Hasafraker.com

NuForce icon uDAC-2

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 13:34:00 -0500

I am most impressed with my uDAC-2, I put this on my wish list and my wife picked it up for my bday. I am really enjoying this little device. This is my first DAC, like many these days I’ve got a fairly extensive digital music collection, I also have a pretty large vinyl collection, and as I transfer that stuff to MP3 or FLAC files I really want to make sure I’m hearing everything. I was doing some digging around on the web recently and came across a review of this device and downloaded some FLAC test files. I played them through my regular pc headphone jack and then through the NuForce2, wow. Initially I did notice improved clarity and details I’d been missing before but doing some AB’ing really made that stand out.

Some have complained about some channel balance issues with the pot on this device. Short of spending as much as this device costs to 3x as much on a high end volume control, I find no fault what so ever with the pot on this device. At very low volume levels it is not uncommon to experience some channel balance issues. I have a couple other amps that at barely audible volume levels there is some noticeable balance issues, but turn it up a smidge and the issue goes away. At low “listening” levels, I have experienced no balance issues at all.

Now I’m running my NuForce2 into my Bottlehead Crack OTL amp and holy smoke Batman!! I thought the Crack sounded good before… now with the uDAC-2 between my laptop and my Crack, I’m simply blown away.

I did listen to the uDAC-2 as a stand alone headphone amp while doing homework this week and it isn’t lacking anything either. My Sennheiser ear buds have never sounded so good. I pulled them out and stuck them back into my MP3 player, and then back to the uDAC-2… mmmmnnn musical goodness. Improved bass response, fuller mid range, nothing lacking from the top end either. Vocals are excellent, I have no real complaints, I could probably spend some time looking for one but I’d rather just listen to some more music.

Well done, I’m very pleased with this little amp/dac I might even be forced to buy a second one to take to work, but as small as this little guy is, I might just have to toss it into my bag and carry it back and forth for a while.

I’ve been pretty slammed this term, my classes are...

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:19:00 -0500

I’ve been pretty slammed this term, my classes are demanding an insane amount of my time, my birthday is this month and my wife got me a new CD to go with some of my new toys.

This CD was on my list of wants, Nojima Plays Liszt, I heard about it on the Bottlehead website, Doc mentions how his copy on tape sounds amazing etc so I thought well I must have a copy! So leave it up to the wife to feed the need.

Here is one track from the CD, track 8, Allegro Energico, it’s fantastic, each time I’ve played through the CD this one always grabs my attention. The rest of the CD is a real treat as well, enjoy!

woo another follower!

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:32:20 -0500

Wow I picked up another follower! Seems that they’re an Indie artist, I checked out the sample music they have available, pretty decent stuff, give them a listen.

http://migratoryanimals.tumblr.com/

I’m currently listening to a Jazz CD that I’ve had for quite a long time, 3rd Force, Vital Force, now that is definitely worth a listen.

Also worth mentioning, the Bottlehead Crack OTL Headphone amp that I recently finished sounds better every day, the more hours I get on it the better it seems to get. I ordered a Speedball upgrade for it, this is basically an upgraded power supply, I will do my best to document the build with good before and after pictures I promise!

Benchmark Media - Masters From Their Day

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:05:29 -0500

In light of my recent headphone amp build I joined headfi.org today and was digging around on the site and found this. Masters From Their Day, the concept is very cool, the videos are really neat as well but… the best part is the music. I am very impressed at the quality and that they have made the tracks available for download for free… who does this anymore?

Well they deserve some attention! Please check them out, episode #4 is currently my favorite of the bunch but again, they’re all excellent and VERY well recorded.

Give them a listen you won’t be disappointed.

Bottlehead Crack OTL Headphone amp

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:47:19 -0500

Greetings once again!

So for Christmas I got another kit that I’d been wanting. Christmas Eve the UPS guy shows up with my Crack kit from Bottlehead. Woo! I could hardly believe it showed up before Christmas.

The photo is the finished article. Bottlehead has been around for quite some time, I’d been following them for a while since before I came to Ohio. They sell tube based kits as well as finished equipment but beyond that they also have a stellar reputation for their gear to sound absolutely amazing, well I’m here to tell you that this kit does not fail to deliver.

Where I find the patience for some of this I’ll never know, it took me 2 days to paint the top plate and end bell on the transformer and I still wasn’t happy with it but oh well I’m not going to sand it down and paint it again. It looks good enough for me. After laying out the chassis I began soldering “by the numbers” basically.

The kit comes with a CDROM that contains a .pdf of the instruction manual. I’ve never put together a kit that came with better thought out instructions than this one. They are clear and lead you through the entire process. If you can read and understand basic kit building terminology anybody with basic soldering skills can build this kit. Here’s the best part, even if you don’t, but can read and I mean read everything, Doc gives basic soldering instructions in the manual. So like one of the guys on the forum said, “go to Radio Shack, pick up a few terminal strips and a grab bag of cheap resisters or similar and get some soldering experience in, for the cost of some cheap parts you can learn to solder in about 30 minutes.”

Well I’ve been slinging solder for a while so I skipped through that and got right to building my kit. Here is the naked laid out plate, and the finished view.

and since I took my sweet time on this build, I was not going to mess it up, I wanted it to sound as good as possible so, slow and steady was the theme and boy did it pay off. Two 4 hour sessions later…viola!

I have learned several things from all the different builds that I’ve done.

1. you don’t have to use so much solder that you close the terminal holes, a good joint only requires enough solder to join the wire/part to the terminal, make sure the joint is hot enough and the solder will just flow. Only use enough to get the job done, if you have to go back later and add something you missed or move a part, removing all that solder can be a huge pain.

2. neatness counts, heaven forbid you have to go back and work on it or troubleshoot a problem like hum or no sound from one channel. If your work isn’t neat and tidy well it’s going to be that much harder tracing the circuit out and tracking down your problem. Plus, when your buddy asks to see the underside of the chassis you want to be able to show it to him without having to explain that yes you put it together and not your 4yr old. :P The other aspect with regards to neatness is that routing of wires and such can help keeping noise out of the circuit, or like in the Crack, the two large resisters that look like big white logs in the middle of the plate dissipate a lot of heat, any wires routed near them could be burned or at least have the insulation melted from the wire if they’re too close. So be mindful of what’s touching what when you build something like this.

So at this point I have well over 50 hours on my amp, I’ve settled on the tubes that will reside in it for the time being. I was lucky enough to purchase an extra 6080 power tube and several 12au7 variants. Currently the power tube is a PN JAN 6080WC, Bottlehead included a very nice Sylvania GB6080 but after running the amp in for about 8hrs I noticed that something was generating a high pitched tone and I couldn’t figure out what the heck was going on, well the Sylvania is either faulty or microphonic, but swapping it out for the NOS JAN 6080WC the amp is dead silent now. I had tried a CONN branded 12au7, the included and very nice Elecro~Harmonix 12au7/ECC82, a Pinnacle Audio 12au7, and currently my favorite a GE 5 star 5814a.

I’m listening to some of my favorite vinyl right now, currently spinning is Masterpieces by Ellington, the sound is very detailed. This sure separates the good from the bad, you can hear EVERYTHING! LP’s that I had previously enjoyed quite a lot, have surface imperfections that I just hadn’t been able to hear before now. Well this amp sounds simply amazing. No apologies! I’d rather be able to hear every little thing than not.

I played Mingus Ah Um earlier and WOW! That one is a 180g reissue and sounds amazing. Ok before I go much further what am I actually listening with? Ahh headphones! Well as luck would have it my wife also got me for Christmas a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b headphones :D These are fantastic cans. They are noise canceling and do a great job of making me feel like I’m in a sound proof room all by my self listening to music. The Crack amp was designed with higher impedance cans in mind and the AT’s are 300 ohm so I’m in good shape!

Ok so I have Crack and new headphones and an obvious addiction but the only cure is probably to listen to more music ;) The music through these things is VERY lifelike, the sound stage is wide and dynamic. Natural is probably the best single word I could use to describe the whole experience. Doesn’t seem to matter if I’m playing a CD from my laptop, MP3’s from my player, or spinning a LP, at least with recordings of high quality, the music sounds natural. I have a couple live performances and if I close my eyes it’s not a stretch to imagine being there. I’ve had several experiences where detail I hadn’t heard or noticed before startled me because I didn’t realize it was from the recording and not something going on around me.

I love this amp, cost of admission is $220 plus shipping, add to that a day or three of your time for assembly and you’ve got yourself one serious performer. Bottlehead has a very active DIY community, lots of help on their forums, plus lots of other kits to feed your habit! If you’re looking for a first kit, or even just something new, give them a very serious look, you will not regret it.

I’m going to go flip my record and listen to my Crack some more ;) have a good one!

Merry Christmas to all :)

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 08:40:36 -0500

Playing one of my all time favorites this morning while cooking something to take to my sister-inlaws for breakfast. The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out. I never get tired of listening to this one, absolutely love this album.

Merry Christmas all, may you be able to spend the holidays surrounded by the ones you love and good music.

thepiano: Song of the Day #97: Van Morrison- Moondance …a...

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:42:39 -0500

thepiano:

Song of the Day #97: Van Morrison- Moondance

…a classic that should be celebrated. Released in 1970, this is song that really made Van Morrison famous. Van Morrison is known for mixing genre’s like Jazz, Country, Rock, and Blues. This is more of a Jazzy tune, but he sings it like a Rock star. I’m sure you’ll agree.

The Allmusic reviewer describes “Moondance” as “one of those rare songs that manages to implant itself on the collective consciousness of popular music, passing into the hallowed territory of a standard, a classic.”

In 1999, this album was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and is also in Rolling Stone’s magazine as one of the top 500 greatest Rock songs of all time.

catching a breath...

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:45:33 -0500

I realize it’s been a long time since I made a post, mostly that’s due to the fact that between work, going to the gym 3 nights a week and 2 classes this term… and work, I’m slammed and most of the time can’t remember my own name.

Well in keeping with tradition my wife can’t wait for Christmas and I love her for it lol. So, thus begins my “12 days of Christmas” as my presents show up… I get them hehe. So, tonight a little break from my homework and final projects.

Mingus Ah Um in 180g reissue perfection is spinning on my table and I must say… it’s the perfect addition to my collection and this glass of wine and sharp white cheddar are the icing on my cake.

So kids, you have to from time to time remember to come up for air, take a breath, look around, smell the roses and listen to some good music. If you can only do one of those things, I highly recommend the listening to good music. Music is good for the soul and while it might not be able to fix all that’s wrong with the world, sure can do a lot to help you forget about it for a while and unwind and relax.

Wooster Jazz Festival - 2010

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 19:28:00 -0400

Wooster Jazz Festival - 2010:

engaged4good:

Today my husband and I traveled to Wooster for their Jazz Festival. This is our 3rd year and it never disappoints. With the threat of rain in the air, we were determined to get out and go enjoy the event no matter what and lucky for us, the rain stayed away.

Almost 100 artists were expected, but there were noticeably less than that this year. Unfortunately, many probably opted out due to the weather - they also missed out. We saw many familiar faces from other art shows and events we frequent. It is nice to recognize them and to BE recognized by these talented artists.

The music this year was spectacular. This event, without fail, showcases some of the best local jazz artists. Paul and I sat on a park bench and listened to The Ken Weaver Quartet. Then we headed down the street to Tulipan, a Hungarian pastry and coffee shop where we enjoyed a honeycake dipped in a chocolate-rum glaze and rolled in coconut flakes, an obligatory piece of Baklava and coffee. We strolled through a new store - Today’s Kitchen Store, and then to The Urban Cottage, a very cute consignment boutique and then up to The Wooster Gift Corner, one of the city’s oldest downtown retailers. We sat outside on a park bench and listened to the rest of the Ken Weaver Quartet’s set. We were hoping they would have CD’s for sale, but no such luck. The music then transitioned to Jack Shantz and Jazz Unit. We moved park benches and sat people watching. We especially enjoyed this boy who was probably about 10 years old making the most spectacular balloon animals I’ve ever seen. People seemed compelled to join us on the park bench - I got a kick out of two older women on the prowl for a good man. ”Go ask him to dance!” one friend said to the other…”There’s just never any good men at these things!” the other chimed in.

By this time, we were hungry. We headed down to Broken Rocks Cafe & Bakery. Our waitress could have easily been Uma Thurman’s twin sister. Her resemblance was quite uncanny. Paul swears our hostess looked like Jennifer Garner, but I didn’t see the resemblance. I enjoyed a nice smoked turkey sandwich with roasted red peppers, scallions and black pepper cream cheese on house bread. Paul got the Crabcake Po-Boy Sandwich. I really love this restaurant - it has a great atmosphere, nice artwork and a hip urban feel. Always a good time.

After lunch, we decided to head for home. On our way out, we spotted what appeared from a distance to be a very large bear laying ahead of us. Turns out, it was a man with his two purebred Newfoundland dogs. The female was 150 pounds and the male 170 pounds. Both were such docile, sweet animals. Very majestic looking dogs and stunning to see in person - my first time. I can honestly say I have never seen a dog so big in my life. A Great Dane may be bigger in height, but these dogs were huge. I could not believe the size of the feet. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera and our cell phones today, so no pictures. They sure drew a large crowd though. Very stunning to see them in person. It was a lovely day out with my husband. Good thing I took pictures last year so I have some to add to this post! I need to get the camera back in my purse so I don’t keep forgetting it.

got Coffee?!

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 12:11:00 -0400

Well as an avid coffee drinker and by that I mean I would die without it :P we buy all of our coffee online from some very wonderful folks over at PT’s Coffee.

As with most folks that we shop at that we really like I wish everybody else knew about them so that they continue to do well and are around to continue roasting beans for us :D The roasts that we buy regularly; Gizmo, La Bella Vida Espresso, Ad Astra (super dark roast). All of these are fabulous, and the most recent edition that I’ve quickly fallen in love with, partly because of it’s name but mostly because it’s just that good… Flying Monkey (how can you not love the name?!) Espresso.

Beyond the fantastic coffees they offer, the roast quality and consistency, I applaud them for their business practices. I can’t do them justice here, but these guys really LOVE what they do, they love coffee, they love their growers and it shows. Check out their website and blog and you’ll see what I mean. They also love their customers, customer service is top notch, give them a try, you will not regret it.

ZSP1 Completed

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:07:32 -0400

Well I got a case made for it today my woodworking skills not withstanding… It will do the trick but I’m not totally satisfied with it, I might need to build a few other things to brush up on my woodworking.

Aside from all that it sounds fabulous, and since the case is just to keep the critters and such from getting at the high voltage and having a really bad day… mission accomplished! :)

Here’s a picture of the finished article.

Roxy Music - Avalon

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:03:00 -0400

Ok kids, now that I’ve gotten my most recent project done, as well as a couple others it’s back to listening to some music.

I first heard this album on CD when I was in the Marines, back in 87. Wow that sure feels like a very long time ago. I still have my original CD, sounds just as good as it did the day I bought it. Well I’ve been buying a fair bit of music on LP that I love, this one definitely qualifies as one I love. Like I said originally, I’ve been into HiFi and music for a very long time, back in the day aside from this albums popularity, Audiophile magazine reviewed this album and recommended it as a system demo CD because it was so well recorded. I’ve been on the look out for this album since I started collecting LP’s a few months ago.

My local vinyl shop approached me to help with his backlog of equipment needing repairs/refurbishing and I thought what a great way to support my habbit ;) I have thus far collected nearly 200 LP’s some have been free, some not so free but on average I’ve probably paid $4 each maybe $3 but still, do the math that’s a decent chunk of cash. The chance to earn some albums appeals to me.

So today I took back a decent little Sherwood Turntable that I restored to functionality as well as a surprisingly decent Realistic Receiver. My buddy at the shop will be pleased. While I was there I checked through his stuff and found what is turning out to be a near mint copy of Roxy Music’s Avalon.

I LOVE this album, I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve let it lull me to sleep, was in a bad mood and needed something to cheer me up, or calm me down, this album is almost like a long lost friend. Hearing it for the first time on vinyl has nearly brought a tear to my eye. I should get the CD out and listen to them both and see if I can really tell the difference between the two.

The music reminds me a little of Danny Elfman, Danny uses an amazing selection of musicians in his work, sometimes full orchestra, well Avalon has a very wide variety of sounds too, if you have a system capable of reproducing all the sounds and detail this album contains you are in for a treat I promise. There is a little of everything, above all else though, I love how unique Roxy Music’s sound is. They remind me of other groups a little here and there but they have a sound all their own.

If you have a chance to listen to this album, do so in a quiet room with no distractions and listen, turn your pc off, put down your cell phone and just listen to the music. Fantastic…

Hey! Thanks for the follow and all your comments, i really appreciate it when people take the time to comment on my work...

I'm gonna sift through your stuff right now...

-Dotan Negrin DotanNegrin@gmail.com

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:45:26 -0400

I really dig your stuff, I try to watch/read all of it, some days I’m just so busy it seems like I just don’t have the time for the things I like. Quite a bit of the stuff you post makes me think about how much is out there that I should really make time to check out. I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog :) Have a fantastic weekend!

Paul

ZSP1 update

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:38:47 -0400

Well kids I spoke too soon, after getting the zsp1 up to my vinyl rig in the living room the hum was still there, less so than before but no less annoying. I did quite a bit more reading, poking at the preamp, taking measurements, connecting this, disconnecting that, trying to figure out why my creation resisted to produce sweet hum free music like I’d so hoped in the beginning.

All I have to say now is “I bite my thumb at you!” *ouch!* :P Ok so I contacted a buddy and picked at his brain a little, I found another website that actually contributed a lot conceptually to my troubleshooting AudioVidioPhilia Many thanks to pRCarter, the zsp1 is now DEAD SILENT! It sounds every bit as wonderful as my 5687 preamp. If I get my other turntable restored I’ll have to setup both systems head to head and see how they sound side by side, that would be fun!

Basically I had a ground loop that I needed to break, well I broke it, it sounds awesome, I’m going to go enjoy some of my favorite Sinatra :)

have a great weekend everybody!

ZSP1 update

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:33:58 -0400

I’m thrilled to report that the monster hum issue has been solved. My wife figured it out. She says to me “what’s wrong honey?” “oh nothing, it hums, it sounds like poo” “hmmm… lemme see, oh well there’s your problem!” “oh?!” “yeah, the flux capacitor is backwards ;) ” “backwards…?!” err… well actually the AC in from the IEC socket was reversed, I rewired it and sure enough, hum is gone, I can’t quite tell just how much (hum) might be lurking because I’m still downstairs with it while Rico runs on the tread mill. It’s storming outside and the thunder scares him so this is good therapy. I will take the preamp upstairs when we’re done running but for now, it sounds really good.

Once I get a base made for it I will take some final pictures and post them, for now, I can’t wait to listen to my new Cannonball Adderley LP through this thing :D

Everyone have a fantastic night!

ZSP1 update

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:19:32 -0400

Not a good day for DIY :( I spent a lot of energy doing this right so I have no idea where it went wrong or what I missed but I wrapped this up today and it doesn’t work. I emailed the folks who sell the kit for some assistance but I’m seriously at a loss. I can’t think what I could possibly have done wrong, I took my time, followed the schematic and seriously checked my work every step of the way. Patience was the major theme with this preamp because it was (at least to me) fairly complicated and I didn’t want to mess it up. Oh well. Here’s a shot of the finished work for all it’s worth.

ZSP1 update

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:32:31 -0400

Ok! As much of a surprise as it is to me, I was able to wait for the paint to cure on the top plate lol. I normally can’t stand it and start while it’s still not quite set and I have to rub out some finger prints later ;)

So, tonight after dinner I went downstairs and populated the plate with all the hard parts. Everything is ready for me to start wiring this bad boy up. I’m going to try my hand at building a wood base for it once it’s complete so long as it sounds right and I don’t have to go back and modify anything. Once this guy is done and I fit a base to it, that’s it, it’s done. I’m not going to tweak this unless something is seriously lacking in the sound. My guess is that it should rival the SE84DIY amp, if that’s the case, I will be plenty happy for a while.

Here are a couple shots, I wish I had the time to get started on it tonight but no sense in rushing it. I’m taking my time on this one, I’m going to make sure it’s done right.

Here’s the bottom

…and the top

ZSP1 continued

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:48:38 -0400

As promised, here are the initial shots. So far so good :)

almost ready!

ready for paint!

decided to do a mock up so I could make sure I didn’t miss anything

all painted, now I just have to wait for the paint to set, install all the sockets and transformer and I can begin wiring it up. I can’t wait! :)

ZSP1 started!

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:21:12 -0400

Well it’s about time honestly! I got my ZSP1 kit for my birthday back in March and it’s sat on my bench since. This didn’t make either the kit or myself very happy. My problems thus far were lack of directions, non-identified parts changes and my own inability.

Unfortunately the Decware kit would only get 5 points on a 10 scale for user friendliness. In spite of that after studying the kit, several tense emails back and forth to the company, concerns addressed, issues resolved, and a larger top plate delivered via eBay, I have begun on the plate.

Now I have built several other kits and my issue is that I’ve become spoiled by the quality of the other kits, very concise instructions, very well labeled schematics, and all the parts I’m expecting are the type and variety I’m expecting. With the ZSP1 it has taken a lot more effort on my part to become comfortable enough to begin. The last thing I want to do is start a project and turn a very expensive kit into parts bin trash.

I will post a couple pics later once the top plate is completed and I get paint on it. Most likely I will start mounting components in a day or three. Depending on how much time I have to play with it I might actually get that done today, we’ll see how fast I can get the paint to cure ;)

In pursuit of audio nirvanna

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:01:08 -0400

DIY audio has long been a hobby of mine, sometimes I’m quite obsessive about it. I’ve built to date 3 amplifiers, 1 push pull and 2 SET amps, one stereo and one mono. I also have 1 preamp and 1 phono stage under my belt. I currently have supplies to build another pair of SET mono blocks as well as another preamp. The preamp is a kit from Decware the ZSP1, I’m actually quite excited to get started on that one.

In any event this post today is regarding my very first from scratch DIY preamp that I built ala DIY Paradise Yeo the owner of the site has a project called the “Simple 5687” and simple it is, but the sound… fantastic.

Anyhow, this was also my second HiFi DIY project and honestly I had a lot to learn yet, I still have a lot to learn but that’s besides the point. I did a lot wrong with this preamp, in spite of myself and my newb-ness it DID sound really good but it hummed a good bit and I was never able to get rid of it. Well I recently decided that I would endeavor to resolve the hum issues.

I started by replacing the ancient power transformer. I purchased it as a NOS item, the seller swore to me it was unused, just old stock, granted it was older than I was but still. Anyhow, in a couple recent projects of mine I used nice toroid transformers that I purchased from Antek, these guys make very affordable high quality toroids. In fact, the one I used in a recent phono preamp is dead silent and I mean absolutely quiet.

Anyhow I thought what a perfect idea, I’ll get a 200va toroid for my old preamp and replace the old transformer with a new one. That should eliminate the hum and the angels will sing and you know, it will be cool and stuff :D Well, it was a great idea but didn’t work out quite like I’d hoped. The new toroid doesn’t hum physically but the circuit actually sounded worse! :( much gnashing of teeth followed with this discovery.

So I looked over my wiring, everything checks out, voltages are all within spec. I can’t figure out what the deal is. Well I noticed quite a few issues with my original work that I tried to rectify like some of my grounding was potentially creating ground loops = bad. I resolved those issues and still humming like a crazy person. I swapped out my 5687 tube for a different one. I have 5 of these guys because I’m crazy like that lol. Anyhow, I have a nice gold label Sylvania with gold pins, I put that in vs. the Tung Sol and that improved the hum substantially but it was still not gone.

So we chalk some of the hum down to microphonic preamp tube, but we still have a substantial amount of hum, and it actually sounds like the 5687 is whistling, it comes and goes, I have no idea what’s going on. So I start scouring the internet for tube heads like myself who have tackled this sort of thing before. How to tame hum when using AC heaters.

I found lots of stuff out there, lots of people who had the problem, and not so many who knew or thought they knew how to cure it. The trouble is finding someone who has taken the time to put it down in words that make sense to “the masses” and then actually show you possible solutions. As luck and or fate would have it, I found one such site! Here is a link to the article that saved the day for me the Valve Wizard

So the article talks about toroids and heaters that are not center tapped, well that’s me. He recommened creating a virtual ground by running a 100ohm resister off each leg of the heater wires to ground.

Well I did just that and holy smokes! (well not any actual smoke thank goodness!) Ding Dong the Hum is gone!! I reconnected everything and with the volume on my amp at about 35% and the volume on my preamp at about 50% with my ear right next to the speaker I can hear 60hz hum but only just. If I step back and away, it’s dead silent!!

I just finished listening to one of the several new Duke Ellington LP’s that I got, as well as Bryan Ferry’s Bete Noire and all I have to say is… will someone please pick my jaw up off the floor for me! I don’t think I’ve heard my system sound quite so detailed, it has such a black background now, during low volume passages there is just nothing there, no extra anything else to give it away.

I’m tickled to death with the results, I think I’m going to have to put Scheherazade on tomorrow evening and give it another listen! At this point I would even bet that I could fool my friends into thinking they were listening to a CD player ;) at least with some of my very clean LP’s that don’t have any clicks or pops in them.

Hasafraker.com

NuForce icon uDAC-2

I’ve been pretty slammed this term, my classes are...

woo another follower!

Benchmark Media - Masters From Their Day

Bottlehead Crack OTL Headphone amp

Merry Christmas to all :)

thepiano: Song of the Day #97: Van Morrison- Moondance …a...

catching a breath...

Wooster Jazz Festival - 2010

got Coffee?!

ZSP1 Completed

Roxy Music - Avalon

Hey! Thanks for the follow and all your comments, i really appreciate it when people take the time to comment on my work... I'm gonna sift through your stuff right now... -Dotan Negrin DotanNegrin@gmail.com

ZSP1 update

ZSP1 update

ZSP1 update

ZSP1 update

ZSP1 continued

ZSP1 started!

In pursuit of audio nirvanna

Hey! Thanks for the follow and all your comments, i really appreciate it when people take the time to comment on my work...

I'm gonna sift through your stuff right now...

-Dotan Negrin DotanNegrin@gmail.com