I'm watching this guy on YouTube that repairs all kinds of audio stuff, and came across this:
I'll let the video speak for itself, but I must say I'm shocked by what shoddy circuits anyone can put together and sell for ridiculous price tags.
I'll let the video speak for itself, but I must say I'm shocked by what shoddy circuits anyone can put together and sell for ridiculous price tags.
Seems like well designed standard circuit. What is shoddy about that circuit?
Yes, its price is absolutely astronomical even for an artigianal hi-end phono stage built in Wales.
However, rather than having gone wrong it seems instead to have been under a steamroller as the device appears structurally broken externally and internally in many places.
Some say its realism is as a mystical experience...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IInUEo0N-6U
For billionaires.
I'm not shocked by its exorbitant price, I guess they sold few of them and people do even worse with their own money. 😉
It's a nice tutorial about fault finding methodology.
At least he's not so stupid to replace everything he sees and hope for the best.
Good video!
Jan
At least he's not so stupid to replace everything he sees and hope for the best.
Good video!
Jan
Welcom to the world of hi-end audio!
If he really manages to sell 10 units per year, that 250k turnover.
Not bad for a few weeks of soldering.
Jan
He's a brilliant 'hmm, hmm' tech.
And very well-equipped.
Loads of tricks can be learned.
And very well-equipped.
Loads of tricks can be learned.
My neighbour has one of these he bought 2nd hand from a local dealer. He’s an opera/classical fan with over 1000 vinyls.
Everything looks like a hobbyist project put together in a basement, not like a £25000 product that's being sold on the market. Even I can say that I've made stuff more neatly put together. No connectors, shoddy mounting, heatsinks that look like scrap salvaged from other products, cheap plastic spacers, cheap wiring and scratched off parts so that you can't tell that they're $1 op-amps and jellybean regulators.
LM317/337 for that price tag and a product that's claimed to be super low noise?
Been watching his videos for quite some time now, always educating and he is even into fixing the fines details or mechanic parts.
As for this preamp - there are more nicely built ones shown on diyAudio. This really looks more like a hacked-together DIY build.
As for this preamp - there are more nicely built ones shown on diyAudio. This really looks more like a hacked-together DIY build.
Then again, maybe it sounds fantastic, who's to say?
Most people don't judge sound quality by the parts used.
Many feel the need to remove type numbers, because people tend to say: 'that's a 317 so it can't sound well'.
You reap what you sow.
Jan
The people that buy these things are generally not educated in the technicalities. My wealthy 80 yr old neighbour is forever swapping out bits of gear and proclaiming the latest is the ultimate. Tom Evan’s apparently also mods Pioneer amps of which he had one for a while. He’s had a Linn Sondek and a Van Den Hul setup for decades.
The main thing here is the non-technical audiophile community are happy and get enormous pleasure from their systems.
The neighbour has brought a few of his vinyls across to my place for a listen. He’s impressed but I’ve balked at his request for me to build him an ax-Amp at this stage.
There’s nothing quite like putting one of his 55 yr old vinyls on my turntable and it’s absolutely pristine- not a crackle or a pop!
😊
The main thing here is the non-technical audiophile community are happy and get enormous pleasure from their systems.
The neighbour has brought a few of his vinyls across to my place for a listen. He’s impressed but I’ve balked at his request for me to build him an ax-Amp at this stage.
There’s nothing quite like putting one of his 55 yr old vinyls on my turntable and it’s absolutely pristine- not a crackle or a pop!
😊
My pal has a very expensive TE phonostage. He compared it to a Paradise and preferred the TE. Maybe he is deluding himself, maybe he isn’t. FWIW.
Nitpicky I know, but not to use so much glue and always have the finished surface face up where you can judge & fine tune alignment.
Quite a lot of work to replace one tantalum worth a few pence. But that's why repairs are expensive...
The second most impressive accomplishment is his mechanical repair work, and the most impressive is that he apparently produced his own professional looking service manual for the unit.
I'm more impressed by the skill of the repairer than the original work. Anyone with any sense would know that stacking PCBs on nylon pillars would shear the stud of the lowest at the slightest provocation; fine for a prototype, but not for a commercial product. And having a balanced output is pointless; it's the inout that should be balanced.
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