DIY Amps for NX-Oticas

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AKLegal

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #40 on: 2 Dec 2020, 03:22 am »
I have the Folsom 7293 (built in dualmono configuration by pinocchio of diyaudio) and it is fantastic. I don't find it too forward; it feels like sitting in 10th row from the stage. Far superior to the AvaHifi SET 120 it replaced (which was quite good).

 Using with Spatial X3's and Bricasti M1SE dac (used as preamp too).

I think I saw your amp build on the DIY forums.  Pinocchio does really nice work and he answered all of my stupid questions. 

I really think the 7293 is more sensitive to input cap changes than Jeremy says (although he didnt say the 7293 wasn't sensitive just less so than the 7297).  Mine was laid back with Jupiter flat stack caps and the presentation was somewhat flat, but with Jantzen Silvers I am on the 7th or 8th row with a very 3D like presentation. 

Hobbsmeerkat

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #41 on: 2 Dec 2020, 03:29 am »
I really wanna look into the DIY Folsom amps going forward, I've heard nothing but great things about them.

electriceye

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #42 on: 3 Dec 2020, 05:16 am »
Anyone have a good route to building Folsom or Neurochrome for beginners? I'm pretty great at building kits and following directions, soldering, etc but the diyaudio.com is rocket science to me at this point, the more I read the less I know. I've built some pretty complex preamps successfully (elekit 8500, just fired up successfully on my first time), speakers and guitar pedals but I'm not great at sourcing my own components and wiring without direction. Any builds I could copy with good detail? Or anyone that could mentor? Wouldn't mind throwing a few bucks out for education, I'd prefer to learn to build it myself.

poseidonsvoice

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #43 on: 3 Dec 2020, 10:49 am »
Electriceye,

I will say that the Neurochrome build manuals are some of the finest I have read in the industry (I have built a LOT of diy designs!). Pretty much everything is included except the soldering part. If you are a good at soldering, I would give it a try. The easiest amp to try in the Neurochrome arsenal is the LM3886DR if you want to solder something. Next is the Modulus 86. Both are available as blank boards so you have to get all the parts from Mouser/Digikey, etc... After that, the Neurochrome Modulus 186, 286, and 686 are all presoldered but you should've had a few kits under your belt just so that you know how to configure everything properly, i.e. sofstart board, power supply, chassis, etc...The 686 is the most complex in that regard only because of the physical board dimensions (i.e. larger than any of his other kits) and honestly you want to invest in a nice chassis and have good mechanical skills as it is that good of an amplifier.

If you look on diyaudio.com, there are a ton of documented builds of the Neurochrome variety and I am sure Folsom amplifiers too.

Do understand that there are builders like myself who build for the sake of building and not necessarily ultimate sound quality. Kind of like guys who collect/build cars for the experience of learning. It's more of a journey for us. So asking what is the easiest build and what is the best sounding amp for the money are not really the same question!

Best,
Anand.

P.S. The only other diy company I have dealt with that has exceptional build manuals is AMB audio. But there is practically no hand holding there. You purchase the blank boards and procure the parts but the instructions and parts lists are first rate. The designs are top notch sonically. However, if your soldering capabilities are poor then you are kind of on your own in the debugging department (although AMB's forums are helpful). If you need to get your confidence up first then you need some easier builds. I am sure AudioNote has excellent build manuals but you pay out of the nose for those kits.

sarora9

Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #44 on: 3 Dec 2020, 07:41 pm »
Anyone have a good route to building Folsom or Neurochrome for beginners? I'm pretty great at building kits and following directions, soldering, etc but the diyaudio.com is rocket science to me at this point, the more I read the less I know. I've built some pretty complex preamps successfully (elekit 8500, just fired up successfully on my first time), speakers and guitar pedals but I'm not great at sourcing my own components and wiring without direction. Any builds I could copy with good detail? Or anyone that could mentor? Wouldn't mind throwing a few bucks out for education, I'd prefer to learn to build it myself.

Folsom includes a parts list that you click and voila, you have a filled shopping cart at one of the major stores. The minor annoyance is that stores may be out of stock on a particular item so you have to select an alternative based upon description. 

sarora9

Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #45 on: 3 Dec 2020, 07:45 pm »

I really think the 7293 is more sensitive to input cap changes than Jeremy says (although he didnt say the 7293 wasn't sensitive just less so than the 7297).  Mine was laid back with Jupiter flat stack caps and the presentation was somewhat flat, but with Jantzen Silvers I am on the 7th or 8th row with a very 3D like presentation.

Aargh did you have to say that? Now I'll be tempted to try to experiment. But on second thought, maybe 99% is good enough :)

Jaytor

Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #46 on: 3 Dec 2020, 08:27 pm »
I concur with Anand that the Neurochrome amps would be a good choice for your first project that's not a complete kit. Using Tom's prebuilt modules (the Mod 186, 286, or 686) will result in a great amp without a lot that can go wrong. You'd still have to build the power supply boards, source/design the chassis, and wire everything up, but that's much more straightforward than finding all the parts and building the amplifier boards. 

The Modushop chassis that are available through the DIYAudio Store are excellent quality, and they will take your drawings (even hand drawings if you want) and convert them to CAD to drill all the holes, add labels, etc. The Neurochrome monoblocks and preamp photos I posted earlier in this thread use these chassis.

electriceye

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #47 on: 4 Dec 2020, 06:02 am »
Thanks so much for the responses, this board is great as usual.

DigIndig

Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #48 on: 6 Dec 2020, 03:00 am »
Folsom includes a parts list that you click and voila, you have a filled shopping cart at one of the major stores. The minor annoyance is that stores may be out of stock on a particular item so you have to select an alternative based upon description.
When I bought my 7293 boards from Jeremy, he provided recommended alternatives for all of the out of stock components, which made it super easy. There was still one out-of-stock item - the photocell -  and he quickly confirmed the store recommended replacement as viable.

The instructions leave a few details out, but between what is there and what is silk-screened onto the boards, it's pretty easy to figure out where each part goes.

Bullitt5094

Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #49 on: 6 Dec 2020, 04:19 am »
I built a Pass B1 Nutube preamp project with several upgrades including a linear power supply. It feeds a Pass F5 power amp. Also with a couple of upgrades implemented as the project progressed. I am very pleased with the combination of the Nutube feeding the F5. Very accurate and with just enough smoothness from the Nutube to make it very natural sounding without the syrupy tube sound I don't really enjoy . Mr. Pass predicted this would be an excellent combination of components and was right IMHO.

electriceye

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #50 on: 6 Dec 2020, 05:31 am »
Good to know, I ended up purchasing some boards for it for a dual mono folsom, feeling pretty confident in my soldering or at least the ability to recognize bad joints when I do them.


When I bought my 7293 boards from Jeremy, he provided recommended alternatives for all of the out of stock components, which made it super easy. There was still one out-of-stock item - the photocell -  and he quickly confirmed the store recommended replacement as viable.

The instructions leave a few details out, but between what is there and what is silk-screened onto the boards, it's pretty easy to figure out where each part goes.

electriceye

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #51 on: 7 Dec 2020, 05:49 am »
Also btw, I planned to do a tube audio system all DIY with a budget of $2,000 for preamp and amp, probably stretching to much more after tubes. I opted for the elikit 8500 built by me for $450 (its working great but only tested as phono stage, and bested my highly regarded budget phono) slightly upgraded with solen fast caps. Im guessing this build will be around $800 putting me at $1250 if all goes well. So, I'll be at a $750 surplus with about $1000 or more to spend on a dac now (dac advice?) . It just has to equal my IDA-16 integrated and I'll be satisfied (or close to it), guessing I'll come at least close, stoked to own an all diy system minus the turntable and dac. I was listening to the nx studios with the ida-16 and remembering when my local audio shop played a 6 figure system and how damn close I am to it already, thanks largely to the nx-studios but also nuprime.

electriceye

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #52 on: 15 Dec 2020, 02:23 am »
Basic question, what is everyone using for internal wiring (both electrical/audio)?

Also, are there any good tutorials for wiring monoblocks specifically for the power supply as it would apply to Folsom EC7293? I bought the dualpoles with the folsom. I plan on reading this: 3 to 10 times: http://www.decdun.me.uk/gainclone_psu.html but thought something more specific would help as well, it's definitely my area I'm most confused in, and seems to be highest stakes. Feeling pretty good about cap/resister placement, I've done that a ton with guitar pedals. purchased the BOM, feeling good about that I think.

Hopefully it is okay to slightly hijack the thread.

corndog71

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #53 on: 15 Dec 2020, 06:53 am »

Edgar77

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #54 on: 30 Dec 2020, 02:28 am »
I finished my latest DIY project - a new preamp. I just got it hooked up to my main system with the NX-Oticas and I'm thrilled with the way it sounds. I think my Parasound JC-2BP will be listed for sale shortly.

The preamp uses a fully balanced Khozmo relay-based input selector and shunt attenuator. All shunt resistors are Takman REY. The series resistor and all signal path resistors are Vishay Z-foils. I'm using AMB Labs alpha 24 balanced line-stage buffers, with an AMB omega 22 supply, with 100VA transformer. A separate supply based on the AMB omega 11 is used for the digital logic, including the OLED display. The Khozmo includes a nice machined metal remote control.

I have two pairs of balanced outputs - one DC coupled directly to the alpha 24, and the other through a set of MiFlex KPCU copper caps which roll off the low end. I've got this latter output feeding my amps into the NX-Oticas, and the single-ended output from the alpha-24 feeds the servo subs.

All audio wiring uses DH Labs solid-core silver with teflon insulation and I'm using Viborg gold over copper XLR connectors.





I am new in this forum and I try to learn.
Which rack are you using?
Is that something special to minimize vibrations?

And in general: Many of the nice enclosures are also available in 19" width to be mounted in 19" racks. Is that a good idea - at least for someone who starts new and buys his first enclosures?
Here are samples from https://modushop.biz/ :




Thanks

Edgar

Jaytor

Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #55 on: 31 Dec 2020, 03:56 pm »
This is a Hybrid Standard rack from Solid-Tech. The corner posts are hollow aluminum and can be filled with sand (which I did) to provide damping and more mass. Each corner post is spiked and sits in a cup at the top of the post below to provide a mechanical path for vibration. The shelves are all adjustable with aluminum brackets holding MDF shelves. This rack is available in numerous configurations and colors, with different shelf materials including veneered wood, concrete and carbon fiber. It's very well made and relatively easy to put together (it took me the good part of a day including filling the individual corner posts with sand).



The wider Modushop enclosures have a front panel width just under 18". This is what I used for my preamp on the top of the rack. It's possible that they have rack-mount tabs available, which are designed to bolt onto a 19" wide rack. I haven't looked into it. Rack mounting is primarily used when you want to get the most equipment packed into the minimum space, and where you want to make sure the equipment can't fall out if the rack is jostled. It's generally not used for home audio installations, particularly if your equipment is in your listening room.

There are a lot of different home audio rack manufacturers. I think Solid-Tech makes some of the better ones, assuming you like the hitech-industrial styling. If you are looking for something in wood, check out Timbernation.

AKLegal

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #56 on: 31 Dec 2020, 08:54 pm »
Jaytor did you find a source for knobs without position marks?

Jaytor

Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #57 on: 31 Dec 2020, 09:34 pm »
My original photo showed knobs I got from Parts Express. These are polished aluminum (but without position markers) and didn't match the brushed aluminum from the Modushop chassis very well. I found someone on AliExpress that had knobs (again with no position markers) that have a sand-blasted type finish that matched pretty well with the brushed aluminum. So that is what is shown in the photo I just uploaded. They took forever to ship though. They took a little more than 2 months to get. But they are pretty nice quality.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32600707771.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.22cc4c4dBABC9s

Edgar77

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Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #58 on: 1 Jan 2021, 06:10 am »
Thanks for the info about the Hybrid Standard rack from Solid-Tech.

I looked them up online and I found lots of details. I even found a price list here.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12bYUjzS-Sg1P6Ft8E0h_YJ6PjZxqam6O
But it seems every nut and bolt is listed separately which makes it difficult to get an idea about the price of the whole thing.
Obviously I could ask a shop for a quotation. But maybe you can give me, and maybe others, an idea about the price.
When I look at their nuts and bolts price list and your rack then I guess your rack cost a couple of thousand USD, maybe even more than a thousand per floor level, correct?
Thanks

Happy New Year to everybody!

Edgar

Jaytor

Re: DIY Amps for NX-Oticas
« Reply #59 on: 1 Jan 2021, 02:28 pm »
The rack I have has (or had this past spring) a retail price of $2650. That's including the small floor cups which you wouldn't need on carpet. My dealer gave me a discount off this price.