Projekt box 70 x 300 x320
2 x UTS + 2 Tx
2 x Tesla ECC88
4 x feet
6 x silver RCA
steel box transformer shield
power switch japanese
teflon connection wire
MUMetal Cinemag Stepup Transformer
Silk LCR600
MC/MM switch 12 terminal Japanese
2 x 0.68uf polystyrene
2 x 680r 1w tantalum
30um MuMetal Shielding for LCR
2 copper tube shields

The above (minus the Cinemag)is what will go into The Vinyl Song LCR phono. Not to mention the labour to prepare the parts

We will offer this for the stupefyingly low price of $999USD for the kit. This DOES NOT INCLUDE the highly recommended Cinemag stepups. Add $150USD for the stepups.
+ shipping of your choice.

The LCR600/UTS sandwich sounds great.

It took a bit of time but we've landed on this as the final layout for lowest noise:
LCR modules need to standup and are wrapped in MUmetal. So we cut some holes into the base plate so the modules would have clearance to stand up.
All wiring kept to the right away from the power transformer box. Tube shields used.

This gives us very low noise (scope jumps between 0.1mv and 0.3mv).
We will soon do a listening session with the original Cole LCR600 compared to this one as there are significant differences.
This is also the most RIAA compliant EQ we ever seen among LCR phono stages.

Got me reaching for vinyl again.

Design:

• -True Inverted construction.
• Ceramic ball bearing sits at the same plane as the drive belt, giving perfect alignment and bearing stability.
• -Optimal lubrication. Oil feeder channels constantly push oil into the top section of the bearing for minimum rotational friction losses.
• Hollow spindle allows adding lubricant from the top

Materials:

• -nylon bearing plate at the top of the bearing case
• -ceramic ball
• -non-magnetic spindle
• -non-magnetic phosphor bronze bearing case, nickel plating
• the materials were chosen for their mechanical and tonal characteristics.
 read more »
• brian's blog

We have them now. This makes life a whole lot easier as drilling 36 holes without a spoiler ain't easy (experience speaking here).

Comes with 4 gold plated mounting bolts and could be easily mounted to the side panels of your choice. Or just buy a Projekt box, in which case it bolts in place.

The happy couple:
UTS (Universal Tube Stage)
+
UVC (Ultimate Volume Control)

Their happy home:
240mm Projekt Bungalow

The marriage proceedings couldn't have worked out better and one would wish all weddings were like this one.

Yes it's still the honemoon but this one promises to go the distance. This couple were truly made for each other.

I usually cry at weddings but this one makes me smile.

Hot wired an LDR module onto the front end of UTS linestage. It's the top centre module. LDR uses attenuated light to control a light sensitive potentiometer. One problem is they are a limited in the level of attenuation so we've implemented relay to mute output when completely turned down. These are matched to 0.5db with 4 pcs LDR for stereo channels.

They need 5-6vdc to power the module and an external pot to control the illumination level.

One module + pot +5vDC can be used in place of a typical potentiometer.

Will report more as we go.

Have a good weekend.

10k LCR - that was fun.

Today we installed the 600ohm LCR modules. Just remove the RC RIAA and drop in the modules. This takes advantage of the very low output impedance of the Universal Tube Stage (UTS) (50-100ohms). Adding a series resistor to the input side to bring the load that the first stage sees up to 600ohms allows us to direct couple. So...exchange one 2.2uf capacitor for one series resistor. Make it a good one.

On the output side we need a decoupling capacitor - ~0.47uf in value. Again quality matters in this position so best use the best - teflon, polystyrene, silver - because you can hear the quality in this position. It won't be wasted. We used polystyrene.

EZ is as EZ does..

The ultimate RIAA EQ solution is an 'LCR'. Unlike cap/resistor networks, it puts nothing in the signal path except high quality chokes. The caps and resistors are to ground so they are mostly out the way. The result is a bigger soundfield, and more dynamic contrast and transparency.

BUT, not so easy to implement as stages around the LCR need to be impedance friendly and layout is critical, noise becomes the problem. An LCR phono stage is one of the more difficult DIY projects.

As explained in a previous blog, two UTS modules set for high gain, in series, with an RIAA network in between makes a dead quiet 36db gain phono stage. (UTS >> RC RIAA >> UTS = 36db phono stage).

We are spinning vinyl again. Didn't have time to really do the setup since we moved in April but its needed for the work we are doing with the UTS phono system. Also we have a sample of our turntable bearing and the setup gives us a chance to test it.

The Cinemag step up transformers have gotten good comments wherever they turn up. They are the real deal: Mumetal, Faraday Shield, 18 or 36:1 and measured bandwidth up there with the exotics. They are compact and easy to mount. Their small size means means smaller core and more winding thus copper losses. But they are well-engineered and must be the best value step-up transformers around.

I want to draw attention to the centre-piece of the EZ Linestage: the UTS (Universal Tube Stage) module.

It was designed as an EZ add-on output stage for a CD/DVD, allowing the removal of the most serious limitation in modern players: the opamps. The trick is to accomplish this without using a cathode follower or buffer, which has its own liabilities. The UTS output is taken from the anode; much of its good sound is attributable to allowing the anode to play its natural role

Coincidentally, the 0.5v > 2V gain needed by a CD player outputs suggests its application in a modern linestage - ergo the EZ linestage.

However if we series a pair of UTS and set the jumpers to highest gain we now have a state-of-the-art quiet phono stage, just needing a simple RIAA network in between.