[virtue]

The PSUs ship in the box.

So, about the propeller post.  That chassis was designed around the propeller form factor but with the THREE (dead) and iMake we tried to add more inputs and the propellers no longer fit.

One solution was to break the propeller into two parts, which is what I did.  There is 1 propeller in every box and it fits on there loosely but surely, as a tool.  Like a wrench.  It's the same plastic, with a different metal piece molded inside (the female part to the male post head).  The MOQ on the old propeller heads went up to 1,000 pcs so that was not an option for this limited production run.  We had the tools in stock from the aborted THREE production a few years ago.  Fortunately.

One other note, the ONE.3 is in the old case - there is no notch in the hole to prevent you from over-torquing the binding post.  That will change in the iMake when the whole unit will twist before loosening the post if you over-torque.

In the future, it's likely that I'll use a less expensive post in future entry-level models.  For the ONE.3 which is sort of a come-back product, I didn't want to sacrifice anything.  These still have the strain relieve washer and a really cool propeller - in the box.  Please do use a twist tie or something to fasten it to the PSU or make sure to not throw it away in the box.  You can use a standard pliers or something but risk dinging the post.

[ericlp151]

http://www.chromebattery.com/12v-12ah-sealed-lead-acid-sla-t2-connector.html

http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-CR-2-Universal-Battery-Charger/dp/B005F1YJA6

Just buy a couple of these batteries and a charger like this.  I think with these two batteries you could get over 12 hours of playing time.  I normally only listen to my amp on the weekend and at night time. But anyway, Lead Acid batteries like to float and not be flat lined.  You'll be replacing the batteries much sooner if you drain them. 

What I would do is wire in a switch that controls half an outlet.   Plug the charger into the switched side of the outlet.  Then when you want to listen to your amp, flip the switch off so you are not getting the AC noise of the charger and presto DEEP DARK sounds from the batteries.  Turn amp back off and flip the switch back on to float the battery for next use. 

Simple and cheap!  Just wire and make a wood box to put batteries in...   You'll have a nice setup.

 

[bardamu]

Hello Josh,
Read my post on the other threads about batteries for the sensations. The ideas are the same. Your little should have a short start circuit. Sincere greetings, Edward

[JoshInTaiwan]

Hey Edward and Eric, Thanks again for your help. Much appreciations! Josh

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Well I'm a bit surprised but the Virtue One.3 arrived today from Taiwan. I did mention that we were roughly in the same vicinity of Taiwan but I didn't expect the amplifier to arrive today.  Anyway I hooked the amplifier up to my system and I have to say that the amplifier sounds far better than its asking price.  Surprising it is driving my 84db @ 4 ohm speakers quite well and the bass is quite impressive.  It makes me wonder why I spent so much on my amplifiers.  The fit and finish of the amplifier is also quite good.  The only minor issue that I can see is that the blue led is too bright for my taste but really its only a minor issue.




Cheers Rod

[bardamu]

Hello,
You did create some extra '' room '' in your set up by switching to such a tiny amp. I would say '' let's get 2 big Ah 12 volts batteries and an intelligent charger''
http://www.battery-usa.com/Catalog/evx_12400.pdf  These are the ones i did get in my country( netherlands) You can see if you use them with the charger connected and just switch off the charger when listening you will just have a very small discharge and the smaller the discharge the more it can be recharged. See the graphics in the link. Going for the big batteries will give you a huge discharge current, lower internal resistance and longer life because the batteries will have an easy life.
Sincere greetings, Edward

[Rocket]

Hi Edward,

Great idea but I have no idea how to make battery power work with this amplifier.  I'll run it in a bit more and provide my opinion of this little amplifier  in the next few days.

Regards Rod

[bardamu]

Hello Rod,
I did see a soft start indicated on the photo of the circuit and this has been the biggest issue with connecting batteries to Virtue gear. The current available from batteries and the big capacitor used on the circuit causes a big current during switch on. So this has to be tempered by a soft start.
The power supply you are using now is connected to the virtue by means of a small plug. So you need a cable with an identical plug. This cable establishes the connection of the + and the - provided by the power supply.
You need 2 twelve volts identical batteries that you have to put in series. Seth did tell us 7AH will do. But a small AH rating will run empty in a few hours and with 25% of the capacity remaining after listening the number of charges is limited. If you use it for the same amount of time you will discharge an 7AH 75% and an 40AH model just about 13%. So the big ones will have a much easier life.
As you can see in another thread called replacing batteries in dodd power supply  ( something like that) you can see some photos. One batteriy - connected to the wire going to the amp ( watch poliraty) the + of that batterie connected to the - of the other battery and the + of that other battery connected to the other cable. The two connections wired to the cable also receive the cable from the charger ( 24 volts) to load them.
All in all very easy just take care you don't make a short circuit. I am using a cteck charger. It is kind of high grade but there are cheaper ones available. They say the better chargers will give your batteries a better longer life. Anyway go for a brand name and usually the brand name batteries have better specs and life time.
Sincere greetings, Edward

[Rocket]

Hi Edward,

Thanks for the information.

Cheers Rod

[virtue]

Rod,

Thanks for posting the great photo.  And darn!  I told them to up the resistor on that LED.  It's easy to fix but not economical to do it... rats, sorry.

The Virtue Caps in there take a while to break in.  They dampen the input circuit quite a bit so I'm excited to see how the pre-amp opens it up a bit more.

I was packing up the balance of the units today and my heart did flutter handling these things.  There is something so right about the weight and geometry.  Some days I wish they were more ugly so I could feel comfortable stopping production. 

But these things are so cool aren't they?

Hugs to you,

Seth

[virtue]

I dropped off the boxes near cut-off at USPS.  They did not seem to scan them yet... argh.  So tracking starts tomorrow I suppose.  Everyone should have gotten a "shipped" email.  Let me know if it didn't include a tracking number.

[Rocket]

Hi Seth,

I can always blacken in the led or use blue tack to cut the light out all together.  If you look in the background behind the Salk Sound HT3'S there are a couple of pairs of Nuforce s9 speakers.  These are the speakers that I'm going to use with the Virtue One.3 and my iMod and I think the combination will sound quite nice as the speakers are about 87 - 88db efficient and I also have a Salk Sound rhythmic subwoofer I can use as well.

I'll post some comments in a week or so once they are broken in a bit more.  To be honest they sound very good from the moment they were in use.  I'm really glad that you have these units back in production.

Cheers Rod

[bardamu]

Hello,
I have been using my sensation only above 80 hertz and have an svs active subwoofer. Using the batteries did improve the "" marriage "" between the subwoofer and my other speakers. Maybe batteries will give the sensation a better grip on the speakers.
I slways use xlo burn cd. Just turn up the volume , put it on repeat and play it when you are not there.
Sincere greetings,Ed

[virtue]

Been listening to my first production unit today!  A bit veiled but very nice!  Can't wait to see how it breaks in.

On the unit that I have the volume control knob is slightly wobbly.  It won't pull off but tightening it is not trivial.  You would need to remove the cover, remove the LED, and using an M3 allen-wrench to tighten the set screw on the knob.  It is intentionally inaccessible (so you can't see the screw) on the knob with the cover attached.  For my own unit, I decided it wasn't worth the effort.

Update:  It seems as though the screw was tightened very well -- creating quite a large hole in the flat part of the volume knob -- which subsequently loosened.  A big of tightening works like magic.  Good news!  You don't need to remove the top entirely.  Loosen 4 hex screws on corner of the unit and slide the cover back 1/2".  Rotate the knob, to expose the set screw.  Use same M3 allen-wrench to tighten the set screw from above.  Sliding back the cover is a bitch because of the spring action fit.  Find 2 non-metallic (non-scratching), stiff, flat things to spread the wings before you slide it back.  Be careful not to damage the back of the PCB.  I used some old PCB boards (fiberglass) but Popsicle sticks would work perfectly.



Considering the utterly mind-boggling logistics required to get these things through development, testing, production and back to the USA, I am apologetically (and shamefully) delighted that this is the extent of our challenges!  Nevertheless, anything that ships out after today will be checked and tightened by me personally.

[virtue]

A few more questions came up.

1) What is the pre-amp?  It's a LME49723 line buffer configured with 2.5x gain.  So you may not be able to turn the amp up fully without clipping.   With a low, 1v signal, you may not clip.  A "normal" 2v signal, you will clip around half way up (2/3 on log pot).  I really like the setup for computer audio (through a DAC).  Can get good headroom with a low signal.

2) What are the jumpers inside?  They allow bypassing the POT.  However, remember that the pre-amp cannot be bypassed so you are going to run a lot hotter than your input source.

3) What is the subwoofer op-amp?  Dual NJM4558.

4) What is VR2?  It's a subwoofer gain adjustment.  Don't worry unless you're running super sensitive speakers and you need more gain.

Seth

[audiorook72]

Yep... Just got my virtue amp and am thoroughly impressed with the build quality, especially with its weight. It is definitely a solid piece of equipment... much more than I expected. Having owned a couple of t amps this one trounces them in craftsmanship even the one I have costing 3 x's the price of virtue. I look forward to listening to it when I return home. For the next week I'll just stare at it and imagine how nice it will sound in my audio set up (Rega Apollo-R; space tech labs 6L6G tube buffer; "virtue"; Hawthorne 15PSI open baffle)

While in Taiwan I hope to audition it with john blue's new 3F loudspeaker... With my wife's permission of course.

Hi Josh,

I notice in your picture, the volume dial is at approx 10 o'clock position.  My ONE.3 is also at that position when mute (ie. start position).  Just wonder if thats intentional? 

[virtue]

The volume position changed in the new version.  It was a detail I lost track of when we had the new knobs machined.  My vendor actually did bring it up during assembly and I let it go.

Now that there is an active pre-amp in the unit, you would rarely turn it all the way up.  Even a half turn may be too much in some cases.  So the reference position is less important in my opinion.

If you loosen the set screw enough (mostly out), you can actually turn the knob all the way around and clamp it onto the round portion (not the flat part).

If you try this, let me know how it goes.

[audiorook72]

The volume position changed in the new version.  It was a detail I lost track of when we had the new knobs machined.  My vendor actually did bring it up during assembly and I let it go.

Now that there is an active pre-amp in the unit, you would rarely turn it all the way up.  Even a half turn may be too much in some cases.  So the reference position is less important in my opinion.

If you loosen the set screw enough (mostly out), you can actually turn the knob all the way around and clamp it onto the round portion (not the flat part).

If you try this, let me know how it goes.

Okay, noted, Seth.

[audiorook72]

The volume position changed in the new version.  It was a detail I lost track of when we had the new knobs machined.  My vendor actually did bring it up during assembly and I let it go.

Now that there is an active pre-amp in the unit, you would rarely turn it all the way up.  Even a half turn may be too much in some cases.  So the reference position is less important in my opinion.

If you loosen the set screw enough (mostly out), you can actually turn the knob all the way around and clamp it onto the round portion (not the flat part).

If you try this, let me know how it goes.

Hi Seth,

Whilst tightening the screw on the volume knob, i accidentally pulled off the connector to the LED light.  Do we need to reconnect them back in a black/brown order?  or doesn't make any diff?

[virtue]