[DenverW]

Me too! Back in the day (alpha prime) I was a big fan, and I want to love his stuff based on comfort, but I just haven’t liked a dca headphone in ages. Maybe the aegis can give them the ‘life’ I’m looking for…

 

[robyzfi]

Ok, removed the PCB, let's see if there is anything odd.

 

[henrix]

@L0rdGwyn will EL3N tube work with adapter of course?

 

[Tom-s]

Ok, removed the PCB, let's see if there is anything odd.

Based on the view of your PCB it's hard to spot that single possibly bad joint.
But what is clearly visible is that it would help to allow more time for the solder to flow through the board on each joint.
Some joints look cold/bulging on top of the PCB more than having flowed through it. Be patient when soldering.

Here's a video on (PCB) soldering; I'd recommend this video for anyone before starting on Aegis


Edit: @henrix: Here's your answer.

 

[Toonartist]

@L0rdGwyn will EL3N tube work with adapter of course?

I just looked at my Aegis BOM and it is listed as an output tube option with adapter… but I’d wait for confirmation


Edit… @Tom-s found a post confirming

 

[robyzfi]

Based on the view of your PCB it's hard to spot that single possibly bad joint.
But what is clearly visible is that it would help to allow more time for the solder to flow through the board on each joint.
Some joints look cold/bulging on top of the PCB more than having flowed through it. Be patient when soldering.

Here's a video on (PCB) soldering; I'd recommend this video for anyone before starting on Aegis


Edit: @henrix: Here's your answer.

Thanks... actually I soldered as fast as possible on purpose, to avoid damaging the components. Seems from the video that it is not a big deal.

What do you think about IMG_20240120_100715.jpg, would an exposed lane cause the problem?

 

[AnyDave]

Based on the view of your PCB it's hard to spot that single possibly bad joint.
But what is clearly visible is that it would help to allow more time for the solder to flow through the board on each joint.
Some joints look cold/bulging on top of the PCB more than having flowed through it. Be patient when soldering.

Here's a video on (PCB) soldering; I'd recommend this video for anyone before starting on Aegis


Edit: @henrix: Here's your answer.

To add to this, I would recommend getting some solder flux and then reflowing all the joints. Quite a few of them look questionable.

Also, when trimming the excess lead, don't cut into the joint like that, it can damage them. Clip right above the joint, or reflow after trimming into it.

 

[AnyDave]

Thanks... actually I soldered as fast as possible on purpose, to avoid damaging the components. Seems from the video that it is not a big deal.

What do you think about IMG_20240120_100715.jpg, would an exposed lane cause the problem?

Having a bit of exposed trace shouldn't hurt as long as it's not shorting against anything. The main thing with that is to look and see if there's any damage to the trace itself. I would take a multimeter and check continuity around that area to make sure everything is properly connected.

 

[Kdot]

Thanks... actually I soldered as fast as possible on purpose, to avoid damaging the components. Seems from the video that it is not a big deal.

What do you think about IMG_20240120_100715.jpg, would an exposed lane cause the problem?

Soldering fast is not the problem, you need to make sure both component + pad that you are soldering to are adequately heated. The solder should flow into the join naturally when both parts are heated adequately. Once this happens you can move on.

This is a simple image but should be helpful to people building their aegis. Notice how the pad and component lead are being heated and the solder is on the opposite side of the iron.
When it gets hot enough the solder will flow where it needs to go and create a little cone shape.

For your desoldering: I struggle with desoldering wicks so I tried a solder sucker with the aegis and it worked wonderfully. I have an Engineer brand one but I am sure a cheaper one would work fine. You just pump it up and put it over the component while heating it, press the button and it sucks up all the solder.

 

[robyzfi]

Soldering fast is not the problem, you need to make sure both component + pad that you are soldering to are adequately heated. The solder should flow into the join naturally when both parts are heated adequately. Once this happens you can move on.

This is a simple image but should be helpful to people building their aegis. Notice how the pad and component lead are being heated and the solder is on the opposite side of the iron.
When it gets hot enough the solder will flow where it needs to go and create a little cone shape.

Thank you, also very explanatory. I redid all joints.

 

[AnyDave]

Soldering fast is not the problem, you need to make sure both component + pad that you are soldering to are adequately heated. The solder should flow into the join naturally when both parts are heated adequately. Once this happens you can move on.

This is a simple image but should be helpful to people building their aegis. Notice how the pad and component lead are being heated and the solder is on the opposite side of the iron.
When it gets hot enough the solder will flow where it needs to go and create a little cone shape.



For your desoldering: I struggle with desoldering wicks so I tried a solder sucker with the aegis and it worked wonderfully. I have an Engineer brand one but I am sure a cheaper one would work fine. You just pump it up and put it over the component while heating it, press the button and it sucks up all the solder.

The Engineer solder sucker is great. By far my preferred solder sucker, even against more expensive options.

For desoldering wicks, it really helps if you add solder to the tip of your iron before using them. It's a bit counterintuitive to add solder when you're trying to remove solder, but it gets everything flowing a lot faster.

 

[Kdot]

The Engineer solder sucker is great. By far my preferred solder sucker, even against more expensive options.

For desoldering wicks, it really helps if you add solder to the tip of your iron before using them. It's a bit counterintuitive to add solder when you're trying to remove solder, but it gets everything flowing a lot faster.

Good to know with the wick! I have a friend who teaches electronics, repairs random electronics like oscilloscopes, and solders all the time--- he loves Engineer brand stuff so I went with that, and it worked great! Also, when I showed him the Aegis build doc he was super impressed with how L0rdGwyn laid everything out and said I should absolutely follow it, which was a huge endorsement in my mind and gave me a lot of confidence in doing the build. He was not wrong!

This is a different friend than the one who helped me with the build, who also teaches electronics, and was also impressed with the build instructions lol.

 

[khaine1711]

The easiest way to use the wick (for me) is to dip them in liquid flux, or if you have those rosin flux in a box, heat up the wick and let the solid flux flow into them. It takes some practice but I found it way more convenient than the usual solder pump. I also love seeing solder creeping up the wick xD.

The pump is very nice for the Lundahl header pins though, get everything out in 1 pump and less chance of lifting off the pins.

 

[AnyDave]

Good to know with the wick! I have a friend who teaches electronics, repairs random electronics like oscilloscopes, and solders all the time--- he loves Engineer brand stuff so I went with that, and it worked great! Also, when I showed him the Aegis build doc he was super impressed with how L0rdGwyn laid everything out and said I should absolutely follow it, which was a huge endorsement in my mind and gave me a lot of confidence in doing the build. He was not wrong!

This is a different friend than the one who helped me with the build, who also teaches electronics, and was also impressed with the build instructions lol.

The build instructions are really on another level. I can only imagine how many hours went into putting that together. The whole project is quite a gift to the DIY community.

 

[AnyDave]

The easiest way to use the wick (for me) is to dip them in liquid flux, or if you have those rosin flux in a box, heat up the wick and let the solid flux flow into them. It takes some practice but I found it way more convenient than the usual solder pump. I also love seeing solder creeping up the wick xD.

The pump is very nice for the Lundahl header pins though, get everything out in 1 pump and less chance of lifting off the pins.

You can also buy wick that's impregnated with flux, which helps as well.