[DarkskyZ]

OK, ordered mine today.
 
I went for a fully assembled one with Talema 30VA Toroidal, stepped pot and Dual 627 Class A Bias MOD Pack (with Bias 3.49mA installed). I also asked for a dim blue power led 

Now I have to wait and this is not the funniest part of the whole thing !
 
I asked Stephen about his recommended settings for use with Grados (in fact Alessandro MS-1 at this time...), what would yours be regarding gain and opamp ?
 
This will be my first amp and I need to be guided somewhat in the right direction.
 
Thanks !
 
-DarkskyZ

 

[shrisha]

 
Quote:

OK, ordered mine today.
 
I went for a fully assembled one with Talema 30VA Toroidal, stepped pot and Dual 627 Class A Bias MOD Pack (with Bias 3.49mA installed). I also asked for a dim blue power led 

Now I have to wait and this is not the funniest part of the whole thing !
 
I asked Stephen about his recommended settings for use with Grados (in fact Alessandro MS-1 at this time...), what would yours be regarding gain and opamp ?
 
This will be my first amp and I need to be guided somewhat in the right direction.
 
Thanks !
 
-DarkskyZ

Sorry to be curious, but for how much total goes?

 

[DarkskyZ]

 
US$260 for the whole thing shipped to France.
 
Stephen thinks about adding a logo to the faceplate. I might be the first one to get it

 

[shrisha]

Oh! Good price!

 

[aspenx]

This will be my first amp and I need to be guided somewhat in the right direction.
 
Thanks !
 
-DarkskyZ

Be guided by your own ears. Seriously, there is no better way to make your own personal choice. Changing gains is definitely not difficult with the dip switches below. Neither should just simply swapping out opamps.

 

[head-fidelity]

 
Finished! The first tones come…
Regards, Matthias

 

[Knusperfisch]

Congratulations!^^
Looks pretty good.
Now that you've done it, can you tell us how it sounds?

 

[JiggaD369]

Received mine yesterday!
 
Burning it in right now but initial impression is money well spent!

 

[BlaBlaBla]

shrisha if you own Grados the best setting would be first below the highest - I think 18dB (second DIP switch ON, first OFF). I use that setting on SR 225. Maybe you will think that gain is too high, but it is not. OPA 627 likes high gain. (OPA 637 needs it.) I founded that bass is to weak for everything below 5. Stock OPA 3124 is just opposite.
 
For ATH, I use 10dB (first ON, second OFF). They are easy to drive.
 
- Because of regulator imbalance (LM317 = +14.8V and LM337 = -15.1) I had to use trimpot instead of 1.1K resistor. When the amplifier reaches operating temperature, DC offset is below 0.7mV. I lowered output voltage to +/- 14.2 V because this gives me the lowest DC offset, and I do not need big voltage swing for low impedance headphones.
- replaced the stock BC-s (550 i 560) with BC109C and BC179C.
- replaced Siemens/Epcos MKT input caps with ERO MKC 1862.
- replaced stock ERO MKC bypass caps with ERO KP 1837.
- replaced ELNA blue capacitors with Panasonic FM (same capacity).
- replaced Nichicon imput caps (4700uF) with Mundorf Mlityc (same capacity)
- replaced ADJ caps on LM317/337 with tantalum (10uF) for better load regulation
 
Right now I am very satisfied. I owned Matrix M Stage six months ago, but this one is better. Especially if I compare DC offset that in M Stage was around 8mV, and in Lovely Cube it is below 1mV. Sound is more "in front" and less clinical, what I really like. It is pitty that there is no enough room for Cerafine because FM-s are sometimes too shrill and too rough. Cerafines are slow but sweeeeet...
 
Now I have plans to make another Lovely Cube... But with other rersistors (PRP, Mills/Kiwame, Takman), with new regulator (LT317A, LT337A) and rest will be the same (BC109/179, matched BD-s and ERO MKC/KP/polystyrene caps).

 

[head-fidelity]

I don't have yet much music belonged…
altogether very highly detailed.
For the old AKG K 340 the reinforcement is however nearly too small…

 

[shrisha]

Thanks so much for info BlaBlaBla! Cheers!

 

[BlaBlaBla]

Always welcome. And one big fact. Never save on transformer. Transformer has BIG influence on sound, especially if you are trying to run amp in A class. In that case, the bigger is always better. I think, for Lovely Cube, 25VA is minimum. Even 50VA is not to much. If transformer goes hot when you listening to music, that means that you have to replace it with bigger. Transformer must always have "a fair amount of reserves". Another Lovely Cube is in process of making. (Well, in the process of buying required parts...)

 

[ringer]

Quote:

Always welcome. And one big fact. Never save on transformer. Transformer has BIG influence on sound, especially if you are trying to run amp in A class. In that case, the bigger is always better. I think, for Lovely Cube, 25VA is minimum. Even 50VA is not to much. If transformer goes hot when you listening to music, that means that you have to replace it with bigger. Transformer must always have "a fair amount of reserves". Another Lovely Cube is in process of making. (Well, in the process of buying required parts...)

 
Why the same amp twice? Why not M3 for a change, or something else?

 

[BlaBlaBla]

With this amp I am totaly satisfied. (Right now.) Especially on Grado SR225. I am sure that there is a lot better amps on the market and in diy world...
I like to stick with: "Keep it simple as possible, because you can save your money on quantity and spend on quality." (Buy two Takmans instead of 20 no name metal films, buy two ERO KP instead 20 ceramics, and so on...)
M3 is not so simple, it has much more parts (with PSU). So, it costs a lot more...
 
Excellent amplifier demands excellent source... Do I have flawless source at home? No. I don't. Do I listen to only uncompressed and FLAC music? No. I don't.
So, having 50% better amp will cost me 150% more and will give me 2% better sound.
 
 

 

[JiggaD369]

For anyone looking to best the 627, you must try OPA2107AP. WOW! is all I can say.