[Bill Epstein]

Not nearly done but my new method of choosing parts by color is turning out so well, don't you think?.



This could be the new wave, adding a designer touch to circuit boards instead of the same old, "these caps are airier with better image focus". Who cares how they sound. It's how they look!

[mingles]

Hi Bill, who makes the Superior Z-caps? I haven't heard of them. Where did you buy them?

[Bill Epstein]

Jantzen, a Danish, I think, outfit. At Parts Express. Haven't a clue how they sound but were expensive, so...

[ScottRT]

So, what are those 4 big diodes.. HexFreds with some kinda vinyl wrapper..?
How much and where?
Thanks..
Scott

[amandarae]

Definitely a summer project! 

Great looking thing though, who cares how it sound.

regards,

Abe

[analog97]

Color blindness at high altitude has been reported before.     Hope it sounds good.  Let us know.  I am always  curious about other builds and tweeks of the Cornet2.  Mine differs from stock only with the Auricaps and better RCA's as recommended by JH.  I just can't imagine a far-better sounding Cornet2.  I want one if you found it!!     

Best regards

[Bill Epstein]

The diodes are Fairchild Stealth, $1.25 from Michael Percy. I've used various Hexfreds in the past, Infineon and others, and they've always resulted in a lower noise floor.

Th 'red vinyl' is just shrink tube. These guys always go where radial diodes are intended and have to be protected from each other as well as fingers. The metal plate is the cathode! Heat can be a problem but they're rated at 4amp w/o a sink so should be OK.

Now if I could only remember where I put the 2- .01uF 2k disc caps

[tubesforever]

Can you provide the exact part number of that hexfred?  I think I  will need about 16 of these for my current tube gear.

Anything we do to reduce the noise floor of the electronics is generally rewarded with bigger smiles. 

I have been wanting to try this for a long time.  Cheers!

[Bill Epstein]

Tubes, I've used these in the past in the Ella and a Foreplay: http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=SDT04S60IN-ND  Very noticeable lowering of noise but expensive as you can see. Other values available.

The Fairchilds from Percy have no part numbers on them and he provides none. Just look on his site for Fairchild Stealth. I hope, at the buck and a quarter price, they do as well as the Infineon. We'll see.

[KBK]

Current digikey catalog, page 1244, Fairchild Ultrafast Soft Recovery, up to 600V, and 30 amps.

[Brinkman]

Can these Fairchild diodes, with the lowest rated at 4 amps, be used safely in a power supply where only a 1 Amp diode is called for?

-Brinkman

[hagtech]

Wait, aren't these heater diodes rated at 3 amps or something?

jh

[Brinkman]

Wait, aren't these heater diodes rated at 3 amps or something?

jh

You're correct Jim; I was asking with the Ripper, Clarinet and my Bellari VP-129 in mind. Sorry, I should have been more clear in my questioning. Curiosity often gets the best of me.

-Brinkman

[tubesforever]

Bill are you done with your build yet?  I am eager to hear your impressions.

My Hagerman's were so silent during my latest trip they were quieter than the noise floors of the amps we connected to.

I would love to try those Hexfreds if you end up liking them.

[Bill Epstein]

Got side-tracked from the Cornet for awhile for a number of reasons, mainly wanting to complete the 4Pi build which is subject to weather in my back-yard woodshop. I managed to get one veneered Sunday



before the hot sun chased me indoors. Supposed to be sunny Friday, my next day off which should see the second box veneered and the ports cleaned up, then a week or so indoors in the laundry room to finish (amber shellac), stuff and mount the drivers. BTW, the NBL, No Black Line, veneer from Tape-Ease is wonderful to work with; the router trimmed it up with none of the tear-outs and hang-ups you get with paper-backed. 

Once done, the Cornet project will be back on line. I have a great-looking piece of 5/4 cherry for the chassis which will get copper-lined, the brass top plate from my original build needs to be polished and by mid-September I'll have a report on how the board-of-many-  colors sounds.

Here's a teaser: right next to the cherry is a magnificent piece of 5/4 native black walnut which will be the armboard for a 9" cherry tonearm I acquired from Len on Audiogon. Right now it's sitting in it's mailing tube awaiting the day, but I promise the Cornet comes first.