solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Aug 23, 2013 8:25:49 GMT
any news on the upgrade psu for the Ember? I just heard Jeremy is going to work on the PCB.... That is the new linear power supply that can be used on all amps (24V and 48V) |
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Aug 23, 2013 12:26:07 GMT
The sound of the Ember is a result of its design. It is a much superior design on comparison to any of the Bravo types. Those amps contain poor crosstalk performance and are severely rolled off in the highs because of their design. They also run very hot and are unlikely to last very long because of that. I have burned out every one that I have had. (4 of them)
The Ember is NOT rolled off in the highs. You can't hear anywhere near as high as the Ember goes. 50 kHz is ridiculously high. It also goes very deep. It has a very wide bandwidth. It is also extremely high powered so you have a ton of headroom and will immediately get better dynamics.
The tube is an amplifier circuit of sorts, and the typical tube behaviour that you read about is highly exaggerated. The reason for this is that many people (like me) have worked with headphones for forty or more years. We tend to be very highly 'tuned' to slight differences that some really wouldn't hear.
So when I say something along the lines of 'more treble' in reality, we are taking minutia and it would save you a lot of expense by sitting with the stock tube for a while. That way, if you decide to change, the you will actually (perhaps) hear these differences. You may not prefer the changes and may merely like it because it is different, not better.
Listen to it first, with no changes for some time. You will save yourself a lot of money for a minute change. A bigger change would be had by buying a better headphone.
Save the tube money for something decent.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Aug 30, 2013 13:58:50 GMT
I just changed the led colour to a powdery blue. It's very pretty!!  I was just going through the configuring bits to try with the Momentum and I thought .... ok, time for a colour change. So fickle eh?  |
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Post by itsalive on Aug 31, 2013 17:55:26 GMT
Will mod my project Ember with black screws and a black sanded volume knob, and a friend will make the "switch mod" for mute RCA out when headphone is plugged I like this amp ! Great sound |
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Aug 31, 2013 18:10:09 GMT
I have it permanently installed now itsalive. Generally I have an amp on the go and it gets swapped for yet another under review. However, this one is so powerful and big sounding, I've put a switching device into it so that I'm able to connect more sources and go between them.
I also have it feeding some active Roland monitors.
It's used all of the time and IMO is the best I've heard from Jeremy. That massive dynamic range and configurability makes it quite unique; let alone the ease of changing a tube.
Even down to changing the led colour. The powder blue colour looks really nice.
It is a beauty and just plays music with such a relaxed readiness that many amps just don't get close to.
Mine has the 'gold knob award'.It's actually a gold plated knob that's wider than the standard one so it's more sensitive to small tweaks.
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Post by valentinhogea on Sept 1, 2013 13:01:04 GMT
I chatted with Solderdude on another forum, and he informed me that there is a Project Ember touring the world as we speak. Would love to audition it as well. Where/what list can I sign up on?
All the best,
Valentin
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Sept 1, 2013 13:01:46 GMT
thanks.
Have forwarded it to Jeremy so he can include them in a future revisions.
If you find any that don't work well we would like to know this as well (noisy tubes e.t.c.)
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Post by thunderhead on Sept 1, 2013 16:18:39 GMT
Hello all,
I bought one of the silver protos, another serial number 0000. Jeremy was generous and put a 6DJ8 in it. It has a lot of "punch".
All I can say is WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! I have a Starlight (which is a lot of fun with 32 ohm Grados) and a Sunrise II (gotta have a class A).
I have run several 6 and 12 volt (Jeremy gave me an RCA Wurlitzer--WOW!)with the same song running a new pair of DT880s and each have their strengths with no perceptible weaknesses. As Rabbit said, this amp can make ANY tube sound good!
That includes heavy to light EQ and she handles all with ease.
On the note of linear power supplies, the Starlight is sitting on top of an old DBX case with a 24 volt 2.4 amp linear supply stuffed inside and a short wire from the supply soldered to the PCB. I am running NJM4556 (four per channel--each puts out 70 milliamps into 150 ohms. Any difference? It is said that Grados need a lot of power at higher volumes. This can make the Grados scream with no breakup. More testing with Beyers and AKGs will continue. Will I buy a 48 volt? CERTAINLY!
All in all I agree with Frans that the switcher supply is a good compromise.
Lastly regarding tube color--orange is my top choice to enhance the natural color.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Sept 1, 2013 17:32:01 GMT
I chatted with Solderdude on another forum, and he informed me that there is a Project Ember touring the world as we speak. Would love to audition it as well. Where/what list can I sign up on? All the best, Valentin Hi Valentin, Welcome to the forum. Currently it is in Denmark. There are at least 4 forum members there wanting to audition it. After that it will be free and will be sent to you, that is if other Danish forum members aren't interested. Hope they will write some words about their findings on here as well. For those who not know Valentin... he is a writer for Headfonia It is only doing a European tour b.t.w. and is mine and hope it will return to its home one fine day. |
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Post by rckyosho on Sept 2, 2013 6:13:44 GMT
Hi solderdude,
Recently bought the kit version of ember and notice a slight noise on the left channel that goes away with a slight pop sound if I give the amp a little tap under the chassis.I tried several tubes and it's the same for all of them. This normally happen after powering up but sometimes it does not happen. Any idea why?
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Sept 2, 2013 6:31:20 GMT
Is this only happening in the first few seconds after the relay has been energized ?
The relay delay time is a bit on the short side of things for some tubes.
Not all tubes heat up equally fast.
If this only happens with a cold start-up or after a tube swap you could replace R4 with 270k or 330k (if 220k is fitted).
The fact you mention it goes away when you tap under the chassis seems to point to a cold solderjoint.
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Post by rckyosho on Sept 2, 2013 11:14:14 GMT
Thanks for the quick reply.
To answer your frist question, no, the noise will always remain unless I tap under the chassis but sometimes it does go away by itself with a poping sound (it only happens in the left channel).
Yes most of the time it does this is during cold start up or a tube change.
Regarding the cold solder joint, I will need to take a look at that didn't thought of it. Would the cold joint be at the resistor you mention above.
Once again thanks for the advice.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Sept 2, 2013 12:13:42 GMT
It could be any solderjoint that is in the signal path.
Perhaps it is helpfull to measure voltages at certain points, those may give a clue.
The fact that the fault disappears suggests a bad joint.
It may be an idea to simply reflow (and add a touch of fresh solder) every solderjoint.
Takes some time but chances of it working correctly after that are higher.
It won't be at R4, this resistor determines the timedelay of the relay and has no influence in the audio path.
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Post by rckyosho on Sept 2, 2013 13:55:11 GMT
Will do as per your advise solderdude and get back hopefully with good result once I find the time to do it thank you.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2013 19:28:10 GMT
really missing the Ember after the trial.
am close to pulling trigger on it, just need that "final push" ;-)
Claus,
any opinions yet?
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