Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Read 10777 times.

poseidonsvoice

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 4014
  • Science is not a democracy - Earl Geddes
    • 2 channel/7 channel setup
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #20 on: 19 May 2019, 02:09 pm »
Hi,

I am one of Tom's more avid builders. Perhaps some of these pics will encourage y'all to take the leap. In my opinion, both subjectively and objectively they are absolutely state of the art including the design manual/documentation and his customer service. There is never a dumb question and there is always a willingness on his part to teach and explain thoroughly at levels a proletariat can understand as well as at a level that is appropos for an advanced hobbyist or engineer.

Modulus 286 v1.1









Parallel 86SE









Parallel 486









The above pics were large thumbnails. The three following below are the original, just to see a difference in picture quality (not easily visible on mobile phones!  :green:).







Best,

Anand.
« Last Edit: 5 Jun 2019, 09:45 pm by poseidonsvoice »

tomchr

  • Industry Participant
  • Posts: 40
    • Tom Christiansen Audio
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #21 on: 19 May 2019, 05:42 pm »
All very well executed builds. Thank you for sharing.

Tom

dflee

Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #22 on: 19 May 2019, 10:21 pm »
 Anand does the best of work.

Nick77

Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #23 on: 20 May 2019, 11:16 am »
Anand for President!   :thumb:  I mean amp builder of the year!

Nice work as usual Anand!   :thumb:

Can you explain the difference between the two builds please?? Is the 286 SE and the parallel 4 channel balanced?? 

poseidonsvoice

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 4014
  • Science is not a democracy - Earl Geddes
    • 2 channel/7 channel setup
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #24 on: 20 May 2019, 11:52 am »
Anand for President!   :thumb:  I mean amp builder of the year!

Nice work as usual Anand!   :thumb:

Can you explain the difference between the two builds please?? Is the 286 SE and the parallel 4 channel balanced??

Yes, they both have differential input stages. But the 286 is all SMD and the Parallel 86/486’s are thru hole. The SMD version is even quieter, with a lower noise floor and higher performance.

To use RCA cables from a single ended source it is easy. Just use an RCA to XLR cable. Nearly all the advantages of a differential input stage will be preserved.

All stages in these amps run in Class A but the LM3886 output or LM4780 output run in Class A for the 1st 10-20mW and then Class AB thereafter.

Best,
Anand.

Norman Tracy

Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #25 on: 20 May 2019, 03:35 pm »
Anand,

Nice work (that's the understated 'nice' that comes with a subtle nod of approval and really means superb). Do I spot about 10 of the Vishay 'naked' foil resistors on your PCBs? If so that's dedication to the cause, those bad boys can put the hurt on your wallet. To my knowledge they do represent the real world resistors that come closest to behaving as a theoretical ideal resistor does in the textbooks. Apparently 'resistor spotting' is this most geeked out audiophile equivalent of 'train spotting' among railroad enthusiasts.

I also note the comment "the 286 is all SMD and the Parallel 86/486’s are thru hole. The SMD version is even quieter, with a lower noise floor and higher performance." This aligns with my experience. SMD (Surface Mount Devices) are harder for casual DIYers to work with but the more compact layouts they allow yield tighter current loops in the circuit which yields lower noise and real world performance gains in other areas like wider bandwidths.

happy listening

NT

tomchr

  • Industry Participant
  • Posts: 40
    • Tom Christiansen Audio
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #26 on: 20 May 2019, 06:26 pm »
Nice work (that's the understated 'nice' that comes with a subtle nod of approval and really means superb). Do I spot about 10 of the Vishay 'naked' foil resistors on your PCBs?
Yep. Anand likes those. :) You don't need the fancy resistors to get the full performance. They do look cool and make for great marketing, though. And, more importantly, the Z-foil resistors don't degrade performance.

To my knowledge they do represent the real world resistors that come closest to behaving as a theoretical ideal resistor does in the textbooks.
They're nice resistors for sure. Whether they're closer to ideal is debatable. The resistor tolerance and temperature coefficient are extremely low for the Z-foil resistors, so in that sense the resistors are closer to ideal. They also offer good aging properties (basically they don't change throughout life) and low excess noise. They are, however, rather large and the resistive element follows a serpentine pattern, so I would think they'd be a bit more inductive and offer higher end-to-end capacitance than a typical leaded resistor, so in that sense the Z-foils are a bit further from an ideal resistor. That said, those parasitics have minimal impact in the Parallel-86. In fact, they're likely swamped by the layout parasitics (trace inductance, in particular).

There are cases where you want low temperature coefficient and good matching between resistors. The feedback network of an audio amp would be such a place. There's definitely a technical reason for using a low temperature coefficient resistor there, which is why I specify such a resistor on the bill-of-materials. :)

Note that expensive and "audiophile" don't equate to high quality, however. In many cases - in particular when it comes to capacitors - the "audiophile" components actually offer higher parasitics (i.e. are further from the textbook ideal components) than commonly available parts. And the commonly available parts are 20-60 dB lower cost.

Apparently 'resistor spotting' is this most geeked out audiophile equivalent of 'train spotting' among railroad enthusiasts.
Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Resistors are worth paying attention to for the reasons I've pointed to above. There are some SMD resistors that are nearly as good as the Vishay resistors. I use them in my Modulus-186, -286, and -686. Unfortunately, they look just like any other SMD resistor.

This aligns with my experience. SMD (Surface Mount Devices) are harder for casual DIYers to work with but the more compact layouts they allow yield tighter current loops in the circuit which yields lower noise and real world performance gains in other areas like wider bandwidths.
Yep. The more exciting opamps are now SMD-only as well. It's unfortunate from a DIY perspective, but good from a performance perspective.

From a DIY perspective, the SMD components can also be rather fickle to work with. I've had a couple of interesting support cases on the Modulus-286 Rev. 1.1, where ceramic capacitors had cracked during soldering, resulting in weird issues like audible distortion. Those were rather challenging to debug by email, but everything worked out in the end. This type of support case is one of the main reasons I no longer offer SMD builds for DIYers. By offering the boards fully assembled, I can give everybody lower prices and better performance. The downside is that it's less DIY.

In a professional SMD assembly setup, the parts are baked for 24-48 hours to get all moisture out of them before the assembly. This is to prevent cracked parts. The local assembly house I use go a step further. Their reflow oven has 13 (thirteen) temperature zones, again to prevent cracked parts. Many of the overseas outfits use 3-zone ovens. Think about that next time you read DIYers advice on toaster oven or frying pan reflow. :) For SMD hand-assembly, I much prefer Anand's approach and solder each part individually. Just be careful with the heat.

Tom

tomchr

  • Industry Participant
  • Posts: 40
    • Tom Christiansen Audio
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #27 on: 30 Aug 2019, 05:49 am »
Now introducing Tom Christiansen Audio. I've decided to separate my retail operation from the DIY aspect of my business. The retail products will be available under the Tom Christiansen Audio banner. I have a new website coming: www.tomchr.com. If you visit now, you'll find that the only thing on there right now is the sign-up form for my TCA Newsletter. Feel free to sign up should you wish to stay up-to-date about my latest offerings. I expect to have the site up and running over the weekend.

Note that both my DIY products and my retail products will be designed from the ground up with those markets in mind.

You can also connect with TCA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/tomchrAudio

Should you find yourself in Denver during September 6-8, you can find me at Booth #23 in the "HeadSpace" (Colorado Ballroom A) at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, where I will be co-exhibiting with Redscape and show off my newly designed headphone amp.

Thanks,

Tom

tomchr

  • Industry Participant
  • Posts: 40
    • Tom Christiansen Audio
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #28 on: 19 Sep 2019, 03:04 am »
My Modulus-286 Kit (Limited Edition) is now on sale. I would like to clear out some space in my basement, and convert inventory to money so I can ramp up my retail venture. $999/each while supplies last. I have seven left with black front panel and six with the silver front panel. You can find the Kit here: https://www.neurochrome.com/product/modulus-286-kit-2/

They can be configured for 120 V or 230 V by changing a wire jumper. If you need me to convert your kit to 230 V, just let me know when you order and I'll pull the jumper for you.

Note that these compete quite nicely with commercial products in the $3k+ range, so you're getting quite a deal here. You just have to spend a little time building the amp yourself. :)

Tom


adydula

  • Restricted
  • Posts: 1995
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #29 on: 19 Sep 2019, 11:32 am »
Hello Tom!

Welcome to the site.

I am the facilitator over at the Headphone Mania Circle and look forward to looking at and reviewing your headphone products!!

We have run into each other before over at Head-Fi talking about the DIY T2 amp.

I know your a brilliant engineer that seeks perfection with your designs and implementations.

There is a strong subjective side to this hobby as well....

Again welcome!

Alex
« Last Edit: 19 Sep 2019, 02:19 pm by adydula »

tomchr

  • Industry Participant
  • Posts: 40
    • Tom Christiansen Audio
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #30 on: 21 Sep 2019, 10:06 pm »
Thank you. I appreciate it.

I agree that there is a strong subjective side to this hobby. Nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of pseudo-science, junk science, and plain non-science associated with this hobby and business. I stand firmly against that. I believe that extraordinary claims should be backed by extraordinary evidence. I back my claims up with science and data so that those who value these things can see what they're paying for.

That said, we don't all have to like the same things. I'm fine with that. :)

Tom

adydula

  • Restricted
  • Posts: 1995
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #31 on: 26 Oct 2019, 04:18 pm »
Hey Tom,

Whats the status of your new products?

I notice you have a potential $349 DIY HP-1 on your Neurochrome website>

Will this be a complete parts included and case kit or just a pcb and a BOM?

Look forward to listening with your headphone amps.

Alex

mresseguie

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 4691
  • SW1X DAC+ D Sachs 300b + Daedalus Apollos = Heaven
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #32 on: 26 Oct 2019, 11:54 pm »
Some odd premonition tells me you will hear his HPA-1 in December, January, or February.  :thumb:

adydula

  • Restricted
  • Posts: 1995
Re: Tom Christiansen - Neurochrome Intro
« Reply #33 on: 30 Oct 2019, 01:21 pm »
That would be really neat!

Alex

 :D