[audio-heaven]

So, looking at my amp, my speaker wires head East, right?  If I understand correctly, "away from the board" in my case would mean the wires leaving the amp should turn North a bit, then turn toward the posts.  Correct?  In your image the wires pass longer over the board, heading South.  If convenient, please note the page to refer to in the instructions.  Very sorry I missed this. 

I have four more amps to build (three for a friend) so this is helpful.

As you look towards the front panel of your amp your speaker wires should be heading west 'or to the left' on the picture and you're good to go. It's a small detail but an improtant one that was pointed out on diyaudo.com by Bruno a while ago now. You could loop it around with your signal cable also if you could get the signal cable away for the mains imput a little that wouldn't be a bad thing because AC noise enters there. It's not a huge deal but it means you will get as low a noise floor as possible.

[jtwrace]

As you look towards the front panel of your amp your speaker wires should be heading west 'or to the left' on the picture and you're good to go. It's a small detail but an improtant one that was pointed out on diyaudo.com by Bruno a while ago now. You could loop it around with your signal cable also if you could get the signal cable away for the mains imput a little that wouldn't be a bad thing because AC noise enters there. It's not a huge deal but it means you will get as low a noise floor as possible.

I think you misunderstood what Bruno was saying.  The speaker wires just need to come out of the same side on each connector on the NC400. 

[audio-heaven]

I think you misunderstood what Bruno was saying.  The speaker wires just need to come out of the same side on each connector on the NC400. 

Ah I just got a proper look at the picture and one wire was covering the other a bit, sorry about that I thought they were coming out of opposing sides that will teach me to look at pictures on a 7" tablet computer. I have both my wires going away from the board as that seemed to be what most other people were doing. Personally I would still prefer to keep the signal input wire a bit further away from the AC inlet though. Anyway some really nice looking builds and cases on show here, I always find that getting hold of a good - suitable chassis for DIY audio projects is the most difficult part of the whole process, here in Europe there only seems to be one manufacturer and if I go abroad I get hit with pretty large customs charges.

[jtwrace]

Those are my amps that I built.  James does have one issue (I think) that he needs to get the wires going out of the same side. 

[James Romeyn]

Those are my amps that I built.  James does have one issue (I think) that he needs to get the wires going out of the same side.

____ "wires...out...the same side as" ____?  I presume speaker wires but please confirm.  Same side as?  I'll start IC and/or line cords whilst awaiting reply.  Thanks a ton, Jason.

Jason,
For unbalanced 1/4" phone jack output on MI (music instrument) preamp to Ncore: sans dedicated IC, do you agree best option is phone plug to RCA adapter at the preamp output, then the custom IC I'm using at home (RCA, 3-conductors to XLR)?

[jtwrace]

see the pic that I posted above.

[James Romeyn]

Thanks.  In earlier images, from the gold Ncore screw terminals, both speaker wires went straight up vertical about an inch, maybe less, then turned 90 degrees east/right toward the posts. 

Is my error the wire departing the screws in a vertical direction, then crossing over the board to the right/east?  Is the advice for the wires to remain parallel or inline with the two screws (north/south in my image) when the wires cross over the amp?  Is it better for both wires leave the screws in a northward direction (toward the side panel near the image top) then bend upward and east/right to the posts?   

Here's the image after pushing the vertical bend down toward the north/toward the amp base: 



     

[jtwrace]

I don't know how else to explain this.

If you run the speaker wire out of the left side of the terminal (towards the outside of the NC400)that is mounted on the NC400 it needs to be done on the other terminal as well. 

Both wires will be going in the same direction..

[James Romeyn]

...If you run the speaker wire out of the left side of the terminal (towards the outside of the NC400) that is mounted on the NC400 it needs to be done on the other terminal as well. 

Both wires will be going in the same direction...

Thanks, Jason.  I get what you mean now by "same direction". 

...James does have one issue (I think) that he needs to get the wires going out of the same side.

Being that these two speaker wires are twisted together (till they split at the posts), they would appear to follow the recommended path.



 

[doug s.]

jim, it seems to me the only real difference between your build and jason's is that the location of the input jack and speaker jacks have been swapped.  not sure if it makes a difference; if anything your shorter wiring to the speaker jacks couldn't hurt anything.  also, your module has been moved a bit further away from the power input, which seems like it might be a good thing...

w/the benefit of having seen your's and jason's builds, if i ever do one, i think i would locate the jacks as shown here, and perhaps sliding the ncore module even closer to the right side of the case:


doug s.

[James Romeyn]

With the level moderately high, HF noise is so low that I found it difficult to center my ear directly over the dome.  That was weird!  The mid bass was almost silent with my ear stuck right over it. 

A business problem delayed progress today, drats! 

[James Romeyn]

Doug,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I'm pretty sure, with the two boards oriented as they are now (cable terminals parallel and pointing north), the main umbilical cord length is at maximum tension (twisting considerably minimizes effective cable length).  IOW you'd likely have to rotate the amp module counter clockwise to increase the distance between it and the PS (can not rotate the PS clockwise because of its shape and size).   

I suppose you'd move the binding posts southward to increase spacing to the mains?

Center to center post distance is 39.7mm (same as IEC fastener centers).  I'd prefer 30mm to minimize the untwisted wire length (lower noise) and for cosmetic design (in that order). 

This amp is unbelievably quiet.  The specified Neutrik XLR come in gold or silver; I chose gold.  Again, from my brief audition in mono, I might lean toward silver contacts (jack and plug must match IMO) because Ncore sounds so dense, especially from the mid bass through the middle mid range, where my system is already extremely dynamic.  IMO silver contact might de-emphasize the above described density, and emphasize leading transient edges, especially from the upper mid range through the treble, which could benefit this system powered by Ncore.  But there's always that risk (IMO) of silver increasing fatigue.  This system has no trace of fatigue now, leading to two diametrically opposed potential conclusions: there's margin to slightly increase fatigue to achieve the silver contact's potential benefit, or any slight increase in fatigue may be easily detected.         

[doug s.]

...I suppose you'd move the binding posts southward to increase spacing to the mains?...

what i was thinking, is to keep the speaker jack leads as short as they are, while also shortening the input leads, and not having them cross each other.  so, i am moving the speaker jacks "south" yust enough to leave adequate space between them and the input jacks, while still insuring enough space between the input jack and the power input.  w/a little longer case, one could rotate the power supply 90 degrees, which would allow for the umbilical to reach, and it would also shorten the power connection cabling...

some day, when the hysteria dies down (and the prices drop), i may have to check these out.  i like the idea of their efficiency...

doug s.

[barrows]

RE: wiring arrangement.  It is important to consider what the wires are carrying.  The input wiring is carrying a very low level signal, and as such is more susceptible to interference, of course this wire is shielded and that may help.  The speaker wiring is carrying a high level signal, and as such will radiate a fairly large field around it, so it needs to be kept away from both the input wiring, and the module itself.
Additionally, the output inductor will radiate a big field, so all wires should be kept away from it.
Consider also, that it is likely that the module itself radiates a fair amount of RF, so one should be careful about routing any wiring near/adjacent to the module.
IMO, when I build my next nCore amp, I will probably be more concerned with the proximity issues of the wiring, than trying to keep the wiring as short as possible.  I will also choose speaker binding posts and speaker wiring which allows keeping a tight twist as close to the terminations at the posts as possible.

[doug s.]

here's a proposed layout.

the case would be a bit longer & wider than what was done in the basic builds...

doug s.

[James Romeyn]

Doug,
I like it.  If money was no issue I would have purchased larger chassis.  I didn't check to see which was the next larger size. 

[doug s.]

Doug,
I like it.  If money was no issue I would have purchased larger chassis.  I didn't check to see which was the next larger size.

if money was no issue, i would have purchased two amps and power supplies.   

doug s.

[poseidonsvoice]

RE: wiring arrangement.  It is important to consider what the wires are carrying.  The input wiring is carrying a very low level signal, and as such is more susceptible to interference, of course this wire is shielded and that may help.  The speaker wiring is carrying a high level signal, and as such will radiate a fairly large field around it, so it needs to be kept away from both the input wiring, and the module itself.
Additionally, the output inductor will radiate a big field, so all wires should be kept away from it.
Consider also, that it is likely that the module itself radiates a fair amount of RF, so one should be careful about routing any wiring near/adjacent to the module.
IMO, when I build my next nCore amp, I will probably be more concerned with the proximity issues of the wiring, than trying to keep the wiring as short as possible.  I will also choose speaker binding posts and speaker wiring which allows keeping a tight twist as close to the terminations at the posts as possible.

Of all the points you mentioned, the least important is how close the input and output wiring are. Remember, they are right next to each other on the actual Ncore module (so you are screwed from the beginning if one follows your logic). What people should be really concentrating on is keeping the AC wiring of the power supply far away from the the DC umbilical and the input/output wiring.

Still, all things being equal, distance (between components) will always be your friend, although at some point I get concerned about lengthy wires as it can pick up RF, etc...

Best,

Anand.

[poseidonsvoice]

One Monoblock done...one to go.























I am sure the components used are pretty obvious by the pictures. Cardas CPBP copper binding posts, Jena Labs output wiring, Neutrik XLR (gold if you must know), Furutech IEC (gold again), CKK SPDT toggle switch (for nAmpON), and Silicon Ray chassis heavily modified through Front Panel Express. The front panel has no in fill on the emblem...I did that on purpose. I might anodize the whole front panel in the future, but for now, it looks fine, and off axis, you can hardly tell there is an engraving.

Why did I use the components you see here? Because I had already measured them for previous projects and it was easy to program FPE's cad program to do so...that's why.

From an e-mail regarding the implementation of the 'power switch' which in my case I wanted as the illuminated Bulgin switch but alas...

The sonics as you guys already know is all Bruno. The only part where I used my brain is routing the AC wiring to the other side, and of course making a decision about nAmpOn. I tried to implement the Bulgin front panel switch, however 1) I didn't want to slave the power to the switch from amplifier itself, which seems to defeat the purpose of keeping it a low noise amplifier and 2) I didn't implement the relay version of the switch using the AMB boards because of SPACE. It was just too tight. So noise coupling may have again been an issue so...that idea was trashed as well.

Off to the next monoblock,

Best,


Anand.

[jtwrace]

Nice.

No main power switch?  They will be powered 24/7?