DIY Sony VFET Builders thread

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I’m thinking of using some quick disconnects for front end boards to facilitate swapping them. Something like this if they fit.

I think you'll be pleased with what you see, if you download the Gerbers and then slurp them into Gerber Viewer software. There are dozens of free Viewer programs; the one I happen to like (a) runs in your browser so there's nothing to download; (b) doesn't require you to register or give your email address. It is www dot pcbxprt dot com ... but as I say there are MANY alternatives.

When viewing the Gerbers you'll see that S,B,M,D use Euroblox terminals** for external I/O, and in parallel, big drill holes for soldered wire connections if you prefer hard-wired.

You can grab the part numbers of those Euroblox components from the Detailed Parts List. Their datasheets will tell you the pin-to-pin spacing and the footprint size, so you can choose your own alternative connector(s) to fit into the PCB. Maybe you want finger-push-spring Euroblox instead of screw cage. Maybe you want 45 degrees instead of zero degrees. Orange instead of light blue or dark green. After you discover the pin spacing and body size required, you can go on a shopping spree.

**Predictably, front end card R (elentless) uses the exact same terminals, but you can't view its Gerbers because they haven't been released
 
This amp will be rotated into my main system, which currently consists of a Naim NAC82 pre with a dual HiCap DR supply of my own construction, Naim CDX2 and NDX source components, also with a DIY XPS DR power supply. Vinyl is enjoyed via a VPI HW19 mkII or a Rega P3-24V, depending on RPM. Large format 45s are played on the Rega. Speakers are a venerable pair of Vandersteen 2C with the original lead-filled Sound Anchor stands. My Aleph J has replaced the Naim NAP 250 as the reference power amp, normally kept on 24/7 to sound its best.
 
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Im going to try and use my desktop speakers for this. They are mMar-Ken6 with the Mark Audio alpair6 for a driver. I have some larger fostex drivers from Planet 10 that need a home so I’ll be looking at plans and kits for them and hoping that will be a good match. For the pre I’m going to start with the Korg B1 I think.
This should make my dream of a complete diy system come pretty close to reality.
 
Hmm.... I will have to think about a system that goes with that fab amp!

I was thinking of using it in the living room, as my wife likes it, everybody could enjoy it... and my main audio system sadly doesn't match at all with this amp's spec. After all, it may get the most use like this!

So something non complicated, say Klipsch RP-8000F speakers if they turn out to be sonicaly compatible (worried about bass and HF sonic qualities). These speakers are VG VFM, quite good in fact, quite efficient and roughly 8R. I recommended them to a good friend and I could try the VFET amp at his first :). Source is likely to be just a good sounding DAC but with many connectivities for my wife (Blutooth & Co). No preamp is needed. Neat.

But first let's get the fun of the build, and the fun of the various options offered here kindly!

Exciting!

Claude
 
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I’m also lucky enough to be a winner, so many thanks to the team for putting this together. I’ve actually had some vfets sitting on a shelf (which are now being donated back to diyaudio), but a kit should provide me with enough momentum to get over the energy barrier to get something built and into my system.

I’ll be using these on some alnico Betsy, and being fed by a modified lxmini crossover/preamp at 80hz or so.
 
Hey builders! I am another lucky winner! Still finessing the details of the shipping, it's really expensive and want to avoid double taxes, so not yet made the purchase.

My plan is to fit this into my bedroom / tv system. Currently:
TV -> optical into -> Chord Qutest -> Whammy built as PRE -> ACA v1 5w -> Totem Kin Mini (no longer in production)

That should allow me to free the ACA and hook that into a couple of Schiit DAC and PRE with some older SONY speakers.

I would also look into my main system which is:

Rpi3 (Roon) -> coaxial into -> NuPrime DAC-10 -> NuPrime ST-10 -> Totem Rainmakers.

These are much nicer than the smaller Kins, the problem is that I am using both outputs of the DAC-10: RCAs for a SUB, and Balanced for the AMP. So, if I take the single ended RCAs into the new VFET, I'd need to work some magic to get audio into the SUB.

Also, they are 4Ohm more difficult to drive speakers, so the 10db + 10w of the VFET may not be enough, but we will see!

Really excited about this. Looking forward to learning more from the more experienced here and hopefully help a bit to the more novice builders (albeit there are probably very few less experienced than me).

Rafa.
 
Is this Meanwell PS terminal included in the kit?
If not, please advise part number for those who are just buying the kit so we can order ahead.
 

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I just got notice that my chassis has shipped. For some reason, the text of the message appears to be written in a Cyrillic alphabet. Same thing happened with the Ultimate 4U, 500mm deep chassis that I got a while back. Not what I would expect for a shipment from Italy, but the last one got here Ok.

The kit includes the SMPS brick power supply, so it is reasonable to assume that the DC inlet connector for the chassis will also be included. It looks like a 4-pin DIN style connector is the standard option for the -R7 version of the SMPS.