[Nick B]

I'm going to order some power cord kits from Ernie at Audiogon. Can you tell me how much current the 400's draw? I don't want to get a large pc if I don't need it. I would also order the HG power supply. BTW, what's the status on the 400 kit? Will you be at CES and, if so, where?  Thanks

[Kevin Haskins]

From an engineering standpoint just about any power cord you can buy will work.   The modules are >90% efficient and average current draw is going to depend on load and what kind volume levels you need.    I doubt you will be using and average of over 0.7A with a two-channel UCD-400 power amp playing with a standard load.

I'd use at least a 14AWG power cord and you will have zero problems.   I sell the Belden 19364.  Build the Asylum Cords, which are a great low cost option.  They use the Belden 19364, Schurter IEC and Pass & Seymour 5266-X AC plug.   There is no reason to spend more.

We are going to be at Alexis Park in room 2405.   Stop by and see us.  I'll have all the Hypex products out on display along with an active HT setup in one room (using Hypex amplification) and a 2-channel system in the other.

Our main 2-channel rig is going to be using our basic $499 kit with the UCD-180s powering our Exodus 2641 speakers.   Source will be a combination of our new Well Tempered Amadeus turntable that we are building for Bill Firebaugh and a ModWright SACD player.    Preamp is the ModWright preamp, which is REALLY nice.

[Marbles]

I'd use at least a 14AWG power cord and you will have zero problems. I sell the Belden 19364. Build the Asylum Cords, which are a great low cost option. They use the Belden 19364, Schurter IEC and Pass & Seymour 5266-X AC plug. There is no reason to spend more.  ...

Before I knew anything about Kevin, he advertised his "Bob Crump" designed Asylum cords.

I contacted Bob about Kevin and he assured me that he had shown Kevin a few tricks on how to make these.  Then he outbid me on a pair that were up for auction at Audio Asylum that were donated by Kevin to raise money for that board.

You didn't have to hit me over the head, I bought a few and have been happy with them.

[Kevin Haskins]

Before I knew anything about Kevin, he advertised his "Bob Crump" designed Asylum cords..

I'm sure going to miss Bob.   He was a one of a kind.   Great guy and he helped me along when I needed it.

[Nick B]

Thanks for the CES info. I will be there to check out your rig. The reason I was leaning toward Ernie's cords is the ability to lift the ground wire via a switch. I've had noise problems in the past and I thought that would be a handy feature rather than using a cheater plug.

[Kevin Haskins]

If you build the Hypex amp per their recommending grounding scheme the power safety ground isn't attached inside the amp anyway.  

[TheChairGuy]

Hey Kevin!

You mentioned the Well Tempered Table many moons ago to me.....nice to see it's reality for you.

Why didn't you call it Well Tempered Titleist Table   ?

When are going to spill the beans on some details about it?

John

[Kevin Haskins]

Its been like giving birth.  

We are doing 21 first production units (beta units) that we will sell direct.   Several are going to international reps, one to a studio and a few other select gurus for evaluation.   I figure no sense getting everyone worked up until we have all the beta units running for a few months.   I really don't expect production units to be flowing until Mar/April of next year and even then in short supply.   It looks like we have more demand at this point than we can supply and I'd like to get all the kinks worked out before we have large numbers out in the field.

Other than that the basic design hasn't changed since we showed the engineering sample.   It looks a lot nicer, the platter is acrylic now.   The plinth has some nice wood insets and all the supporting parts are nicely machined aluminum.   The motor controller is on an actual PCB and the arm looks nicer.   We still have the golf ball though.

[Voodoo Rufus]

If you're talking about what I think you are, I saw that record player at Adire about 2 months ago. I thought the golf ball was funny as heck.

But from an engineering standpoint, if it works.....it works!  

[Kevin Haskins]

If you're talking about what I think you are, I saw that record player at Adire about 2 months ago. I thought the golf ball was funny as heck.

But from an engineering standpoint, if it works.....it works!  

Yeah... that is one of the many early engineering samples.   Bill has built at least 40 of them!   The guy has too much time on his hands.  

We took that unit to the Pacific Northwest Audio Society meeting.   It was hilarious because that particular unit is raw MDF, golf ball, naked Hagerman phono stage, Grado Red & generally looks like something from a rummage sale.

We listened to some high dollar SACD player for the entire meeting.   Their system was generally good quality gear, many times the price of my humble system.   Near the end Bill got up and gave his talk and demo.   Nobody was expecting much as the table was set-up on a folding table and Bill had to put a CD case under one corner to level the table (made a wisecrack joke about the only good use for digital media).   We didn't even have an LP to play as we hurried out at the last minute to get to the meeting.   One of the members luckily had just bought some vinyl at a garage sale and we threw it on for the demo.   A more unprofessional effort we could not have made.   His TT looked like a Rube Goldberg device and after he put the needle into the groove everyone's jaw just dropped.    First music we had heard all night.   It totally transformed the system and I think I have 4 or 5 guys from that event waiting for a production unit.

It was really the most convincing demo I’ve ever seen.    I’ve often thought there had to be something wrong with their high end Sony SACD player.   It made such a difference the SACD player sounded broken by comparison.

[TheChairGuy]

Great Kevin...let us all know more in time, please  

I'm pretty happy with my cheapo JVC direct drive...but your new Well Tempered might be a pleasant step-up in the near future.  Maybe I can be a Gamma customer - after your Beta's  

[Nick B]

Kevin, I didn't completely follow what you said about the grounding scheme.Does that mean that the power safety ground can be disconnected on the rear of the chassis?

[Voodoo Rufus]

Well, I thought the record player sounded pretty darn good on the Kit 261s, but then again, I haven't listened to a good working record player before (my father's player oscillates rotation speed, sounds funky  ). I had NO idea a record could sound that good.

Still, I don't think it'd sway me from CD/SACD though. Especially since I listen to some discs hundreds of times.

[Kevin Haskins]

Great Kevin...let us all know more in time, please  

I'm pretty happy with my cheapo JVC direct drive...but your new Well Tempered might be a pleasant step-up in the near future.  Maybe I can be a Gamma customer - after your Beta's  

No problem... the betas are going out to people we have business relationships with for the most part.    Some international reps and a few local guys who I can take care of if there are any changes.   They are not going to be for general consumption.

Most of the changes at this point are more cosmetic than functional.   That and sorting out reliable suppliers and we still have to design some sort of packaging/shipping solution.

[Kevin Haskins]

Kevin, I didn't completely follow what you said about the grounding scheme.Does that mean that the power safety ground can be disconnected on the rear of the chassis?

If you follow the Hypex recommended scheme it's never attached at the inside of the chassis.   You can still use an IEC with a ground.   You just don't tie it to the chassis like in a typical star-grounding scheme.

Bruno & Jan-Peter recommend grounding the input signal ground to the chassis (single ended wiring) or the normal pin 1 XLR tied to the chassis for balanced wiring.  In this situation you don't have the power ground attached anywhere inside the amp so lifting it is a non-issue.  The power supply ground is left floating, connected only through the UCD module.  

I've used both methods and both are equally quite in my system.   The star grounding method may cause problems in a greater number of systems due to the fact it's tied to safety ground.   The one issue with the floated ground is that your chassis is no longer safety grounded.   Practice good double insulation techniques on everything.

[Kevin Haskins]

Well, I thought the record player sounded pretty darn good on the Kit 261s, but then again, I haven't listened to a good working record player before (my father's player oscillates rotation speed, sounds funky  ). I had NO idea a record could sound that good.

Still, I don't think it'd sway me from CD/SACD though. Especially since I listen to some discs hundreds of times.

They can sound incredible.   They just take a lot more work.   Cleaning and maintence of LPs is more labor intensive and you have to be willing to fiddle more than you would with a digital source.  

Some people actually like the routine though.   Its like owning a fireplace vs. a gas stove.   Some like to cut wood and have a real fire even though it requires more work.   Others like to flip a switch and have a fire.  

[guest1632]

Before I knew anything about Kevin, he advertised his "Bob Crump" designed Asylum cords..

I'm sure going to miss Bob.   He was a one of a kind.   Great guy and he helped me along when I needed it.

Pardon me, but what happend to Bob?

Ray

[Marbles]

Over Thanksgiving he had a heart attack and did not survive.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=23346

[guest1632]

Over Thanksgiving he had a heart attack and did not survive.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=23346

Like Steve says, Bummer.

Ray