AudioCircle
The Commercial Zone => Industry Introductions => Topic started by: tomchr on 10 Apr 2019, 03:43 am
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Hello everyone,
I’m Tom. Some of you may know me from DIY Audio or elsewhere, where I'm known for my Modulus-series of ultra-low distortion audio power amplifiers. I run Neurochrome, which I started as a self-sustaining hobby in 2012. Neurochrome has been my only source of income (by choice) since 2015.
While I was in graduate school pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering, I was offered an internship at National Semiconductor (now part of Texas Instruments). I wasn’t really getting anywhere with my degree, so I decided to skip the PhD and design precision opamps for National instead. My first project was the LMP2021 zero-drift opamp. My focus, both in my undergraduate and graduate work, was always precision DC and audio frequency circuits, so the job at National was a really good fit for me. I ended up spending a bit over ten years at National/TI before having the desire to do something else.
I was getting quite burned out at TI, and had developed a strong interest in psychology, so I decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in that field. Thus, I quit my job at TI in 2015 and went back to school. This made Neurochrome my only source of income. Having a student's schedule and the summers off also allowed me to put more effort into Neurochrome, and it has grown steadily since then. I’m now about to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and am looking to push on Neurochrome for the foreseeable future.
While I certainly enjoy my current success, I believe Neurochrome has potential for further growth, in particular if I expand beyond the Do-It-Yourself world. That leads me here. I am planning to launch a couple of commercial/retail products – headphone amplifiers – this fall and I hope to start an industry circle soon.
While I do acknowledge that the subjective perceptions of an audio product are important, I tend to approach audio from a scientific angle, thus rely on measurements in my design decisions. I think the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of reliance on influencer opinion rather than measurements when it comes to evaluating the performance of a piece of audio gear, and would like to nudge the pendulum the other way a bit. I think there’s a market for well-designed audio gear that’s fully backed up by measurements.
You can find my website here: www.neurochrome.com
If you would like to be the first to know about my upcoming products, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter here: www.neurochrome.com/newsletter
Neurochrome is based in Calgary, Canada. My products are designed and manufactured in Canada.
Thanks,
Tom
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Welcome.
Your links are too thick for me, but an interesting switch from EE to psych.
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Tom, I have one of your Neurochrome amps, and.....it is brilliant. I am very, very happy with it. I wish you the best as you roll out your commercial (non-DIY) products. Knowing your reputation, I'm sure they will be every bit as wonderful as your existing DIY amps are.
Best wishes, -dGB
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Welcome!
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Good luck in your audio venture Tom.
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Tom, I have one of your Neurochrome amps, and.....it is brilliant. I am very, very happy with it.
Fantastic! I'm glad you like it.
I wish you the best as you roll out your commercial (non-DIY) products. Knowing your reputation, I'm sure they will be every bit as wonderful as your existing DIY amps are.
Thank you. Yeah, my plan is to leverage the reputation I have in the new venture.
Good luck in your audio venture Tom.
Thank you. I'm in for a ride for sure... :)
Tom
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Welcome to AudioCircle Tom. I have admired your Neurochrome designs over on DIYAudio.com for some time. Your bio with all those years at National and TI fits right in to the design ethos your work demonstrates.
During my time with Amoco I visited Calgary and onto the Canadian Rockies to your west. Such beautiful country. Normally I'd insert a dig about the cold here but cold winters are perfect for staying inside and designing then listening to HiFi.
Your engineering to psychology path is one my brother-in-law took and it worked out quite well for him. Do you intend to practice or hold that perspective in your tool kit while focusing on Neurochrome?
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Thank you.
My original plan was to become a counsellor. In Alberta, I can practice with a Master's degree. But a couple of things happened that made me change my plans. First off, Neurochrome started growing. I also discovered that I don't need a career change. I just need the autonomy that comes with being self-employed. I love the engineering. I've been tinkering with electronics since I was five years old and with audio since my early teens, and I obviously have a passion for it. Also, University of Calgary does not admit anyone to the Master of Counselling program this year, so the stage is set for me to see where I can take Neurochrome.
That said, psychology has already been enormously helpful to me. When you're trying to market your goods to humans, it does help to have a little insight into how humans work. A bit ironically, psychology has also taught me statistical analysis and experimental design. All that seems glossed over in engineering as it is exceptionally rare that your voltmeter doesn't indicate the actual voltage at the tips of the probes. On the other hand, in psychology you have to validate your instruments both before you use them and as you are using them. I would love to see more science applied in audio, in particular regarding listening tests, so my background will come in handy there.
Cold winters... Yeah... It does get a bit nippy at times. The last few years, we've had some 3-4 week stretches of daytime highs below -20 ºC during the winter. But then a chinook rolls in and the temperature goes from -20 to +20 overnight. That makes Calgary a very nice place to be during the winter. We do get snow. But it's that super light power stuff. Not the white concrete they get on the coasts. On the plus side, we get 300 days of sunshine a year here. :)
Tom
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Welcome, Tom.
Finally decided to finish up the stereo Mod86 build. Also will be doing Mod686 monoblocks. Depending on how things turn out, my other pair of Mod86 boards will either join the Mod686 or the Mod86 amp. I have other amps to finish also to compare them against. I tried my new JBL Studio 530s with my ACA amps and concluded that the speakers need more power. So hence the impetus to complete another amp.
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Nice! It's good to see some of my builders here too. I'm glad you like the Modulus-series.
On speakers, my LXmini just scooted over by the TV as I got a screaming deal on a pair of KEF R700. Holy moly! R700 + Modulus-686 is an amazing combination!
Tom
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Welcome Tom.
I have been quite interested in your product for some time. Alas, I am not
a DIY type guy so am glad to see your going to produce your amps. There are
a number of fans of your amps here that I'm sure will be posting soon.
Good luck with the endeavor and I do hope our paths cross in the future.
Don
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Nice! It's good to see some of my builders here too. I'm glad you like the Modulus-series.
On speakers, my LXmini just scooted over by the TV as I got a screaming deal on a pair of KEF R700. Holy moly! R700 + Modulus-686 is an amazing combination!
Tom
I think you should do a write up comparing the LXminis to the R700s once the latter are broken in.
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Hi Tom - used to own your headphone amp - it was a great one, and will probably regret selling it. Have read on your site that there is a new version (or two) in development for this fall or winter. Look forward to reading more about it here on AudioCircle.
David
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I think you should do a write up comparing the LXminis to the R700s once the latter are broken in.
Nah. I suck at writing sappy marketing verbiage, so I'm not your go-to guy for subjective reviews. Everything you need to know is in the directivity plots anyway. :) You can find Stereophile's measurements here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef-r700-loudspeaker-measurements
You can find the measurements of the LS50 here: https://www.princeton.edu/3D3A/Directivity/KEF%20LS50/index.html. The R700 uses the same driver as the LS50 but adds two 6.5" woofers. It would be nice with a similar set of measurements for the R700. However, given the performance of the LS50 and the use of the same driver in the R-series, I would find it doubtful that KEF dropped the ball on the R-series. This also seems to be backed up by Stereophile's measurements, which indicate stellar performance.
OK. So here's my attempt at sappy marketing verbiage: For the $500+work a DIY pair of LXmini will set you back, you get quite a bit of performance, but there is no doubt that the extra ~$3500 (based on the original list price of the R700) buys you a lot of additional performance. The imaging of the R700 is absolutely amazing, but vertically and horizontally. The R700 is also the first speaker I've had that did not change sonic character as I turned up the volume. The R700 just gets louder... Amazing how well science can work when you apply it. :)
For those looking to buy a finished pair of LXmini (now called LXsirius, currently priced at ~$2600/pair) might want to consider getting a pair of closeout R700s instead. Or have a look at the new R-series (R3, R5...).
Tom
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Wow... I didn't mean to completely kill the buzz... :)
As I mentioned in the first post, I'm looking to get a couple of headphone amps going. Thus, I've started a little market survey to get a handle on what people's expectations of such amps are. If you have 15-20 minutes to spare, I would greatly appreciate your input in the survey. You can find it here: https://forms.gle/JNNLwjdJpLraw6Cm8
The survey requires a Google/gmail login. Your email address is NOT logged, however. All your responses in the survey are anonymous.
Thanks in advance.
Tom
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Tom,
Welcome to AC.
I filled out the survey as well as I could considering I haven't purchased anything from you before. Call me potentially in the market for an <$1000 headphone amp. For this price level, I would want a good volume pot and a decent DAC....or excellent volume control and the ability to drive a separate amp to power desktop speakers/subwoofer. [I'd use my own DAC.]
Regards,
Michael
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Hi Tom.
Welcome to AC. I have one of your amps; it's a fine performer. Do you have plans to branch-out from the TI LM3886 line?
Jim
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Welcome to AC. I have one of your amps; it's a fine performer. Do you have plans to branch-out from the TI LM3886 line?
Thank you. I've had a design for a non-LM3886 power amp kicking around in the simulator for a year or two. It performs well ... in the simulator. It has yet to meet with reality. I need to look at what it would take to turn that into a product. Mainly it hinges on the chassis manufacturing.
I filled out the survey as well as I could considering I haven't purchased anything from you before.
Fantastic. Thank you. As they say in the advertisements, "no purchase necessary". :) In fact, hearing from those who have not purchased anything from me yet is really valuable.
Call me potentially in the market for an <$1000 headphone amp. For this price level, I would want a good volume pot and a decent DAC....or excellent volume control and the ability to drive a separate amp to power desktop speakers/subwoofer. [I'd use my own DAC.]
Very cool. Stay tuned. I plan to have at least a small prototype batch assembled for RMAF (early Sept). I won't have my own booth, but will likely provide amps for Redscape Audio.
Tom
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Fantastic. Thank you. As they say in the advertisements, "no purchase necessary". :) In fact, hearing from those who have not purchased anything from me yet is really valuable.
Cool, i filled out the survey as a "non-purchaser to date" also. But i am really looking forward to the high end diy solution coming up. I exited the headphone portion of my system recently, but its tugging on me. :thumb: :popcorn:
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Awesome. Thank you. Also thanks to everyone else for their participation in the survey.
Tom
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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
(https://i.imgur.com/Mc10q5Qh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/YPcTdQ8h.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/p30MqExh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Pi77Y9n.jpg)
Parallel 86SE
(https://i.imgur.com/VYDhPxWh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Qg2ouImh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/IGfabvJh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/f8X0l4C.jpg)
Parallel 486
(https://i.imgur.com/3ND3I8Zh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/XAUvj9Jh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GJA7Kroh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/lv6xuIXh.jpg)
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:).
(https://i.imgur.com/W3EKMay.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/LwHkRJ5.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/1DkOd7p.jpg)
Best,
Anand.
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All very well executed builds. Thank you for sharing.
Tom
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Anand does the best of work.
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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??
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Some odd premonition tells me you will hear his HPA-1 in December, January, or February. :thumb:
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That would be really neat!
Alex
:D