Batery powered DIY CNC phono stage

[sachu888]

Did some more searching based on your lead sachu, seems this guy Hagerman has also made aBugle 2 which he claims to be better. Wonder what would be the price of that and do you think the CNC will be compararable to that?

Buggle is a good design.Buggle 2 Phono is advance version of original Buggle(almost same but with a plastic case).Buggle 2 kit costs $189 +shipping.CNC and Buggle both are nice designs and can be easily improved/modified by using different opamps to suit individual requirement/taste.CNC should perform at par if not better than Buggle.I have listened to many entry level commercial phonostages and inbuilt phonostages,CNC is clear winner.

Regards,
Sachin

 

[bhaskarcan]

...................Wonder what would be the price of that and do you think the CNC will be compararable to that?

@Saikat: CNC phono-stage is an outstanding performer even in it's basic configuration( i.e. without any expensive caps/resistors/opamps) and is cheap + very easy to build or get built. Their are many members here as well as in other forums who have built it and vouch for it's quality. You can get help/suggestion/advice available in this forum which may not be readily available if you go for a different model. IMHO get a CNC PS built and you have to look no further for a long time(I have built and use two of them hence have some on hand experience regarding this ).

Bhaskar

 

[haisaikat]

Re: Battery powered DIY CNC phono stage

Okay thanks guys. Brainwashed now for CNC but for good will wait for someone to volunteer in getting the same built for me.

 

[Tanoj]

IMHO get a CNC PS built and you have to look no further for a long time(I have built and use two of them hence have some on hand experience regarding this ).

i am one more Happy listener to the CNC phono of sachin ...

Yet to find something which sounds better than this .... cos this sounds so perfect ......

 

[nraghunadh]

Re: Battery powered DIY CNC phono stage

Okay thanks guys. Brainwashed now for CNC but for good will wait for someone to volunteer in getting the same built for me.

haisaikat,

CNC phono stage is very clean and affordable. If you use good OPAMPs (like LME49990) it will beat definitely other high end phono stages. I am also using CNC with B1 combination. Now I am going to build one more dedicated CNC. I have already finished 80% and waiting for Russian 2.2 uf caps and RIAA caps.
If you are ready i can build one more for you.
I am posting pics of my new CNC and Source selector
CNC Phono under construction.

Source Selector almost done.

Thanks,
Raghu

 

[haisaikat]

Thanks Raghu, sent you a PM

 

[Knightkat]

I'm sure this has been covered somewhere but I can't seem to find the info I need in any of the posts. Does anyone offer a CNC kit with pcb and all components, and how much? I'm looking to do this as a fairly beginner soldering project (I've done a tiny bit way back in high school but nothing over the last 15 years). I've got an old CEC STP69 turntable with an old shure cartridge (brand new in box). It's currently hooked up to a Yaqin 20L tube amp and Frugal Horn speakers but no phono stage.

Thanks n advance for any info,

Kris

 

[nraghunadh]

Does anyone offer a CNC kit with pcb and all components, and how much?
Kris

Kris,
You can contact Fellow Member "sachu888" for more details.
He can ship to your country with out any issues.

Thanks,
Raghu

 

[haisaikat]

Hi Raghu, where can I buy LME49990 opamps like you mentioned?

 

[murali_n]

Hi,

Try online there are so many websites, you may also need adapters available from ebay.com

N.Murali

 

[haisaikat]

Re: Battery powered DIY CNC phono stage

Hi All,
Need help. Not getting sound output from the cnc phono. Got it as all soldered on board and then went to a local tech shop to get the rca s fitted along with the cabinet. Which looks like below

To eliminate some possibilities here is what I did as below
1. Tried with each channel separately. No sound
2. Measured the voltage at the board wires where the power enters around 16 volt. Hhave a very basic multimeter
3. Tried with 2 different RCA cables in output. No sound and even no hum
4. Tried connecting the TT RCA outs directly to amp. Now there was sound but very feeble so TT out seems fine
5. Checked continuity at RCAs and there I found that in one channel of out RCAs the ground is not able to make connection however other channels on in and out side were fine
6. Observed that the electric guy had shorted the two grounds of each channel in input and output. Not sure if this is culprit.


Please suggest any other tests I can perform. I have a very basic multimeter at home.

 

[haisaikat]

wrong post

 

[sachu888]

Hi Saikat,
your battery connections are wrong.you need to connect +/- wires of battery connectors to 0 at pcb.Correct voltage should be near to +/-9v

Regards
Sachin

 

[haisaikat]

wrong post

 

[haisaikat]

it looks like you have not connected 0 Volts point from your battery.

Use below diagram to guide your power connection.

If you are not using DPDT switch, then + of left battery (red line) is +9V point, - of right battery is -9V point (sky blue line). The combined green and yellow line point is 0V (marked G) which is showing unconnected in your photo (unless you have connected from below).

The grounding wire from your turntable is ALSO TO BE CONNECTED TO the point G.

Can I refer to this?

 

[sachu888]

Can I refer to this?

Yes,this is perfect.

Regards,
Sachin

 

[bhaskarcan]

Yesterday did a comparison between CNC and Ray Samuels Nighthawk phono stage. CNC had OP Amp MC33078(best combo), Ad823, 2134, 072, 082 and 49990. Cart was At95e MM.

First impression: Nighthawk is an excellent Phono. Very clear, silent(runs on Li-ion battery), very nice sound stage, very balanced. But got surprised when we played the CNC. It held it's ground against the NH in almost every respect. And the difference, though audible, could easily be neglected if we consider the price factor. The only area where NH excelled drastically was reducing of surface noise. It did an extraordinary job discarding max surface noise and picking only music. Whereas with CNC, surface noise disturbance was obvious. But with various other opamp that could also be varied.

Overall verdict, persons who heard both the Phono for the first time agreed unanimously that if we consider the price factor then CNC is the clear winner.

Regards,
Bhaskar

 

[sachu888]

Night Hawk is an expensive and well praised Phonostage.Its good to know CNC was able to stand with NH.CNC may perform better with LME49990 opamps IMHO.

Regards,
Sachin

 

[haisaikat]

Yes,this is perfect.

Regards,
Sachin

Raghu called me and helped out with the same suggestions. I have submitted for rewiring to the shop along with fixing one of the grounds. However in the above quoted post of JLS although he has not shown in diagram yet he has stated that the TT Gnd should also be connected to the G terminal but in PCB there is a separate point on the other side marked for TT Gnd which is what I have used, hope that is fine?

 

[bhaskarcan]

Night Hawk is an expensive and well praised Phonostage.Its good to know CNC was able to stand with NH.CNC may perform better with LME49990 opamps IMHO.

Regards,
Sachin

We found LME49990 very bright for our taste. MC33078 was soothing and neutral. All depends on one's listening taste. Basically we were trying to get similar sound of NH by rolling opamps. 33078 came closest.

Regards,
Bhaskar