New Preamp
zingo
Posts: 11,258
I ended up picking up a partially completed Nelson Pass Balanced Zen Line Stage off DIYAudio a while ago, and last night got it running. It's two chassis and two transformer to provide more stable 80v rails and separation over the standard design. Volume is a four board resistor ladder, and all the boards are genuine NP. Right now it has one RCA input and and one RCA and one XLR output, but I wanted to get it working before I ran all the wires and made all the other connections.
I hooked it up to my BAT amp last night and turned up the volume a few clicks... Wow... A BIG improvement over my previous McIntosh preamp with so much more definition and detail. The music just sounded more real, and this preamp is extremely quiet as a bonus. Now I can see why NP writes so fondly of this preamp, and I do believed all balanced equipment does make a difference in the home environment.
More to come including pictures, and Merry Christmas!
I hooked it up to my BAT amp last night and turned up the volume a few clicks... Wow... A BIG improvement over my previous McIntosh preamp with so much more definition and detail. The music just sounded more real, and this preamp is extremely quiet as a bonus. Now I can see why NP writes so fondly of this preamp, and I do believed all balanced equipment does make a difference in the home environment.
More to come including pictures, and Merry Christmas!
Post edited by zingo on
Comments
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People would scramble to get their hands on those NP boards.
Sounds like a fun project.
You going to upgrade anything or leave "as is" (caps, rca inputs, ect)?Testing
Testing
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I just have mid-line parts in there now to get the thing operational, but will be upgrading it once it's completed.
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I assume it's the BOSOZ?I built one many years ago as well as a pair of the unbalanced Bride ofZen's.It sounded very good but not substantially different than the BOZ.However in those days I did'nt have a balanced source or amplifier to take full advantage of the balanced circuit.This is the simple differential MOSFET circuit on which the popular Adcom GFP750 was based.
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It is the BOSOZ and it os surprizingly simple for how good it sounds. NP does say running it fully balanced sounds better than unbalanced, but he isn't sure why.
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Installed a NP style blue ring illuminated power switch on the front of the power chassis last night. I had a hard switch on the back, but wanted a more convenient one on the front that is very easy to see if it's on or off.
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That's a massive power supply for a pre. Nice layout."Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
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drumminman wrote: »That's a massive power supply for a pre. Nice layout.
I actually have a second PS board that I'm doing trouble shooting on. When I find the bad component, I could install it with a second PAIR of transformers for a dual-mono power supply. What preamp doesn't need four transformers? -
After listening to this preamp solidly for a week, I'm still amazed how good it sounds; especially compared to the previous McIntosh. It has so much detail with precise imaging that also has plenty of texture and body. I'm also surprised by how warm it gets, but it is fully class A (in classic NP style), so I guess that should have been expected.
