[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher Desoldering Pump . It uses a short burst of vacuum to suck the solder away from the joint. I couldnt' live without it. Not cheap, but it's saved more money than it cost for sure. See Tangent's DIY guide for more examples of desoldering pumps. N

Thanks! I tried the vacuum pump at Radio Shack but didn't like it. It didn't suck up the solder well. I hope this one gives me better experiences!

 

[darkisz]

So, I finally got this whole thing together, working, and sounding good!

The second Tread went together smoothly (and correctly, quadruple checking along the way). I was getting around 26V in and was able to adjust output to exactly 24V with the vset. I was relieved, to say the least.

All the testing went fine, no strange voltage readings on the opamp/buffer pin sockets. I used test leads to connect wires to plugs to give it a listen, which had a little hum, before I started the casework.

Casing went smoothy, too. Probably because I was taking everything slow. I still managed to get the toggle switch a little crooked. I tested again before putting on the lid, and was still getting some hum. The hum would go away when I touched the back plate of the case and any other part of the case together. Had me stumped for a little while, until I realized I was still using the plactic push pins to hold the rear panel on. I dropped once screw in, and the hum disappeared. All in all, I am very pleased with my first hammond casing job.

Pics are in the 'Post your Builds' thread, here :
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showp...&postcount=747

I just wanted to again thank all those that helped me out through all the problems/errors I had. Thanks Nate, Teerawit, kin0kin, rreynold, sbelyo, and Tangent. You guys are fantastic!

Now, to sit back for some much deserved 'Listening Time'.

 

[Teerawit]

Very nice!!

I like the big blue LED

 

[rreynol]

Nice Job! I'm glad you finally got everything worked out. Now you get to the fun part, listening.

 

[The Monkey]

Great work, darkisz. Which hammond case is that?

 

[nysulli]

nice work, i suddenly feel inspired to get off my ass and start my pimeta build, hopefully it turns out as nice as yours has

 

[darkisz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey Great work, darkisz. Which hammond case is that?

Thanks, all. I'm glad ya like.

It's 1455N1601BK, Hammond Instrument Enclosures - 6.3 x 4.06 x 2.09, Aluminum panels. I used a 1/2" stepped drill bit on a cordless drill for 90% of the work, and a Dremel with grinder to open up the 1/2" hole a bit more for the chunky led.

I'm still amazed something I built sounds this good. I'm quite pleased with the AD823/843 chips. They seem to agree with whichever can I feel like listening to. Of course, I'd still like to hear the 8610, Maybe for my next amp....

Next amp?!?!? ARGH! Curse you Head-fi DIY!

 

[bhjazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rreynol It wasn't a waste because I'm sure a lot of people will use this thread as a learning experience.

Exactly! I just noticed your post in the build thread, and had no idea that the Tread and the Pimeta could be used together! Very, very cool, and I am excited to start looking into this as the Pimeta was going to be my next build. Thanks!

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhjazz Exactly! I just noticed your post in the build thread, and had no idea that the Tread and the Pimeta could be used together! Very, very cool, and I am excited to start looking into this as the Pimeta was going to be my next build. Thanks!

What exactly are the benefits to using a TREAD with the Pimeta?

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey What exactly are the benefits to using a TREAD with the Pimeta?

Lower noise floor, cleaner/better bass, better dynamics.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit Lower noise floor, cleaner/better bass, better dynamics.

Thanks, Teerawit. Is it a last 5% kind of thing, or more noticeable than that?

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey Thanks, Teerawit. Is it a last 5% kind of thing, or more noticeable than that?

It also depends on the quality of your mains power...

I'd say it's pretty noticeable.

 

[bhjazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit It also depends on the quality of your mains power... I'd say it's pretty noticeable.

So if I plug the Tread/Pimeta into my Shunyata Hydra-8.... (Well, OK, outside of overkill, I suppose I could knock mains quality off the list!)

Well, that's it. I'm in. Gonna have to continue reading up on this. I'm pretty excited about it.

 

[prof.anderson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit It also depends on the quality of your mains power... I'd say it's pretty noticeable.

Depends more on the batteries. If you're using alkaline batteries, their internal impedance is probably limiting the current draw. Rechargables are usually better, tho' there's apparently big differences from model to model.

 

[nysulli]

Quote:

Originally Posted by prof.anderson Depends more on the batteries. If you're using alkaline batteries, their internal impedance is probably limiting the current draw. Rechargables are usually better, tho' there's apparently big differences from model to model.

i think your a bit mistaken, using a tread with batteries would be pointless, as batties will have less noise then just about any other type of power supply imaginable.

as per tangents power supply test, one of the main reasons for using a tread is its .07 mVrms noise floor compared to an elpac's 1.8mVrms noise