[DefQon]

Actually come to think of it, I posted a thread that I thought could be Off/Topic to the DIY section and one of the posters that replied to my thread suggested I asked here.
 
I've got some nos cap's that need to be reformed, I don't have the equipment nor time to do it and variacs ain't exactly cheap here, any DIY Aussies here willing to give me a helping hand with reforming about 13 or so 250v ROD EDG and Philips BC caps? If so a pm would be great, your services won't go unrewarded.

 

[DudeMyCans]

Quote:

 
Now that's a proper starving student. I like what you did with the enclosure. It's simple, yet looks great. Is the wood case one solid block that you hollowed out?

 
Thanks KimLaroux. I built the enclosure out of strip mahogany, mitered and glued. I thinned down for the front and back faces with a chopsaw (as I don't have a router). It's worked ok, but I'm worried it's a bit fragile, so I'll be buying a pillar drill and a router for my next case. I wanted the simple, engineering type look and think it's come out quite well. There's still a bit more work to polish it up and I'll probably laquer the alu somehow to try and stop it oxidising.
 
I'm planning to recase an SDS Labs amp soon, which I built years ago and have never got to work properly. My plan is to rebuild the amp section onto stripboard and seperate out the PSU into a seperate case. I was half thinking of going for two mono blocks for the amp section but reckon that may be a little overkill

.

 

[dustinsterk]

Not for my headphones...but a still my first DIY tube amp:
 
 

 
 
Full album here:
http://imgur.com/a/6Dqpy
 
--Dustin

 

[elliottstudio]

Great looking colors! Love that Edcor Iron. What is the configuration?
 

 

[dustinsterk]

Thanks!  I like the colors of the Edcor's too.  The setup is as follows:
 
 
The power transformer is the XPWR005-120
The other two are the CXPP25-MS-8K/23%
 
Sound great...but just take a while for Edcor to ship them out.  Definitely worth the wait!
 
For anyone else interested in building this amp, check out:
http://www.diytube.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=837

 

[crispchicken]

Well guys, my second RA1 Cmoy board got populated today, and put into a case. May I present to you, the desktop 'moy. Despite this one going quicker than any of my previous builds, this one came out a LOT cleaner and more professional looking too.
 
The only issues I encountered were one weak trace on the pcb which snapped and so I had to insert a couple of wires to connect the traces, and I now have to find myself a 12 volt PSU to run it on rather than the battery I have connected at present. My plan with this little box of amp, is to use the rest of the space in the housing for a SkeletonDAC or similar when I get a chance to order one. I'm also thinking I'll use an OPA2134PA (and get myself a machined socket or solder it straight in since I'm using a crappy bent metal one at the moment), since I really loved the sound of my last one that I used the 2134 with. For now however, on it's 7ish volt battery pack and an ad4556 opamp, and it both sounds and looks pretty awesome. The metal box actually helps a fair bit with keeping the noise level down when there's no sound going on, which I like a whole heap over the last few I've built which just ended up sitting in free air.
 
So, does anyone know of a similarly specced DAC like the SkeletonDAC, but with coax or optical in rather than USB? My pc has a SPDIF-out and I thought it'd be cool to use it, if I can do so for reasonable money. Is there really any reasons that I shouldn't put the DAC and amp together in this one box? Like interference, etc?
 
Anyway, I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out, and I really love the case that I found for it, especially for only 12 bucks! I think I might build myself a starving student with a few upgrades in another box like this, maybe the next size up to keep it secure on the table with a bit of extra weight.
 
I also rewired my HD465s today with a high quality 3.5mm plug since my last one was getting really scratchy. Got some PET sleeving to go with it which looks mean. The two really go together, soon even more so, I have to get slightly larger matching sleeving to put on the input cable of the amp.
 
So, without further ado, I give to you, pictures!
 
http://i.imgur.com/YDlH8Xp.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Y29Vpx0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6Exkyrdh.jpg
 
(sorry but it appears the H-F image hosting doesn't work for me. If anyone would like to explain why, that'd be dandy.)
 
peace,
 
chris

 

[elliottstudio]

Quote:

Thanks!  I like the colors of the Edcor's too.  The setup is as follows:
 
 
The power transformer is the XPWR005-120
The other two are the CXPP25-MS-8K/23%
 
Sound great...but just take a while for Edcor to ship them out.  Definitely worth the wait!
 
For anyone else interested in building this amp, check out:
http://www.diytube.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=837

Very neat build on the inside too. Great job.

 

[KimLaroux]

Quote:

Well guys, my second RA1 Cmoy board got populated today, and put into a case. May I present to you, the desktop 'moy. Despite this one going quicker than any of my previous builds, this one came out a LOT cleaner and more professional looking too.
 
The only issues I encountered were one weak trace on the pcb which snapped and so I had to insert a couple of wires to connect the traces, and I now have to find myself a 12 volt PSU to run it on rather than the battery I have connected at present. My plan with this little box of amp, is to use the rest of the space in the housing for a SkeletonDAC or similar when I get a chance to order one. I'm also thinking I'll use an OPA2134PA (and get myself a machined socket or solder it straight in since I'm using a crappy bent metal one at the moment), since I really loved the sound of my last one that I used the 2134 with. For now however, on it's 7ish volt battery pack and an ad4556 opamp, and it both sounds and looks pretty awesome. The metal box actually helps a fair bit with keeping the noise level down when there's no sound going on, which I like a whole heap over the last few I've built which just ended up sitting in free air.
 
So, does anyone know of a similarly specced DAC like the SkeletonDAC, but with coax or optical in rather than USB? My pc has a SPDIF-out and I thought it'd be cool to use it, if I can do so for reasonable money. Is there really any reasons that I shouldn't put the DAC and amp together in this one box? Like interference, etc?
 
Anyway, I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out, and I really love the case that I found for it, especially for only 12 bucks! I think I might build myself a starving student with a few upgrades in another box like this, maybe the next size up to keep it secure on the table with a bit of extra weight.
 
I also rewired my HD465s today with a high quality 3.5mm plug since my last one was getting really scratchy. Got some PET sleeving to go with it which looks mean. The two really go together, soon even more so, I have to get slightly larger matching sleeving to put on the input cable of the amp.
 
So, without further ado, I give to you, pictures!
 
http://i.imgur.com/YDlH8Xp.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Y29Vpx0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6Exkyrdh.jpg
 
(sorry but it appears the H-F image hosting doesn't work for me. If anyone would like to explain why, that'd be dandy.)
 
peace,
 
chris

 
You simply don't have enough posts yet to upload pictures. It's a safety feature to fight spam. So you have to go spam some threads with useless posts in order to upload pictures.
 
Here, I'll upload them for you:

 

 

 
As for a DAC, I don't know any entry-level DIY DAC that has SPDIF input. I'm guessing the reason these are not as popular is because they need a dedicated power supply. A USB DAC is powered trough the USB cable, greatly simplifying the design and lowering the cost. This usually pleases more people, improving the project's chances of success. This doesn't mean such DACs do not exist. It's just that it's not the type of DAC one reasonably pairs with a CMOY.

 

[DingoSmuggler]

The gamma1 might be the cheapest DIY dac with spdif option.
Not quite the simplest due to the modular nature, and no kits available(that i'm aware of anyway)

 

[crispchicken]

Quote:

This doesn't mean such DACs do not exist. It's just that it's not the type of DAC one reasonably pairs with a CMOY.

 
I figured that might be so. It's less that it'll be using the cmoy forever as it's more just a simple project I've been working on to get the confidence to tackle something a bit more complex in the future when I have the money to do so. I suppose for 25 usd for the SkeletonDAC kit, I can just buy another different dac when I want to upgrade from it. What's the general consensus on them? Are they better than mid level integrated sound chips on gigabyte motherboards? (mines a Via VT 2021 sound chip) Would it sound okay for the entry level price (and ears 

)? 
 
Well cheers for letting me know about the post count thing... I hate worrying about stuff like that on forums, It'd be way better to just make fewer quality posts, but sounds like I'm going to have to work up the count a bit then... One of the things that makes a quality post, IMO, is to have some images (if relevant...) Do you know what number of posts (or thereabout) that you gain that ability? 

 

[crispchicken]

Quote:

The gamma1 might be the cheapest DIY dac with spdif option.
Not quite the simplest due to the modular nature, and no kits available(that i'm aware of anyway)

I appreciate the link, I've never heard of the gamma1 before now to be honest, I'll have to read around about it because it looks pretty interesting. A bit of complexity doesn't hurt IMO, it's nice to have a challenge. Lack of kit's aren't a big deal to me, so long as the PCB is available it's not too difficult to just get together the BOM off element14 or something who ship here from australia, which is probably quicker than getting an american PCB would be 

 (and probably cheaper too, once you factor in the shipping)

 

[Fred_fred2004]

You can get kits for the Gamma 1
 
http://glassjaraudio.com/product.sc?productId=31
 
cheers
FRED

 

[crispchicken]

Being helpful as useful, thanks for the link Fred. That kit looks very appealing, I think I might order it after I get done with the skeleton I've got on the way.
 
Well, I got the finishing touches onto the Desk-moy today. I replaced the input line with high quality microphone cable (it's 7mm or so diameter and super well shielded). it really does some great stuff with the slight hum and buzz that used to come through from my pc power supply and whatever else was generating lots of emi in my room.
 
Its all sleeved up nice and tidy, I'm also developing a charging circuit so I can put in 2 cell Li-Po cell for the amp, and a socket for charging, but currently I've just internalised the battery box.
 
Also swapped in a machined dip-socket and some better caps since not everything was very high quality before. The op-amp is now a brand new OPA2134PA (replacing the ad4556), since I far prefer it's tonal character, and it's also much cleaner, just over all, a better chip. Has anyone noticed that op-amps can degrade from mistreatment, but not fully die? I was comparing a new 4556 with my old one today and it sounded quite a bit better than the old one. I also noticed the new 2134 I got seems very clear and sharp compared to what I remember of the last one I had. Could it maybe be static damage? My old 4556 seems to occilate slightly, since it sounds much worse, very choppy at higher volume, and runs hot. the new one doesn't act like this in the same circuit with everything the same. Just thought I'd mention this interesting phenomenon in case someone knows more about it....
 
pics:
http://i.imgur.com/Qs26pLA.jpg
 
http://i.imgur.com/DERwcVi.jpg
 
On top of this, I'm in the process of getting the parts together for a new cmoyBB and some discrete diamond buffers I've etched, which is the first part of my Pimeta build. Still have to make up a single sided Pimeta pcb design so I can etch that too. I actually drew the diamond buffers by hand since I don't have a laser printer *yet* and the only laser copies I can get of my PCB traces are on regular paper, which doesn't really work for transfers 

 
Man I wish I had the money to do more projects! every pay day, I spend my weeks "discretionary income" on new electronic gear... it's slowly building up though. I really need some better headphones more than anything else though, my 465's are 4ish years old and have been pretty well used. Still sound good, but I'm pretty sure the drivers have gotten kinda loose, the sound a lot sloppier than they did when I got em. Ahh well, I'm rambling,  my apologies. Hopefully, money permitting I can put some more stuff in this thread for your enjoyment.
 
peace
 
chris

 

[MisterX]

Quote:

I'm also developing a charging circuit so I can put in 2 cell Li-Po cell for the amp

Dunno if it helps but this a 2 cell charger and protection circuit I did a while back.
 
 

 

 
 
Was not much to look at but it worked very well and after a few little changes ended up as this:
 
http://www.amb.org/audio/chi1/

 

[crispchicken]

Wow, very cool. I've never seen SOIC chips mounted in SIP like that, I will have to try that some time. As for the charger, looks like I won't have to reinvent the wheel after all, which is good. I will have to read over the data sheets for the chips you chose so I can tweak it for higher capacity cells for this build. cheers!