Looking for a Cloudlifter Type Thing

[Ricardus]

Who has a nice kit for a cloudlifter type circuit? I'm needing to build a pair.

 

[boji]

CAPI got some Mogaine stuff, not in kit form however.

http://capi-gear.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=187

Don't look too much less than cloud, so not much help. :/

 

[Ricardus]

I remember seeing something a few months ago, possibly from Germany, but I didn't bookmark it.

 

[Ricardus]

Someone on Facebook actually reminded me of the company that made the product I was thinking of. Bumblebee pro audio. Has anybody used this?

http://www.bumblebeepro.com/shop/bb-p26-ribbon-mic-booster-diy-kit/

 

[clintrubber]

Not a kit, but the circuit in this thread is good & simple enough to breadboard:

https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=5743.0

(FWIW, circuit from that thread possibly the source for some of the various products/kits out there)

 

[Ricardus]

Not a kit, but the circuit in this thread is good & simple enough to breadboard:

https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=5743.0

(FWIW, circuit from that thread possibly the source for some of the various products/kits out there)

All I found there was a bunch of broken links, and then I gave up.

 

[clintrubber]

All I found there was a bunch of broken links, and then I gave up.

I don't have the circuit available here right now, but asking in that thread for a re-post might give results,
as quite some people have followed, or are still following that thread. It's a straightforward phantom powered diff-pair based cicuit.

 

[Youngwhisk]

Wayback machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20060207191442/http://sound.westhost.com/project93.htm

 

[clintrubber]

Wayback machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20060207191442/http://sound.westhost.com/project93.htm

That's another nice circuit, more suited for electrets.

The meant circuit is balanced in, balanced out.

 

[Ricardus]

The kit from Bumblebee in USD comes out to $167 before freight. CAPI sells the assembled Mogaine for $159 so buying the Bumblebee is almost stupid.

Still haven't found exactly which circuit in that thread is supposed to be the one.

 

[clintrubber]

The kit from Bumblebee in USD comes out to $167 before freight. CAPI sells the assembled Mogaine for $159 so buying the Bumblebee is almost stupid.

It's GroupDIY here, so I'd say from that point of view _both_ qualify for that qualification. (It's just a few EU in parts, excl. enclosure)

(Other aspects like for instance quick availability & having to run a studio might make a change to that)

Still haven't found exactly which circuit in that thread is supposed to be the one.

Still haven't found the time to properly present you the relevant circuit in that thread.

 

[Gus]

Look at the following links. Reading the complete threads should be interesting

page 5 and 10
https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=5743.80

https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=22301.0

 

[abbey road d enfer]

You may want to check the micbuilders Yahoo group.
Ricardo (who's also a member here) suggested a very simple two transistor in-line pre-pre? Member Zephyrmic built it and published comments. PRR also made a similar suggestion based on FET's.
Most of these designs exhibit a gain that's variable as a function of their load. SE electronics recently issued one item that does not change gain.

 

[clintrubber]

FWIW...
Curiosity to the active part of the Royer R-122 was the trigger to start that Active Ribbon thread back then
( https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=5743.msg68460#msg68460 ) and an elegant & simple 2-semiconductor circuit  emerged.

Fairly recently the Royer dBooster came to the market and as it appeared it's actually a bit more busy inside (see pic),
which doesn't necessarily mean it's alike what was used in their R-122.

 

[Ricardus]

As popular and useful as these things are, I'm surprised no one's taken whatever circuit you're talking about and produced a sellable PCB for it.

 

[clintrubber]

This DIY-forum has (or at least had) the 'unwritten rule' that below a certain number of components you don't start looking for a dedicated PCB but simply slam it onto Veroboard. 

So that might perhaps explain why nobody offers a ready-made PCB, but PCBs exist for all kinds of reasons, so it might happen or alhave has happened. (If someone does offer one, hope the price is fair, in respect to the info from the mentioned thread.) Possibly it triggers the next question that same people then also want to buy one of those barrel-XLR enclosures though and that's a path most PCB-sellers don't go.

If you insist on an etched PCB you could consider to re-purpose say a DOA-PCB and just populate the first diff pair and use some of the other many remaining open holes for the passives.

The intended circuit: see first link Gus posted here above.

 

[PRR]

Sanken Microphone has a product:
http://www.sanken-mic.com/en/product/product.cfm/4.1005600

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Making a PCB for a barrel version would imply SMD and serious real estate limitations.
There is an alternative.
https://www.neutrik.com/en/product/na-housing
In conjunction with
https://www.neutrik.com/en/product/nm3fd-b
and
https://www.neutrik.com/en/product/nm3fd-b
Available PCB real estate 65x29mm (2.56x1.15")
I'll receive samples soon.

 

[clintrubber]

There's also this barrel version (by Triton here in The Netherlands):

https://www.tritonaudio.com/fethead.html

but it's in fact some kind of enlarged barrel.
They kindly send me some rejects of of this enclosure type long ago, these would fit non-SMD, but just slightly.

That Neutrik type is sure more DIY-friendly.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

There's also this barrel version (by Triton here in The Netherlands):

https://www.tritonaudio.com/fethead.html

I have one of those. I made measurements and was quite surprised that they didn't conform to the common behaviour of FET circuitry; typically the current noise seemed to be quite significant, so noise performance was not that great with high-ish source impedance. I noticed that because I tried to use it as a palliative for a ribbon mic which impedance measures at 2.5 kilohms. Although it solved the issue of HF roll-off with medium length cables (ca. 20meter), there was noise in the mid-low frequency range. When I mentioned that I got a fiery answer from them; who was I to question them? They gave no explanation, just dismissed me as a tosser.
I believe it's still somewhere in this group.