What did you do to your stereo rig today?
Comments
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nooshinjohn wrote: »Man cave, huh.... did the wife pick that color?
Lol, no I did. Got the color code off a former member a few years back who had it for his room. It’s more burnt orange than it looks.
I like the energy.
What Taylor is that? Nice room by the way...maybe someday when my kids are grown and I’m as old as @tonyb i might get one 😂Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
I posted a pic of this Phase Linear 400 power amp from my dad's collection a couple of months ago.
It didn't pass the dim-bulb-test on one channel, so I started researching whether it was worth fixing. These Bob Carver designed amps have a following of enthusiasts, and White Oak Audio https://www.whiteoakaudio.com/ actually has a few different upgrade kits for the PL400 and PL700 amps which improve upon the original design.
Having no money invested in this unit, I decided to buy a kit and re-do the main board as well as upgrade the power supply caps.
Here are the guts:
Here are the replacement filter caps (pre-assembled), and board (self-assembled):
I'm just about ready to do the final R&R on this, so wish me luck! I'll have to remove and re-install the outputs as part of the graduated start-up process. I'll be testing each of the output transistors (all 16 of them) as I remove them and prepare to reinstall, so it is entirely possible that some will be bad. Here's one side of the outputs (there are 8 more on the other side):
"This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
nooshinjohn wrote: »Man cave, huh.... did the wife pick that color?
Lol, no I did. Got the color code off a former member a few years back who had it for his room. It’s more burnt orange than it looks.
I like the energy.
What Taylor is that? Nice room by the way...maybe someday when my kids are grown and I’m as old as @tonyb i might get one 😂
It’s an entry level...Taylor 110. Circa 2013. It certainly sounds good enough for my plinking around. Haven’t played much the last 10 years or so.
Thank you for the compliments on the room. If I made one smart decision in my life...when we bought this house 8 years ago, I negotiated with the wife. She got the master closet to herself and I got the 4th bedroom for whatever I wanted.2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A -
Thank you for the compliments on the room. If I made one smart decision in my life...when we bought this house 8 years ago, I negotiated with the wife. She got the master closet to herself and I got the 4th bedroom for whatever I wanted.
I can relate. When we moved into our current house I got the 4th bedroom as my music room. Up until about a month ago it had bed in it, but it’s finally gone. Closet space stinks in this house, so I’ve got clothes hanging in three different closets, but it’s worth it.
The room looks really nice. Though I can’t play, I wouldn’t mind a cheap guitar or two for decoration. They add to the room IMO.Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden -
I posted a pic of this Phase Linear 400 power amp from my dad's collection a couple of months ago.
It didn't pass the dim-bulb-test on one channel, so I started researching whether it was worth fixing. These Bob Carver designed amps have a following of enthusiasts, and White Oak Audio https://www.whiteoakaudio.com/ actually has a few different upgrade kits for the PL400 and PL700 amps which improve upon the original design.
Having no money invested in this unit, I decided to buy a kit and re-do the main board as well as upgrade the power supply caps.
I'm just about ready to do the final R&R on this, so wish me luck! I'll have to remove and re-install the outputs as part of the graduated start-up process. I'll be testing each of the output transistors (all 16 of them) as I remove them and prepare to reinstall, so it is entirely possible that some will be bad. Here's one side of the outputs (there are 8 more on the other side):
Good luck! Those prices on the website seem pretty reasonable too. I'm going to be attempting my first electronics repair, which will be my Martin Logan Dynamo Subwoofer. It blows the fuse and I hope it is just something with the power supply board but may extend to the amplifier board...who knows. If I can fix it I will have one for each channel.
Could you explain the dim bulb test? Thanks!George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Onkyo A-8017 integrated
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform -
You use a old incandescent light bulb to test and if done correctly it glows the bulb instead of smoking the gear.
Poor mans variac.
https://antiqueradio.org/dimbulb.htm
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Yes, and we had a little discussion about here: https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/comment/2528821#Comment_2528821"This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
Thanks! Reading up now. I think the trick will be to come up with the proper wattage bulb that will indicate to me that their is a short still, without blowing the fuse. I have my known good ML Dynamo to determine minimum wattage that allows the thing to start playing, but that might not be the right one for testing the other one that I have attempted a repair on, to determine if there is still a problem without going through fuses.George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Onkyo A-8017 integrated
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform -
Gardenstater wrote: »OK cool. Looking forward to your further impressions. Not to be a wiseguy but there's no "backwave" at the sides either. I think it's more a matter of having the BH5 in the vicinity of the drivers because every surface of the back of the cone becomes a point source for a sound wave, in other words there are sound waves radiating out in all directions and bouncing all over the place within the cabinets and that can cause interference with the proper primary motion of the cones. I think the other key is amount of BH5 relative to total cabinet volume, along with keeping the area around the passive free of it. Just my 2c.
Thank you sir for giving me the kick in the a$$ to take them apart one more time for the install of side pieces of bh5. The side strips are in now and yes it was a worthwhile and significant overall improvement. Also while I had things apart I cleaned and treated all the speaker connectors. They were tarnished quite a bit but they're shiny now.
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So on the I'd plate it will state either watt usage or amps (x120v). If it says it uses 480w of power then you need to use a 500w bulb.Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
So on the I'd plate it will state either watt usage or amps (x120v). If it says it uses 480w of power then you need to use a 500w bulb.
The lower the wattage bulb you use the more protective it is and 500W is way way up there. The subwoofer doesn't normally draw anywhere near that maximum rating, especially when powered up into standby mode. Respectfully I do not think that would be what I would want to use for troubleshooting a short circuit that is blowing fuses.George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Onkyo A-8017 integrated
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform -
If it's blowing input fuses it's short circuiting. Period. The dim bulb test is for a device that has none.Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
Regardless, 500W is too much because that bulb has a much lower resistance than a 50W bulb, for example. In a voltage divider, the higher resistance has the greater voltage drop. It may turn out to be more useful for when I get the circuit repaired to the point where it no longer blows fuses, but there is still something wrong. But I'm sure that 500W wouldn't provide very much protection.George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Onkyo A-8017 integrated
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform -
The DBT puts the bulb's filament in series with the AC input to the component under "test". [EDIT] What you want to do is limit current flowing through the component under test* with the resistance of the bulb filament. The filament takes up the load.
source: https://antiqueradio.org/dimbulb.htmIf the bulb's wattage is too low, it will light brightly even if your radio has no problems, and your radio won't play at all. We'll demonstrate this in an example below.
Your radio should play normally without fully lighting a bulb that is roughly 1.5 to 2 times the radio's stated wattage.
(this goes on to give some real-world examples for relative low current draw tube radios)
Remember that the most common use for DBTs is old vacuum tube equipment. Heating the tube filaments (and running the vacuum tubes) means those components draw a fair amount of juice even at idle. Solid state amplifiers (or receivers) draw very little current (more to the point, they consume very little power) at idle.
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* if there were a short circuit in the component, the current flow would be dangerously high, and pop the fuse, or worse -- under these conditions, the bulb lights up bright(ly) and, in essence, 'protects' the component under tese from damage.
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mhardy6647 wrote: »Solid state amplifiers (or receivers) draw very little current (more to the point, they consume very little power) at idle.
Unless it is Class A.
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Thanks. So is it of basically little to no use for repair of a solid state amplifier that is blowing fuses? Can I use the dim bulb tester on my working amp and find the lowest wattage value that allows the good one to work and then use that on the one I am repairing? Will it be possible to determine that something is wrong still , ie. there is some limited short circuit that makes the bulb burn much more brightly than it did with the fully functional amp, and at the same time keep from blowing fuse after fuse after fuse, which can get expensive?George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Onkyo A-8017 integrated
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform -
Put my Belles 350A Reference back in rotation following it's mod.Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
Had a loud buzzing and clicking sound coming out both channels of my Belles that I had to troubleshoot. Apparently these amps are very sensitive to electronic interference. I isolated some interference from the Bluetooth dongle for my Cambridge Audio 851N. Luckily I don't use it. Then I found out it HATES my left bank power outlet. Using it would produce an obnoxious low frequency buzz/ hum. The right bank thankfully was much better, producing only a low hum only heard when I got within a Foot or two from the speaker.
The upper mids and highs on this are sublime!
Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
Ground loop?? If I use my HTR as a source to my amp, say for usb thumbdrive playback i have to disconnect the hdmi from the TV. It creates a annoying hum.
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Nothing else is plugged in. My amp is plugged into one circuit (the right bank) all by itself and the pre and streamer on the other (the left bank that the amp doesn't like) Never had any issues with the B&K's.Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
What speakers are those? Just curious.
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SDA 1C'sGustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
Took the rig apart today to perform an annual room cleaning. Time to clean wire connections and whatnot also
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mhardy6647 wrote: »Solid state amplifiers (or receivers) draw very little current (more to the point, they consume very little power) at idle.
Unless it is Class A.
That is absolutely true: Class A (power) amplifiers are running essentially "flat out" at all times, whether tubed or solid state.
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Doing some serious A/B'ing between my B&K M200's and my Belles 350a Reference... Again.
Update. Rolland at Hi-Tech Audio told me to use a 2 prong adapter on my power cable for my Belles. Much better!Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
Doing some serious A/B'ing between my B&K M200's and my Belles 350a Reference... Again.
Update. Rolland at Hi-Tech Audio told me to use a 2 prong adapter on my power cable for my Belles. Much better!
Oh those B&K must sound terrible against the Belles. You should probably just sell the M200s to me.
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just listened to it for hours today, no work done!
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On & off over the past 2 weeks messed w/an RTA and its mic at preferred seating monitoring just my LR RTi A7 towers
This first image is the un-tweaked in-room FR. Pink noise from a phone app, LP’d ~3K. I turned off subs & verified DSP was disabled....
...and the after. LP’d @ 10Khz, after DSP W/subs.
During several sessions of fiddling & tweaking I learned and/or discovered a few things:
a. the spec’d FR is only the roughest suggestion of in-room FR.
b. In-room will surprise you
b. by the first “graph” you see a substantial hump @ 35hz. Polk specs the F3 at 35hz.
c. the tweeters* were “flipped”. I noticed a notch right at XO frequency between them* and the mids. I flipped first one channel, then the other seeing the notch disappear.
Following some tips from a friend:
a.I smoothed out the FR low end by “carving” the peaks - no boosted frequencies.
b. I performed BSC w/a 3dB sloped shelving cut @ 576hz followed by turning up the mid a few dB
I’m delighted the final in-room system F3 is below 25hz
During the last session I did some prelim on my CSi A6 center. I determined the tweeter has issues - blown I think. Next chance I’m gonna look at the RTi A3 surrounds and their subs.
CheersSamsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
Ha! I seriously can't decide which one I'd part with. Since I don't have a gun to my head I'll probably just put one of them back in the spare bedroom eventually.Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)
There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus -
Today I swapped my Yaqin mc100b tube integrated for the Mc mono's just to change things up a bit for a few days. It should be quite a change going from 1200+wpc down to 45wpc in triode mode.
My guess is the 1.2tl's aren't going to be as happy now with the big reduction in current
