Been doing some critical listening with the Noir vs the new amp on the block: Monoprice Monolith 887....$399. Its the one some sites have measured as one of the best measuring amps out there with a unique method of negating the issue of crossover distortion when running in Class AB.
Well my wonderful wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I now have this THX AAA 887 inhouse.
Its indeed an excellent amp.
But I spent the last day going back and forth comparing the Noir with it.
The amazing thing (I posted more details at audiocircle.com) is that the Noir holds it own in this comparison...and at times I preferred the Noir over the new kid on the block!
So once again numbers are important but they dont tell the whole story!
Alex
Well my wonderful wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I now have this THX AAA 887 inhouse.
Its indeed an excellent amp.
But I spent the last day going back and forth comparing the Noir with it.
The amazing thing (I posted more details at audiocircle.com) is that the Noir holds it own in this comparison...and at times I preferred the Noir over the new kid on the block!
So once again numbers are important but they dont tell the whole story!
Alex
Mark:
I noticed the original spec ferrite core is a LF material core. Laird has a shorter, fatter LF core, the LFB143064-100 in stock at Mouser. Very similar spec, seems like it should work to replace the LFB095051-000. Maybe put a few more turns on the core? It is slightly smaller OD than the Wurth 74270035
LFB143064-100 Laird Performance Materials | Mouser
Any preferences?
5mm wider (larger diameter) might make it harder to thread and couple the zip tie which holds the coil snugly against the board. But sure, give it a try, especially if you've got the extra long 8" zip ties.
It wouldn't surprise me if one or more builders have experimented with removing the hand-wound coil entirely, and replacing it with some kind of filtration network involving resistors, inductors, and capacitors, in a circuit topology of their own design. Who knows, it might work very well, and it certainly would be an involved project to occupy yourself during long winter nights ....
It wouldn't surprise me if one or more builders have experimented with removing the hand-wound coil entirely, and replacing it with some kind of filtration network involving resistors, inductors, and capacitors, in a circuit topology of their own design. Who knows, it might work very well, and it certainly would be an involved project to occupy yourself during long winter nights ....
I finished my Noir build this evening and have chalked up my first hour of listening to it. First impressions are already extremely positive; ev erything seems well balanced, excellent detail and, seemingly 'fast'! So far listening has just been using some cheap headphones and source has been FLAC files played on my tiny portable DAC music player but tomorrow I'll plug in my DSC2 DSD decoder and my BeyerDynamic DT880 'phones.
I didn't follow the standard build. I flipped the board 180deg and included a Noble volume pot and RCA sockets on the back panel and also moved the headphone socket and switch to the rear - that's left me with a nice clean front panel to which I applied a little LED bling.
Thanks for offering us the project Mark; It's an easy build, worked first time and the resullts are very pleasing straight from first power on.
I didn't follow the standard build. I flipped the board 180deg and included a Noble volume pot and RCA sockets on the back panel and also moved the headphone socket and switch to the rear - that's left me with a nice clean front panel to which I applied a little LED bling.
Thanks for offering us the project Mark; It's an easy build, worked first time and the resullts are very pleasing straight from first power on.
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Nautiboy, congratulations! That is a spectacularly beautiful build. Absolutely top-flight craftsmanship.
You can expect a feverish PM from moderator 6L6, asking you (1) how did you make the blue light surround the volume control; and (2) where did you get that KNOB ?!?!?!!
Don't answer, it will only encourage him.
You can expect a feverish PM from moderator 6L6, asking you (1) how did you make the blue light surround the volume control; and (2) where did you get that KNOB ?!?!?!!
Don't answer, it will only encourage him.
WOW!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
WHERE??
HOW?????
AMAZING!!
Seriously though, that looks wonderful, absolutely well done!
(If you want to answer, I certainly wouldn't mind... but don't tell Mark.)
😀
WHERE??
HOW?????
AMAZING!!
Seriously though, that looks wonderful, absolutely well done!
(If you want to answer, I certainly wouldn't mind... but don't tell Mark.)
😀
I mostly wondered why you chose a core with low frequency optimized ferrite?
Does that matter? Or was it just the size/shape of the core you wanted?
It's really pretty simple and, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words so hopefully these will explain it;
I had the front panel machined by Modushop (the lettering was engraved by them too). The LED PCB I did myself and had fabricated in China (it's so cheap now that stuff like this is really doable without braking the bank) - it's fixed to the front panel with a coupe of dabs of cyano. BTW, the square hole in the middle of the PCB is sized to accomodate a TKD 2CP-601 potentiometer - before I found the Noble pot I was going to use one mounted on the front panel. I can send you a spare PCB and provide you with the mechanical drawings if its of interest?
As for the knob, it's from a Chinese ebay vendor but it's been hanging around for a couple of years so I can't give you a name or a link. IIRC it's 31mm diameter and solid aluminium. The recess in the front panel has a diameter 1mm larger.
Cheers
Ray
Now that I have done some looking into core materials, I'm guessing the external choke on my Meanwell supply cable is probably #31 material, not great low frequency performance.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/709-GST25U24-P1J
So an even lower frequency material would be useful.
The Fair-Right 2675023002 has identical dimensions to your original spec Laird LFB095051-000 and is 43 ohms at 500K vs 36 ohms at 500K for the Laird. So it seems to be a good match for the application.
https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/150/2675023002-1666507.pdf
Mouser has plenty of Fair-Right 2675023002 in stock. That's the one I will order. Then there will be no worries about an oversize OD.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetai...vheFiR0Uth90bMJXeeGav35VeZOZqDVCGVH1q7gPyRA==
All boxed up! Enjoying the music while I work on the computer.
Really sounds excellent - very easy to listen too. It gives a nice rich, weighty presentation against a nice black background, drives the music along, excellent separation of the musical strands and lots of detail - as I say, very easy to enjoy.
Really sounds excellent - very easy to listen too. It gives a nice rich, weighty presentation against a nice black background, drives the music along, excellent separation of the musical strands and lots of detail - as I say, very easy to enjoy.
Thanks, avtech23. I just love to re-invent the wheel (duh). Saw your post - guess I should have clicked the link & discovered the P/N. I typically order only from Mouser if possible, to save on freight and handling. I did, however, learn some new things about different types of ferrite material by doing the research.
I just ordered for the Noir PCB, so for those who are interested, here is a Mouser BOM with all listed parts in stock as of Dec 15, 2019.
The L2 core and the resettable fuse are substitutions for out of stock spec parts. Resistors have been changed to RN55D wherever possible because I like them. Isolation washers for the TO-220 heatsinks have been added. Customer component reference IDs have been inserted that match the schematic.
Fair warning: this is for PCB parts only, no front or rear panel components and no external power supply. I suggest you do a sort by customer number and verify the accuracy for yourself before ordering.
https://www.mouser.com/ProjectManager/ProjectDetail.aspx?AccessID=590EBC05B5
The L2 core and the resettable fuse are substitutions for out of stock spec parts. Resistors have been changed to RN55D wherever possible because I like them. Isolation washers for the TO-220 heatsinks have been added. Customer component reference IDs have been inserted that match the schematic.
Fair warning: this is for PCB parts only, no front or rear panel components and no external power supply. I suggest you do a sort by customer number and verify the accuracy for yourself before ordering.
https://www.mouser.com/ProjectManager/ProjectDetail.aspx?AccessID=590EBC05B5
Weren't they there already? I just visited the diyAudio Store page for Noir (link) and clicked on its link to the Mouser shopping cart, in the "DESCRIPTION" section.
The very first item in that cart is the shoulder washer (figure 1 below) and the very last item in the cart is the TO-220 thermal pad (goes between MOSFET and heatsink) in figure 2 below.
What else needs to be purchased, that was missing from the cart?
_
Attachments
Mark
Sorry, I was working off the old T2 BOM did not realize you had an updated one for the Noir. Maybe I'll just pull this list and create a new one that only shows the alternate fuse and core, along with RN55D resistors for those who are interested.
Noir Alternate Parts List
OK, I pulled the old list. Here is a link to a Mouser list that includes the in-stock PF1 and L2 as well as some alternate RN55D resistors for those who prefer them.
Mouser Electronics
OK, I pulled the old list. Here is a link to a Mouser list that includes the in-stock PF1 and L2 as well as some alternate RN55D resistors for those who prefer them.
Mouser Electronics
The Alps mentioned above isn't a good replacement, the notch for the lock isn't in the right place:
Attachments
If it's just a temporary "place holder" while you wait for an ALPS to be delivered, you could think about cutting off that peg with big side-cutting pliers. Or you could file it down with a file. The friction from the front panel fastening nut will hold the potentiometer in a fixed position, at least for a couple of months. You could also consider applying some hot melt glue around the pot, to adhere it to the inside face of the front panel. Hot glue can be removed later with an X-acto knife.