John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part III

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There is code and code inspectors. I had one guy make me change 10 gauge wire to 12 gauge. He had field experience but little actual code knowledge.

I like to sit down with what is called "The Authority Having Jurisdiction" before starting a project and providing data sheets and code references for my work. Solves a lot of problems before they occur.

As to UL listings they are so important I find the UL mark on imported products that clearly do not meet any real standards.

On really important issues like shackles that support large weights above folks heads, the imported sand cast copies still bear images if the original markings indicating they were formed by forging. About a 10/1 difference in strength.

My current audio effort has another vendor offering a similar product with specifications that are copied from the individual components but of course not valid for the assembly. Just no knowledge of what the text means.

I am doing something new. For my microphone grille I am not using uniform hole sizing. Instead it is a progression of sizes increasing geometrically larger from the pattern edge to the center. Largest hole will be .080."
 
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Richard, thanks for your responses and info and agree that clean power is easy and instant nice improvement.
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Dan.

Pretty much taken care of, most modern TV's have Toslink Optical output only.

Dan.
So do recievers, DVD players etc but not many people use the TOSLink for various reasons. Might be a subject to discuss? It certainly solves ground loop issues. But..... is it the highest performance?

-RNM
 
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TNT

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If the receiving end of the Toslink cable do proper re-clocking then they are OK as the BER is really low. If the DAC (etc) recovers the clock form the s/pdif protocol you migth be in problem as the BW is quite low and thus, the jitter is high. Used properly it offers the isolation and has no other disadvantages - well maybe it's wont typically support more than 96/24 but I run 192 successfully over 5 meter cable.

//
 
For experimental purposes only, you are allowed to deviate from NEC so long as safety is still recognized and dealt with. We (LLNL) have got exemptions before with appropriate interlocking safety systems to shut down automatically. Including approved/reviewed Safety Operating Proceedures.
-RNM
That was in the old days. Now, the DOE requires code compliance.

The good thing is, NEC 90.4 Enforcement....para 2.....""By special permission, the authority having jurisdiction may waive specific requirements in the Code or permit alternative methods where it is assured that equivalent objectives can be achieved by establishing and maintaining effective safety.""

To wit, getting a waiver from the AHJ is NOT deviating from NEC, it is allowed by it..so, ""for experimental purposes only"" goes away..

nitpicking isn't it....:D

jn
 
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"By special permission, the authority having jurisdiction may waive specific requirements in the Code or permit alternative methods where it is assured that equivalent objectives can be achieved by establishing and maintaining effective safety."

yep it is because I said the same thing in different wording.... without the NEC quotes. SOP, Safety interoclks etal.... etc. assure that equiv objectives can be achieved....

These alternative methods get reviewed and signed off on.... eventually. I designed some of the safety interlocking control systems. fail safe modes and all.

Maybe you dont like my choice of words... deviating....

THx-RNMarsh
 
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Optical link would be the best interface link, if it was not based on the cheapest possible optical modules - TOSLINK. Probably used for the reason that audio is a consumer industry. I was working with optical links since 1980 and even in the eighties we had much faster optical Tx and Rx components, than now used Toslinks.
Single or multimode fiber technology is still too expensive for consumer drab boxes, I think. Wadia once went that route (MMF on ST connectors) but did not succeed. MMF is being used in professional audio world these days, though, as one of the implementations of MADI.
 
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Optical link would be the best interface link, if it was not based on the cheapest possible optical modules - TOSLINK. Probably used for the reason that audio is a consumer industry. I was working with optical links since 1980 and even in the eighties we had much faster optical Tx and Rx components, than now used Toslinks.
Let's create our own DIY defact-o F.O. interface Standard with superior performance to the Toshlink. What is best way without cost consideration?

using off the shelf components if possible. P n P operation. MMF on ST connector is fine. Which Xmt and Rcv modules? How easy to replace Toshlink inside consumer gear?

-RNM
 
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Ironic really. They will pay £1000 for a snake oil interconnect but not £100 for a well engineered solution.

Most are not engineers, they have no expertise and may not trust every expert. Juries in court cases have to decide which side's expert tells the most convincing story, and audiophiles have to decide who to believe too.

However, don't forget that engineers are only experts in their field, not in law, medicine, cognitive psychology, etc. Then they are in a position of deciding which purported-expert's story they want to believe, if any, and they don't always choose right either.

EDIT: Also, not all purported snake oil turns out to fake, some products apparently work in some situations although prices may be very steep. Of course, many other products are junk. Buyer beware, is the unfortunate situation.
 
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So do recievers, DVD players etc but not many people use the TOSLink for various reasons.
Toslink is the only audio out on most TV's and solves TV/Antenna to audio system ground loop and RF noise problems.
Might be a subject to discuss? It certainly solves ground loop issues. But..... is it the highest performance?
Toslink spdif is optic cable dependent same as coaxial spdif is coax cable dependent and both are revealing of receive/PLL noise/signature.

IME optical cables are audible and optic cable Toslink fitting/connector is critically important in this voicing, and just as coaxial spdif cables are audible.

There are Decoder/DAC stages/chips that claim 'perfect or near perfect' clock jitter attenuation but somehow player clock variance still gets through whatever spdif signal transmission means is used, IOW optic or cable 'spdif slave sound' is not usually bad but some cables do sound better than others.

Dan.
 
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