Thanks Nikola:

I like your set-up

I have received my regulators from Paul and in September will be putting everything together.
I have a separate 6V "pre- regulator" to provide VD to the new boards. My assumption is that I will not connect the VD pins on the new shunt boards to the DAC but connect these directly to my pre-regulator.

Thanks for  the photos.

Best

Bob

Nice work guys 
I've been listening to BII + IVYIII  using mainly stock regulation on the dacs board with Z1P/Z1N shunts for the IVY.
I also briefly compared a pair of z1703v3 shunts (borrowed from Monica3 dac)  against TP's supplied shunts for the AVCC L&R.    The onboard sockets allows easy comparisons ,  sorry guys but imho Pauls shunts bring a very noticeable increase in performance over the supplied TP shunts especially in the upper mid and HF   

A PR3G2 or Z1P  can be used as a regulated psu, if using Z1P you need a rectifier + smoothing cap



Or as an alternative Z1P set for 5v -5v5   



For IVY / Legato etc

Thanks for the great pictures multibit.  That lets me see which regs go to which parts of DAC/output.      Now I just have to consider the price, as I already have 3 Placids in hand, and 3 of the previous TP regs too in my Buff32. I'll find another use for them. 

Yes, you can buy the transformers from TP, if they have stock. They sell Abel transformers. Or order them yourself from Mouser, etc. 

rklein, Technically, you could get by with 1 transformer to power all 6 regulators on IVY/Legato. But using PH regs is about getting the maximum performance possible. By using 3 transformers you create a pure discreet power supply for each amplifier section. This, in theory, would prevent any crosstalk between channels occuring within a single transformer's secondary winding, and it provides maximum magnetic reserve for each power supply, instead of sharing energy reserve among the channels. IMO crosstalk and sag is highly unlikely with PH regulators and a big enough tranny and power supply, which these are. But one thing you learn in DIY is that every change is audible, so the three transformers will probably sound better in some way however small. Plus, DIY is about expressing one's desire for perfection at value prices. A DIY project is a work of art and pride, so going overboard is half the fun. Triple mono power supply for output stage is definitely perfection oriented!!    Compared to the regulators, the transformers are a minor cost. You just need some extra room to fit them all.   

If you don't use the Bal/SE output then you don't need to power that section, and would only need 2 transformers. You might like to have SE conversion at some point later on, so leave room for the tranny in your case. 

Spot on  richidoo      You explained better than me 

Nice work folks. Thanks for posting your project pictures. This really is a big help to other DIY enthusiasts.

Hi Phil,




Hope this helps.

Regards
Paul

Hi,

I'm hoping to order a board from Paul to supply the main VD for my new Buffalo II (very impressed indeed with what his PR3GAP2 did for my Black Gated Charlize amp!).

Paul - can it be supplied set to give the slightly higher voltage as shown above (assuming you build to order)? What about current supply (Buffalo II drawing 290mA, but I will also be using a volumite)?

I'm tempted by the full kit of regs, but am real clumsy at soldering and don't want to send my DAC skywards. Anybody care to comment on how easy the full replacement is for a clutz? And anyone care to comment on degree of improvement gained by partial replacement (VD supply only, VD & AVCC etc.). Best partial combination?

Thanks in advance  ,

Dave

Thanks for that info Paul.

I think my problem is physical clumsiness more than anything else. But maybe I am being too much of a wimp - I still remember the disappointment of frying my first Charlize, and at about 1/3 the price of a Buffalo II!

I would only be getting regs for the Buffalo board by the way as I am using a transformer rather than IVY on the output (Sowter 3575 with OCC wire - absolutely huge soundstage in test setup with inappropriate power supply and not even burned in!).

I read above that a simple diode bridge and cap are enough to supply the Z1A-05. Could I ask what cap value would be optimal? And Multibit, do you consider the PR3 board a better option than Z1P (sonically) for VD?

Thanks,

Dave

Thanks for the great pictures multibit.  That lets me see which regs go to which parts of DAC/output.      Now I just have to consider the price, as I already have 3 Placids in hand, and 3 of the previous TP regs too in my Buff32. I'll find another use for them. 

Yes, you can buy the transformers from TP, if they have stock. They sell Abel transformers. Or order them yourself from Mouser, etc. 

rklein, Technically, you could get by with 1 transformer to power all 6 regulators on IVY/Legato. But using PH regs is about getting the maximum performance possible. By using 3 transformers you create a pure discreet power supply for each amplifier section. This, in theory, would prevent any crosstalk between channels occuring within a single transformer's secondary winding, and it provides maximum magnetic reserve for each power supply, instead of sharing energy reserve among the channels. IMO crosstalk and sag is highly unlikely with PH regulators and a big enough tranny and power supply, which these are. But one thing you learn in DIY is that every change is audible, so the three transformers will probably sound better in some way however small. Plus, DIY is about expressing one's desire for perfection at value prices. A DIY project is a work of art and pride, so going overboard is half the fun. Triple mono power supply for output stage is definitely perfection oriented!!    Compared to the regulators, the transformers are a minor cost. You just need some extra room to fit them all.   

If you don't use the Bal/SE output then you don't need to power that section, and would only need 2 transformers. You might like to have SE conversion at some point later on, so leave room for the tranny in your case.

And if you want to go a level above, you build the Buffalo II dual mono (that's two Buffalo II boards!). That's what I will be doing in addition to what multibit showed above in his AWESOME diagrams! See here.

Anand.

I edited my post above to redirect my question to Multibit rather than Paul, but would like to ask again (hoping that is not impolite) for Multibit or indeed anybody with experience or an opinion - would the PR3 board provide a sonic advantage over the Z1P?

I agree about the diagrams too, as well as all the other info - fantastic help, especially for a noob like me!! Enormous thanks!

Dave.

I edited my post above to redirect my question to Multibit rather than Paul, but would like to ask again (hoping that is not impolite) for Multibit or indeed anybody with experience or an opinion - would the PR3 board provide a sonic advantage over the Z1P?

I agree about the diagrams too, as well as all the other info - fantastic help, especially for a noob like me!! Enormous thanks!

Dave.

Hi Dave,
Both PR3 and Z1P are excellent ( I tried both),  the  advantage of PR3 is that it has  an onboard rectifier +  filter caps so its  a more compact solution compared to Z1P + external rectifier board.  Sonically I slightly preferred PR3 in this application although both gives great results.
Results may vary depending where and how you use the regs