[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aphexii /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm thinking maybe to try rolling it on like a condom...

Maybe you need to lube the tube, like...... something...... that needs lubing......?

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by patton713MW /img/forum/go_quote.gif These will have to hold you all over until I can post some live shots:

While I think about it......

For the Mini Max I am selling (same one I posted photos of the wiring), I opened it back up and put heatshrink over the entire length of the input signal wiring. That tidies it up a bit, and protects the wire from damage from any sharp edges on the ventilation slots.

 

[Daveze]

The slots combined with the ventilation are very good at fraying up the input signal wires. I used a length of the Fibreglass sleeving stuff (Vidaflex) that I've had in my scraps box for a while. Its not quite long enough but it does the job and looks quite reasonable.

 

[linuxworks]

my build, in living color-

an intermediate stage:

the final thing, all lit up and ready to go:

I ended up using 2 superbright red point-source LEDs under the tube sockets (not the small LEDs but the larger standard size) and I also used a slow-color change LED as the center non-tube light. this worked out perfectly as the tube lites are fixed-red and the center one cycles between colors in a low-key kind of way.

sound is great! I really like it so far and its only been working for a few hours, now.

I almost fried my output transistors. I had them all soldered in and ready to go - then I saw this:

I had them all swapped!

see, tom; THIS is why I'm glad I didn't solder in those heatsinks!

I *thought* I had picked the right transistor places for the to220 parts but that handy diagram caught me in time and saved me a LOT of hair pulling!

so, thanks to checking and triple checking, it worked fine on the first build. took a good 8 hours (all day today) to build.

this was a fun build. I would recommend it for people who want something a bit different from the usual solid state stuff

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daveze /img/forum/go_quote.gif The slots combined with the ventilation are very good at fraying up the input signal wires. I used a length of the Fibreglass sleeving stuff (Vidaflex) that I've had in my scraps box for a while. Its not quite long enough but it does the job and looks quite reasonable.

Yeah, that would be better than heatshrink for both abrasion and temperature resistance.

How are you liking your amps with a bit more time on them?

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif my build, in living color-

Beautiful photos as always. The tube LEDs are insanely bright!

What parts are you using at the typical boutique positions?

 

[linuxworks]

nothing at all boutique. not even the 'wed wimas' (lol).

I ordered pretty much purely from the BOM and got the parts from digikey and mouser (about half and half). I started using the more expensive vishays (the smaller blue ones) but I didn't get enough of them so I moved to 'brown vishays' for the center section of the board

I do have a vit-Q in the proper places. they were cheap (and strange looking) enough that I bought into that one

 

[linuxworks]

oh, and for the 'rubber parts' (lol), I just stretched it a few times using some pliers until I broke it in a bit. after that it was easy to just slip on the tube.

...no lube needed

 

[rds]

The Panasonic film caps you used are technically better than the Wimas in an audiophile sense (ie foil and film rather than metalized film).

 

[Daveze]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, that would be better than heatshrink for both abrasion and temperature resistance. How are you liking your amps with a bit more time on them?

That's the other reason I went for it, its very abrasion resistant. I've only finished the one, I assume it still sounds very fine. It took a few days but eventually it really started to shine. I'm out at site at the moment and the amp is in my desk at work, so I suppose I'm going to go through the same process when I return. Coupled with the y1, its a little 'shrill' so I might take Mister X's advice and remove the film bypass.

The other still needs output transistors installed and panel wiring completed...

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daveze /img/forum/go_quote.gif Coupled with the y1, its a little 'shrill' so I might take Mister X's advice and remove the film bypass.

I can imagine it might be with the low-mid Grados...... you still have SR-80 and SR-225 from a bit of searching?

The combo does sing oh-so-sweet with the more mellow ESW9 though

 

[Daveze]

Its actually with a pair of Sextetts, they replace my 240s as my work 'phones. They sound really good with the big MAX at home but then again, I listen a bit louder a home than i do at work.

I really like semi-open for work so that I can hear people coming/talking. I was considering something like the ATH-AD900s or similar for a while but figured I should give the Sextetts a proper listen.

 

[GeWa]

Quote:

I had them all swapped! see, tom; THIS is why I'm glad I didn't solder in those heatsinks! I *thought* I had picked the right transistor places for the to220 parts but that handy diagram caught me in time and saved me a LOT of hair pulling!

Had the same problem but I already "did soldered" the heatsinks in! It took me a while to change the output transistors but in the end I managed to do a successful job if i may say so myself. Everything is dialed in now and ready to go in the casing.

Regards

 

[oneplustwo]

linuxworks - thanks for the tip. I just ended up stretching them with my fingers and rolling them inside out a couple times and then they slipped over without too much force.

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daveze /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's the other reason I went for it, its very abrasion resistant. I've only finished the one, I assume it still sounds very fine. It took a few days but eventually it really started to shine. I'm out at site at the moment and the amp is in my desk at work, so I suppose I'm going to go through the same process when I return. Coupled with the y1, its a little 'shrill' so I might take Mister X's advice and remove the film bypass. The other still needs output transistors installed and panel wiring completed...

At 600ohms and a fairly low sensitivity, it could be that the Sextets may be too much for the MiniMAX to push. There are only a few phones I'd put in that category, and the Sextets may be one of them. I'd never try it without zero output resistors (jumpers) and only 12AE6's. It could be that your regular MAX is setup this way, but maybe you did the MiniMAX differently.

Let me know if you want some especially high output 12AE6's - I may be able to provide you with some if you still have problems with this.

EDIT: I'm suggesting this carefully, because the MAX/MiniMAX are capable of some whopping current, but they're limited in voltage swing to 1/2 the power supply. For instance, there's no issue at all in using a MiniMAX with Orthos - Colin has sent me a couple and I have the new Fostex T50RP's, too. They all sound great - his Yamaha's are the best things I've heard from mids to highs (still prefer my great HF-1's overall, though). Still, 600 ohms is mighty difficult for any headphone amp, period.

 

[soloz2]

my Max could probably drive them! I haven't tried sextets, but I'm confident

(MOSFET output stage with a nice big toroid)