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Going balanced with CKKIII

post #1 of 3
3/19/10 at 7:22pm
Thread Starter 
I'm planning to go balanced with my CKKIII. Thing is, not all my parts are the same. The resistors match, but some of my capacitors are Matsu****a (Panasonic) and the others are Nichicon. They all measure very close to the same, but will it make a difference in sound if I populate the two boards with different capacitors or resistors?
Might it just be better for me to sell one set and try and find some to match the other set?

As I understand it, the transistors make the most change in sound, so it's very important to have those be the same, right?

A last question; does it matter if I make one board control R+ and L+ and the other board R- and L-? Or is there some reason it's better to do R+ and R- on one and L+ and L- on the other?

Thanks for the help!
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post #2 of 3
3/19/10 at 8:13pm
Do you have a balanced source?

You may never hear any difference either way, but, I would always match components, and especially in the case of resistors, component values, on both boards. It just takes out a variable that could forever drive you nuts with more moving parts, so to speak.

In my experience, you want R (+-) and L (+-) as there can be impalances in the channels in the source or base material that you could adjust with discrete stereo pots (one each for R and L). If you are using a 4 deck pot, it won't matter, as there is simply a deck for each of the 4 'channels'.

Have a look at the wiring on the b22 on AMB Laboratories DIY Audio Site - he has an excellent wiring diagram that will avoid fail.
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post #3 of 3
3/19/10 at 9:40pm
Thread Starter 
The plan is to get a balanced source sometime over the summer.

I appreciate your insight, pabbi. I think I'll go with the R(+-) and L(+-) layout, even though I have a four-gang pot, just because it seems like the standard.

I think I'll put up the parts for sale and see how that goes. If it doesn't sell, maybe I'll put that together when I go home in the summer and test. If I can hear a difference, I can always just take one of the boards out and build another one with parts matching the one I left in...
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