Starving Student II Headphone Amplifier

[pmillett]

Originally Posted by DualTriode

The install instructions call for R13 and R21 to be 1.4 watts.

Is this correct?

In the photos they look the same as all the 1/4 watt resistors.

Thanks DT

Sorry - fat fingers. '/' and '.' are right next to each other on the keyboard

[mpeg2]

Originally Posted by pmillett

That was pointed out to me by 6L6... on the next batch I made the pads bigger. Sorry about that!

Pete

Looks like I have to go back to the bench - a few oddities after a day of use: 1) Noticed that the turn on delay doesn't (hear a pop when first powered on - then about 10 min into listening, everything goes quiet for 10-15 sec). 2) Had one channel go completely silent (suspect an issue around one of the tubes).

I suspect some solder joint issues. Hard to actually see issues on inspection, so will trace out the circuit to find out where they are.

Most probably "operator" error.

Rich

[mpeg2]

Originally Posted by mpeg2

Looks like I have to go back to the bench - a few oddities after a day of use: 1) Noticed that the turn on delay doesn't (hear a pop when first powered on - then about 10 min into listening, everything goes quiet for 10-15 sec). 2) Had one channel go completely silent (suspect an issue around one of the tubes).

I suspect some solder joint issues. Hard to actually see issues on inspection, so will trace out the circuit to find out where they are.

Spent some time tracing out the circuit - no problems found. Reflowed a few suspect solder joints & all the tube socket connections.

Appears to be working perfectly now.

A little more careful listening (SSII -> ACA -> Klipsch Cornwalls - playing Grissman/Garcia CD) - really nice combination, combines really well with the ACA and provides plenty of drive.

I would definitely recommend the SSII/ACA combination.

Rich

[pmillett]

Originally Posted by mpeg2

Spent some time tracing out the circuit - no problems found. Reflowed a few suspect solder joints & all the tube socket connections.

Appears to be working perfectly now.

A little more careful listening (SSII -> ACA -> Klipsch Cornwalls - playing Grissman/Garcia CD) - really nice combination, combines really well with the ACA and provides plenty of drive.

I would definitely recommend the SSII/ACA combination.

Rich

Cool, glad it's working well for you.

Pete

[Dennis Hui]

I managed to build one today. Some of the pads on the pcb are
quite small so it would have been easier if I had thinner solder on hand.
Also it took a bit of effort for me to put the tubes in.

I'm currently trying it as a preamp after listing to its headphone
output for a couple hours. I encountered one minor issue. I
toughed the volume know and I felt a bit of static and both channels
went silent. Perhaps the relay was somehow triggered. Anyway,
after turning off and on, it is behaving ok again.

Dennis

[mpeg2]

Dennis: I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I had some issues building mine - I was using a very (very) old soldering iron with a suspect tip - I think some of the solder joints on the small pads (especially the ones connected to ground) were not good. I picked up a new soldering station (moved to the modern world) & carefully reflowed all of the solder joints - everything is fine now.

Rich

[MEPER]

The supplied Raytheon tubes are "made in Japan". Are those NOS? …..how old?

[MEPER]

I unpacked today and there was only one 47.5k resistor and no jumper sets. I checked several times. 47k I probably have in stock…...but jumpers are more tricky....

[aljordan]

I built one a few days ago. I also had trouble with soldering using my 20+ year old inexpensive soldering station, which worked fine on the other gear I built. After soldering the resistors I finally figured I was building enough audio gear to buy a better soldering station. That helped a lot, but I still had to check everything carefully, as some of the pads and holes are so small.

[aljordan]

Originally Posted by MEPER

I unpacked today and there was only one 47.5k resistor and no jumper sets. I checked several times. 47k I probably have in stock…...but jumpers are more tricky....

I think my jumper sets were in with the bag that included the relay.