Aleph J illustrated build guide

What are the key parts for Aleph J that are worth upgrading beyond the standard BOM?

Concentrate on R1, R2, R3, R4 and R24 and associated caps in the direct signal path?

I’m thinking of using s/z-foils - to try and inject some additional openness and move even more towards the speed/fire of tube amps if that is a plausible aim.
 
Dale resistors are cheap and sound good, but my tinkering heart says you could always try fancy components... whether it sounds superior will require some A-B comparisons. Not so easy with soldered components like resistors. You should also consider replacing R9, R10, R11, and R12.
I always advocate upgrading signal Caps. Film caps, where feasible, with copper film bypasses are my go to.
 
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ZM, after researching a bit, I understand the difficulty of explaining issues with my previous idea... Too many things wrong with the whole idea. So following previous solutions and Papa Pass's Sage advice... I inverted the whole thing with the intent of using IRFP9240 outputs. One thing I was confused on is whether inverting C2 and C3 polarity is correct (Not an issue with film caps, but I want it to look correct).
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I inverted the whole thing with the intent of using IRFP9240 outputs. One thing I was confused on is whether inverting C2 and C3 polarity is correct (Not an issue with film caps, but I want it to look correct).
I noticed the symbol for the IRFP9240 was messed up, so I fixed that, and I removed the polarity for the negative feedback path after reading that some people use bipolar caps there with no issues.
 

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Hello everyone! I've been struggling with one channel on my Aleph J build.

I must have messed something up in the initial testing, and now I can only get 7.85v at R8 and 0v at R18.

I did manage to toast a few of the 0.47 resistors by turning the potentiometers, but I changed them all out and also got a new jfet+mosfet kit from the diyaudiostore, just in case they got burned too. Desoldered and measured components again, reset the potentiometers. Still 7.85v at R8.

I can't figure out what's wrong. Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
Thank you for your quick reply, Anand!

I have a working power supply, thankfully. I used the schematic from the first post in this thread and followed this build guide: https://diyalephj.blogspot.com/

My boards look a mess from all the desoldering and resoldering, but here they are.
 

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Check the attached; I removed the jumpers and R7 & R8' from the schematics to avoid confusion .... Read the instructions in the bottom right corner. Post the measured voltages.

If R18 reads zero, you don't have 4V across R7 (and/or the Q5 is not conducting)
  • make sure your R7 trim pot is working correctly and soldered properly; and that it makes contact with the PCB. Check and confirm that R8 is 1K and that it makes contact with the PCB
  • If R18 is still zero, the JFETs are most likely bad because there's no current through R8, so replace the JFETs.
  • confirm Q2 is the correct part, soldered the correct way

But... the bottom line is:

The best way to go about this problem is to take the measurements first, as per my instructions in the jpg I attached.... before you start replacing the expensive JFETs/MOSFETs. Post the results here and we'll have a look.
 
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