[akiroz]

Quote:

@b1o2r3i4s5: How much in total have you spent on the whole project so far? Not bad but assuming you're still going to be using those for IEM's and even if yo do have any balanced source/dac's, still overkill lol

 
$160, I got most of the stuff for free.
 
It's kinda On-hold right now because I have IB exams in less than a month.....

 

[DefQon]

Ah yeah true, nonetheless impressive build for the price (considering you got the parts from the anime thread), my 2nd balanced b22 amp is on hold as well, can't afford a nice enclosure for it 

.

 

[FraGGleR]

Rebuild of my O2 into a desktop version with two inputs.  Matching ODAC.
 
 



 
 
 



 

 

[akiroz]

^ Cool! How did you make those wooden panels??

 

[FraGGleR]

Thanks!  It was the trusty laser cutter I have used in the past for the acrylic faceplates.  Roughly 1/8" cherry plywood.  

 

[mawoca]

Rebuild of my O2 into a desktop version with two inputs.  Matching ODAC.

That is absolutely gorgeous! Nice job!

/jealous

 

[crispchicken]

Beautiful! Did you use the box enclosures case specified in the bom? I was considering the same idea but with plexi and lit with some LEDs. That looks super classy

 

[FraGGleR]

Assuming you were asking me, the ODAC is in the Box enclosure from the BOM for the O2 amp.  The O2 amp is a Hammond enclosure that I had originally gotten for a different project.  The O2 board slides in, albeit, a touch more tightly than the Box enclosures.  Special effort has to be done to make sure no solder joints or other contacts are touching the case to prevent shorting.
 
Lots of empty space in the Hammond, so I used a long screw to hold it in place.  The screw was also used as a ground connection, so two birds with one stone.  I think I am finally done with my O2 experiments.  I have to really have to get back to my B22.

 

[Darr247]

Quote:

Man I wish I had the money to do more projects!

 
I don't know how much you pay for 9V batteries, but I get the longest life out of Industrial Alkaline cells.
e.g. http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/tools/Batteries-Chargers/Batteries-Disposable/industrial-9v-alkaline-batteries-12-per-pack
Those last 5+ years in my Fluke meters. Amazon, Grainger, et al, have them at slightly higher cost.
 
i.e. as opposed to 'heavy duty' carbon-zinc batteries, like in

 
It's a poorly kept secret battery companies can make batteries that last *much* longer than those commonly sold, but if they did so they wouldn't sell as many.
The 'industrial grade' 9V cells are examples of such tech, though they could make cells that last even longer than those.
 
I'm all for rechargeables, too, but when a cell lasts 5+ years in a device, I have a hard time justifying the 4x-10x cost of those over the disposables.

 

[stixx]

Quote:

Rebuild of my O2 into a desktop version with two inputs.  Matching ODAC.

 
Nice!!
 
O

 

[Battou62]

@Fraggler 
 
That's amazing

 

[KimLaroux]

Quote:

 
I don't know how much you pay for 9V batteries, but I get the longest life out of Industrial Alkaline cells.
e.g. http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/tools/Batteries-Chargers/Batteries-Disposable/industrial-9v-alkaline-batteries-12-per-pack
Those last 5+ years in my Fluke meters. Amazon, Grainger, et al, have them at slightly higher cost.
 
i.e. as opposed to 'heavy duty' carbon-zinc batteries, like in
 
 
It's a poorly kept secret battery companies can make batteries that last *much* longer than those commonly sold, but if they did so they wouldn't sell as many.
The 'industrial grade' 9V cells are examples of such tech, though they could make cells that last even longer than those.
 
I'm all for rechargeables, too, but when a cell lasts 5+ years in a device, I have a hard time justifying the 4x-10x cost of those over the disposables.

 
A DMM is not a good example to predict the life of a battery in an audio amplifier. The DMM is a very low current device, while the amplifier is a high current device.
 
A DMM needs a battery with very low self-discharge. It would be silly to use a NIMH rechargeable in a DMM, because a normal NIMH will discharge itself trough its internal resistance within a couple of weeks, even if not used. Non-rechargeable have a very high internal resistance, which allows manufacturers to guarantee their charge up to 10 years. This does not mean the battery holds more power, just that its internal resistance is very high.
 
This high internal resistance creates a voltage drop proportional to the current draw. In a high current application like an amplifier, the voltage drop across the internal resistance means that the voltage the amplifiers "sees" is much lower than what the battery can provide. This means the battery will be "dead" for the amplifier a lot sooner than it would be "dead" for the DMM. In fact, you could use a battery in a amplifier until the amplifier calls it dead, then use it for another year in the DMM. A rechargeable, with it's lower internal resistance, will actually last longer than a non-rechargeable in a high-current application, simply because the application can discharge it further.
 
In short, just because one type of battery lasts 5 years in one device doesn't mean it's the best choice in another device. A non-rechargeable will still be dead after a couple of days of use in an amplifier, and then you'll throw these in the cans and buy a new set. Not only is that insulting for the other humans trying to stay alive on this planet (read that as an environmental argument), but it won't be long before you spend more than the price of a set of rechargeable.

 

[wakibaki]

Not to disagree with Kim in general, because NiMh are well known for their fast self-discharge, but in 2006 LSD (not what you think, Low Self Discharge) NiMh started to appear. You can usually distinguish these types by the fact that they are sold charged. Brand names include Sanyo Eneloop and Ansmann Maxe. Worth knowing about because of their price/performance ratio but now also suitable for infrequent-use applications.
 
w

 

[KimLaroux]

Yeah I thought about including LSD in the argument, but thought it would just make it heavier without being relevant. I actually use a set of AAA Powerex Imedion in my graphing calculator. These are the best LSD out there today, and they even market them as Ultra-low-self-discharge. But even these will lose between 20 and 30% of their charge per year in storage. They are great alternative in calculators, where the batteries last a few months, but still not so great to be used in a DMM or remote control. And LSD batteries generally have less capacity than their generic counterparts. In portable audio applications, I can see these being a good choice for someone who doesn't use their amps daily, but infrequently. LSD would guaranty your batteries will still be charged even if they've been sitting there for weeks.

 

[crispchicken]

Quote:

 
I don't know how much you pay for 9V batteries, but I get the longest life out of Industrial Alkaline cells.
e.g. http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/tools/Batteries-Chargers/Batteries-Disposable/industrial-9v-alkaline-batteries-12-per-pack
Those last 5+ years in my Fluke meters. Amazon, Grainger, et al, have them at slightly higher cost.
 
i.e. as opposed to 'heavy duty' carbon-zinc batteries, like in [pic]

Ahh, I do know that the alkalines are much better. In my situation I'm going to get a few nimh cells 9v sized soon for portable amp use. The choice I made was when I took the photo, and didn't have enough money (3ish dollars) and had to get the crap battery, cos I needed it then 

 Being a student and not having a job means I have like, nooooo money for my hobby of electronics. I was going to get some on dx I think because It'll be cheap as hell and that's the most important factor for me.
 
I checked the link and that is a seriously ridiculous price for good alkaline batteries. I think I could make a lot of money off that here in nz. They cost 6-7 minimum here in stores, this crappy one was, I think, 5-6 dollars.
 
I need a charger chip badly, I've got a bunch of near new 2200 mah 1865 I (think is the number, they look a bit like an AA but a fair bit bigger, just scaled out) The batteries are  Li Ion and 2200 MAh and I think it could be amazing. i could have a +- 12 volts supply potentially... I'm thinking a bag mount Pimeta, semi portable, not really pocketable, maybe in a huge jacket pocket... Hmmmm. I usually have a bag with me be it backpack or courier thing, man-bag, if you wanna call it that 

 I get the feeling it could be very convenient and also sound awesome.
 
PS, speaking of diy... I got around to recabling a couple of headphones tonight.
 
my Sennheiser hd465's were starting to get crusty because I had used a cheapass jaycar plug with them. I switched it to similar jack as my other one, but 4 contacts. I grounded the mic channel. This stopped my android phone making my music stop with Google search, and drive me nuts by getting a bit of charge on the pause-play-skip-forward-and-back button contact. So far it seems effective. I spend a fair bit of time using just my phone or iPod (broken atm) when I'm out walking, don't have room for an amp in my pockets, and the wolfson chip on my nexus sounds pretty okay. I'm going to try out the in ears because I don't remember what they were like, I barely used them.
 
It's pic time! forgot to add them before so now I've gotta edit this in
 
Pics!
 
 
These ones I've been super enjoying with my amp dac setup at the moment is these Samsung ones that came with my cell phone. I'd broken the cable around the plug, which was pretty well destroyed... Anyway, replaced it with a switchcraft plug. I guess that's technically not a recabling, hahaha. The part of this that's awesome about this, is these headphones are amazing. I've never heard in ears off an amp and good source until now. for 15 buck headphones I'm shocked really. the model is http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Headphone-Handsfree-EHS44ASSBE-GH59-10443B/dp/B005FUNYV2/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top, and people do seem to like them so maybe I just got a good model for free. I'm happy for 6 bucks of plug I'm enjoying having the music literally in my head. 

 
Both of the headphones now have good connections and in the case of the 465's, much better quality. I was using the stock cable for 4-5 years now and it's gotten pretty worn out. They sound great because there's no more skipping and stuff. The cable I used was a silver-plated skinny mike cable I had laying around. I've finally got the perfect length of cable, and this one genuinely sounds better. maybe that's because something was wrong with my last one, but I'm glad any time it gets better!

 
Sweeeet! Everything I see on here keeps my motivation to finish the o2 more and more, and to make it awesome. I hope it is,. though I'm getting a second pcb (in red 

) that I'm going to build up and turn into a hardout overkill desk model. But yeah... Coming soon. I'm waiting on a few vital components, but I shall post the rest of the build in the future 

 
peace to all,
chris