MOSFET Mania

I mentioned that I'd collected tons of audio gear over the years.  An eon or so ago, I bought a couple BK MOSFET modules from the back of the old Audio Amateur magazine.  I think they cost me around $150/pr.  What's cool about these modules is they included the power supply on each board, and heat sink!  At around 100W/channel, I've found many uses for these amps.

I finally bought a nice rack mount case and assembled them into a coherent unit.  The case was about $100 bucks, then add in misc. connectors, etc. and I had an audiophile cheapskate's dream!

Nice job if I say so myself.  Looks like the modules are now discontinued, but they hung around for a long time and, as I did, found many uses.

If you are into circuit analysis, you can see that the circuitry is really quite straight forward.

Just another example how to get great sound without paying big bucks...

I Wanna Play My Records

One problem I have with the vinyl revival involves the playback systems.  Most devotees are playing records on cheap phono crap.  On the other hand, audiophiles are touting $100K turntables, $5K cartridges, and $20K phono preamps...  and up.  Thankfully there is quality LP playback equipment at more realistic prices.  I think one has to spend around $500-$1K to get decent LP playback.

I paid that much, but back around 1980, for my Thorens/SME/Shure system that's worked great for decades, and the system I used to copy all my LPs to digital.  But I needed a way to play 78s so I looked for a reasonably priced supplemental system.

My budget favorite these days is the Audio-Technical A-T 120.  I choose this system because it also plays 78s, and I had some I wanted to digitize.  Unfortunately (although many people want all this) it comes with a built in preamp, a USB digital converter, and now Bluetooth.  I immediately pulled all this stuff out of the turntable so I could use my own preamp.  I also upgraded the cartridge to the A-T 540 ($250) and bought an extra shell for a Shure 78 cartridge.  

For a phono preamp, I use a Hagerman Bugle + power supply bought as a kit.  Current models are fully assembled, but still price under $500.  And they work great!.

I think this gear, or similar, is all you need for audiophile vinyl playback.

Holy War #1. Digital vs Vinyl

Some thoughts about digital vs vinyl.  God knows I enjoy holding an LP cover in my hands while listening to music, checking out the album art, reading the recording info on the back.  With digital downloads one is lucky to get even a small reproduction of the front cover art (SACDs do give full reproductions of the LP info, so one has something to hold on to).  Digital downloads also fail, in most cases, to provide info on the derivation of the files...  upsampling from CDs?  remastering from the original master tapes if a reissue?   If from a studio digital recording, is the download at the same resolution?

Digital downloads from small recording companies often provide this info.  DSD256 recordings are the current rage, with other digital formats derived from this recording resolution.  And small companies do provide a pdf of "album notes" and cover art.

New recordings are now often released on vinyl.  And there are many reissues now available on new vinyl.  However, most new recordings are originally digital.  And LP reissues are often from master tapes (or safety tapes) transferred first to digital, then remastered for vinyl release.  But where are releases from those digital masters?  I want those...  I don't want digital masters on vinyl.  Seems like the vinyl release is just a filter, a further generation from the original.  

Maybe people prefer the sound of vinyl, even if from a digital master.  Fine, personal preference... but the vinyl is a bump down, and really an analog filter, from the digital master.  

And both formats have other issues.  Even with $100K (and higher!) vinyl playback system, it's still friction, a hoe through a furrow (OK, a bit of an extreme metaphor).  Eventually noise, clicks and pops, are unavoidable.

But then with digital files, the music is endlessly manipulatable.  The loudness wars of the last 20 years are an example of that.  Music overly compressed, no air (dynamic range)  and almost unlistenable (the ears revolt).  I have a number of plugins in my DAW that can do this manipulation.  Or make a recording sound like something from the 1930's...   Restraint is the most valuable quality of a digital mastering engineer.

I suspect I'll have more to say, or say it differently, in future posts.