gofar99 Messages: 1950 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi Everyone. Second try at posting this. First time was a bit scrambled. Anyhow the phono preamp now is reality and I am happy with it. It has been a long road but IMO worth the many iterations and problems with it. It is quiet, has exceptional response (+/- 0.3 db 20HZ to nearly 30KHZ) and sounds quite lovely IMO. It does both MM/MI and LOMC (with built in Lundahl SUTs). If LSAF is a go and we feel safe attending it will be the main exhibit as all other gear is largely the same as in the past. I will probably bring my personal gear as opposed as kits just to add variety.
gofar99 Messages: 1950 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi One thing that may not be obvious in the photos is this thing is big. 17 X 12 X 3. It weighs about 10 pounds. Since we wanted to have the best internal arrangement as was reasonable we spread things out. Customization is probably in the wind for users. Various Lundahl SUTs fit the same foot print and various step up gains are possible. Everything from 5 to 32. Various loadings are built in already. Some variation of coupling capacitors is possible. Some however are more sensitive to hum and may not be a good choice. The Russian K40Y-9s in the photos are paper in oil and sound quite nice IMO. Otherwise I would not use it in my system. We anticipate making the front panel distinctive as it is now rather industrial.
Hopefully the virus doesn't scuttle the LSAF or scare folks away from visiting it.
gofar99 Messages: 1950 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Certainly. All that needs to be done when it is assembled is leave out the Lundahl SUTs, delete a few resistors and it will be MM/MI only. That was in the plans from the start. It will also make it less costly (prices not yet determined) but the Lundahls add nearly $200 to the cost.
gofar99 Messages: 1950 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, Yes. It is nameless at the moment. Suggestions are always welcome. For those of you with sharp eyes....you will notice that I have been trying different capacitors in it. One photo shows Russian K40Y-9 paper in oil capacitors the other shot shows some Audyn Caps Plus. My personal variations (earlier builds ) use Audyn True Copper Caps in one and the K40Y-9s in the other. All combinations sound great to my ears. Right now the edge seems to be for the K40Y-9s. A nice smooth but accurate sound. The Audyns are a bit more mellow to my ears.
gofar99 Messages: 1950 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, Everyone, we have revised it a bit and the second generation is about 2/3 the size and even better (slightly) for S/N. They are really quiet. IMO same lovely sound. A third generation incorporating some internal component refinements is being assembled right now. It ought to be the same as the second, but in a more manageable size chassis. (12X8X3). We are crossing our fingers that nothing else gets in the way and they could be on the street for Christmas in limited numbers. I wonder though how many revisions the other companies do to get stuff suitable for market. Amps and line stages are easy. Phono preamps not so.
gofar99 Messages: 1950 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi Yes there is progress. First couple items are being assembled this week. Still supplier and fabricator issues and the first few will be hand built by us. They will need to be thoroughly tested for performance before any can go out. No name or price yet. Cross your fingers that all comes together well. It has been a long road. BTW, I presently use a second gen prototype(modified to production mods) as my main phono preamp. The final ones are expected to be as noted even slightly better as the layout is a little different and can't be changed on mine.
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