[reorx]

Hello,

A preface first, I am a complete and utter NOOB when it comes to DIY and its parts. I have no idea what brand of tubes im using, what power supply type, etc. My knowledge regarding DIY and the parts of an amp are ZERO. That said...

Ive been the proud and satisfied owner of a Millet Hybrid Max done by a local diy-er (Hi Ferds), and so satisfied I am with it ive never felt the need to upgrade my amp (only my cans lol). I bought it knowing it was a quality DIY amp, with head-fi stamp of approval. Thats it.

After reading some thread, I found out that there a A LOT of sub types of Millett Hybrid Maxes, with one poster asking:

You didn't give much details about the configuration of your Millett Hybrid Maxed:
1. BJT or MOSFET diamond buffer?
2. Bypass caps?
3. Output coupling caps?
4. Output resistors?
5. CCS?
6. Bias current?

I believe someone was able to identify most if not all these questions by looking at the pics and innards of the amp.

Well, the amp I bought was specifically this:

Millett MAX Gallery

Can anybody help me answer the above questions...and maybe translate them into noob-speak as to what they mean in terms of performance, sound, and overall quality? By overall quality, I also mean, will a switch to, say a Woo3, or DV 332, or (most likely) an Audio-GD C2C be an upgrade or more of a lateral move?

Thanks in advance people!

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reorx /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello, A preface first, I am a complete and utter NOOB when it comes to DIY and its parts. I have no idea what brand of tubes im using, what power supply type, etc. My knowledge regarding DIY and the parts of an amp are ZERO. That said... Ive been the proud and satisfied owner of a Millet Hybrid Max done by a local diy-er (Hi Ferds), and so satisfied I am with it ive never felt the need to upgrade my amp (only my cans lol). I bought it knowing it was a quality DIY amp, with head-fi stamp of approval. Thats it. After reading some thread, I found out that there a A LOT of sub types of Millett Hybrid Maxes, with one poster asking: You didn't give much details about the configuration of your Millett Hybrid Maxed: 1. BJT or MOSFET diamond buffer? 2. Bypass caps? 3. Output coupling caps? 4. Output resistors? 5. CCS? 6. Bias current? I believe someone was able to identify most if not all these questions by looking at the pics and innards of the amp. Well, the amp I bought was specifically this: Millett MAX Gallery Can anybody help me answer the above questions...and maybe translate them into noob-speak as to what they mean in terms of performance, sound, and overall quality? By overall quality, I also mean, will a switch to, say a Woo3, or DV 332, or (most likely) an Audio-GD C2C be an upgrade or more of a lateral move? Thanks in advance people!

There are really only 3 MAXes so far - but only two have been produced. MAX V1.2 is still in the prototype stage, but PCB production will happen shortly.

That said, there were many ways one could build an original Millett Hybrid MAX - different transistors, different height heat sinks, choice of caps, choice of tubes, etc. Then there is the MOSFET version of the MAX, too.

You definitely have a V1.0 MAX. As I said, the only other one that's been available so far is the MiniMAX. It's kind of obvious if you have that one, since the MiniMAX uses a bright blue PCB.

Looking at the pics, it looks like it was built with Nichicon Muse FX caps in the power supply and for de-coupling (although the decouplers were changed in later pics), and KZ caps for the cathode bypass and the output couplers. The heat sinks are 1-1/2" high and the transistors are most likely 2SC3422's or 2SC3421's. They are definitely not MOSFETs or any other TO-220 type transistor, it appears that they are TO-126-type BJT transistors. There's a chance that they could be MJE's, but I can't tell from the pics. The bypass film caps in the signal path are Auricaps.

Sorry, but I can't help you beyond that with comparisons to commercial amps.

 

[reorx]

Thank you very much tomb!

Last bit. What exactly is a BJT as opposed to a MOSFET diamond buffer, and is one better than the other? Or is it a "each has its own pros and cons" thing?

Oh, and any particular set of tubes you can recommend with my set up? IM looking to enter the world of tube rolling, hehe

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reorx /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you very much tomb! Last bit. What exactly is a BJT as opposed to a MOSFET diamond buffer, and is one better than the other? Or is it a "each has its own pros and cons" thing? Oh, and any particular set of tubes you can recommend with my set up? IM looking to enter the world of tube rolling, hehe

BJT stands for Bipolar Junction Transistor - iow, the typical transistor that we're all familiar with - they have a Collector, Emitter, and Base. MOSFETs stand for Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor-Field-Effect-Transistor. Essentially the difference in the diamond buffers from one to the other is whether the large push-pull output devices that produce the primary output power are BJT's or MOSFETs. They each have their own pros and cons. Wikipedia has a good article on the basics: Transistor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia