Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2018 21:39:29 GMT
Earlier this year, I embarked on a little project to build a DIY phonostage. I picked a PCB off the internet and stuffed the board with good quality parts. The "Wizard" Phonostage was born BUT it didn't sound as good as i had hoped. After a little bedding in period, i decided to get the main man (Firebottle) on the case.
Alan and i sat down for a little brainstorm about what i liked about the phonostage and ultimately what i didn't. The soundstage was all central and there was little to no width or depth. There wasn't much scale either. Almost like listening through a little tunnel.
We listened to multiple phonostages we had around at the time and picked what we liked about them. Eventually Alan got his soldering iron out and set about the board, changing values, components, layout and adding some of the circuitry from his own Vivant phonostage. Once he'd finished, the board barely resembled what it had started out as. Mounted breadboards on top made it look like a multi storey Car Park, a proper DIY job! but the sound now was where i wanted it to be. Over the last few months i have been comparing the Wizard we made, to as many phonostages as i could get my hands on. I wanted to see how it fared and whether id wasted my time and money.
I decided a few weeks back that it was something i'd like to get "out there" but didn't really know what that could look like or even where to start. My plan was/is to provide it as a DIY project for people like me, to be able to have a go at this sort of thing with relative simplicity. I wanted to make a full BOM, provide assembly instructions and share the joy i felt when i got it up and running.
One of the big worries i had was to construct the PSU for the phonostage. I needed help with that as i had no idea what i was doing. Stuffing a board is like painting by numbers but creating a PSU? No way! I then realised that if i made a PCB, it could have the PSU components all on there as well as the phonostage components, and it could be just as easy to assemble as the main board.
The first port of call was to see if Alan would allow me to use his linear circuit in any plans i had going forward. Thankfully, he agreed and did me a hand drawn circuit diagram. GREAT!! But wait, What do i do now. I was lost and had no idea what to do now. I downloaded multiple bits of PCB design software but quickly realised i was way out of my depth........I needed to recruit some help.
I managed to get a top UK designer on the case but a few personal set backs for him have slowed progress to a stop (Understandably, All the best to him too). I reluctantly accepted that i was an impatient sod and needed to get this moving at a rate i wanted, so i found a really good fella in Germany to take the Project on. Within 24 hours he had converted the Hand drawn Circuit diagram into a digital file and sent me a copy for my perusal. It went straight to Alan for approval.
Another 24 hours passed and i get a 3D rendering of the proposed Circuit board!!! This is the pace i like lol.
Hopefully, before the end of the year there will be a "Bigbottle Hybrid MC Phonostage PCB" available, a BOM, and an assembly guide for the DIYers out there. The best part? I already have a pre-order
Above is the first iteration of the proposed layout.
There is also the possibility of a MM PCB version and also a Head Amp PCB but this is something I will look at once I've got my head around how everything works. Things like where to offer them, how much it costs to manufacture the PCB, etc.
This has been a great learning curve and I have to say, there are some really great people out there who are willing to help and offer support and advice. This project has brought out the "good eggs" in the HiFi community. Without them, it would still be a circuit diagram sat on my table.
Alan and i sat down for a little brainstorm about what i liked about the phonostage and ultimately what i didn't. The soundstage was all central and there was little to no width or depth. There wasn't much scale either. Almost like listening through a little tunnel.
We listened to multiple phonostages we had around at the time and picked what we liked about them. Eventually Alan got his soldering iron out and set about the board, changing values, components, layout and adding some of the circuitry from his own Vivant phonostage. Once he'd finished, the board barely resembled what it had started out as. Mounted breadboards on top made it look like a multi storey Car Park, a proper DIY job! but the sound now was where i wanted it to be. Over the last few months i have been comparing the Wizard we made, to as many phonostages as i could get my hands on. I wanted to see how it fared and whether id wasted my time and money.
I decided a few weeks back that it was something i'd like to get "out there" but didn't really know what that could look like or even where to start. My plan was/is to provide it as a DIY project for people like me, to be able to have a go at this sort of thing with relative simplicity. I wanted to make a full BOM, provide assembly instructions and share the joy i felt when i got it up and running.
One of the big worries i had was to construct the PSU for the phonostage. I needed help with that as i had no idea what i was doing. Stuffing a board is like painting by numbers but creating a PSU? No way! I then realised that if i made a PCB, it could have the PSU components all on there as well as the phonostage components, and it could be just as easy to assemble as the main board.
The first port of call was to see if Alan would allow me to use his linear circuit in any plans i had going forward. Thankfully, he agreed and did me a hand drawn circuit diagram. GREAT!! But wait, What do i do now. I was lost and had no idea what to do now. I downloaded multiple bits of PCB design software but quickly realised i was way out of my depth........I needed to recruit some help.
I managed to get a top UK designer on the case but a few personal set backs for him have slowed progress to a stop (Understandably, All the best to him too). I reluctantly accepted that i was an impatient sod and needed to get this moving at a rate i wanted, so i found a really good fella in Germany to take the Project on. Within 24 hours he had converted the Hand drawn Circuit diagram into a digital file and sent me a copy for my perusal. It went straight to Alan for approval.
Another 24 hours passed and i get a 3D rendering of the proposed Circuit board!!! This is the pace i like lol.
Hopefully, before the end of the year there will be a "Bigbottle Hybrid MC Phonostage PCB" available, a BOM, and an assembly guide for the DIYers out there. The best part? I already have a pre-order
Above is the first iteration of the proposed layout.
There is also the possibility of a MM PCB version and also a Head Amp PCB but this is something I will look at once I've got my head around how everything works. Things like where to offer them, how much it costs to manufacture the PCB, etc.
This has been a great learning curve and I have to say, there are some really great people out there who are willing to help and offer support and advice. This project has brought out the "good eggs" in the HiFi community. Without them, it would still be a circuit diagram sat on my table.
. I built over fifty pairs of speakers, a dozen at least turntables, made hundreds of cables and rebuilt several amps. Don't have the patience anymore.
