This system has been a true labor of love. Building many of the components from scratch partially as a form of meditation, partially as heck this is kind of fun
It all started with a pair of full range transmission line speakers which opened up the door to the joy of cross over less speakers and low power amps.
I have built a range of amps from Class D, to Chip amps (think gaincard) to my all time favorite, Nelson Passs Zen V9 (F3) 15 watts of pure clean class a power with the sweetness of tubes.
This amp matched with a pair of Druids and Tube pre (eastern electrics minimax) evokes pure sonic bliss.
The trials and tribulations of my various DIY projects can be found on my blog:
http://web.mac.com/noteldov
Please take a look and let me know what you think.
This system is still very much in progress so any thoughts would be appreciated.
Custom LP 12. I rebuilt the LP 12 replacing the Valhalla power supply and motor with a DC controller board and Maxon motor. Battery powered
ZU DL-103
ZU modification of classic denon MC cartridge
Linn LP-12 Valhalla
Replaced Valhalla power supply and AC motor with DIY DC controller board and Maxon motor. Amazing stability and runs at 0.03% accuracy
First Watt F3
The commercial version of the Zen V9.
Pass Labs Zen V9 (F3)
Pass DIY Zen Version 9. Custom Built Pass amp based on the low wattage First Watt F3. Fully independant pure Class A monoblocks
Benchmark DAC Pre1
Replaced NOS DAC
Apple ATV
Apple TV jacked to add 1TB of storage. Digital output to Benchmark DAC. Goodbye Slim devices hello apple
Apple IPhone
USe the remote application on the iphone to control Apple TV transport. Brillaint interface
EAR USA 834P
Finally a phono section to help make the Blackbird Sing
Integrated Gainclone w/ NOSDAC .
DIY gainclone. This integrated gainclone consists of the following components: 1. Gainclone using LM3886 chip 2. Audio Sector NOSDAC 3. Mark Levinson based op amp 4. Digital reciever- hacked slimp3
DIY Class D Charlize based Tripath amp
DIY class d Charlise amp with seperate SMPS power supply
Zu Audio Druid MK IV
Full range cross over less speaker. 101 dB
DIY Transmission Line Jordan 92's
Full range transmission line speakers using Jordan 92's drivers
How challenging was the V9 build? Aside from the chassis, is it identical to the F3 circuit and parts selection? Does Nelson offer instructions? Enviable execution of the DIY builds! Cheers ~ Mike