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Post by Eduardo Wobblechops on Sept 14, 2015 13:33:20 GMT
It might be worth considering ADC capabilities too with customer assignable 24/96 or 24/192 output. OK, 24/96 is more than capable of resolving ye olde LP, but someone will ask for 24/192, so you might as well put it on there. Digital input amplifiers are a reality, and not all of them have an analogue line input. A good idea IMHO. If the SQ was good, I'd have one for FLAC 'ing my vinyl collection.
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Post by stanleyb on Sept 14, 2015 13:58:24 GMT
A good idea IMHO. If the SQ was good, I'd have one for FLAC 'ing my vinyl collection. It would be a total waste of my time and money to spend several months designing and building such an item if the SQ was not a noticeable improvement over what is available right now. So I am taking great care with the process.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2015 14:04:45 GMT
Chris i connect my phonostage the Focusrite 'sapphire' USB interface give me 24/96 conversion.. I do similar with my phonostage - I connect the analogue outs to an EMU0404 USB interface, and it's happy recording at 24/192, not that I ever do record at 24/192. The EMU requires an external power source (there's no power feed connected over the USB) and for this I use the linear PSU that powers my Squeezebox Touch. There's no noise transmitted from the computer into the interface because there's no electrical ground plane connected via the USB. Thats it Chris i have an outboard PSU instead of taking the 5V feed from the laptop..
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Post by John on Sept 14, 2015 16:38:17 GMT
If you can get a good buzz I think they be a market perhaps aiming at similar cost to performance point as the Caiman would certainly turn some heads.I have a direct digital amplifier (NAD) and rather think defeats the idea of going direct digital (keeping conversations to a minimum) so would not be a selling point for me, but might be for others
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Post by Eduardo Wobblechops on Sept 14, 2015 17:43:35 GMT
A good idea IMHO. If the SQ was good, I'd have one for FLAC 'ing my vinyl collection. It would be a total waste of my time and money to spend several months designing and building such an item if the SQ was not a noticeable improvement over what is available right now. So I am taking great care with the process. I wouldn't expect anything less from you Stan.
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Post by stanleyb on Sept 14, 2015 17:44:50 GMT
If you can get a good buzz I think they be a market perhaps aiming at similar cost to performance point as the Caiman would certainly turn some heads.I have a direct digital amplifier (NAD) and rather think defeats the idea of going direct digital (keeping conversations to a minimum) so would not be a selling point for me, but might be for others Have you given up vinyl then John?
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Post by John on Sept 14, 2015 18:08:41 GMT
Nope I will get back into it again at some point I have too many records I certainly be interested in the phono stage myself if you make it, as have a spare modified Bantam that I could use. At some point I be looking for a solution around a amplifier but probably spending quite a bit when it comes to it I never really pushed the Salvation to its full potential but know that can be expensive so resisted doing that.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 14, 2015 21:42:44 GMT
If you look at the design architecture of the Aurorasound VIDA, with its passive LCR equalisation sandwiched between gain stages, I believe that's the way to go for great sound quality. Perhaps you can target the price of a Caiman, maybe use the same casework to keep costs down. As John says, that could work out to be the exact best sweet spot for price.
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Post by Greg on Sept 14, 2015 21:55:11 GMT
Stan, being totally satisfied with my fully upgraded Caiman II and my Capella, my inclination is to say, yes, please go and produce a Phono stage amp. There is an increased interest in vinyl and sales are rising albeit nothing like it was in the heyday. An affordable good performing phono stage will surely be attractive to many. I would certainly buy one based on my experience of your other products. I understand all the calls above for something more complicated that will assist digital adaptations and if such was incorporated I would join in and make use, but fundamentally, if you can provide a basic phono amp at your usual reasonable price, I'll be one of the first on the order sheet.
I hope you can make this work,
Greg
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2015 10:46:10 GMT
There seems to be a never ending parade of new phono stages so manufacturers obviously think a market is there. I think there is a gap for something that produces top sound at sensible pricing. My view is that most of the better stages are overpriced as the basic RIAA design can't be expensive to produce and is well understood. Main differences being power supplies and regulation. I think the benchmark at under £800 may be NVA phono 1 and 2 with top version being £650. Of course being direct sell prices can be half of retail.
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Post by stanleyb on Sept 15, 2015 13:44:17 GMT
There seems to be a never ending parade of new phono stages so manufacturers obviously think a market is there. I think there is a gap for something that produces top sound at sensible pricing. My view is that most of the better stages are overpriced as the basic RIAA design can't be expensive to produce and is well understood. That is the reason why I asked the initial question. I don't fancy wasting my time on it unless I can bring something to the table that is capable of taking on the better phono preamps, but with the kind of price everyone knows me for. I can get a far better sound out of transistors than out of an IC, which means that a discrete design would be the way to go. That automatically means that the power supply would have to be a linear one. Switched mode power supplies produce spikes that can fall within the audio band range. So I have a few parameters already that are a must for a great design.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 15, 2015 15:27:47 GMT
I can get a far better sound out of transistors than out of an IC, which means that a discrete design would be the way to go. That automatically means that the power supply would have to be a linear one. That would keep you differentiated from the Graham Slee phono stages, which I believe sell well but use IC Op-Amps.
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Post by pre65 on Sept 15, 2015 17:39:59 GMT
Could you (Stan) make it so that a 12-14v DC PSU (same as your DACs) could be used ?
I'd be interested as one future project is to make a start on digitising some of my vinyl.
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Post by stanleyb on Sept 15, 2015 18:37:24 GMT
It will work on 12V for sure. But because I am starting from scratch I want to experiment with a couple of things on my first prototype. I had an agreement with my previous employer that I wouldn't use some of my circuit designs for ten years. That ran out in April. So I can now look at them further.
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Post by ChrisB on Sept 15, 2015 19:02:48 GMT
Beresford Unchained!
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Post by yomanze on Sept 25, 2015 9:10:45 GMT
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Post by yomanze on Sept 25, 2015 9:11:38 GMT
I can get a far better sound out of transistors than out of an IC, which means that a discrete design would be the way to go. That automatically means that the power supply would have to be a linear one. That would keep you differentiated from the Graham Slee phono stages, which I believe sell well but use IC Op-Amps. Opamps are an excellent choice for phono stages. People can go all 'fancy' & discrete, but they lose out on fine matching of components, simpler circuits & shorter signal paths offered by opamp circuits. Interestingly my phono stage is designed by a tube fan, but he feels that opamps (biased into class A) offer better performance.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2015 11:09:02 GMT
What about a USB Phonostage that comes with DSP Software allowing you to customise parameters. 24Bit/96kHz allowing you to convert your Records into files all under one roof.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 25, 2015 12:21:58 GMT
Opamps are an excellent choice for phono stages. You would have to be careful when building a phono stage using op-amps, especially for MC inputs, while keeping the noise at a reasonable level and achieving the required dynamic range. Putting the RIAA EQ into the feedback loop is common, but doesn't sound as good. Do it passively and you have more noise to deal with. Carefully selected JFETs can achieve far better noise performance but are more difficult to design around.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2015 12:37:06 GMT
I have Analogue Devices OP amp in my phonostage sounds great & very quiet.
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