[ronpod]

Hi all,

I've been a bit preoccupied lately, all tangled up in blue, but enough of that....

My spouse has been asking for hints
She gave me a Cornet2 kit for my birthday and that turned out so well. We're almost all vinyl lately. We absolutely love the Cornet2!
This group is fantastic for supporting new builders. Tubes informative posts and Teflon group buy support (I still have some Teflon looking for a home). Abe's example of DIY heaven, Pat's ongoing projects, Wayne, analog97, Bill's numerous efforts, and the rest of the ardent followers of Jim Hagerman's super designs; would you be willing to advize me in the selection of components and the building of a Clarinet?

Are we on?

Shell;y Manne & His Men At The Black Hawk 1

[alpa6]

Im in the final stretch almost finished.My clarinet has all auricaps and kiwami's.I expect it to sound great.To be my last preamp.
I also added some nice connex rca jacks,Gold plated  with silver mundorf wire.
Im two days out from finishing it.
All i haVE TO DO IS FIND some real nice knobs to dress it up.
So my vote is to get a kit.Btw this is my fourth kit from jim.
After a couple they go together so quick.
If i had one thing i would of done it's to add some blackgates.I'm not sure if they even sell them now though.

[ronpod]

I have a questions about the Lansing chassis that comes with the half kit w box; does it automatically come in black or does black need to be requested? Also, are the decals pre-installed with this option?

[Bill Epstein]

According to my Clarinet manual, the Lansing part number gets you clear; black is B2H12-V01B.

[analog97]

I have a questions about the Lansing chassis that comes with the half kit w box; does it automatically come in black or does black need to be requested? Also, are the decals pre-installed with this option?

Yes, black and it has the decals very nicely finished.  The finished case is what sold me on both Cornet2 and Clarinet kit builds. For me, well worth the extra few dollars. Mine looks very professional and I needed that due to my limited metal-working experience. 

I did both C2 and Clarinet with Auricaps.  All else stock.  They are so good sounding, I can't imagine better!  Do what you feel is best for you.  The C2/Clarinet combo is a winner.   

[alpa6]

When you cut the chassis it will show aluminium anyways.You will have to paint it.Unless your polishing it.
Im not sure what to do about decals im sure you could order some.They don't come with the kit.They should!

[tubesforever]

Ronpod! 

Absolutely - definitively yes.... unless you also own some headphones.  Then I would build the Castinet kit which should have plenty of gain for most sources.

I have been loving my Clarinet.  It is the stand out piece in my audio system simply because every source sounds better with the Clarinet.

Something I don't like about it.  The Clarinet reverses signal polarity. (THIS SHOULD READ REVERSES PHASE).  That is my only complaint.  There are some folks out there that are absolute polarity advocates.  (THEY ARE ABSOLUTE PHASE ADVOCATES).  I am not necessarily convinced.

My warmed over Clarinet sounds better than any preamp I have ever owned or sold.  I am stoked!

I built mine with S102 Vishays in the direct signal pathway and Kiwami 2 watts everywhere else.  There are a couple of 220 ohm resistors in the direct circuit path that pass the B+ power to the tubes.  These should probably be Dale 2 watt resistors.  I am running some Mills wire wounds there for the time being.

I am running Mundorf SIO for the B+ bypass cap in 1.0uf and the final output cap is a .82uf SIO with a .22uf FT-3 Teflon.  The sound is amazing!.

I am running Fairchild Stealth hexfreds instead of the Schottke Diodes.  I would replace the RCA's with Vampire direct gold plated oxygen free copper chassis RCA's.  I am using a Dale Vishay stepped attenuator.  I think the newer Vishay SMD DACT style 50k stereo stepped attenuator would be perfect since mine is no longer available. 

I deleated the balance pot, but Jim assures me that it simply steers the centering of the image.  It does not go full on full off.  I might leave it if I build another for a friend.

I also deleated the incoming signal cap that Jim places there to eliminate DC from reaching the gain stages.  I bypassed this with some solid core silver wire.

Hope this helps!  I have mine in a full size rack, but it would easily fit in the half rack box. 

For the holes you are cutting.  When you are done, simply take a permanent marker and black out the aluminum.  If you get any on the surface you can take a cotton swab with a little pure alcohol and remove it easily.  It will look just like the anodised surface when you are done.

I bought my knobs at Antique Electronic Supply for about 4-5 dollars per knob.  These are under the miscellaneous knob area.  They are really nice looking knobs.  AES is selling stuff right now at 10% off.  You can get the stainless hardware, transformer, JJ 12au7 tubes, and knobs all at a savings!  Buy them right away.   

Email me privately if you want to discuss the build in greater detail.

I can only tell you that my Clarinet is so silent that when I went on my trip we thought it might be misconnected.  It is also far more dynamic than any preamp I have heard, sold, or owned.  It is not perfect (remember the polarity *PHASE* issues).  However it is really impressive and definitely affordable.   I have less than 1,000 dollars into my Clarinet.

How about stacking a Hagerman Clarinet and Cornet 2 against a Manley Steelhead ($7,000), a Pass Xono ($7,000) and a Thor ($6,000)?

My Hagermans beat up on these units.  In my opinion these are great preamps and phono sections.  They were Stereophile Class A pieces and owned by folks I admire.  You should have seen the looks I got when we went from the Hagermans back to their gear.  Everyone just looked at each other and said WOW. 

Jim Hagerman did good!

[alpa6]

Tubes what do you mean by reverseing polarity?

[tubesforever]

There I go again....I think I goofed.  I should have said that the absolute phase of the signal reverses. 

If you look at the absolute phase of a signal it comes into the Hagerman as Positive/Negative and leaves the line stage as Negative/Positive.

I have done a lot of back and forth evaluations with my purely passive preamp and the Clarinet.  As I have built my Clarinet, it does not adversely color the sound (that is a major thing for me) and it adds more solidity and dynamics.  Bass slam is more easily achieved at lower volume levels.

For the absolute phase folks out there I am not disputing it is important, I just prefer the Clarinet to any other thing I own, have owned, or have heard or sold.  I hope that Jim Hagerman can design a balanced SET or SSRP line stage in the future.  That might be perfection!

[mcgsxr]

Having owned a custom built Clarinet, I cannot say that I have owned a better pre.

I only parted with it, when I found computer based audio, and since I have a single source system, the ability to consolidate my source, dac and pre into one unit was perfect for me.

Otherwise, that Clarinet would still be around, it was fantastic - it even had the DIY Cable remote built into it...

[ronpod]

alpa6,

Will you post pics of your build? I look forward to your report. Is there anything I should be aware of? You know; any gottcha's?
Where did you get the rca's and the Mundorf wire?

Ron.

[ronpod]

Bill and analog97,

Oddly enough, my souse has informed me that the Lansing chassis that comes with the half kit is anodized black with white decals. Now how in the hell did she know that. I think I may be looking into Santa's bag right now and I can see a Clarinet half kit. YYEEESSSS! Oops, maybe this is supposed to be a surprise...

I going through the parts catalogs now, though.

Sweet,
Ron.

[ronpod]

Tubes,

Once again you provide the giant shoulders for which I can grasp this DIY build with additional creativity.

I am eyeballing the circuit to get an idea of how to compare and contrast to the Cornet 2. Looks to me that the power supply is identical and I will probably treat it as such. Your experimentation with the hexfreds is intreguing, but I'm not convinced that C106 will even allow the hexfreds to provide a benefit. A smooth DC level should not ring by definition.

I really like your idea of shunting the input cap (C302). The Cornet 2 does not output any DC level that I know of (better not). I was thinking that the C2 would be the exclusive source but what you and others have said about the Clarinet improving all sources has caused me pause. I might be driving the Oppo DV-983H with is also. And who knows what future sources might come along if the Clarinet is indeed my final line stage. I might shunt the cap position now but set aside a couple of the 0.1 FT-3s if DC is a concern later.

I'll have the revisit the archives to find out why you settled on a .82uf SIO with a .22uf FT-3 Teflon as opposed to the 1.0 SIO with a .1 FT-3.

I looking at the resistors and pots now. Much to think about...

Best,
Ron.

[ronpod]

Pat,

You introduced me to the PRP resistors as an affordable option. This created a bit of a buzz but has anyone validated these components yet? I will likely use the TX2575 nudes again in all "direct signal path" positions but like the idea that the PRP's might match well. Please post experiences and opinions as I am about to purchase parts.

Many thanks,
Ron.

[ronpod]

I started ordering parts for the Clarinet.

My first order was with Texas Components Corp for their TX2575 nude resistors. R303, R306, R307, R308, R309, R310, R311.

The input and output loading resistors (R302 and R312) have high values at 330k which is not available easily in a TX2575. TCC can build them if I am willing to pay $95 per resistor which I'm not. What resistor is good in these 330k ohm positions?

[TONEPUB]

Tell your wife you want a Porsche Turbo for Christmas, but you'll settle
for a Clarinet....

[MusicMtnMonkey]

Well, you can start by checking Parts Connexion.  It looks like they have PRP, Takman, Riken, Shinkoh, and Tantalums, as well as whatever they call a Vishay in the 330K value at varying watts.  The Hagerman Clarinet schematic doesn't say so it may be that you can use less than a 1W piece.

Pretty juicy appearing choices, but I've never heard any of them.  My CASTANET has PRP, Mills, and TX2575 on the board, but I only ordered 2 Mills of a value when I needed 8    I have a cheaper less desirable set of 8 resistors, but I'm being anal/crazy and will probably order 6 more Mills, so I can't complete/listen to it yet...  May be the new year before I complete my CASTANET...

On the upside my wife said I could buy a few stocking stuffers for myself.  Anyone ever stuff their stocking with silver wire and rca plugs 

Did you ask Texas Components if they had other resistor choices at that value, more reasonably priced?

Keep us posted Ronpod, I've enjoyed your posts/threads   

I started ordering parts for the Clarinet.

My first order was with Texas Components Corp for their TX2575 nude resistors. R303, R306, R307, R308, R309, R310, R311.

The input and output loading resistors (R302 and R312) have high values at 330k which is not available easily in a TX2575. TCC can build them if I am willing to pay $95 per resistor which I'm not. What resistor is good in these 330k ohm positions?

[tubesforever]

Ronpod,

Try a Kiwami 2 watt resistor for the 330kohms.  That is what I am using the the sound is fine.  If you can find a PRP at that resistance you might want to try a pair or are there two pair in the Clarinets???

I think you or someone else commented to me that if surface area of the teflons account for great dynamics then the .22 and .47 uf caps should be even better.

That is why I tried the .22 in the Clarinet and .47 in the Cornet 2.  I like the .82SIO and .22uf teflons a great deal.  I might use these in my Cornet 2 as well.  Are these bigger teflons night and day better...No they are not.  The 1.0 SIO and .1uf teflons were a superb combination I could easily live with. 

After a few more weeks I might go back to these and see what changes I hear going the other way.

I am eager to hear how the Sonicaps and teflons match up.  I think at least one other person is using this combination. 

Make sure to use the Panasonic ED caps for the 47uf 450v electrolytics.  These have a dcr better than the Nichicon but shy of what a BlackGate can supply.  However I cannot find any more BG in voltages that work with tube B+ supplies.

Shottke diodes are better than zenners but both ring.  Jim uses the 10kuf caps as an LC section to smooth their sonics.  Why not try the hexfreds since they do not ring, they are much faster and have soft recovery.  If you want DC this is one superb way to accomplish quiet DC. 

Cheers!

[alpa6]

I bought 20 prp resistors awhile back.5 were bad.For signal position resistors use tantalum resistors.This is what jim himself used for his trumpet.I myself used kwami's who are suposed to sound warmer.More like old tube stuff with carbon comp resistors.They were also half the price of riken ohm's.
The vishey has a very good rep too Clear is how i have heard them described.They are also quite exspensive.
If i was going for the best of the best i would use riken's for signal kiwame for power supply.
This is all from hanging around on a few sites reading alot.I myself used kiwame's because the amp im useing has them.If it was good enough for bryston i figure it's good enough for my clarinet.
For caps i'd get the new auricap teflons.I don't have that much money lol!Regular auricaps will be good enough as i have them in 6 other projects.I guess you can say i'm a fan.

[ronpod]

Tell your wife you want a Porsche Turbo for Christmas, but you'll settle
for a Clarinet....

TONEPUB, it didn't work - she bought me the Porsche Turbo instead of the Clarinet (yeah, right  ).

Well, you can start by checking Parts Connexion.  It looks like they have PRP, Takman, Riken, Shinkoh, and Tantalums, as well as whatever they call a Vishay in the 330K value at varying watts.  The Hagerman Clarinet schematic doesn't say so it may be that you can use less than a 1W piece.

MusicMtnMonkey, I checked with Parts Connexion and they currently have a huge 15% off sale on their already competitive prices. All Mundrof caps are 20% off (I have no connection to PC). This together with the 10% off at Antique Electronic Supply makes this a good time to fill the BOM.

On the upside my wife said I could buy a few stocking stuffers for myself.  Anyone ever stuff their stocking with silver wire and rca plugs 

Keep us posted Ronpod, I've enjoyed your posts/threads   

With all the discounts from suppliers, you can stuff your stocking well...  and thanks for the complement.

Tubes and alpa6,
So I've ordered a mixture of TX2575s, PRPs, Kiwanes, and Mills for my build. The PRPs are so inexpensive at normal price, but with an additional 15% off, it was easy to purchase multiples for matching and just in case the TX2575s can't handle the power dissipation. The PRP does come in 330k value so I'll see how well it performs as a loading component.

Tubes, I will be trying the Hexfreds (small cost, possible benefit).

Having fun....