[Peter J]

J1 on the SMPS600? That would give you over 40V - I thought the LED was a 12V one?

Puzzles me too, Julf, although if I'm reading spec sheets right output is typically 21v.

[Julf]

I may have answered my own question. One of the photos on Ghent's eBay ad shows positive to pin 3 and negative(shown as ground) to pin 5. I'll do it this way unless someone sees folly ahead.

That can still be up to 24V - what are the specs of the LED?

[Julf]

Puzzles me too, Julf, although if I'm reading spec sheets right output is typically 21v.

No, between pin 3 and 7 of J1 it is double that, so typically 42V. Pin 3 to ground is 21V, ground to pin 7 another 21V, so 42V from pin 3 to pin 7.

[Peter J]

I sent an email to Ghent concerning potential voltages and he shed some light on subject with this:

Hi Peter,

Actually, our LED circuit could work between 10V to 26V, so it works with pin3/pin5 from SMPS600.

But higher voltage drive LED light more brighter, that's why we recommended 12V, that's the default brightness we think it's best.

If you want to reduce the brightness when 24V input, you might connect 18K resistance in serial.

Best Regards,
Ghent
 
So there you have it!

[mikeeastman]

I will be replacing my input wire with Neothech gold/silver, ( used it on my output and it made a nice improvement). My question is, the stock cable is shielded, should I shield the new wires? If so any suggestion on how?

[Julf]

My question is, the stock cable is shielded, should I shield the new wires? If so any suggestion on how?

You should most definitely use a shielded a cable - and it should be a balanced one, with two twisted conductors and a separate shield.

[barrows]

I will be replacing my input wire with Neothech gold/silver, ( used it on my output and it made a nice improvement). My question is, the stock cable is shielded, should I shield the new wires? If so any suggestion on how?

Mike, I replaced my input wiring and just used a twisted pair(XLR inputs only).  Now my input wires are less than 3" long.  I did not note any noise pickup or negative tonal changes.  You can purchase sheild material, typically silver or tin plated copper braid, at Mouser, in different sizes if you do really feel the need to sheild the input wires.  If you want to use the sheild, I would make a twisted pair for pins 2/3, and then put the sheild around that, if the run is long, a spacer (teflon) between the wires and sheild may be a good idea.

[mikeeastman]

Thanks, my run will be short as I have caps inline, right now I have them soldered to the xlr, any advantage to connecting them to the amp board instead? The caps are there to take 80hz down out as the amp only run the highs and mids.

[drmike]

for jonbee,
regarding the signal cable silver resolution wire that you used to replace the input cable for the ncore. did you solder, crimp those pins you got from mouser? how long did you make the replacement cable?
thanks,
drmike

[ZAKski288]

sonic craft has some Neotech silver interconnect bulk cable in there close out section which might work.  ZAK

http://www.soniccraft.com/product_info.php?cPath=408&products_id=4509

[jonbee]

for jonbee,
regarding the signal cable silver resolution wire that you used to replace the input cable for the ncore. did you solder, crimp those pins you got from mouser? how long did you make the replacement cable?
thanks,
drmike

I crimped them with needlenose pliers. Works ok, but I suspect if you have the ability to finesse soldering small parts that would be a good touch. I made ea. cable 7" long, just to be equal, but of course it depends on your layout.
I'm pleased with the sound. It is faster, tighter and notably clearer top to bottom over the stock wires. The top end is still slightly more prominent than before, but it is pretty close to perfect for my system. I have about 100 hours on the wires, and they have smoothed out nicely.
I considered OEM silver wire, but I like the config of the signal cable, w/ a nice silver plate shield, nicely finished in Teflon.

[Julf]

I crimped them with needlenose pliers. Works ok, but I suspect if you have the ability to finesse soldering small parts that would be a good touch.

Indeed. Doing it with needlenose pliers is not really crimping, but clamping. Crimping implies a gas-tight connection, only achievable with the proper (for the material and diameter) crimping tool. A properly crimped connection is better than a soldered one, but unless you can achieve a proper gas-tight crimp, soldering is better.

[jonbee]

... soldering is better.

Please note that the clearances to get the pins into the housing are very tight, so you can have no extra solder on the outside surfaces of the pins or they will not slide into the housing. That's the problem I ran into- getting enough solder to make the connection, but no more, all on a very tiny piece of metal.

[Julf]

Please note that the clearances to get the pins into the housing are very tight, so you can have no extra solder on the outside surfaces of the pins or they will not slide into the housing. That's the problem I ran into- getting enough solder to make the connection, but no more, all on a very tiny piece of metal.

Ah, yes. Those can be really tricky to solder. You have to get the solder sucked into the space between the wire and pin by capillary force.

[Peter J]

I sent an email to Ghent concerning potential voltages and he shed some light on subject with this:

Hi Peter,

Actually, our LED circuit could work between 10V to 26V, so it works with pin3/pin5 from SMPS600.

But higher voltage drive LED light more brighter, that's why we recommended 12V, that's the default brightness we think it's best.

If you want to reduce the brightness when 24V input, you might connect 18K resistance in serial.

Best Regards,
Ghent
 
So there you have it!

Here's an update to my earlier post concerning LEDs that I cooked. I've had the amps up and running for a while without the replacement LEDs which were coming from China via sloooow mail. I considered installing the resistor Ghent mentioned, but thought I'd give it a try without just to see if I found it too bright.

 I'm glad I did, I don't find them at all objectionable without the resistors. Now, that super intense one on the external hard drive for music server is another story...damn near blinding...even after coloring it with a black marker! I may decide it needs a resistor, but that's another story.
I've attached a pic with them on the low setting, but could easily live with the high setting.





On a related note, I'm really liking these amps. Detailed, layered in a really beguiling way, and balanced throughout the audio spectrum. Keepers for sure.

[mikeeastman]

Has anyone replaced the wire from the smps 600 to the amp? If so what wire did you use?

[Julf]

Has anyone replaced the wire from the smps 600 to the amp?

Any specific reason for doing that? The wires seem thick enough, and you want the lowest possible resistance.

[Nick77]

Has anyone replaced the wire from the smps 600 to the amp? If so what wire did you use?

I replaced the stock wire on my SMPS 400a and the results were not subtle. I copied the Veritas NC1200 specs using Cardas litz wire. Not at all easy to work with but the synergy is excellent. Results based upon UCD180HRX modules.

[mikeeastman]

I replace the input and output wires and it made a nice difference, so I thought its worth a try. I messed with litz wire speaker cable once and it was such a pain  I'll have to pass, thanks anyway.

[Nick77]

I replace the input and output wires and it made a nice difference, so I thought its worth a try. I messed with litz wire speaker cable once and it was such a pain  I'll have to pass, thanks anyway.

Yup, hard to recommend the Cardas cause its a pain to work with, but results were very good.