RFC BB3 build

Improvements:


Having an enforced lull between jobs, I've decided to move my build to two boxes.  A phonostage one would hope could be a compact affair, certainly in solid state that is the case.  With valves and the size of the power supply in this case, there is little option but to use a full sized case (which I don't have room for) or go to two cases making it quite a bulky build, but does the effort and cost add up to a worthwhile endeavour or should you stick to a compact single box economical solution?  I was so far down the road with this one that the only thing to do was to see it through properly so I invite you to join me in the final journey here:

I selected a matching height and style of case for the power supply and the following pictures show the build progression.  My thanks to Alan and Oli once again for their support, for being patient with me after I fried one of the JET boards and sorting out replacements, much appreciated, and really for the encouragement to see it through.

Box assembled (on left) and transformer and wiring thrown in to start the "what, where, how?" process:




Power switch removed from main circuit case and that hole will later be masked when I receive my batch of RFC product badges from the factory.


6 pin DIN fitted to rear of main case:



Main circuit enclosure re-wired for din connections...almost as fiddly as the JFETS! The DIN connector I selected also was more like a Krypton factor puzzle to assemble and ones previously used but much better quality.




Power supply enclosure drilled for fittings and all wired up:





Temporary red LED installed within main enclosure. In this case I drilled a 6mm hole, chamfered, for a 5mm LED. The final (blue) one will use a heat resistant blob of clear silicon to set it in place. I have taken the power feed from the soft start/stop power circuit board supply which is already at 7.3 volts approx.
To chose the correct LED and circuit it's a simple case of using the following formulae:

Series resistor value to use between power source positive rail and LED anode (or cathode) is:

R = (Vr-Vf)/power rating of LED (required) which must be less than Iw

Where Vr = supply voltage, Vf = forward voltage of LED and Iw = forward current of LED.

In my case I will be using LEDs with a 5mm body, 3.2V forward voltage and Iw of 20mW. This though would be too bright so I will use half this value as a starting point, so my resistor needs to be:

(7.3-3.2)/(0.010) = 410 Ohms. I have some 330R and 1K resistors so I'll start with the 330, doubled to 660 then try the 1K and pick the one that gives adequate brightness without running too bright.







Sound:

Having wired and connected everything up, the acid test was in the listening.
Bearing in mind I've now fitted a closely matched pair of Teles for the PCC88's and a Tungsol 803s for the V2 position, the valves now ought to be sorted as none of these proved microphonic at all.

A 20 minute warm up and settling time and then straight into playing some LPs.  I wasn't expecting a night and day improvement over the previous iteration, perhaps just a little quieter but I was surprised to find that it WAS what I can honestly describe as a night and day uplift.  The combination of the right (and matched) valves ensuring equal channel balance and hopefully adhering to correct RIAA balance, also happened to be much quieter with no discernible heater noise or any noise at all with volume turned up higher than I'd ever listen to.  Any semblance of transformer hum was gone...entirely gone.  In fact before anything could be heard through the speakers at all, the volume was over 3/4 of the way round the dial where max safe listening levels are less than half way, so with vinyl, this would prove to be utterly silent in background noise so a big tick in the box.

Onto listening:  Biggest changes here were in detail and channel separation.  Yes, new output coupling caps were in place as well as the valve changes and the FET boards installed.  Without knowing if the changes were a collective upgrade or down to one specific change I don't know as I don't have access to the circuit diagram to see how it's all interconnected, but what I can say is wow...that soundstage now goes from one wall to the other, way beyond the speakers.  Because I use time aligned and phase correct speakers, the depth of the recorded space comes through with astonishing presence and clarity on live recordings, not multi-tracked close mic'd stuff.

So was it all worth it?  Well, yes but with reservations.  Part of me still says, (the head speaking) that it should be entirely possible to have a compact phonostage at less cost than commercial offerings because the circuit can easily be compactly packaged, this takes up a lot of real estate and there's no getting over that.  the heart, however says that it has been a resounding success based purely on the end result.  Whether its the euphonics of valves I am liking more than the flatness of many solid state offerings, I don't know.  All I know is that this offers what many do not, an emotional connection with the music and where live recordings are concerned, in a system capable of revealing it, a real sense of presence.  That to most of us I'd bet sums up what we want from our systems, surely?

Top marks to Oli for project managing to the degree that he has and with the enthusiasm that he has, and in particular to listening to feedback and acting on it.  The last point has turned a modest design that does what it says on the tin into one frankly a cut above the rest, where "the rest" is perhaps many that exist out there to £2.5K in valve land.  There are lots that run it close or beat it but few can be had under £2K.  I would advise under that mark looking at one of the Trilogy phonostages for SS offerings or where valves are concerned, this one and only one other that I can honestly recommend...

This is where things get interesting as that "one other" in entry level valve offerings is the TRON Convergence but here I lay may cards on the table for honesty.   Oli and Alan are not aware of this, so it should come as a pleasant surprise just how close the BB3 is:  Mine isn't a standard TRON Convergence, but a special order one from Graham called the "TRON Signature" which is a much rarer beast and the only one currently that I know of in existence and a very much upgraded and re-worked Convergence.  The TRON has a different presentation to the BB3 but is still a fair comparison.  This is not, nor should it become a "shoot off" of one V's the other because that would be largely non constructive, subjective and miss the points I'm trying to make here so lets not get too distracted by that side of things.  I am only throwing it in because I use two TT's and one uses the TRON.

It has, if anything, in Signature trim, even more detail and a pretty amazing depth of sound stage, but isn't perhaps quite as wide as the BB3.  My original TRON Convergence to my ears was a little light on one channel in bass which initially was why it was sent back, and it was found that one of the valves was out of spec which had adversely affected RIAA below 1KHz by around 2dB which is significant.  This was corrected and measured with new, matched valves but the whole thing was taken apart and converted with just about all components changed to shoe-horn in the "Signature" version.  It now has very accurate RIAA (tested) but I cannot give away what in the circuit was changed, but safe to say it is most definitely up there with the best in this price group and what I like about it is it's neatly packaged into a compact enclosure too.

The BB3 is still well worth the effort because you can achieve stunning levels of performance, to my mind way better than the EAR 834 or even the latest Icon Audio PS2 as well as the PS3 Mk2, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is quite an achievement so well done Oli and Alan.  It's really quite an extraordinary stage.  It is still possible to package it into a compact case IF a toroid is used but for the best sound quality, a traditional E&I to my mind is the better route as long as you can get it far enough distant or well enough shielded from the PCB.  For quietness it matches the TRON, no mean feat!

For those already started along the DIY route, I would most humbly present a case for going the whole hog on this build to get the potential from it.  The difference between not doing so and actually investing the time and money and effort in doing so is quite staggering in terms of sound quality uplift.  I hope that this has been an honest and fair description of my own "BB3 journey" but please take it as it is intended, just an honest opinion.   Once more my congratulations to Oli and Alan, and to all you reading this who want the best valve stage in this price category, you do owe it to yourself to speak with Oli, and in fact to Graham, as each offer something pretty unique but undoubtedly very special and neither really can be bettered in terms of valve power unless you are prepared to spend an awful lot more.  There's a big jump to the next best valve stages and that means upping budgets to between £2.5K and £5K or more.  Below those levels I have not tried anything that really competes with either of these two.

As a final comment, I will throw in that I am happy for anyone to visit me and listen to either of these stage for themselves especially where it might be a little too far to visit either Oli or Graham.  I stand to gain nothing from this, nor should I, but I operate an ethos of supporting UK small businesses so am happy to do my part, as one of those businesses because I passionately believe that the best hifi has "gone underground" in the Uk and you simply will not find these little gems on the shelves of major company outlets.

I will add some better photos once I have badging and LEDs finally sorted.

Thanks Jim. Yes, very worthwhile and the Mk3"i" (for improved!) I think may become the "Mk4" before long as it seems to have evolved a bit,but the beauty is all Mk3's are easily done the way Oli and I have done ours and it's not really worth skimping if you want the best from the Mk3, yet it still allows those on tight budgets to make a one box build that works well.

As it happens, I have a dedicated R core transformer in it's original box, new and unused which I will offer posted to anyone who wants it for £29

LoL! yes, I had to be honest about that Alan. I've been quite happy to fly the flag for Graham since first hearing his Convergence design (which with proper valve matching should be ruler flat, as mine now is) but his Signature version is quite heavily reworked so you're welcome to have a listen and see what you think.  I think you'd be quite impressed by it.

Nice thorough write up matey and congrats on getting it over the finish line. It’s been nice to follow other people’s different builds from the shadows whilst mine was being built, and see the slightly different configurations.

As everybody else has said , this phono is now very very capable of mixing it with some of the big boys.

I had the newest version of the Whest 2.2 with improved discreet stage, which many say is the best sub £2k phono in the world and all I can say is that the BB3 is on the next level up. The Whest is slightly smoother and cleaner (Possibly as it’s SS) but the BB3 is deeper, wider, more detailed and airy And you really hear the production and engineering on the records ,and how they are layered and stuctured as opposed to just hearing the music.

The great thing is , I still think you have a bit more to squeeze from it if you go for the Clarity Cap CMR’s .

Oliver and Alan were so impressed with the increase in soundstage with mine that they both bought a set instantly.

I think this phono would now mix it in the 3-4K region if all of the small things like ultra matching components , and using top quality parts elsewhere are followed. It’s an absolute Hifi bargain . Well done on a collective efffort lads . Great stuff

AT-ART9

Not a bad little runner!

Hi Jim. Yeah as Oli said , it’s the AT Art 9. It’s a fantastic cartridge for the money. I’m yet to hear anything sub 1500 that can show it a clean set of heels. I genuinely believe it’s underpriced. Iv had an Ortofon Rondo bronze with FG80 tip, Ortofon 2m bronze, a Soundsmith, Regas top MM offering , and the ART has blown them all away in my setup .
When she finally dies I shall likely move up the ladder I think, but to be fair it’s real high end sound for real world money .

Try the new ZYX Ultimate 100....it redefines what's possible from an MC cart under £2K...utterly mindblowingly good.  The only one I've heard which might better it was well north of £2K being from the Myajima stable.

There's some uk retailers no longer stocking or selling vdh carts for some reason. One local to me near Bristol has pulled his stock and won't be supplying more. I've not heard the Colibri but any cart at that price had better be good! The ZYX 100 Ultimate retails at under £1500, so relatively speaking, for the performance on offer is something of a bargain as it replaced the whole previous generation of "100's" including the Yatra and Fuji models. I'm perfectly happy with the R50-Bloom LO, it's a stunning cart with a'stage capable of presenting what it can offer.

I had a AT-ART7 here Jim,

Very good, but a bit rich, tonally for me.

Lived on the warmer side of playback but super smooth and enjoyable.

I would try an ART9...i like AT's pricing v performance and yes, getting a squewed cantilever is undesirable, I am sure they would sort a refund, replacement etc.

Yes, Ortofons are pretty awesome....thinking I need one myself to be honest.

That looks interesting Jim, whats the cost?

WOW!