[Hales]

Right now I am working from spare parts I have lying around. I am hoping to get everything I need for the power supply from my dearly departed Marantz 6000OSE. I was planning to breadboard the supply and put it where the current transformer sits. I was also planning to use the existing transformer to feed it. I am worried about grounding issues if I were to use a separate transformer, but this way I will still have a common ground. I just have not had the time to do get past the planning stage.

Pete - I have a question for you too. Has anyone tried to put balanced outputs on the Zero? The DAC outputs a balanced analog signal, but I have not taken the time to see where the Zero converts it to single ended.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif Excellent Hales.....I love it Looks like a great tweak. What type of reg board are you going to use and are you going with a separate transformer ? LC mentioned a while back about splitting and isolating the supplies but said it wasn't possible for him to do and keep the cost where it is...which makes perfect sense. If you need parts for this, a good place I've found is Wellborn Labs. They have some very nice kits but the pricing is a little high. For those viewing these mods, keep this in mind, at one point or another all of us have this moment in our lives "that's so complicated I don't have a chance in hell of doing all that". Keep learning, experimenting, practicing and studying and it will pay off. Peete.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hales /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right now I am working from spare parts I have lying around. I am hoping to get everything I need for the power supply from my dearly departed Marantz 6000OSE. I was planning to breadboard the supply and put it where the current transformer sits. I was also planning to use the existing transformer to feed it. I just have not had the time to do get past the planning stage. Pete - I have a question for you too. Has anyone tried to put balanced outputs on the Zero? The DAC outputs a balanced analog signal, but I have not taken the time to see where the Zero converts it to single ended.

Cool...sorry to hear of Marantz hitting the road on you...nice CDP that was er is...No one has tried the balanced mod yet

That (balanced output) is also an interesting mod well worth investigating...imagine a fully balanced Zero for under 300 bucks, once all the other mods are completed...wouldn't that be something

I look forward to your experiences with the mods and the end results

Peete.

PS I have to go...really I do

 

[AudioPhewl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry to burst the bubble, there are two lumps and a nut riddled log in Andreas trousers (Teets are optional).... Peete.

My word, that raised a smile

.

~Phewl.

 

[sennsay]

WOOOHOOO!!! Zero is in NZ as of two days ago! WOW, that's brilliant service, it was shipped on Saturday 23rd from HK, though it seems to have taken 4 days or so of processing in HK before leaving the country. Onya snow46_8.
Do I feel like a little kid at Christmas .... do I huh ..do I huh? It might be here today so I ain't leavin' the house til it gets here!
Now let me see ...... soldering iron and isopropyl alcohol are at the ready (gotta check those boards are ok) .... the big Yamaha A900 amp is warmed up already .... CDP is firing on all 8 ... headphones are warmed up ... OPA627s are hot (truly!) and giving me a 3D holographic show on my best, and mostly simplest, recordings ...ok, I'm set .......... maybe I'll go and have some brekky. ........ I'll be back.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sennsay /img/forum/go_quote.gif WOOOHOOO!!! Zero is in NZ as of two days ago! WOW, that's brilliant service, it was shipped on Saturday 23rd from HK, though it seems to have taken 4 days or so of processing in HK before leaving the country. Onya snow46_8. Do I feel like a little kid at Christmas .... do I huh ..do I huh? It might be here today so I ain't leavin' the house til it gets here! Now let me see ...... soldering iron and isopropyl alcohol are at the ready (gotta check those boards are ok) .... the big Yamaha A900 amp is warmed up already .... CDP is firing on all 8 ... headphones are warmed up ... OPA627s are hot (truly!) and giving me a 3D holographic show on my best, and mostly simplest, recordings ...ok, I'm set .......... maybe I'll go and have some brekky. ........ I'll be back.

You know S-Man if I didn't know better, you seem to be excited about something

What that is though......

Enjoy the toy !!!!

Having a cold one right now..Creemore Springs ...ahhhhhh.

Peete.

 

[fugimax]

Asked this earlier, but I'll ask again because this thread took off:

Anyone have experience ordering from Audiophilechina? I ordered two days ago, paid, but haven't heard a word from them..

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fugimax /img/forum/go_quote.gif Asked this earlier, but I'll ask again because this thread took off: Anyone have experience ordering from Audiophilechina? I ordered two days ago, paid, but haven't heard a word from them..

Can't say I have....that's not unusual not to hear anything for a few days. Email them again to ask what's happening.

I've only delt with LC, Little Dot, DIY HiFi Supply, NY Sound and Audio-GD so far ( thats quite a few

). None of them answered back right away..in some cases a week...but they all delivered what I had ordered and in working order.

Peete.

 

[fugimax]

Quote:

Email them again to ask what's happening.

Did just that, and found out they shipped it yesterday.

4-7 days until awesometown.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fugimax /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did just that, and found out they shipped it yesterday. 4-7 days until awesometown.

LOL.....cool !!!

Peete.

 

[falke401]

I paid for the Zero from Lawrence on thrusday and have not heard a thing since.....I hope you guys are right. I sent an email the other day and nothing. Im crossing my fingers!!

 

[sennsay]

Righto, Zero Owner's Club, I'm back. Zero has entered the building! The newest baby has been appraised for nappy rash, ie, rough solder joins etc and has been found 99% VG, I just touched up a couple of dodgy bits of blobby solder and the teensiest little wispy solder bridge, which may or may not have had any effect at all but it's gone now anyway. Otherwise, it's a lovely little unit and smaller than I expected as well, the pictures make it look bigger than it is. All very fine at first switch-on BUT A WORD OF WARNING to those who use the line out (ie using it as a pre-amp) WITHOUT FIRST MAKING SURE THE PRE-AMP LIGHT IS ACTUALLY GREEN!! God almighty, I'm still recovering from the near heart attacks (yes, twice!) when the full output of the pre-amp runs straight into a sensitive 130W amp! I thought I was going to have to scrape the speaker cones out of the wall at the other end of the room! Jeez Wayne. Oh, we can laugh about it now .... but my chest actually hurt at the time, man what a shock! Thankfully, the speaker cones are still in their cabinets and things are sounding rather good, very clean and tuneful. The headamp, I am very happy to say, has miles of grunt and is by far the best thing I have heard yet driving the notoriously difficult to drive 600 ohm Senn HD540Rs, stacks of gain and don't those headamp output transistors run warm! Must be well biased into the warm zone.
Wonderfully, my Zero has the nice little USB to Toslink adapter with it, exactly as advertised, so I can use it from my G4 iBook. Good onya snow46_8, good job mate, fast service, excellent packaging, everything came with it that was supposed to be and at the price of $99US is unbeatable. All up $211NZD, not including the extra op-amps, HDAMs and ALPS pot, which will be here in the next day or two, does this define a genuine musical bargain or what? It does for me!
You're right Penchum, the headamp is really quite smooth with a nice warmth, the Senn 555s sound the best I've heard them yet, from a balance point of view, they can sound bright and a tad thin through some amplifiers and I'm rapt the 540s now have a great amp match! They may be an older model with the odd flaw here and there, but I love the things and they are sooo comfortable and wonderfully rhythmic and tuneful.
I've left the lid off the Zero for now, just to check on the heat really and I so love the smell of new electronics slowly cooking in!
Happy camper here, just going to let things go for a few days now and burn in, sounds good from new but a bit fresh, as one would expect. Time for a nice brew of Havana beans with some music playing and the feet up. Thanks a large bunch to you, Penchum, Peete and the others for this amazing thread, it's changed my musical life for the better. OY OY OY!

 

[sennsay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif You know S-Man if I didn't know better, you seem to be excited about something What that is though...... Enjoy the toy !!!! Having a cold one right now..Creemore Springs ...ahhhhhh. Peete.

Ahh yes ... clinking of glasses .... am enjoying the toy ... bit cool here for beer but a fine warm brown brew will definitely do. Where is Creemore Springs, mate? Where I am in Gisborne, is the first mainland city in the world to see the light of the new day, first sunrise. Maybe not today, pretty overcast and gloomy but it's still a fine day to me!

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Hi S-Man,

Glad yours was fairly clean (build wise on the pcb underside)...hopefully what Hale encountered was a fluke (sorry Hale).

Thanks for the kind words !!

Creemore Springs is a little town about 120 klms NNW from where I live (Southern Ontario, near Toronto). I've been buying it for over 20 years now...don't drink all that often but 4 hours to cover just 65 miles today (damn traffic) will make anyone drink afterwards

The brewery is named after the towns numerous underground springs and aquifers. Made with that water and 4 other ingredients. They follow the Bavarian purity law from the 16th century.

The Zero's volume pot, if not turned down when the pre amp is engaged, can give you a good blast as you have found out.

I always check the Volume knob before hitting the power switch (on every piece of gear I have actually) ...I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. My speakers silk dome tweeters didn't survive the encounter at that time (30 years ago) ...

The Zero takes about 100 hours or so to mature, the HDAM about 75.

Your gonna crap a brick when you hear what the HDAM does for the Zero

Enjoy !!!!!

Peete.

 

[fugimax]

Is there a link to info on this ALPS pot mod? Again, having trouble coming the thread for the right info.

Also, have people tried to measure the sonic differences at all between the different opamps? I mean, I can imagine routing the headphone output back into a computer, recording the output, switching opamps, then doing the same thing to see changes in the waveforms / FFT / etc. Seems like this would reveal some concrete changes between opamps, no?

 

[sennsay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi S-Man, Glad yours was fairly clean (build wise on the pcb underside)...hopefully what Hale encountered was a fluke (sorry Hale). Thanks for the kind words !! Creemore Springs is a little town about 120 klms NNW from where I live (Southern Ontario, near Toronto). I've been buying it for over 20 years now...don't drink all that often but 4 hours to cover just 65 miles today (damn traffic) will make anyone drink afterwards The brewery is named after the towns numerous underground springs and aquifers. Made with that water and 4 other ingredients. They follow the Bavarian purity law from the 16th century. The Zero's volume pot, if not turned down when the pre amp is engaged, can give you a good blast as you have found out. I always check the Volume knob before hitting the power switch (on every piece of gear I have actually) ...I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. My speakers silk dome tweeters didn't survive the encounter at that time (30 years ago) ... The Zero takes about 100 hours or so to mature, the HDAM about 75. Your gonna crap a brick when you hear what the HDAM does for the Zero Enjoy !!!!! Peete.

Heh heh, I'll prepare for rectangular eliminations then.

Creemore sounds nice, buddy, but the drive doesn't sound so hot, sounds like driving around Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. I lived in OZ for 17 years until April of last year. Brissy's a shocker sometimes.
Yes, Zero has lots of burn-in to do for sure, though it is interesting to hear how clean and open it sounds right out of the box.
I'm going to go out for an exercise walk around the fitness trail, leave Zero to entertain some cans on it's own for a while, since there has been no unwanted burning smells coming from the nooby electronics. Cheers,