Project Sunrise II Kit Review - Page 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by audio snob 

Ok great ordering it now. I am going to have to get a new iron, the one I have at the moment was very cheap and low end. Do you have any suggestions for a decent one?

The Weller WLC100 is a professional grade iron. Not cheap but it is adjustable temp and lots of different tips are available. You need a fine tip (conical) with meduim heat for building.

Mine is fvie years old; they last forever. The adjustable heat is great. Meduim for for PCB work and higher power connectors, jacks, etc. The fine tip helps reducing solder bridges when installing components that are close to each other like output FETS.

How much will I be looking at for a decent iron?

I hope to do more building after this. I think I'll make the investment but my dad might have one that I can use so I'll have to make sure of that first

Quote:

Originally Posted by audio snob 

Ok great ordering it now. I am going to have to get a new iron, the one I have at the moment was very cheap and low end. Do you have any suggestions for a decent one?

The power capacity (watts) is important.  If it is too high it melts the solder too quickly.  If it is too low it melts the solder too slowly.  For building audio cables I use a 45W soldering iron tool.  30W is too low and 60W it too high.  If the tool that you need for this task is the same, then a 45W or close to that, would be right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alberto01 

 

The power capacity (watts) is important.  If it is too high it melts the solder too quickly.  If it is too low it melts the solder too slowly.  For building audio cables I use a 45W soldering iron tool.  30W is too low and 60W it too high.  If the tool that you need for this task is the same, then a 45W or close to that, would be right.

Unless you buy a soldering station that has temperature control. The power rating of a soldering station isn't the most relevant thing. The thermal capacity of the tip is important if you have to solder heavy wires, or huge joints. Then there's the speed at which the tip recovers temperature, which is partially related to the power rating.

There are threads talking about soldering irons, including recommendations. Here's a few.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/617284/soldering-irons-or-stations-you-use

http://www.head-fi.org/t/603439/show-us-your-soldering-station-area

http://www.head-fi.org/t/416001/reviews-some-people-collect-amps-i-collect-soldering-stations

Ok thanks, I will check my dads soldering iron to see if it will work. If it doesn't ill look into those forums. 

Thanks for this informative thread, I'm almost certainly going to get one of these kits,

Do you know if one can buy the hard case with the kit? and if so how much.

I have another question based on headphones, I currently only have a pair of shure srh440 (diy wired with electronics prototyping wire - not even copper! - whilst I wait for my cable from btg to arrive here in europe). I will however be upgrading these headphones in the future. They'll need to be closed back and obviously I'd like them to work well with this amp. Any recommendations (I'm currently thinking of the Fostex t50rp with the mad dog mod)? (I like full treble, with decent but not excessive bass, and an overall warm signature for less than 400€). Hopefully I'm allowed to post this here, I was going to put it into the headphones section, however I decided that not many people would know this amp well enough to say. 

Really looking forward to this and using it as a pre-amp too!

Thanks

Chris

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goobley 

Thanks for this informative thread, I'm almost certainly going to get one of these kits,

Do you know if one can buy the hard case with the kit? and if so how much.

 

I have another question based on headphones, I currently only have a pair of shure srh440 (diy wired with electronics prototyping wire - not even copper! - whilst I wait for my cable from btg to arrive here in europe). I will however be upgrading these headphones in the future. They'll need to be closed back and obviously I'd like them to work well with this amp. Any recommendations (I'm currently thinking of the Fostex t50rp with the mad dog mod)? (I like full treble, with decent but not excessive bass, and an overall warm signature for less than 400€). Hopefully I'm allowed to post this here, I was going to put it into the headphones section, however I decided that not many people would know this amp well enough to say. 

 

Really looking forward to this and using it as a pre-amp too!

 

Thanks

Chris

Welcome to Head-fi! I'm glad you're considering one of those kits, DIY headphone amplifiers are fun to build. Don't forget to post pictures of the completed product. If you have any problems or uncertainties along the way, you can always come back here and ask away.

That said, this thread is about the DIY project. It's not the proper place to ask about headphones... Try this thread, you'll have more success there. 

I just got my kit and I hope to start next week if I don't have too much homework. I'll probably be asking a few questions if anyone is familiar enough with the project to give me some tips. Does anyone know about how long it will take to complete, keep in mind I am completely new to the subject of building electronics. 

Just take your time. It's often more satisfying to slowly build it with care than to botch the job. Besides, who doesn't want the fun to last? 

You could probably build it in a few hours if you wanted to. Taking your time, and doing it in steps, will allow you to study your work and learn better.

Thanks for the advice. I will take my time

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unleaded91 


Hi,
I know this thread is 3 months old, but I was just wondering how your build went?
What are your impressions of the project sunrise?

I actually have been very busy and haven't gotten around to building it yet. I do however have a friend who just built it and he loves it.