DIY Audio or OCD to the next level

[MarcelNL]

we might as well create a repository for all audio DIY craziness I try sneak into other threads, I only hope mine gets diluted by others ;-)

 

[damiano]

We don’t have a hifi thread?? I’ve been hunting nos dacs lately, and just bought a golden oldie: a 47 Labs shigaraki usb dac. Now I’m waiting for the new Bluesound node to arrive so I can hook it up!

What are you diy-ing?

 

[MarcelNL]

So for starters let me try explain what I am trying to do tinkering with audio at home....

reproduce audio in a most natural way, and my life's journey (and that in audio) brought me to believe that less is more and dogma's have no place in life. My motto is try everything, challenge everything, see for yourself (rather hear for yourself)

Currently playing with ONE (so yes mono), due to space restrictions, front loaded horn using three full range speakers and a supertweeter. See the Avatar, and think BIG (2.20meter by 2.20 meter), it's an adaptation of the famous Klangfilm Bionor design (more Cinema). Beauty is the system comes in at around 105dB/W/m so flea powered amps do well, and distortion levels are low.

Main system consisting of a Cinema tube amp dating back to the fifties and a tweaked computer running Daphile, attached to more power supplies than you'd care to know about, feeding digital into an R2R DAC modded to accept I2S feed from my computer.

Components in use in my system are best described as 'exotic and esoteric', let's not go there for now ;-)


Currently in the process of redoing the tweeter filter, sine cap so a hand made resistor and a hand made inductor, winding off the coil listening to the result each turn, then tweaking the position of the tweeter relative to the full range speakers by approx 5/100 mm...

Truly time consuming as each step needs to be evaluated, and there are plenty variables to be auditioned separately when building a whole system.

 

[Lars]

Great thread!

I came up in pro audio, so it is deeply embedded in me to look down on audiophiles. I do have a soft spot for anything DIY!

Here is a pic of my DAC.

 

[MarcelNL]

is it a soekris?

 

[Lars]

is it a soekris?

No!

..(I had to google Soekris)..

It's much more plain than that..!

 

[Lars]

In case it wasn't obvious, it's DIY built by yours truly..

 

[WildBoar]

I'm on the edge of this abyss looking in right now. Need to set up a streaming-only system for my wife and am looking at trying out a RP4 build. I haven't messed with these yet. Also on the fence about buying a Class D amp or getting a DIY kit.

 

[Lars]

I'm on the edge of this abyss looking in right now. Need to set up a streaming-only system for my wife and am looking at trying out a RP4 build. I haven't messed with these yet. Also on the fence about buying a Class D amp or getting a DIY kit.

Hypex modules are the non plus ultra of Class D. @MarcelNL told me so and I agree! Very easy to put together and unparalleled in performance.

 

[MarcelNL]

THere are some class D amps that puch WAY above their weight, in the end it's all a matter of horses for courses...

 

[MarcelNL]

Hypex modules are the non plus ultra of Class D. @MarcelNL told me so and I agree! Very easy to put together and unparalleled in performance.

LOL

they are good, though....in a recent head to head comparison with a mesh triode amp the tweaked to the max class D amp had to throw in the towel ( I suspect there has not been a Class D amp with a more elaborate power supply ever)

For day to day easy listening class D amps do a pretty good job, when combined with high efficiency speaker systems their sound fingerprint becomes too much IMO.

 

[Lars]

their sound fingerprint becomes too much IMO.

They have no sound, only your room and speakers have faults like that

 

[MarcelNL]

sure...still, can we agree not to enter into debates like this? as in 'all amps, wires, or 0 and 1's are equal'? It's about as silly as saying that f.e. an Ikea kitchen knife cuts as well as a TF Denka and pointless.

 

[Lars]

sure...still, can we agree not to enter into debates like this? as in 'all amps, wires, or 0 and 1's are equal'? It's about as silly as saying that f.e. an Ikea kitchen knife cuts as well as a TF Denka and pointless.

No, Hypex are superior. A mesh triode amp could never compare imo.

I am only (half) kidding. I would really love to know more about your speakers, As much as I like to poke fun at audiophiles, I really admire your build.

 

[MarcelNL]

I appreciate different opinions, it's just that the
'debates' with Electronics engineers and other 'black/whitists' folks grow old because they never come to any conclusion other than digging in deeper ;-)

My speakers are back loaded horns in an open baffle, using 3 , thirteen inch full range units and a JBL tweeter. if you google Klangfilm Bionor you'll find plenty references (be it by audiophiles ;-) )

 

[LostHighway]

I appreciate different opinions, it's just that the
'debates' with Electronics engineers and other 'black/whitists' folks grow old because they never come to any conclusion other than digging in deeper ;-)

IME while this is true more often than not I've run into a number of more open eared engineers that try the rule: the late Don Moses (primary founder of Wadia) and John Stronczer of Bel Canto, to name two, were/are both serious listeners and very willing to look for other variables or measurement techniques when what they heard was at odds with what they measured.

 

[gregfisk]

My speakers are also open baffle. I had the frames built close to the designers specifications but changed the aesthetics to my liking. I then installed the 14” coaxial midrange tweeter and duel 12” servo subs myself. I built the crossovers myself and wired those up as well.

I know we’ve had this discussion before Lars, I only wish you lived near Seattle. I have listened to several class D amps in my system, including Hypex. And I have owned 3 or 4 myself. I’ve had many audiophiles in my room and had large listening parties. We’ve listened to many class D, tube and solid state amps. Mostly higher end stuff but some modest amps. Bang for buck class D is very good but it just doesn’t draw you in like a good class a or ab amp. Clarity in spades? Absolutely. Lots of drive and control of the speakers? You bet. But something is always missing. Class D just doesn’t have the goose bump factor you can get from other types of amps.

I’m having my Hafler amp upgraded by a company called Musical Concepts. They literally turn a very good classic circuit design into a world class amp. The Hafler already sounds better than my class class D 1200as2 based amp so I’m very excited to get it back.

 

[Lars]

I am just trolling you guys. I'm sure your stuff sounds great ❤

 

[MarcelNL]

IME while this is true more often than not I've run into a number of more open eared engineers that try the rule: the late Don Moses (primary founder of Wadia) and John Stronczer of Bel Canto, to name two, were/are both serious listeners and very willing to look for other variables or measurement techniques when what they heard was at odds with what they measured.

just to be clear, I was referring to the group mostly NOT involved in a serious way in audio. The folks you mention are highly regarded names in the industry, people who create seriously good sounding gear!

 

[WildBoar]

After being in the hobby for 35+ years I am heading in the direction of transparent/ accurate in the sources and amplification, and adding processing for correcting room/ loudspeaker issues (to a certain extent), and tailor colorations for particular recordings as needed. I'm experimenting first with the system I am assembling for my wife, and then I will figure out what I want to change on my system.

 

[MarcelNL]

After being in the hobby for 35+ years I am heading in the direction of transparent/ accurate in the sources and amplification, and adding processing for correcting room/ loudspeaker issues (to a certain extent), and tailor colorations for particular recordings as needed. I'm experimenting first with the system I am assembling for my wife, and then I will figure out what I want to change on my system.

A friend of me is going that route of using highly complex filtering/correction done real time now that is possible...I've yet to hear the results as we usually meet at a mutual friends place.

Transparent and accurate is my goal too, IME using high efficiency open baffle/horn speakers is a key step. I find that with my current system the room somehow has far less influence, my theory is that the power otherwise wasted plays a key role somehow. Sitting in my listening spot the volume can appear to be quite high yet nothing starts shaking and moving and in the room next door you hardly hear anything.

 

[gregfisk]

While I have a lot of room treatment, all 2” to 6” thick absorption panels, open baffle speakers are much more forgiving of the room. I’ve been trying to get as close to an intimate live show as possible for some time now. While that is an impossible goal I have gotten the system to draw an emotional response from the listener.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Do you have a sweet spot for your avatar?

 

[MarcelNL]

Do you have a sweet spot for your avatar?

it's fairly large even when I'm only using one at the moment, so my response is 'system playing music' would be my sweet spot ;-)
I am so looking forward to be able to play stereo, perhaps the tweeter stays mono, the future will tell.

Next stage is tweaking tweeter resistors, choosing between gold, platinum and palladium...all have a distinctly different sound character.

 

[MarcelNL]

While I have a lot of room treatment, all 2” to 6” thick absorption panels, open baffle speakers are much more forgiving of the room. I’ve been trying to get as close to an intimate live show as possible for some time now. While that is an impossible goal I have gotten the system to draw an emotional response from the listener.

That is my objective also, recreating 'live' is simply impossible in a living room or even listening room, just looking at the dynamics and moving surface required for stuff like a Mahler symphony...just think about the 8th, 'Symphonie der tausend', well... even a small jazz combo or a solo violin is beyond most systems dynamically.

 

[Lars]

My speakers are back loaded horns in an open baffle, using 3 , thirteen inch full range units and a JBL tweeter. if you google Klangfilm Bionor you'll find plenty references (be it by audiophiles ;-) )

I'm going to risk looking like an idiot, but… Where is the tweeter?

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Like this pun

Just paid my rent and electricity .... now I'm
Bach to being Baroque. No money left to go
grocery Chopin and Haydn from bill collectors.
Not sure I can Handel anymore of this....

Took Chamber music, rock & roll, female vocal when picked out my psb towers years ago. Have good wire, pretty good amp. Nothing like your level. Guy who taught me about how to get good sound built very large speakers.
Tube amps. Would listen to music in the dark only tubes glowing.

Remember watching movie Blade Runner hooked up to incredible sound.

 

[MarcelNL]

I'm going to risk looking like an idiot, but… Where is the tweeter?

missing at that stage of the build, but currently it's in, and heavily tweaking it (playing one speaker)

A good old JBL 2402 alnico @ 8K as the previous one could not keep up with the SPL.

I'm in the process of adjusting the filter (done I think, but for tweaking what filter components are made of) and tweeter position....all taking loooots of time.

 

[MarcelNL]

and currently listening to a cross section of my preferences, ranging from ancient Egyptian music dating back 3000 years to current Electronic music to find determine where the phase adjustment optimum is

 

[Lars]

missing at that stage of the build, but currently it's in, and heavily tweaking it (playing one speaker)

A good old JBL 2402 alnico @ 8K as the previous one could not keep up with the SPL.

I'm in the process of adjusting the filter (done I think, but for tweaking what filter components are made of) and tweeter position....all taking loooots of time.

Geez, there is no need to laugh at me. I was just asking an honest question..

Lets see a pic of their current state..!