Nelson Pass B-1 preamp kit

kingnubian · « **Reply #600 on:** 16 Sep 2010, 03:43 am »

Quote from: Chris Adams on 16 Sep 2010, 02:17 am

kingnubian, That's looking good. I presume you're getting Gen 1. Are you going to bypass them with anything? I ask because I had some 4.7 Gen 1s in a dac and when I bypassed with a .1 Gen 2, it smoothed out the top end nicely. Good luck.

As per a suggestion I received by a member here, I will be bypassing the Gen 1's with .1 Gen 2's. Hopefully I will get them next week & will also look into ordering a case as well.

kingnubian · « **Reply #601 on:** 27 Sep 2010, 02:44 pm »

Almost finished with the build. Just waiting on the caps & chassis.

There seems to be a number of ways disused on how to power the B1. The 3 I am looking at are

1) Wall wart (18-20v)
2) Batteries (2x9v) {Onece in my audio stand battery replacement would be a chore unless they were mounted externally)
3) SMPS like this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/DC-18V-2A-Universal-Regulated-Switching-Power-Supply_W0QQitemZ270617463458QQcategoryZ58288QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D5%26pmod%3D170390359079%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5387978462761763319#ht_2557wt_1011)

What are the advantages & disadvantages of each approach physically & with respect to sonics?

Jon L · « **Reply #602 on:** 2 Oct 2010, 01:12 am »

I let the B-1 "cook" for a long while since the last set of mods (1 uF Penta Labs Teflon cap and silver/teflon wires) before messing around again, and it has come a long way.

The transparency and the straight-wire quality definitely improved a great deal. It's gotten so darn good, I figured it's only a few % away from becoming a true world-beater Monster preamp. So I threw the kitchen sink at it. I bypassed the 1 uF Penta Labs teflon with 0.1 uF Aura-T Teflon caps and the 10 uF Jantzen Superior-Z with 0.22 uF FT-3 Teflon caps (awesome in bypass duty).

I'll let it burn in a lot more, but already, I can't stop grinning

wushuliu · « **Reply #603 on:** 2 Oct 2010, 01:28 am »

Quote from: Jon L on 2 Oct 2010, 01:12 am

I let the B-1 "cook" for a long while since the last set of mods (1 uF Penta Labs Teflon cap and silver/teflon wires) before messing around again, and it has come a long way.

The transparency and the straight-wire quality definitely improved a great deal. It's gotten so darn good, I figured it's only a few % away from becoming a true world-beater Monster preamp. So I threw the kitchen sink at it. I bypassed the 1 uF Penta Labs teflon with 0.1 uF Aura-T Teflon caps and the 10 uF Jantzen Superior-Z with 0.22 uF FT-3 Teflon caps (awesome in bypass duty).

I'll let it burn in a lot more, but already, I can't stop grinning

roymail · « **Reply #604 on:** 2 Oct 2010, 01:56 am »

Jon L, you should email that pic to Nelson Pass along with a description of the caps. I wonder if he ever envisioned such a B1 super mod? AWESOME!

Jon L · « **Reply #605 on:** 2 Oct 2010, 05:22 pm »

Quote from: roymail on 2 Oct 2010, 01:56 am

Jon L, you should email that pic to Nelson Pass along with a description of the caps. I wonder if he ever envisioned such a B1 super mod? AWESOME!

I wouldn't want Nelson Pass to think I'm a total nutjob!

Seriously though, every time I have to embark on one of these capacitor exercises for audio gear, it takes a lot of time and effort and makes me long for a capacitor-less world. I guess I'm lucky (?) I have all these capacitors laying around already, so at least I have a shot at ending up with something that fits my needs

kingnubian · « **Reply #606 on:** 7 Oct 2010, 04:55 pm »

Got these in the mail today, 20 (10x10) K73-16 Russian Caps of both 10uf & 1uf rating. I will be pairing these up with some Obbligato Premiums that I have on the way in my B1 build. From everything I've been reading these may be a good mix n match with the Obbligatos. As usual, the proof will be in the pudding.

P.S. If anyone is in the Montreal area, it looks like I may have a few extra K73-16caps that I can part with as I now have more than I will need.

roymail · « **Reply #607 on:** 7 Oct 2010, 06:02 pm »

Quote from: kingnubian on 7 Oct 2010, 04:55 pm

I may have a few extra K73-16caps that I can part with as I now have more than I will need.

Really, you think?

Let us know how those work for you.

Russellc · « **Reply #608 on:** 8 Oct 2010, 06:26 pm »

Quote from: kingnubian on 7 Oct 2010, 04:55 pm

Got these in the mail today, 20 (10x10) K73-16 Russian Caps of both 10uf & 1uf rating. I will be pairing these up with some Obbligato Premiums that I have on the way in my B1 build. From everything I've been reading these may be a good mix n match with the Obbligatos. As usual, the proof will be in the pudding.

P.S. If anyone is in the Montreal area, it looks like I may have a few extra K73-16caps that I can part with as I now have more than I will need.

Similarly, I thought I ordered 3 Similac 100uF, 35 volt and inadvertantly ordered 30 if anyone is looking. I have no use for 30 of these, only needed 3. Obviously, they are not expensive!

Russellc

wushuliu · « **Reply #609 on:** 10 Oct 2010, 08:51 pm »

I saw this mentioned on htguide. I hear Obbligato are good caps and the discount plus US domestic shipping is a great deal:

http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3716

kingnubian · « **Reply #610 on:** 11 Oct 2010, 02:24 am »

Quote from: wushuliu on 10 Oct 2010, 08:51 pm

I saw this mentioned on htguide. I hear Obbligato are good caps and the discount plus US domestic shipping is a great deal:

http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3716

Sounds like a great deal!
I hope that they will be a good compliment to the K73-16's as well.

rtate · « **Reply #611 on:** 11 Oct 2010, 04:09 pm »

Great people over there at Hawthorne !!!
Great speakers too...

1MOR · « **Reply #612 on:** 13 Oct 2010, 04:36 am »

Finally got the B1 to make music! Its powered by a 18 volt wall wart.

Its a tube kinda thing!

roymail · « **Reply #613 on:** 13 Oct 2010, 12:45 pm »

Quote from: 1MOR on 13 Oct 2010, 04:36 am

Finally got the B1 to make music! Its powered by a 18 volt wall wart.

Congrats on a very nice B1 build.

What caps did you use, they actually appear to fit the B1 board.

Thanks for posting the pics.

kingnubian · « **Reply #614 on:** 13 Oct 2010, 12:56 pm »

Quote from: 1MOR on 13 Oct 2010, 04:36 am

Finally got the B1 to make music! Its powered by a 18 volt wall wart.

Congrats on the build! How does it sound so far?

1MOR · « **Reply #615 on:** 13 Oct 2010, 03:25 pm »

Quote from: roymail on 13 Oct 2010, 12:45 pm

Congrats on a very nice B1 build.

What caps did you use, they actually appear to fit the B1 board.

Thanks for posting the pics.

Caps are Erse Pulse X. Aexon caps are no longer available. Erse/Aexon/Solen appear to be quite similar. So far, B1 sounds quite nice. Will need a few days to have the caps settle in. I also have a 24 Volt wall wart that I will try for sonic comparison.

1MOR · « **Reply #616 on:** 13 Oct 2010, 03:41 pm »

No exotic parts were used, will do that for the DCB1 build. Case is a tight fit, but I made it work. Seller has larger cases. Pots are the PECs. Case came from here:

http://stores.ebay.com/gkphotonics/Aluminum-Enclosure-Boxes-/_i.html?_fsub=1668375016&_sid=79834146&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

roymail · « **Reply #617 on:** 13 Oct 2010, 06:46 pm »

Quote from: 1MOR on 13 Oct 2010, 03:41 pm

Case is a tight fit, but I made it work. Seller has larger cases.
http://stores.ebay.com/gkphotonics/Aluminum-Enclosure-Boxes-/_i.html?_fsub=1668375016&_sid=79834146&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

What size is the case you used? Thanks!

1MOR · « **Reply #618 on:** 13 Oct 2010, 08:01 pm »

Quote from: roymail on 13 Oct 2010, 06:46 pm

What size is the case you used? Thanks!

8" X 8" X3" I should have used the 4" or 5" deep box instead of the 3" box.
Make sure you measure your board, caps, pots, switch, in/out hardware before you order this product. Mine was a tight fit, very tight fit. I used the optional bottom plate to mount the pc board on, using standoffs. Contact the seller, he was great to do business with.

roymail · « **Reply #619 on:** 13 Oct 2010, 08:40 pm »

OK, thanks for the heads up on that.