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Post by stellabagpuss on Oct 31, 2023 11:41:49 GMT
Oh I am Damien. I do hope you hear the efforts of your work ...even if it's small. Damien, what ps cable connection are you using? Belden cable to transformers, and to the board, 1mm 6N Copper,with clear Teflon. Damien |
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 6, 2023 18:43:20 GMT
Two weeks without my music....But was it worth it?
So after afternoon with the soldering iron, reminding myself that l wish l was more skilled with the iron,l finally got there.
There's no better feeling when everything powers up,after you have spent so long planning such a mod.
l powered everything up cold, so l tidied my mess and tools up and sat down after ten minutes.
Now the spoiler...I managed only twenty minutes...l had to start cooking tea,but from the off, there was a naturalness and dare l say it clarmness that wasn't there,another improvement is the lower end, more full bodied,and more resolution.
From my 20 minutes listening, l am really pleased, considering l haven't even put any sheilding on the psu wires yet.
l will give you a update, once l have a proper session
Damien
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Post by John on Nov 6, 2023 19:11:23 GMT
Well done for giving this a go and I am glad it has paid off
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 6, 2023 19:32:05 GMT
Thanks John.. As you know the idea had been cooking for some time in my head, apart from a bit of sheilding, l should be there.
My next party trick will internal use of Rochelle salt....l actually suggested it to a guy on Head Fi, and he carefully place some in small plastic bags in strategic places on his NAD receiver, he claimed it totally transformed its performance. Anyway...results have been positive to say the least,from placement on top of speaker and amp terminals, and DC cables ,Ethernet cables.... So l am looking forward to trying this all out.
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 6, 2023 20:24:06 GMT
Can't do without music
2nd system if the 1st is out - 2 weeks - gasp, shock horror
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atoz
Rank: Trio
Posts: 147
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Post by atoz on Nov 6, 2023 20:28:36 GMT
Damien, nice to hear that you have finished,well done and with a positive outcome, happy days.
I might have to go hunting for the parts now.
The salt mod looks interesting as well.
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 6, 2023 20:51:52 GMT
Damien, nice to hear that you have finished,well done and with a positive outcome, happy days. I might have to go hunting for the parts now. The salt mod looks interesting as well. The Rochelle Salt is all a bit bizarre really, l had been following a link about DIY ground boxes,and that's something l intend to do,however the thread has been derailed by this discovery,and best bit, it's not costly at all to try. |
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atoz
Rank: Trio
Posts: 147
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Post by atoz on Nov 7, 2023 9:03:22 GMT
Damien, nice to hear that you have finished,well done and with a positive outcome, happy days. I might have to go hunting for the parts now. The salt mod looks interesting as well. The Rochelle Salt is all a bit bizarre really, l had been following a link about DIY ground boxes,and that's something l intend to do,however the thread has been derailed by this discovery,and best bit, it's not costly at all to try.
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Post by mattspl on Nov 9, 2023 20:30:39 GMT
Great work Damien, good to hear everything worked out with the modifications.
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 9, 2023 22:25:58 GMT
Thanks Matt, l actually ended using some your 3M EMF absorber on the FGA of the R26,so it has a touch of your influence in the machine.
lt's still work in progress, more fine tuning to be done, but off the bat, l am pretty happy.
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 12, 2023 23:34:21 GMT
So a few photos of the final stage of Sheilding.  R26 Power Sheilding by Damien Read, on Flickr  R26 Sheilding Insulated by Damien Read, on Flickr My friend Gordon asked myself to take listen without the metal covers on, TBH l struggled to tell any difference, l would say, that the enclosures added slightly more air and presence,certainly not a difference that would make me leave them off. The reason Gordon has asked,l believe he feels that any type of metal within distance of the power supply influences the sound,and is something in this,as l wouldn't have moved the psu out and away, for myself, there is always a compromise, so l will live with enclosures. So had a good session listening, and without repeating myself,music sounds more natural. But wait....l haven't finished..... Off comes the lids of the R26, and welcome the new Hi Fi drug, Rochelle Salt. Now ... Having followed the Headfi thread about this,l couldn't wait. Firstly l made my first wrap, that had about 5 grams and placed it under the power section on the PCB, well that's different, amazing low end boost,but midrange and HF didn't sound correct, almost described it as it was reduced by a few db. Having read how powerful RC can be, l decided to move the wrap away, with 2 inch gap. Wham...Now that's it... The details are back, the lower end has incredible extension, but the texture and sense of a natural production, it's all there in spades. I never had my set up sounded so natural with dynamics. So now l have finished the R26, Rochelle Salt has opened other doors, it can used on a ridiculous amount items,plugs,light switches, leads, power strips,psu, breaker boxes,other hifi components even PCs Below is my suggested placement spots for the RS, notice l added one on the psu section. l will report back,with more updates soon Damien  R26 Rochelle Salt by Damien Read, on Flickr |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 13, 2023 7:00:54 GMT
Nice work - I see that you have bolted the two cases together? Makes sense.
Are the Rochelle salt sachets just lying on the bottom of the case, or covering anything?
You need some Dodomat around the tungsten cube. This is a fab mod, too.
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 13, 2023 7:09:57 GMT
Thanks Martin...
l will look into the Dodomat on the cube,l see you have had positive effects with it.
There are techniques for Rochelle Salt placement, wrap around cables, or place near components, my RS is near, plus if you put to much RS in a bag, moving it away,is like tuning, if reduces its effectiveness,so you can obtain a sweet spot. Mine is simply taped to the bottom of the case.
Damien
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Post by John on Nov 13, 2023 7:55:33 GMT
Great work
This audio journey takes you in directions you can never imagine.
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 13, 2023 8:33:33 GMT
You need some Dodomat around the tungsten cube. This is a fab mod, too. I forgot to ask you Martin in regards to Dodomat, are you using this to dampen the tungsten cube ? with the alloy foil heliping with temps ? I do have sorbathane to hand, and this has been effective on other parts, just wondering if I could use these items rather than Dodomat ?
Damien
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Post by MartinT on Nov 13, 2023 10:24:40 GMT
I think in this case, bitumen is better than sorbothane, it's very sticky and adheres well.
I think that it works in two ways: vibration damping and thermal insulation. Just my theory.
You may be able to get Dodomat as a single sheet? I bought a box of it years ago for my car!
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 13, 2023 11:21:33 GMT
I think in this case, bitumen is better than sorbothane, it's very sticky and adheres well. I think that it works in two ways: vibration damping and thermal insulation. Just my theory. You may be able to get Dodomat as a single sheet? I bought a box of it years ago for my car! Excellent l think l have some bitumen based flash seal in the shed, that should fit the bill. l could also dampen the case,as l have been using a big book on top for a while. |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 13, 2023 11:29:47 GMT
I stuck a large piece of Dodomat to the underside of the X26 Pro lid. Sadly, there is no clearance to do the same with the U18, but it has a slate sheet with felt on the underside and a big weight on top, resting on the case.
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Post by stellabagpuss on Nov 13, 2023 14:22:47 GMT
So there is no time like the present...  20231113_131458 by Damien Read, on Flickr Now installed my Copper Oxo cube....mummy Bisto 🤣 lt's funny how this all fell into place, l happened to have the exact amount of bitumen flashing for the tungsten cube and both cases, topped for with some Copper tape for a bit of tempature regulation. Been listening to it for about a hour, excellent, my god.. my system is million miles from a standard R26, the sheer prat, grunt and dynamic is off the rails now, along with resolution, but yet its relaxed natural and not harsh. So l think that's it for opening up the R26, more experiment with Rochelle Salt will be my next task. Also l have to hold my hands up on giving some miss information by accident, l must have just miss read a label. And it's by chance, l decovered my error. Jake from Headfi forum, has recently purchased so Graphite sheets to stick and cover around his Quartz ground box, and in doing so, reported the same Wow moment, John and myself had when we painted our ground boxes with Rustins G Sheild,for whatever reason, l claimed it had Graphene in the product, l was only prompted by Jakes post to double check,and indeed realise l had been giving wrong information out, however on the positive side, lt's seems that Graphite and Not Graphene has a positive effect as a covering on a wooden ground box. One last photo the final working photo Damien  Gustard R26 Up & Running by Damien Read, on Flickr |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 13, 2023 15:09:49 GMT
Like you, I too am wowed at the sheer PRAT: slam, clout, energy, whatever you'd like to call it that I am experiencing on my day off. Starting with the Tubulus cable and tungsten cubes with some more tweaking with Dodomat. Goodness me, everything sounds vibrant and exciting. I just love it! Glad that you are finding your own path to Nirvana, Damien, and that occasionally our paths cross  EDIT: good book choice for the weight. |
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