Eddie Current Balancing Act - Page 71

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleheadMay 

I was wondering if anyone took any upgrades for their BA?

I took the pot upgrade to the RK15. Other than that, I don't think there are any other upgrades (not counting tubes).

When you connect the BA via the XLR inputs, does the fixed RCA "Loop" output work?

     Yes I think it does.  I once connected with the RCA loop (using BA as preamplifier) to the balanced

beta 22 and  it worked very well. I connected the XLR inputs from the Weiss DAC202 to the BA.

You don't have to turn on the BA to use the beta 22.

I was wondering if anyone took any upgrades for their BA?

      If you mean the PX25 modification and the BL63 modification : yes I did.  If you use the NOS PX25

you should go for it.  The modification will help the performance of the PX25 while the WE300B may sound

a little bit dry but still great sounding but the PX25 and equivalents will shine  .  I have used the Osram PX25,

Mazda PP5/400 , Radiotechnique F410+TF-B10, Tesla RD27AS with great results.   In fact I like it more than the 300B .

For the BL63 modification, not so much improvement as I use the BA to drive the LCD3 which I think 6SL7

is a better driver (BL63 has less gain than the ordinary 6SN7's so much less than the 6SL7's). May be the BL63

will pair better with the more sensitive headphone like the Grado's and R10 but I have no chance to try that.

Thanks, I will check with Craig into these mods.

The PX25 mod sounds interesting and a combination with a custom PX4/PX25 would be possible as Purin said.

I'll have to check on the RK15 pot as I only knew about the P&G pot.

Penny and Giles makes the pot.  Alternatively he could stick an Alps RK50 in if you supply it.  

Thanks, that's the one offered on his site then. He is also testing out a new Spectrum pot as I heard, an American brand. Not sure if he recommends it for the BA though, maybe only the Zana.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio_head 

Penny and Giles makes the pot.  Alternatively he could stick an Alps RK50 in if you supply it.  

When I was first working out the details of my order with Craig, I inquired about the RK50. Craig told me it wasn't possible. Hopefully a direct quote isn't a problem:

"I can not build the BA with the RK50. The shaft diameter is too large

 for the supplied knob, and the chassis plate has to be modified. If
 your source will be solid state use the Penny & Giles 10K control. It

 is every bit as good as the RK50. I use a very good control, but the

 P&G is better."

That's interesting. I took the P&G upgrade but if you look through pages ~29-32 of this thread you will see multiple users ordering RK50's for the Balancing Act.  He must have modded the chassis plate on those units individually and feels it's not worth it at this point, especially knowing how good the P&G is.   

I can definitely confirm Craig's finding on the RK50 not working with his knob.  I made a new knob myself for my RK50.

Quote:

Originally Posted by purrin 

KR PX25s are neutral without any hint of warm. Maybe even slightly cool.

That's encouraging and logistically is a preferable alternative to the 307A.

I have the RK50 and it works just fine, not sure what the problem is supposed to be.

i went with a Goldpoint stepped attenuator at Craig's recommendation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nspindel 

I have the RK50 and it works just fine, not sure what the problem is supposed to be.

Redrilling the topplate to fit the RK50 & Knob fit,So craig stopped offering the update.

Thanks for confirming.  That's what I assumed.  He said something similar about offering an AD1 version at this point (although I think he would still do it with a custom top plate for an extra $100.)

What  is AD1 version,   can we modify the 300B/PX4 to optimal sound of NOS AD1  like TFK,Valvo, Philips 4683

See discussions earlier in this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/407413/eddie-current-balancing-act/150#post_5967280.