[wdi]

Has anyone tried the Ripper as a line stage with a Cornet2 in front of it?

The reason I’m asking is that I’ve recently completed both kits (Ripper as a phono) and after hearing how much better the Cornet2 sounds, I’m thinking about removing the phono section from the Ripper.

On the other hand, would the sonic advantages of the Cornet2 be lost with this setup? I’m also not sure that I’d have enough gain, as I’m running a .77mv cart without any step-up (which means that I’m usually running my 12db tube line stage at about 2:00). Gain isn’t an issue with the Ripper as a phono since changing the R27x to 100 ohm, but this is part of the phono section that would be bypassed. Maybe try the ripper after the tube linestage for that extra 12db?

So, before I bother I just wondered if anyone else had already been down this path.

thanks,
Bill

[analog97]

Bill,

I have built both Ripper and Cornet2.  My advice is to keep your Ripper intact, use it for recording vinyl and use the Cornet2 for listening.  The Ripper is outstanding for vinyl recording and you can tailor it for your gain needs.  It is nice to have both, so you should be a happy camper.  If you do convert the Ripper to line stage, please be sure to post your results, but I think I can guess what they will be.  The Cornet2 is better, of course, but hey, you are likely recording for car audio or some-such purpose.  Good luck.

[wdi]

Good point….you’re correct that the CD’s are just for the car. I guess there’s that tendency to wonder if a little more can be tweaked out; but yes in this case it would be overkill and I should just leave it alone.
thanks

[DeadFish]

Aw!!!
analog97, ya talked him out of it!
Trust me, Bill, *never* leave anything alone!
 
Truth-be-told, I've never gotten around to building my Ripper (yet), but love the sound of my Cornet2.
I don't listen to cd's in the car, but have vinyl over 40 years old that I'm just not going to find on cd to get it to my Squeezebox.

I guess I'm gonna have to be my own lab-rat, build the Ripper to run with the Cornet2.

Tsk.....
(then you'll have to trust *my* opinion!)
...then you'll be sorry...

Regards,
DeadFish

[hagtech]

I almost hate to admit it (as it may affect sales), but imho a cornet front-end into a ripper back-end will probably make better recordings than a straight ripper.

jh

[wdi]

OK, I’m going to have to give it a try….it will be just as easy for me to plug the Ripper in after the Cornet2….and I’m afraid that I understand all too well Deadfish’s edict to never leaving anything alone.

[Brinkman]

Wdi,

Any luck with your combined Cornet2/Ripper? If you've had any success, I'd surely like to try this route as well, perhaps even throwing in a variable EQ to the Cornet2's phono stage, fashioned after the Monogram but, y'know, in stereo.

Question: a signal, preamplified from the Cornet2's phono section and wired directly to the Ripper's USB would be considered line-level with respect to the USB, right?

[wdi]

Yes, I converted my Ripper to line stage and am running the Cornet2 in front of it. The improvements are significant enough to detect on CD playback.

And yes, it's still line level out of the USB from the Ripper, and I am getting enough gain now with my medium output cart that I'm having to turn the volume pot on the Ripper down some; whereas I was running it wide open before.

[Brinkman]

So you built the Cornet2 as is, and assembled the Ripper as a line stage in a separate chassis? I suppose I may have read your prior posts incorrectly; I was under the impression you were combining the amplifier portion of a Cornet2 circuit with the USB output portion of a Ripper circuit. Basically, a Ripper with a Cornet2 phono stage.

I asked the line-level question because the Ripper circuit has an assembly alternative for when the signal being fed to it is already line-level (i.e. would the signal from the Cornet2 be considered line-level?)

I alreay have an unassambled Clarinet waiting to be used as my line stage. I don't want to assemble it until I know enough to integrate an active crossover network into it's output stage. Seeing how Jim is messing around with speakers and curious about biamping, maybe a Hagerman active crossover kit is on the horizon.

Anyhow, thanks for the reply! Any thoughts you may have on my Cornet2/Ripper plan would be welcome, as would any helpful advice.

Best,
Brinkman

[wdi]

Yes, I initially built the Ripper with the phono stage and used it that way a few times. I was impressed with how close the Ripper sounded to my Lehmann Blackcube SE; not as good, but close enough that I figured the Cornet2 probably surpassed the Blackcube. So, I bought a Cornet2 half/box kit and, other than a few capacitor and resistor upgrades, built it per the instructions. After hearing how good the Cornet2 sounded I promptly sold the Blackcube, and started wondering about converting the Ripper to the line stage option that is presented in the manual. This is where this thread began.

So, the answer to your question is: yes my Cornet2 and Ripper are in two separate chassis just like the photos on Jim's site. So now that the phono stage in the Ripper has been bypassed, when I want to record via the Ripper I just move the IC's that run from the Cornet2 over to the Ripper; otherwise I'm just running through the Cornet2 and the Ripper is left out of the signal path.

I hope that helps.