Description

This system has been a true labor of love. Building many of the components from scratch partially as a form of meditation, partially as heck this is kind of fun”

It all started with a pair of full range transmission line speakers which opened up the door to the joy of cross over less speakers and low power amps.

I have built a range of amps from Class D, to Chip amps (think gaincard) to my all time favorite, Nelson Pass’s Zen V9 (F3) 15 watts of pure clean class a power with the sweetness of tubes.

This amp matched with a pair of Druids and Tube pre (eastern electric’s minimax) evokes pure sonic bliss.

The trials and tribulations of my various DIY projects can be found on my blog:

http://web.mac.com/noteldov

Please take a look and let me know what you think.

This system is still very much in progress so any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Neil
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Components Toggle details

    • Linn LP-12 Sondek Ittok
    Custom LP 12. I rebuilt the LP 12 replacing the Valhalla power supply and motor with a DC controller board and Maxon motor. Battery powered
    • ZU DL-103
    ZU modification of classic denon MC cartridge
    • Linn LP-12 Valhalla
    Replaced Valhalla power supply and AC motor with DIY DC controller board and Maxon motor. Amazing stability and runs at 0.03% accuracy
    • First Watt F3
    The commercial version of the Zen V9.
    • Pass Labs Zen V9 (F3)
    Pass DIY Zen Version 9. Custom Built Pass amp based on the low wattage First Watt F3. Fully independant pure Class A monoblocks
    • Benchmark DAC Pre1
    Replaced NOS DAC
    • Apple ATV
    Apple TV jacked to add 1TB of storage. Digital output to Benchmark DAC. Goodbye Slim devices hello apple
    • Apple IPhone
    USe the remote application on the iphone to control Apple TV transport. Brillaint interface
    • EAR USA 834P
    Finally a phono section to help make the Blackbird Sing
    • Integrated Gainclone w/ NOSDAC .
    DIY gainclone. This integrated gainclone consists of the following components: 1. Gainclone using LM3886 chip 2. Audio Sector NOSDAC 3. Mark Levinson based op amp 4. Digital reciever- hacked slimp3
    • DIY Class D Charlize based Tripath amp
    DIY class d Charlise amp with seperate SMPS power supply
    • Zu Audio Druid MK IV
    Full range cross over less speaker. 101 dB
    • DIY Transmission Line Jordan 92's
    Full range transmission line speakers using Jordan 92's drivers
    • PS Audio P-300
    .
    • Speltz Anticables .
    .

Comments 31

Very nice the system and the space you seemed to nail it. How does the ittok and the zu 103 work. Does it weigh too much. Enjoy

coffee2

Owner
Got rid of the minimax over a year ago and started using the Benchmark as the pre. With the minimax things sounded just a little to laid back. That and the perfectionist in me and the perfectionist in me could never quite come to terms with tubes; namely things will never sound as good as they did the day before.
Generally feel that the benchmark makes a pretty outstanding pre.
Systems is about to go through a major overhaul in the next couple of months... soon to be called DIT Dipoles.
Stay tuned

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Are you still using the Minimax preamp with your F3? Have you tried any other preamps?

depotec

Owner
Harmaphonic, thanks for the recommendation and i appreciate your feedback. I am also in total agreement with you. It has been a while since i posted any updates but i have subsequently replaced most of the wire racking. Equipment now sit on metal angles anchored back to the studs with granite shelves. Far more inert and a definite improvement. It was always on my list of things to do but up until recently never got around to it

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It truly looks like you have taken this hobby from the right angle. Please excuse me though- I must make a critical recommendation. The wire racks that you have your electronics upon are truly just about the worst form of support you could supply. I PROMISE you, to use something more inert such as MDF would serve you much better.
This recommendation comes from a fellow music lover that only wishes to aid in your enjoyment.

harmophonic

Owner
System edited: I have completely changed the analog front end of my system. I was given a relatively beaten up LP 12 as a gift and spent the last 6 months refinishing and rebuilding the turntable. I replaced the Valhala power supply and AC motor with a DIY DC controller board and Maxon motor. Entire power supply is now DC / battery powered. Smooth and stable with rotational speed within 0.3% accuracy... craziness. The subchassis was refinished to a stained walnut, platter polished and switching replaced. I also replaced springs and belt The cartridge is a ZU DL103. I added a K&K step up with 20dB gain and set the parallel impedance at matching 13K Ohms... which seems to be best for now

extra_action

Owner
Bruce30... thanks for the compliments, both on the system and the space. The system has been literally built and re-built over many years and we designed and developed the building a couple of years ago.
And you are right, i do accept the naturally reverberant quality of the space as a by product of the architecture and something that i am willing to live with.
Which probably explains why there has been a shift on my part in the last few years to build more of the gear and enjoy that part of the experience as opposed to chasing that impossible dream of perfect sound.
I think there are limits to what one can expect from a space that no amount of gear tweaks are ever going to correct. Would i like one day to have a dedicated listening room; perhaps, am i willing to make the aesthetic and life style sacrifices (read: sealed off acoustic chamber as opposed to open living space) that it would take, probably not.
The Zu's are naturally mellow sounding so they probably help a lot and i had a tube pre for a while but i got rid of it as i thought it made the sound to dull. I think the tonal balance right now is pretty good and adding the area rug certainly helped.
I have a secondary system : http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vopin&1225073144&view
that is less bright as it is in the bedroom so this fills in if i want a change of pace

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Kudos on the very complicated (detailed) design of your system & gorgeous modern aesthetic! I was just wondering how you combat the seemingly endless series of hard surfaces & slap echoing that must be occurring in there. My room has more carpeting than yours by far & sounds bright as hell. Do you just try & accept it as the natural result of the superior aesthetic or do you have hidden acoustic treatment or perhaps dsp?

bruce30

Owner
System edited: I was fed up with the Squeezebox interface, slow and cumbersome. At the same time discovered the Remote app for the iPhone; patched this into an apple TV and hands down the best user interface out there. This coupled withe a hacked 1TB storage for the ATV makes the combo hard to beat. The digital out on the ATV feeds the Benchmark DAC Pre 1. Overall sound has more definition. I needed to loose the tube pre as everything sounded slow and bloated

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Very Nice speaker cabinets. I saw your place SSBS! Do you build the cabinets or does someone else?

Could you send me some info

[email protected]

David

vintagemusic

Owner
Mingles,
The DAC is a kit supplied by Audio Sector. To finish you need to provide suitable cabling and the chassis.
If you have not dealt with Peter Daniel's yet, i have to say that he is extremely professional, very helpful and sells remarkable products.
The chassis is a custom design; i was interested in trying a 3D CNC milling service. It was fun but don't know whether i would do it again... painfully slow turn around times and tweaky software.
The 834P is sounding superb... got me itching to put in new caps though... perhaps some Mundorfs?

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Neil, tell us more about your custom DAC.
Was it a kit or your own design?

How's the 834P sounding?

mingles

Great looking room....Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Le Corbusier..et. al. good taste!

whatjd

Owner
System edited: Added custom NOS DAC

extra_action

Owner
System edited: Significant tweaks and improvements on the vinyl side: 1. Added Sumiko Blackbird cartridge 2. Rewired tonearm and added VTF adjustment 3. Added Ear 834P phonosection- glorious and lots of modding potential

extra_action

Owner
System edited: I have spent the last few months really enjoying this system and occasionally playing with some tweeks. After much deliberation i decided to purchase a F3. I was so impressed with the Zen V9 but disappointed by the slight instability of the JFETS (in my DIY version) that in the end i thought that owning the real deal would be worth the investment. It is rock solid, plays like a dream and so far is far more stable in handling the JFET heat build up. I also fussed around with the turntable, after spending more time rooting through vinyl bins at local stores. I added a Sumiko Blackbird cartridge, totally rewired the tone arm, replaced the sub and platter and added Vibrapods on either side of heavy mass granite plinth. Significant improvement in all aspects of the sound. It is however hindered by a really mediocre phono pre. Not quite sure where to go with this one as i don't want to spend $1k and cant seem to find anything below that would add value over the Pro-ject Phono II that I currently have. I might try to build a 47 Labs clone in the next few months. I built a Hagrerman Bugle which IMHO was far worse than the Pro-ject. Cheers

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Love your space, your furniture, your kit and particularly the Zu - congratulations - you have great taste.

cato

Another voter for Zu.Looks like nice rig.I don't think in 15+ years I have ever seen anything like the Zu Druid thing.70% who here buy and love them.the other 30% crap all over them hear and other blogs.NO FENCE SITTERS.I just wish more designs allowed for T type amplification we need more 94 DB designs.I have one a German horn two way but want more outhere that can swing if now flea power 15-30 watts like Druids can.Not sure how much you listen to LP's but the great P3 if replaced with what I concede will require more funds with a nice cartridge would pay off.
Nice rig.
Chazz

chazzbo

Bravo! Modern Decor and Sounds!

I love the European style of simplicity systems and living....

cytocycle

Beautiful space and decor.

gsm18439

Did I just see your place on HGTV?

evank

Love your sense of style and wish I had 1/10th the taste. Unfortunately, bare, unbroken, surfaces can be a system's worst nightmare.

That shiny table has to be causing one hell of a 1st reflection problem when listening to music. (unless you move it for music)

Don't know if it's convenient, but try covering the table with a thick comforter or something acoustically absorbent to see if it makes a difference. Same goes for the bare wall/monitor between the speakers and behind the couch. Just as an experiment - might make a big improvement.

Then again, the Druids may already be super-directional in nearfield listening in which case those reflections do not really matter.

darkmoebius

Owner
System edited: Pic's of living room and exterior of building have been uploaded. Our apartment building the the modern building on the left

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Simply beautiful. Can you post pics of room?

ottawa_mtnman

Owner
The V9 is realtivley easy to build, so much so, that when i discovered a fault it was quicker to restuff the boards than to trouble shoot every component.
It is almost identical to the F3. I know the DIY boards for the V9 offer the choice of 4Pole capacitors.
If you are intereested in building an amp I would encourage you to do it, it is a great deal of fun and there is always help available on DIYAudio.com. Nelson Pass has his own section on this forum and he keeps a watchfull eye on the posts offering encouragement and help when he can.
The boards for Nelson Pass's amps can often be purchased from the forums as part of group buy efforts, as well as the required FET's.
As with most Pass amps it is the heat dissipation that can be the most challenging, so it is often the fabrication of the chassis that takes the most time and effort.
If you need and help just ping me and i would be glad to point you in the right direction

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