Discrete Flat/Transparent Doa - Opamp any diy about?

[abbey road d enfer]

The marketing department says that because it resonates with the phoolish consumers.

Which is 99.9% of their customer base.

They take little notice of modern digital CODECs running from low singe digit DC power supplies, delivering SOTA dynamic range.

5V is for sissies!

 

[hakanai]

My comment wasn't meant to envoke any clichés or undermine the value of a good signal chain. That's why I specified my imaginary "anti-social toob hound". Meaning, even an unreasonable character such as him would admit that an SSL is a professional piece of equipment, despite its IC composition. And I chose SSL in that quip because they are an impressive display of what is possible with the technology. Both in terms of sonics and functionality. In terms of functionality, I think there is a good argument to be made they are a class leader.

You said you had some modern gear in your studio. Did you not like it? What did you not like? If anything. I was actually going to come back to the thread and say that if you didn't like the idea of the THAT solutions I would consider a SSL preamp project.

Don

 

[JohnRoberts]

Faster horses, older whisky, more money, and higher voltage DOAs.  ;D ;D ;D

JR

 

[r2d2]

My comment wasn't meant to envoke any clichés or undermine the value of a good signal chain. That's why I specified my imaginary "anti-social toob hound". Meaning, even an unreasonable character such as him would admit that an SSL is a professional piece of equipment, despite its IC composition. And I chose SSL in that quip because they are an impressive display of what is possible with the technology. Both in terms of sonics and functionality. In terms of functionality, I think there is a good argument to be made they are a class leader.

You said you had some modern gear in your studio. Did you not like it? What did you not like? If anything. I was actually going to come back to the thread and say that if you didn't like the idea of the THAT solutions I would consider a SSL preamp project.

Don

ICs Yes , ICs not ,.... DOA yes ....,  DOA not .... etc...

the sound that my "humble" ears hear from the output of a manley massive passive Eq
(transformers,inductors,DOA ,tubes)

is very very  much much  better than any model of ssl eq
(100% ICs )

... ssl preamp diy project-kit ?
4K - 6K or 9K series ?
if the cost is "low" (max 50 euros x ch ? )
....can be a good idea for get a "pro entry level" preamp better than mackie & co. ... ?
... and probably more than single input preamp in small space ,
(input pot - output pot - 48v switch - phase reverse switch - mic/line or a 20db pad switch  in 4,5 x 3,5 cm space ? )
...good also for transport ...

peace
R.

ps
It's also true that the distributors
get too much money  only for move boxes
from the warehouse to the courier van ,
pushing up the prices a lot .

 

[Andy Peters]

However, for a designer who does not have the means or resources of having prototypes assembled industrially, SMD's are a challenge. Working with binoculars and hot-air is not my idea of fun. In comparison, working through-holes is a vacation.

I find through-hole to be a real pain in the ass to assemble. You need to put the board in your big panavise, and stuff all of the components, and bend the leads to make them stay in place when you flip the board over to solder it all in place. Then you need to snip the excess lead from the passives.

Instead, with QFPs and SOICs and 0805 passives, I just put a dab of solder on one pin, hold the part in place with tweezers, tack down the chip, and go. At this point, I'm faster at doing SMD assembly than through-hole.

And removing SMD parts is easier, too. No trying to suck solder out of a hole, especially when the hole is attached to a plane.

Just one person's experience, of course.

 

[JohnRoberts]

However, for a designer who does not have the means or resources of having prototypes assembled industrially, SMD's are a challenge. Working with binoculars and hot-air is not my idea of fun. In comparison, working through-holes is a vacation.

I find through-hole to be a real pain in the ass to assemble. You need to put the board in your big panavise, and stuff all of the components, and bend the leads to make them stay in place when you flip the board over to solder it all in place. Then you need to snip the excess lead from the passives.

Instead, with QFPs and SOICs and 0805 passives, I just put a dab of solder on one pin, hold the part in place with tweezers, tack down the chip, and go. At this point, I'm faster at doing SMD assembly than through-hole.

And removing SMD parts is easier, too. No trying to suck solder out of a hole, especially when the hole is attached to a plane.

Just one person's experience, of course.

I definitely prefer the hot air station work this time of the year more than summer.  8)

I just turned off my hot air station after a session of rework (swapping a red and green 0805 LED with each other).  It takes good magnifying glasses, steady hands, and experience helps.

I'll let Andy solder any BGAs I need.  ;D

Think of all the scrap and waste from TH technology that SMD eliminates. Think of all the holes that no longer must be drilled.

While I was still working at Peavey over a decade ago, we mixed SMD with single sided TH PCBs and were able to squeeze a lot of mixer into small packages inexpensively.

Given a blank sheet of paper for a new design I can't imagine using TH for anything but large massive components (pots, jacks, etc. ).

I also can't imagine designing a discrete circuit for anything I can buy off the shelf. The last time I designed a DOA was back in the '80s when we didn't have the modern generation of very quiet (very good) opamps. These days my discrete efforts are mostly glue to hold up a power supply while I wait for a microprocessor to wake up, etc.

JR

 

[Samuel Groner]

Checked many pages about Doa-opamp, but seem each doa have a "personal" sound "color".

Somebody know a Doa-opamp (no IC) that is much "transparent" as possible?

The SGA-HVA-1 which you'll find on my webpage (www.sg-acoustics.ch/analogue_audio/discrete_opamps/index.html) is surely a very transparent design (also if run on conventional +-15 V rails), with lower distortion than any currently available monolithic opamp.

Samuel

 

[JohnRoberts]

Yup, Sam's HVA looks reminiscent of the Jensen opamp with inductor in the input LTP.

That is something hard to do inside an IC (AFAIK).

JR