troporobo's 85% solution

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troporobo's 85% solution

Postby troporobo » Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:53 am

At the risk of immodesty, I humbly unveil "the 85% solution"

Image

http://photobucket.com/albums/b122/troporobo/

About the name: my goal is a 100% DIY system but counting by either value or number of components I'm only about 4/5 of the way there. The components are:

Amplifiers: 300B monoblocks, based on DIY HiFiSupply LadyDay+, with grid chokes, MU conversion, AN caps, and all silver point to point wiring

Preamplifier: Basie from DIY HiFiSupply with MM phono, remote control DACT from Bent Audio, Jupiter beeswax caps, all silver point to point wiring

Phono stage: Hagerman Cornet with Auricap upgrade

Speakers: Fostex back loaded horns, based on BK16, with FF165K drivers and FT96H supertweeter in custom top cabinet

Turntable 1: Oracle Delphi Mk II, SME 3009 Series III, Shure V15VxMR

Turntable 2: Dual CS-505/4 with Ortofon OM-10

CD: Musical Fidelity A3.2CD 24/196 upsampling

Speaker cables: Cat5 braided cables with Ultralink spades, and matching jumpers for the supertweeter

Interconnects: Fine silver (28 AWG cotton insulated), spiral geometry, with Eichmann bullet RCAs

Rack: double acrylic and stainless Flexy

Room treatments: Two 18" x 7' bass traps (compressed fiberglass), ten 8" x 40" wall panels (compressed fiberglass)

This system would not have been possible without the inspiration, frequent advice, and good deals given by fellow WS members - names witheld to protect the guilty but you guys know who you are - maraming salamat po!!!
Last edited by troporobo on Thu Jun 29, 2006 3:40 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Postby Superman » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:03 am

congratulations, robert! :lol: :lol: :lol:

please PM me the materials you used for your rack and where you sourced the materials, thanks so much! :wink:
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Postby Superman » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:07 am

...and if i may say, this is excellent craftsmanship!!...

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...does not look like DIY after all...again, congrats robert! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Postby Superman » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:11 am

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
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Postby s2kov » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:43 am

:shock:

some stunning work there, congrats robert! :)

btw, what is the height of your flexy rack?
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Postby troporobo » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:49 am

Thanks Superman for the compliments and the logistics help! Info on materials for the flexy as follows:

Acrylic from Nancy Gan at Gan's Marketing, 560 Tomas Pinpin St, Binondo, 242-8029 (IIRC the full 4' x 8' x 3/4" sheet was about P9000 and they cut to any size, also you can buy less than a full sheet)

Stainless threaded rod and hardware from James Dy at Tensile Group, also in Binondo at 1039 Benevidez St, phone 244 2028 (can't remember the prices but maybe about P500 per leg?)

Instructions are at TNT-audio (read the FAQ on this site also and be sure to note the locally-made inspiration for my version!!!) I used neoprene furniture protectors to cut my own isolation washers, and cut the holes in the acrylic with a Forstner bit (go slow and is not too hard). Finishing the edges was very time consuming, made easier with a good random orbital sander. The total height is about 34" and each shelf is 2' square

http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/flexye.html
http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/flexyfaq_e.html

By the way, the engraving for my faceplates was done by Domingo Rojo of FTR Engravers at 3114 Eran St, Makati, phone 882 2213
Last edited by troporobo on Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby arnoldc » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:50 am

robert, very nice!

superman, what are you the official photographer? :roll: re: rack, see this - http://www10.brinkster.com/azcruz/DIYrack.html

:D
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Postby troporobo » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:54 am

The credit goes to Arnold for the inspiration to build the acrylic rack.

BTW, nice looking turntable in that old photo - it seems to be turning up elsewhere these days :D
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Postby arnoldc » Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:12 am

hi robert, i miss her actually... but i'll hear her again :D
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Postby zetroce » Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:26 am

:shock: :shock: That's an awesome setup you've got there Robert!

If i had not read the list of components, i would not say that your system is 80 - 90 % DIY.

Congratulations!!! :D :D
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Postby troporobo » Mon Feb 27, 2006 8:44 am

Several keen DIYers have asked where I had the aluminum faceplates done. A fellow inmate recommended HDM Technologies, and IIRC it's owned by his uncle. Here's the info:

HDM Technologies
26 Argentina St. Paranaque
(about 0.5 km past SM Bicutan, opposite side of the street)
the boss is Hector Malonzo but suggest looking for Ed Gloria
phone 823 0758 or 776 4077
Ed's cell 0917 891 4780
email ssti@pacific.net.ph or hdmgoc@info.com.ph

HDM has a state of the art CNC milling facility (their primary business is the electronics industry) and can work from CAD files, or from your own working drawings. The price was quite reasonable also. I was not too happy with the hairline finish they attempted though, so had it reworked by Domingo Rojo at FTR Engravers when he did my "vanity" logo

By the way, HDM also has an associated business around the corner selling surplus electrical and electronic items. I saw some very tempting high-current rack mount DC power supplies, motors, and transformers last time I was there.
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Postby vintage_dog » Mon Feb 27, 2006 8:48 am

congratulations!

more power to you!

this is superb work...a true labor of love...

may your tribe increase!
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Postby mandym » Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:02 pm

BRAVO Robert!!

What elegant pieces of work. When you showed me your modified speaker cabinet, I thought you do good work. I was wrong, you do great work.

I wonder if you could spare us a glimpse under the hood :) ?

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Postby troporobo » Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:50 am

Thanks guys! this has all been very much a labor of love. I've done wood work for years, so was pretty comfortable with the construction. The painting however was a different story. I used two part epoxy primer to get a really hard surface, and fill imperfections, but the sanding was a nightmare. I then subcontracted the finish coat to an auto body shop since I find it impossible to do a quality DIY paint job. The paint is Maserati Black Mica, which looks like piano gloss until hit by a strong light, then the teeny metallic flecks give it a slight 3D effect. I think its a cool color, plus they should go really fast! :D

I'll add a few construction photos when I get home tonight
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Postby JackD201 » Tue Feb 28, 2006 9:36 am

Congratulations Robert! To say your work is beautiful is an understatement.


Each and every piece of gear you made is DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!!!!
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Postby troporobo » Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:03 pm

By popular request (thanks Mandy!) I've added a few speaker construction photos to my album:

Image

http://photobucket.com/albums/b122/troporobo/speakers/

The dots of fiberglass filler on the unfinished front baffles are where I buried some small neodymium magnets for the grilles (which are still not finished).

The "witness lines" at a couple of the panel joints are proof of how hard it is to get a perfect finish when using gloss paint - even after 8 coats of epoxy primer and endless hours sanding. I couldn't see them or feel them, but the gloss finish doesn't lie!
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Postby bayonic » Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:23 pm

great job ! something to be truly proud of .

can you also post pics / construction details of your room treatments ?

thanks
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Postby troporobo » Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:39 pm

I just KNEW someone would ask for construction photos - sadly I forgot to take any :oops: But here are two photos of the completed panels and tube traps:

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These are really simple to make so I can describe them easily. The panels are compressed fiberglass 2" thick, available in 4'x8' sheets. They cut easily with a serrated kitchen knife. I screwed together simple frames from 1"x2" pine, glued the panel in with Liquid Nails, and wrapped with shawls from Divisoria. Shawls are perfect as the weave is very open and I believe close to sonically transparent, plus the Boss likes them! They are hung with picture mounts as they are very light. I used five narrow panels rather than fewer larger ones so that the edges would also provide some diffusion. It would be better to bevel the sides but I'm lazy. :oops:

The tubes are also compressed fiberglass, 2" thick x 40" high x 18" outside diameter. Its pipe-wrap insulation. Two of them have x-shaped dividers made from the 2" panel material, lengthwise down the middle, for rigidity and extra mass and two are completely hollow (on the theory that variety in density = broader-band absorption?). Simple assembly with Liquid Nails, plywood caps, and white fabric to make them less conspicuous. In fact most people don't notice them hiding behind the ficus trees. There is an excellent photo guide to making the tube traps here:

http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/traps/traps.html

Now for credit where credit is due: materials and construction ideas were courtesy of Hyperion - salamat po! :D
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Postby troporobo » Tue May 16, 2006 10:41 pm

Finally found time to make some interconnects! These are pure silver 28 AWG (cotton insulated) with copper Eichmann bullet plugs:

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These are really easy to make. I followed the excellent builder's guide here:

http://didnt.doit.wisc.edu/audio/cables/cotton_silver_ic/index.htm

Too early to say anything definitive about the sound but a few early impressions. These seem to bring out more inner detail, and higher resolution at the frequency extremes, but seem at this stage to have a hard-edged sound if not a little bright. But I have noticed big changes in the first few hours of play, with perhaps a mellowing of the overall tone (either that or my ears are now damaged!). These definitely are undergoing a break-in process so will hold off evaluating them for a couple of weeks

I made four pairs of these (TT --> phono stage --> preamp, CDP --> preamp, and preamp --> amps). The best part is the cost - total outlay for all materials worked out to P3500 per one-meter pair
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Postby arnoldc » Wed May 17, 2006 7:28 am

Thank you for using the Bullet Plugs :D

Maybe I should bring in some more ;)

Congrats!
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