opa2134s.
All supplies css and somewhere ldo.
Wires plain.
All signal caps mkp (changed on neb-2).
Nutube board has a bypass and 4 levels of distortion, I made a true bypass for the crossover so the device has a lot of configurations.
I went for 0,3% nutube distortion, "normal" phase (not sure) and the crossover is on 99,99%
Well, I'm a dumb ***. I shorted the 332K ohm resister at the lower left corner of the board to the board mounting hole. Unit was on. It sparked, and now I lost the left channel. Any thoughts as to what I blew up? Unit still powers on, makes the zip sound in both channels turning on. Blue lights on the Nutube.
Where do I start? I am not an electronics guy.
Thanks,
Where do I start? I am not an electronics guy.
Thanks,