Diy Gallery

Attachment 29430
PCM1798 DA Scratch built apart from the input receiver board and the DA chip was bought pre mounted. Circuits applied from previous experiments and deviations from suggested aplications.

Not enough caps for my liking :)

https://i.imgur.com/UVIQCC7.jpg

This was put together mainly to avoid having to buy expensive plugs allowing me to spend the money saved on quality off-the-reel cable and IEC plugs.

https://i.imgur.com/v8slfnS.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/mpSI5x4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Z9fA1of.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eq4nqfc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2kgkUlQ.jpg

I will build another when I finally get the damp leaking house sorted which is seriously messing with my audio pursuit :(

Instead of wood I'll use phenolic resin (bakelite), make it a bit bigger and use FUREZ pure copper lugs. Instead of 6mm stainless steel nuts and bolts will go to 8mm high tensile so I can really torque the hell out of them. Most importantly, try and find some quality glands. Nothing available in my area so got from Amazon, big mistake using Chinese rubbish! I have 7 glands mounted on the top and 5 on the bottom which is a little cramped and one of the glands failed. The threaded section stripped and I was taking great care. This happened when swapping power cables.

The unit is not fed by a master cable, I removed an existing wall socket and mounted this over the pattress.

I only need 7 cables but fitted extra so I could listen to the sound of each. Finding the best and worst was easy now with my gizmo. Top cable, easily heard and a good deal above the rest was a DIY Oyaide Black Mamba V2. I have 2 fitted, one with an MPS Hercules which proved excellent value and the other with a Furutech knock-off. The Black Mamba with Furutech was top of the bunch.

Of note the BM V2 was best on the linestage, DAC and Bryston player, which makes it unusually versatile. Also worth noting is the fact that the comparison between the 2 BM cables was revealing the difference between the IEC plugs. The 2 cables were made by cutting a 3m length in half so the difference can't be attributed to a new run or even one of them reverse direction. Both cables had the cable ID reading from supply to device. The plugs are as or more important than the wire.

The least of them and on the Bryston actually sounded phasey and soft. The MCRU No.75
This finding is on my system in my room and might be better in a different situation :scratch:

Interesting, Charles.. Could we see it all cabled-up?:)

Marco.

What is the base made from - is it wood, or SRBP?

I will state from the outset that I am a total sceptic about claims that changing a mains cable will have any discernable impact on the performance of an item of audio equipment, with the important proviso that any cable should not change the voltage or frequency of the supply and allow the required power to be supplied. If sound is actually altered as a result then something within the laws of physics has been changed which is both demonstrable and therefore measureable. If someone cares to explain why scientifically I would be most interested, I can hear a difference is not acceptable, even though you might be convinced that you can. I believe the ear and by extension the brain are probably the least reliable tools to measure change in electronic audio equipment performance.

I acknowledge Charles' exercise in identifying a specific mains cable that he thinks he prefers and whilst I recognise his entitlement to spend his time and money in whichever way he chooses, I have already made my position clear.

I note that Charles lives in Ireland, their electrical installation regulations are broadly the same as the UK and both would find his home built unit contrary to the regs, there appears to be class 1 metalwork not connected to a CPC, the 25A MCB is not providing any over current or short circuit protection to the individual out going cables, access to live components doesn't require use of a tool, and timber is a dubious choice as a housing material. Given these comments connecting it to a fixed electrical installation would almost certainly invalidate the buildings insurance, wholly not recommended.
I am most certainly in favour of trying alternative whatevers if that's your choice, but just about everything else before the mains cables will have a far greater impact and your less likely to burn the house down or worse kill yourself.
A somewhat concerned Martin

Marco, here you go, even took the lid off.

Barry it's wood. I come from the other side of the equator and have never heard of SRBP. It's a very hard wood which holds it's shape well and machines nice and clean. The locals I've asked don't know it.

https://i.imgur.com/UyAzcyo.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7TcAJKv.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/r2HQeZC.jpg

SRBP - Synthetic Resin Bonded Paper, also known as Paxolin. It comes in two grades: P1 and P3. P3 is a very good insulator and would be used at mains voltages.

I wouldn't trust wood (even a fine-grained hardwood) to be a suitable insulator for the mains voltage used in Europe.

Martin, I appreciate the time you took to reply but I am concerned that you are concerned. Concerned that you unfortunately have not heard what a good cable can bring to the party. Concerned that you are a 'measurementalist' and probably have never even tried the experiment.

This was my experiment to not only avoid costly mains plugs but also to avoid the sound of those plugs with accompanying fuses. The improvement from lowering the noise floor was impressive.

I did mention that I will at some stage rebuild it using phenolic resin board but mainly to achieve a bit more space using fewer cables. I need 7 cables but allowed for more so that I could easily swap them around which I have been doing and learning a lot.

Regarding not needing a tool to open the unit, I invite you to pop over and attempt to undo them with your fingers. Bring a bottle of single malt with and while you are here I could unplug the DAC, pre and power amps and supply them from an extension block using standard supplied cables. I have done this and the difference is undeniable. If you can't hear anything then you can also be concerned about your hearing.

Perhaps you can explain to me how you can tell how tight those wing nuts are from inspecting a photo :rolleyes: Did you not notice the nyloc nuts as back up on the buss-bar mounts? When swapping in new cables the wing nuts are convenient but nylocs are used at other times. You appear to have made the assumption that the cover is easily removable.

Please do not be concerned about my safety, I have been working with high voltage for a looong time.

Some projects done

All using TPA3255 modules from 3e Audio


https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzBmTW
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzBmTW

My latest -https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAuYd7
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAuYd7