*** The DIY Audio Thread ***

SoundsGood said:
Has anyone got any experience with this dac? Lamucera
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Yes it's very good. I have one with a few modifications. IIRC I bypassed the shoddy differential output stage and fed it into my own single-ended buffer.

samcat said:
I have a pair of the 2u ones sat here (one dissipati, one standard, both with 10mm black alu fronts).. HackerNAP Power amps going in one, starfish/dac based preamp in the other..
SUPERB quality cases for the money!

:)

Sam
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Please post pics when done! What are you planning for the front panels? I was going to do something fancy with mine, but never got around to it:

dsc06441small.jpg


It's still in the "temporary knobs with some stickers" stage. :p
 
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forgot to update this thread with my now 99% diy system (all except the squeezebox!).


heres the dac and pre amp. Dac is a valve output stage, with an ad1865 input stage, shunt supplies all round. Preamp is a pass dc couple b1 buffer and remote r2r attenuator

p1010431.jpg


speakers are mltl fostex FE167e, cherry venneer
Amp is an el84 push pull with lots of 'sand' helping things along

p1010430.jpg


tv and dvd etc is rubbish, because i dont watch it much at all, music is my relaxant of choice
 
gurusan said:
80k.

money>sense
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He didn't spend 80k on them he built an almost carbon copy of real wilsons maxx speakers. The real maxxs have a much better paint job and aren't made of wood but some other compound.

Real £80k Wilson Maxx

wilsonmaxx3450.jpg


DIY Wilson Maxx

finished2.jpg


Note though the real maxx are the wilson maxx 3 where as the DIY ones are a clone of the older wilson maxx 1

The internal structure, drivers and cross over are exactly the same though. I wonder how close they sound to the original?
 
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ah, ok. No clue what you mean lol.

Anyway I've been running my HD 580s off my modded XFI for the last month as the switch on my Indeed hybrid amp broke.

I've just replaced the switch and OMG I forgot how good these cans sound with decent amplification. It's pure bliss. Even with gaming!
 
gurusan said:
Good job on your 2050 setup :)

I dove straight in to SMD. Just look on youtube, there are a lot of videos that will give you useful tips. Also I advise making sure you've got a solder tip in good condition, a pair of tweezers, good lighting, and a magnifying glass or reading glasses. ( I went without the magnifying glass or good lighting but managed...much easier with them though! ) Also something to hold the PCB while your soldering would be handy.
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Thanks, both for the SMD soldering advice and the bump, I forgot all about this thread!

I'm almost done with my TK2050's, drilling, cutting and soldering takes a lot longer when you have to make it up as you go along! :D

dsc0940new.jpg

This is with the speaker facing down, all the gubbins is bolted to the back.

I'm 90% there I think, I still need to swap the DACs in my DCX, and in fact I ordered a new 0.5mm tip and some 28AWG solder today especially... but I think I may practice on another PCB first, as I want to avoid damaging my DCX pcb! :eek:
 
Well it was a sunny weekend and had enough time to finish the speakers:

Front:
22052010489.jpg


Back (I'm listening to the one on the right...):
22052010491.jpg


A quick test using my mp3 player:
22052010492.jpg


I've only managed to listen to one at a time so far, as I still need to build a few XLR cables, but during the test using my Sansa Clip as a souce, they both sound good. Nice dynamics and also much cleaner bass compared to the previous LM3886 based amp that originally came with the speakers.

Once I get my XLR cables made and modified my DCX2496 I should be able to hear them in all their glory. :cool:
 
Hi All

I ordered a BantamDAC kit from Glass Jar Audio on the 27th May. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience in ordering from them and how long it took to be delivered? I really want to get started building this kit.

Thanks
 
I have ordered from glassjaraudio several times, delivery has taken around 2 weeks or so. I would expect something very soon.


On another note. I am going to be moving back to The States on August 19th....and have accrued various random bits and parts over the years that I'm not sure what to do with.

Everything from failed attempts at a high-end solid state headphone amp to a few Starving Student Millet hybrid builds (1 of which works but the casework is meh, the other which works sort of (my 1st p2p attempt, therefore some interference problems), and one that has been ravaged for parts).

Most stuff is using high quality caps, I have a big sack of wima film caps and some other decent audio caps, and a couple small bags of nichicon muse ES caps, from 470 to 1000uf, nothing much over 16V though I think.
And assorted resistors...and a couple transformers.

Basically, a bunch of assorted bits from making headphone amps. I think there's a 1/2 working grubDAC in there as well as a busted china noodle.

Anyway I was thinking of having a small sell off, but really have other stuff to do. So...if anyone wants to pick it up from oxford just let me know. I wouldn't mind a tenner or fiver for it all but I'd be willing to let it go free as well.
 
magick said:
Very good. Where are the tweeters though?
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These are the bass cabinets of a 3-way system. The dome midrange and planar tweeter are housed in a seperate unit, which is in progress. Here's a CAD of how it should look when completed:

speakerleatherfrontsmal.jpg



Mike, that looks cool, i'm sure you'll love them with active crossovers :)
 
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