http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/ en Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:52:10 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.head-fi.org/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/ http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/239-ipod-touch-review.html Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:49:23 GMT Welcome to my humble, oft-posted-in blog,

I've held off posting anything for a while since last post because I said I would try out the iPod touch for which I traded in my Creative ZVM. I've had a chance to explore the various nooks and crannies within the iPod touch, and this blog post will be my attempt to educate the internet world on my experience with the touch.



First off, I wanted to challenge a comment I made before getting the touch. I told some friends that I thought the iPod video was the best portable digital media player available on the market (at least for what I like in a PDMP). One friend asked what I would do if I got an iPod touch, and I said I'd sell it to get an iPod video. It's got great space (up to 80GB, or even 120GB for a premium), is Rockbox-compatible, plays video, and most importantly, is diyMod-capable. As it turned out, the opportunity presented itself, a chance to sell the iPod touch for an iPod video. The lineout on my ZVM broke, so I traded it in for warranty at Best Buy. It had a whopping value of 380 CAD, which is just perfect for an iPod touch 16GB. When told I had such a trade-in value, I asked if they had any iPod videos kicking around in the back, a mere 6 months or so after Apple released all these new toys. They didn't, so I "settled" with an iPod touch 16GB for 370 CAD+tax. I would have gotten something nice for the extra 10 bucks, but the cashier girl didn't want to bother going through the whole process of returning the iPod touch and buying it again with an additional product :(.

I headed home, and announced my new purchase to my family. My dad got really jealous and wanted to trade me his iPod 5G 60GB. I told him I'd consider it and proceeded to load it up with music. I had plenty of videos to upload, but they were not in MPEG4/h.264 format. I didn't want to bother converting it all, though I've since converted and uploaded a few. My music collection weighs in at a mere ~9.5GB, so the whole 16GB cap doesn't bother me just yet. What does annoy me is that I can't put all my videos and music on at the same time, so I have to juggle between videos I feel like watching. I guess that's a small taste of what 'shuffle' and 'nano' owners have to put up with.



SQ-wise, it sounds pretty decent, but not up to par with my diyMod 4G (Rubycon Black Gate NX Hi-Q 47uF). I compared both on my Millett MAX and "Grado SR60s", and bass is severely lacking on the 'touch' compared to the 4G. I like the bass to be a bit bloated, which is one reason I moved from 22uF BGs to 47uF. Despite the SQ change, I have almost completely stopped using my 4G. More on that later. I rip all my music to LAME MP3 320kbps CBR via EAC, and that helps to keep things to a minimum capacity. I know, I know, FLAC and Rockbox and everything, but until I find a compelling reason to re-rip everything (as small a collection as it is), I'll stick to the MP3s. But on to the 'touch'. Initially, I didn't want to play with it much since I had a BSE in the mail, but I did anyway. It came with a protective screen on the front anyway, so I relied on that until the skin came in.

I had always known that the iPod touch could be jailbroken because I remember it being breaking news back in the days of FW v1.1.1. Now, iPhones and iPod touches are up to 1.1.4, and apparently it makes a big difference which FW you use. Since the couple weeks that I did unlock this mother, it has become a completely painless process to unlock/jailbreak the iPhones/touches thanks to Yuri of ZiPhone renown. Quite simply, you hook up your iPod touch, click the 'Jail Break' button, and you just wait a bit. From there, you get an App on your Springboard (the main screen, app-handling program, basically the thing you get when you click the home button) called Installer, which is your portal to all those sweet programs those computer science/computer engineer/software engineer/nerds come up with. The way you get them is by adding a source in the "Source" section, then click on the "Install" button, and then you are given a list of apps that are contained within those sources. A source is a website link whose address is input into the Source section, and programmers upload their apps into those sources, or repositories. I'm not clear on the full process, but that's the skinny. The whole jail breaking community is pretty good about helping out new members, from what I've seen, and there are dozens of useful YouTube tutorial videos that can help you along the process of jailbreaking. Google can elaborate, should you really care to learn more. Anyway, my experience with jailbreaking was pretty horrible, but now that it's pretty painless, it shouldn't be a problem for any newcomers.

Anyway, I played with my 'touch' for a mere 5 days before letting it sit on the table and collect dust while USPS' and Canada Post's super slow international shipping brought in my fingerprint repellent. I really liked the multi-touch interface, as it felt really natural and the transition was almost seamless coming from my Palm Treo 680. I want to emphasize the natural aspect of the touch screen, because I think it's a really big deal how intuitive it is. It doesn't take long for the user to understand the power of the screen-throwing ability of the interface, because reading long threads on head-fi can be problematic with such a small screen. Nevertheless, after using the 'touch' for a bit, it seemed like everything I read was supposed to be thrown upward if I wanted to advance in my reading. I tried it on my Treo 680, without thinking, and all it did was select text. My phone uses a push screen, the ones where there are little thingies that respond to where you touch. What a difference there is between the capacitive multi-touch and the push screen! Surfing the interweb on Safari is surprisingly painless as one attempts to tap such tiny links. You don't even have to zoom in most of the time if you want to click the smaller links that would require a stylus on other screens. HowStuffWorks has a nice section explaining the iPod touch interface. Because of the awesome multi-touch screen, I'm currently waiting for the chance I can ditch my Treo and grab an iPhone to reduce the number of devices in my pocket, which brings me to my next section.



One purpose of smartphones is to pack a bunch of devices into a small package, like word processors, calculators, calendars, spreadsheets, et cetera. One element that places the iPod touch and iPhone above the competition is the fiercely loyal fan base, where this strange joy and energy aid in the proliferation of great applications - and it's free to boot. I could get a bunch of games and other sweet programs from Palm for my Treo, but they all cost something, and at the prices they're charging, they better be darned flawless compared to the free ones I'm getting on my 'touch'. The apps on the 'touch' can be updated, so if anything is wrong with it, I can complain to the programmer or just sit back and wait until the other complainers motivate him/her to improve it. I've never really installed much on my Treo besides a drawing program and a few games, but with the iPod touch, it seems difficult to hold oneself back from installing everything. The Wi-fi connection is sometimes faster than on my laptop at the same distance from the router, but it's a toss up depending on the time of day. Installed on my touch are

- Summerboard (applies themes to Springboard)
- MPG (keeps track of my car's fuel expenditure)
- Sketches (drawing program that makes use of the multi-touch feature)
- MxTube (downloads YouTube videos)
- NES, SNES, and Genesis emulators (obvious :p)
- weDict (dictionary app that allows you to select which dictionary/dictionaries you want to use)
- AcceleroLog (lets you see the accelerometer's x, y, and z values)
- Metronome (I drum, so why not?)
- iSolitaire (easier than playing in real life)
- GuitarTuner (for those odd moments when I don't have my tuning fork on me)
- BounceApp (useless app that bounces a picture around the screen depending on how you tilt the iPod)
- Marble (game where you tilt the touch and send a marble through obstacle courses)
- BBSudoku (Sudoku accessed through the internet, fitted to the iPod's screen; check out http://www.freeverse.com/iphone/sudoku/)
- AirHockey (one or two players)
- Convert (obvious and awesome)

There are way more apps, and they all have their niche markets. I'd install more and use the current ones more if I could access the university's wireless internet on my 'touch', but that's what my laptop is for (it's an encryption thing). The point is that one has "the veritable pick of the litter of [apps] that have no idea how to please you" (Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Star Wars: The Attack of the Clones). Consider it the RockBox of the iPod touch, though they are quite different.

Basically, the touch screen and sweet apps have turned me off the diyMod 4G, which I barely have any use for anymore. I plan to diyMod the iPod touch as well, but that will have to wait as my current iPod prying tools are incapable of opening it. I could use more scratch-inducing tools, but I want to trade this for an iPhone some day, so I'm going to have to take good care of it. This time, Apple has opted to use Wolfson's WM8758 chip, the same one in the iPod video. Once I realized this, I decided I probably am not going to get the iPod video, though that storage space is mighty tempting.



You're probably wondering what gripes I have about this thing, and though I may come off as an Apple fanboy, I do have some honest reservations about this iPod. You already know how I feel about the storage capacity: I want more so I can put more videos on it. It's a bit thin, making it somewhat difficult to hold. A friend has an iPhone, which is a bit more natural in the hand. SQ is not quite what I'd like it to be; bass is lacking. There aren't any spreadsheet programs yet available to the public. That's how I keep record of my workouts (which is one of main uses of this sucker), but since the 'touch' doesn't have any spreadsheets, I have to use my phone. There's nothing like strolling through the gym and having people stare at your pockets and wonder what's inside. It's flattering, yes, but uncalled for. Aside from that, I can't really think of what else bothers me about this thing. The BSE is all nice and laced up, though there is a glaring mark on the front now (at least it wasn't on the glass right?) that won't go away. I'll report more when I actually diyMod this thing and really unleash its value. Until then. ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/239-ipod-touch-review.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/217-zvm-dead-ipod-touch.html Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:48:12 GMT

So I got an iPod touch now. I know I've said in the past that if I got an iPod touch, I would sell it right away to get an iPod video, IMO, the best portable digital media player in existence so far. Then when Best Buy didn't have an iPod 5.5G for which I could trade my dead ZVM, I settled for the iPod touch.



Now, the reasons for wanting the iPod video are as follows: customizable firmware, non-iTunes syncing/Rockboxability, decent sound chip, decent capacity and other things along those lines that I can't think of right now. Anyway, driving home from the Best Buy, I figured I would just sell or trade this on the FS forums. Then I got to thinking: I already use iTunes to sync my current iPods, the video and the touch both share the same sound chip, the touch has that cool internet feature, the touch screen still is really cool. Anyway, I'm going to see how I like this mother and if it doesn't fit my needs, I'll just sell or trade it for an iPod video. Sounds simple enough, right? But darn it all if it isn't already growing on me. I probably won't ever use the video feature because I sit in front of my laptop a good portion of my life, and now my album art stickler-icity will finally pay off (my 3G and 4G don't show these things :().



Now all I need is some BSE.

Cheerio. ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/217-zvm-dead-ipod-touch.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/195-fixed-tread-star-quads-diymod-dac-amp-cancelled.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:05:50 GMT I just finished my first Star Quad LOD. It's constructed with one of those destructible and reconstructible iPod docks (model A), Canare Star Quad L-4E6S and Canare F12, all from Markertek. They didn't include my heatshrink, so I'll have to give them a call. What fun. I didn't know whether or not to include the springy strain relief since it'd be more usable without it while messing with the wire or it would save the wire and not be as usable. I went with the 'the save wire' option, though I'm sure I'll come to regret it in some way. It feels so much more professional than clipping off the ends of generic mini-minis and wiring them into iPod docks.
Heft is the best.



I also fixed my TREAD for my PIMETA. I don't know what kind of sound difference it makes. Peace of mind. Now I can use any centre positive DC supply that doesn't kill my LM317 and AD8620/AD8610. Huzzah! It's all sitting inside my Hammond 1455J12, quite a nice fit. I just need aluminum standoffs to stabilize it all. While I was at it, I made another Sijosae discrete BUF634 buffer drop-in replacement. The right channel's old one didn't work, so I had to whip up a new one. I have a BUF634 in the GND slot cause I don't have enough appropriate value resistors to make another discrete buffer. I think I've figured out how to make them without any soldering. I prefer to, but should the occasion arise, I could do it. How useful.

Yesterday, I decided to not move forward with the diyMod DAC/amp. While reflecting on life, the idea popped into my head that the Headamp Pico pretty much does everything I wanted the DAC/amp to do except for portable iPod external DAC use. If I got one, I would just open it up and hardwire the appropriate wires. I guess I could go forward with the design with the knowledge in the back of my mind that I'd eventually and essentially end up with a Pico. Should I move forward with the learning experience and see what pops up? Hm.

Yay, Arrested Development movie is moving forward. I can't wait. ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/195-fixed-tread-star-quads-diymod-dac-amp-cancelled.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/167-pimeta-max-diymods.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:22:34 GMT Greetings,

How are you doing? Great, I'm fine. Thank you. How are your parents? Are you still in trouble with your lady friend? I'm so sorry to hear. Things will get better.

The main motivation for this blog is to proclaim the awesome sound of my PIMETA. It's my laptop-when-at-home rig, that way I don't have to drag my MAX all the way from my bed to my desk to listen to some higher quality music. I wonder about the sound of the MAX though, as I'm in love with the sound of the PIMETA. What's the setup, my grasshopper asks? Well, violin-serenading creature of dusk, I just popped in the AD8620 I purchased from souperman some time ago, and it's sitting in there with the AD8610 in the ground. I built discrete buffers a la Sijosae with 2N5087s and 2N5088s which are sitting in the left and right channels.



I jumpered the ground channel buffer. I have the parts to build the third one, but it's such a hassle matching those transistors. Another time. Right now, I love the taut bass I'm getting from my PIMETA. The MAX has been refurnished with Nichicon Muse ES and Russian PIO K42Y I grabbed from beezar (thanks, TomB), and though it presents plenty of bass, it isn't as punchy or defined as the PIMETA's. I'm housing it in the Hammond 1455J12 in which I used to have my RA-1 Clone, but since I came to despise that design (Solens took up so much space for so little effect on the sound), I dismantled it and took away its parts. The PIMETA's bass is both deep and controlled, imaging everything appropriately for that immersion effect. The amp contrasts the quiet and loud passages very well, something I've never considered before. Boy, did Tangent get things right with this opamp combo.

Sourcing my PIMETA is the diyMod 3G I recently obtained and modded. It's interesting how God works, as it's the same iPod 3G my friend had some years ago where I thought, "Wow, wouldn't it be nice to have that some day?" 2 years later, I get the exact one for which I was pining. I love the lack of traditional buttons, the red button backlight, the retro -- it's all so beautiful. Only God, eh? My friend texted me one day, "My iPod broke. I'll give it to you for $50." I've become somewhat the "iPod junkyard" for my friends thanks to Facebook and MSN. Turns out his hard drive failed, so I replaced the 15GB Toshiba with the 20GB hard drive from my dead iPod 4G. It was quite the squeeze getting it in, but somehow it did. Now I've got a sleeper iPod, diyModded and with upgraded hard drive. Oh yeah. On that topic, I just diyModded also another iPod video for another member. I'm not a MOT yet, so I can't charge him anything more than shipping and duties and what not. I'm waiting on another iPod, this time it comes with SR60s with it, which I am giving to older brother. I have this odd generosity/wastefulness when it comes to my builds. So far, I've bought him a set of ER4Ps, built him a Mini^3 and PIMETA, gave him a set of KSC75 and now SR60s, not to mention I got him UE super.fi 3 Studios some time ago, which he traded (through me, of course) for a Samsung YP-Z5. Then I gave my dad another Mini^3 after giving him the PIMETA that now belongs to my older brother. I love sharing my interests with others. Some of my friends think I'm a nerd for doing all this amp-building, but I don't care because I can share with them the sweet sounds of my rig. On Thursday, I'm slated to bring my gear to my pastor's house for small group night and share with everything the stuff I've been talking about for the past few months. I'm so excited.

Trying to further the diyMod tradition, I am trying to design a DAC/amp for the iPod, knowing full well that it already has a DAC in it. I'm hoping to use the Wolfson WM8740, one of the flagship DACs that is also used in the Twisted Pear Audio Opus DAC. I've never designed anything like this before, so I'm hoping I learn loads from it. Right now, I'm deciding on which amp to incorporate into the design. It has to be some sort of SMD-capable design that makes using the awesome DAC worthwhile. I wonder if I can make some sort of SMD PIMETA. Muaha. Once I considered putting an amp right after the DAC, I thought of the PPAS. That thing is crazy small. It fits into an Altoids case with two 9Vs. I'll sort things out slowly and maybe surely, but this is neither the place nor the time. I can discuss that I want it to be a portable solution. I haven't done of the hard work of routing the wires from the chip to the dock, but I'm holding that off for as long as possible. This project is probably the biggest I've ever had. I was thinking of getting on the B22 ship, but it seems I need to focus a little more on fewer things, thus theoretically increasing my progress and success. All the while, I'll enjoy the stock DAC with my PIMETA.

Pees out. ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/167-pimeta-max-diymods.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/145-pimeta-cased-up.html Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:03:00 GMT Morning, As indicated by the title, yes, I have finally cased up my PIMETA. School started yesterday, and what with only having 3 hours of class,... Morning,

As indicated by the title, yes, I have finally cased up my PIMETA. School started yesterday, and what with only having 3 hours of class, I got home early and was strapped for things to do. In no particular order, my brother and I shared some time together watching "Two and a Half Men" with the beloved and charming Charlie Sheen, I took a quick nap, grabbed some things to nibble on, those things you do when you're really bored at home. Anyway, after my nap, I got up and felt like accomplishing stuff. I promised myself to finish a whole whackload of projects during the Christmas break, and while I did get the PIMETA to finally work, I didn't get around to actually putting it inside of anything. I think I'll call it the ProcastIMETA. From May till now, I had yet to finish that PIMETA, and it took two full re-orders to actually get it to work. There was that dumb input pad mixup I had earlier, which may have committed on the first two PIMETAs. These things you learn when you finally ask, am I right? Anyway, on to the glamour shots.









I don't have very much colour selection for hook up wire. :o

What a pain it was casing up this badboy. I had to cycle between drill bit sizes, Dremel tips, solder this, cut and snip that; very frustrating when you don't have the correct tools. I got the case from my brother, for whom my mom's friend in France bought a watch at the airport. He didn't use it, and it's been sitting in my room as a possible amp casing for the past year. I normally kept screws and nuts in there since it closed up nicely and I knew I wouldn't lose them. I have since filled the opening with an old Versace glasses case. Anyway, that plastic didn't Dremel very well, so ideally the lid will be closed most of the time. Also, recognize the knob? I guess it isn't finished in the sense that I haven't added a switch or an on/off LED yet. For some reason, I stray from LEDs. I really don't know why. Nevertheless, my dad is the owner of this fine PIMETA, and I am finally relieved of my promise to him. He probably won't ever listen to it, but at least he has something to show off to his friends when he goes on his numerous world travels. Unless he doesn't bring it along...

It's somewhat sad to be parting with the ProcastIMETA because I never got a chance to get to know it. In any case, we can finally put this matter to bed. That's what she said. ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/145-pimeta-cased-up.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/131-vsps-updates-other-projects.html Sat, 29 Dec 2007 23:26:48 GMT Cheemo, I just finished building an RJM Audio Very Simple Phono Stage (VSPS) (http://www.geocities.com/rjm003.geo/rjmaudio/diy_pho5.html). That... Cheemo,

I just finished building an RJM Audio Very Simple Phono Stage (VSPS). That was a very successful build. Also, with the help of the DIY forum members, I finished my PIMETA. Currently, I have only the Mini^3s to finish up, while everything needs to be cased. I'm still burning in the Black Gates in my new diyMod 4G click wheel, and my MHM's BGs haven't fully burned in yet either. Right now, my diyMod 4G is feeding the Mini^3 into the Jonathan Grado SR60s, none of which I have finished modding. I intend to hit up Martech Marketing soon about the beyer headbands that are impossible to source. Recabling will come down the line, and perhaps a woodifying if I can find someone who can pull it off. The Mini^3 parts from amb haven't come yet, so I'm still waiting to fit in the battery to start portify my rig. What fun this break has been so far. Now I just need to work to pay it all off.

Right now, the PIMETA and VSPS need cases, and I have to get supplies to finish off my diyMod's LOD. I still have to roll some other caps in the MHM, and I'm ordering some BG NX bypass caps to see how bypassing works with the other BGs. The PIMETA is the apple of my eye at the moment since I haven't gotten it to work for so long. I have four 220uF caps on the power rails, but I want to swap in some 470uFs I have in my failed PIMETA. I think I've updated as much as I need to. As usual, stay tuned. ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/131-vsps-updates-other-projects.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/119-no-i-didnt-forget-i-had-blog.html Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:03:42 GMT Greetings, Finals have passed away for me a little less than a week ago (may they rest in peace), which explains the lack of posting. I have been... Greetings,

Finals have passed away for me a little less than a week ago (may they rest in peace), which explains the lack of posting. I have been doing stuff, nevertheless, and I have much to report this time. What have I done in the past while? In no particular order, I built one of two Mini^3s, pimped out my MH MAX with some BGs and 1800uF Pannies, destroyed two diyMods and built another with BGs, built another PIMETA that again is screwing me like a geisha, and just general updating on the diyMod original post. Let's explore some of these happenings.

Mini^3. I forgot to order some stuff, but amb was nice enough to sell me whatever I needed. Note to self: order what you need. When I'm grabbing stuff off Mouser or Digikey, understandably I pick up a little extra in case I destroy or lose a part. With the way Digikey's resistor orders go, I had to pick up 10 of every resistor. While I was at it, I thought, "Hm, I might as well pick up enough for two boards." And that's the reason I have two boards. I'm deciding between giving one to my dad or to my brother, since they both listen to music in their regular work outs. I already promised my dad the PIMETA, but that never seems to want to work for me. As I was sitting around, hoping someone would get me the materials I needed to complete my first board (this was before amb generously offered to), I figured, "Hey, might as well try if it works." Sure enough it did. I only get maybe 1mV or 2mV DC offset per channel, which I wonder if the other parts will correct. I forgot to get all of 12 0.1uF multilayer capacitors, small enough C3a and C3b 100uF electrolytics, and D4 for the charging circuit. Plus, the knob I got was the one I hate the most. It's the one with the rubber rings around the end. I hate the way they look, and especially so since everyone has one. I must have picked up the wrong one. I actually ordered when studying for one of my finals, so I guess the stress and time restraint combined to mess with my judgment. I actually picked up three knobs, two for the Mini^3s and one for "you never know what you'll need it for." I burnt it in a couple dozen hours, so it's getting along nicely. I guess one of the drawbacks of this design is that you can't tweak the sound as much as you can with others. I haven't read the entirety of the Mini^3 thread part 1 at headwize, but I can't imagine doing much to alter the sound in this tried and true design. It seems like a fabric, where everything is interwoven into the other so that if something is missing, the rest of the design is weakened. From my initial impressions, the highs and lows aren't as forward, though it has a very spacious sound. For the most part, I chose to make this amp because of where it fits into the audio world: a small amp that can be recharged. On paper this is quite the amp, but soundwise I wasn't all that impressed. Alas, the sacrifices we make. I also haven't put in the battery either since that part of the circuit is complete. Not to mention the C3a and C3b caps I substituted for now won't allow a 9V to fit onto the super cool battery contacts. I think my soldering work on this amp was my best yet. Heat the pad and lead at the same time, touch the solder onto the pad or lead, not the gun. The solder flowed nicely to the top of the board nicely on most of my joints, so I'm happy I'm improving. I also learned why Tangent, in his flux removal video tutorial, takes so long to clean the board. I put maybe a couple minutes into my alcohol brushing, and my board is still sticky and gross. I have to clean it again later. I'll stop dumping my thoughts and move on to another amp.

While I was ordering from Digikey, I figured I could stock up on parts for my other projects. I picked up some stuff for my MAX, which was due for a tune-up. I finally settled on the sound beforehand, which I dubbed my Millett Hybrid MAX Vol. 1, but it was partly an eyesore and partly a disgrace to MAXes everywhere. I used Solen bypass caps just cause they were around, not-so-boutique Panasonic FCs at CA2 and CA7, and my CA4 and CA5 were grossly underspeced. To rectify the situation, I picked up the 1800uF Panasonic FMs recommended on the new MAX BOM and some Black Gates at parts conneXion. I intended to get the Black Gates to make something similar to the Can't Miss Build #1 on the MAX site, so while I was at parts conneXion, I also picked up some BGs for diyModding. More on that later. Right now, I'm just burning in the Black Gates and waiting for the bloom. My entire setup has changed, so meaningful sonic impressions will have to wait. Bass and treble extension has increased, though impact and forwardness have been decreased. Can you ever get both bass extension and impact at the same time? I guess you probably can, but I only have one at a time with the MAX, it seems. I picked up Standard Black Gates for both boutique positions, one at 25V and the other at 50V, both at 1000uF. Turns out that the leads on the 50V one are too thick to fit into the board's holes, so now they are floating in midair thanks to some 22AWG solid core SPC. I removed the TRS input jack too. What was I thinking? Only guitars output through quarter inch jacks. RCAs ftw!

diyModding. Boy, what a ride it has been. We are now sitting at 15,155 views and climbing. I think for the past while we've been averaging 1000 hits a day. I'm very glad about this. I actually fried one of my diyMod boards by removing an inductor that was not to be removed, so I was in need of another. Luckily, a friend supplied me with a dead one, which was actually very easily fixed. I like his better because it feels much smoother in the hand overall. I put my Black Gate caps inside the iPod, so regular line outs can enjoy the purer sound of the diyMod. Right now I'm burning in both the Millett Hybrid MAX (not Vol. 2 just yet) and the diyMod 4G click wheel. 200 hours is just under 2 weeks of straight playing, so maybe after a month or more it'll be ready. As for destroying two diyMods, I accidentally ripped off the pads for the other diyMod, which is incredibly annoying as another logic board at ifixit is $120. I wonder if I can fix it some other way before resorting to that. Alas, keep checking the original post because I keep updating it. If we're so fortunate, we can get a diyMod nano 2G underway, as well as a diyMod mini 1G and more.

Moving onto a less successful build, my PIMETA is sitting across the room putting out no music. I think I built it's pretty cleanly built, so I wonder if the BUF634s are dead. I tried bypassing the ground channel entirely, but that didn't fix it. The right channel isn't giving any sound when the left channel is. I tried rolling opamps and buffers but no combination has worked so far. Must get help thread on the way.

So that's been the past couple weeks in a nutshell. I'm very excited to get my Mini^3 up and running so that I can rock out with my diyMod 4G + Mini^3 + Shure E4/Jonathan Grado SR60/Koss KSC75 setup. Alas, Christmas lunch calls, so have a Merry Christmas everyone. ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/119-no-i-didnt-forget-i-had-blog.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/66-tread-ra-1-clone-summary-builds.html Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:07:13 GMT Hello Blog Creeper,

I just finished a TREAD in the past little while. It wasn't so bad. One of my fastest builds. Thanks, Tangent, for the awesome kit. It's sitting at around 14.4V. I'll probably kick that up a notch once the PIMETA gets under way. I housed it in a wallwart and I intend to use it for a PIMETA that's in the works.



Currently the only thing I can test it with is my RA-1 Clone, which has had some pleasant results. I expected to hear more bass, and that's what I got. I originally had an OPA2107 in the socket, but I figured it would be a pretty good time to throw in the JRC4556AD. What a surprising sound! The highs are pretty clear, the sound balanced, the bass pretty plentiful and punchy. I was not expecting this kind of signature. I liked the 2107 for its punch, but now I'm not so sure I prefer it over the 4556. Yes, I know it is found at the RatShack and really cheap desktop speaker systems, but the sound is what counts. Based purely on sound, I'd say this opamp isn't that bad. Then again, I'm not well-exposed in opamps. Back to the other hand, I like this sound. Maybe the RA-1 wasn't such a waste of time after all. Socketing in the OPA2107 may have been a mistake. I'm quite sure that the $500 RA-1 isn't quite up to par with larryminator's or Killercrush's $500 Melos SHA-1s, but it sounds nice for what it really is.

I have built some things over the months. Find out what they are at Post pics of your builds... Page 135 at post 2693 and 2694. I'd link the posts directly but I don't want to keep you from seeing the other amazing works on the page, like vixr's prototype tube amp. Enjoy :D ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/66-tread-ra-1-clone-summary-builds.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/6-head-fi-outage-beyerdynamic-cs-troubles-diy-fun.html Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:23:15 GMT Good to be back.

So I've been modding my Grado SR60s. I want a beyer DT770/880 headband for them to replace that annoying vinyl strap. I tried to get them from beyerdynamic USA, butthey wouldn't deal with me. They then directed me to Martech Marketing in Edmonton. I tried them several times and they essentially could not get me the headband so far. I talked to beyer USA about it and they agreed to deal with me if I was willing to pay the shipping.
Considering they deal with Fedex and UPS, I'm not sure that'd be a good idea. Since Martech is in town, I will try just driving over there and seeing what's up. Details to follow.

I finished my CMoy RA-1 Clone. I lost the JRC4556 opamps I got from Mouser, but I modified the circuit enough that I didn't really care that the opamp was the OPA2107. It didn't have the bass slam I remembered from before. I had a misconception about the PINT LM317-based trickle charging circuit that resulted in exploded batteries. I haven't bothered to get new batteries yet, so I haven't used it yet. I suppose I will use it until I can get my hands on parts for a Mini3.

Following is a story about the blessings from heaven in the form of a free iPod 4G. A friend was about to toss it in the garbage since the hard drive was acting up. I opened her up, stuck in a flap of paper, and replaced the battery with a 1200mAh unit from eBay. Motivated by this ipastudio thread, I thought I had very little to lose in emulating that mod as my Creative Zen Vision:M was pulling full-duty portable music provider. I don't have any photos right now, but studying the datasheet for the iPod 4G's WM8975 (which according to iPodlinux.org/Generations is similar to the WM8971) and studying the logic board, I was able to get the audio feed straight from the DAC. I drilled a hole through the backplate, wired two 220uF Nichicon UPWs in series with a stereo jack cased in a Tic-Tac and electric-taped to the backplate, and now it's feeding my Millett MAX with newly installed Toshiba 2SC3422/2SA1359 BJTs. Quite an impressive combo. The breadth of my headphone experience isn't vast by any means on this forum, but this configuration is the best music I've ever heard. Not bad for about five-six hours of work. The way I have it now, I can swap out caps for purposes of achieving the best sound. Black Gates are hypothetically on the way. A 1uF film cap was recommended on the datasheet. I've summed up this glorious source in this sentence:

The diyMod: a free player with a $12 battery, $4 DAC, $0.21 caps, and a $0.87 phone jack.

Praise the LORD. I love the diyMod He's given me. ]]> joneeboi http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/joneeboi/6-head-fi-outage-beyerdynamic-cs-troubles-diy-fun.html