Pass B1

3 Way Bookshelf Speakers
Finally undertook a marathon session to complete all kits that I had ordered till now. All kits worked perfectly in the first go (Pass B1, SSP, Lightspeed LDR volume Control, and Mauro Penasa kit). I have soldered flimsy RCA sockets vertically on the B1 and SSP board for the time being (until my gold plated RCA sockets ordered on ebay arrives).

Thanking Sachin, Om and linuxguru for the designs.

Will house the B1 in the wonderful cabinet designed by FM bibin.
 

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sachu888 said:
Congratulations,how does it sound?

Regards,
Sachin
Click to expand...

The B1 is super. The SSP also sounds great except that I feel that it colors the sound a bit (in a good way).

Where would the best place to add the SSP - before the B1 or after the B1?

I will need another B1 kit. So please add my name in the new group buy that you are starting.
 
mbhangui said:
The B1 is super. The SSP also sounds great except that I feel that it colors the sound a bit (in a good way).

Where would the best place to add the SSP - before the B1 or after the B1?

I will need another B1 kit. So please add my name in the new group buy that you are starting.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Adding an active pramp like SSP before buffer(B1) would be better.I have added your name for next B1 waiting for few more members to participate.

Regards,
Sachin
 
mbhangui said:
The B1 is super. The SSP also sounds great except that I feel that it colors the sound a bit (in a good way).

Where would the best place to add the SSP - before the B1 or after the B1?

I will need another B1 kit. So please add my name in the new group buy that you are starting.
Click to expand...
Hi Manavendra, congratulations!

If you are using SSP then place it before B1. For SSP try AD823 or twin LME49990. Both are transparant and revealing. Some FM found it less in LF. I liked both, I can loan you both for the rolling experiment.

BTW what did you do for toggle switch in B1? I can RCA are hard wired to PCB.
 
omishra said:
Hi Manavendra, congratulations!

If you are using SSP then place it before B1. For SSP try AD823 or twin LME49990. Both are transparant and revealing. Some FM found it less in LF. I liked both, I can loan you both for the rolling experiment.

BTW what did you do for toggle switch in B1? I can RCA are hard wired to PCB.
Click to expand...

I have shorted the L1, R1 inputs to the selector position on the board itself. So L2, R2 on my board has been made redundant. My plan is to have a rotary two pole 4 way selector switch before the SSP and one sliding DPDT switch to bypass the SSP as an option.
 
captrajesh said:
Manvendraji, are you driving the Aristas with this setup or do you have some other speakers too? How do the pre-power combo compare with the VA1?
Click to expand...

Currently I have connected to my Yamaha AVR connected to Polk RtiA9. The sound is much better.

Tomorrow I will be connecting this to the VA1 which is connected to Arista. Usually I listen to Arista only with scotch :cheers:. Even though I have the lifetime permit from the Maharashtra Govt, I have only Fri, Sat and Sun as the permit day as per the chief justice of the house :mad:

I will post my impression soon.
 
mbhangui said:
Currently I have connected to my Yamaha AVR connected to Polk RtiA9. The sound is much better.

Tomorrow I will be connecting this to the VA1 which is connected to Arista. Usually I listen to Arista only with scotch :cheers:. Even though I have the lifetime permit from the Maharashtra Govt, I have only Fri, Sat and Sun as the permit day as per the chief justice of the house :mad:

I will post my impression soon.
Click to expand...

:ohyeah::lol::p:D

Will await till then :D Hopefully you will enjoy the drink & the music (music via the B1 & allied gears that is :ohyeah:)
 
captrajesh said:
Manvendraji, are you driving the Aristas with this setup or do you have some other speakers too? How do the pre-power combo compare with the VA1?
Click to expand...

Both SSP and Pass B1 are highly recommended if you have a system like VA1 paired to Arista speakers (I guess the same will hold true for members who are not happy with their Acoustic Portrait setup). I was not that happy with my VA1 system. After putting the Pass B1 in between the source and VA1, there is a tremendous impact on the soundstage. I guess that either there was an impedance mismatch between the various sources and VA1 or the output of the source was not able to drive the VA1. Pass B1 is absolutely neutral. Putting the SSP in the chain accentuates the low/mid frequency more than the other frequencies. The SSP makes even the oldies sound good. I would highly recommend both the SSP and the Pass B1. I am thinking of putting a DPDT switch to bypass the SSP in some situation as some songs you may not want to accentuate the bass. Maybe I need to try other opamps on the SSP board for a more neutral signature. However many may actually like the default SSP sound signature.

For bright speakers like Polk RtiA9, the SSP lowers the brightness by improving the lower frequencies.

I would highly recommend the SSP, Pass B1 and the Power Supply Kit (using 9v batteries are a PITA). The pass B1 looks like a one stop solution to match your source to your amplifier.

I have managed to make the pass B1, Power Supply and the lightspeed volume control completely detachable with help of various connectors available in the market. The SSP however requires all wires to be soldered with no provision to accept standard detachable connectors.


Anyone in Pune who needs help in assembling the excellent kits provided by FM Sachin, Omishra, you can count on my help for soldering and making the proper connections.
 

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"After putting the Pass B1 in between the source and VA1, there is a tremendous impact on the soundstage."

Never had this possibility in mind. Now that I will have my Pass B1 built would love to try this. Thanks for bringing this up!

P.S: I love the tube sound of my setup :) Would love to hear the VA1 sound have heard the Aristas but not paired with VA1. Would love to drop by your place sometime :)
 
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rohitmusic said:
"After putting the Pass B1 in between the source and VA1, there is a tremendous impact on the soundstage."

Never had this possibility in mind. Now that I will have my Pass B1 built would love to try this. Thanks for bringing this up!

P.S: I love the tube sound of my setup :) Would love to hear the VA1 sound have heard the Aristas but not paired with VA1. Would love to drop by your place sometime :)
Click to expand...

Rohit, you are welcome to drop in anytime. I am sure, the pass B1 will will do wonders to the AP. I have heard the AP at Chennai as well as the Pune HiFi meet. However at Chennai meet, the AP combo I heard was one of the best I have heard till date.
 
murali_n said:
Hi Mr.Bhangui,

Congrats on your build. BTW What OPAMP are you using in the SSP?

N.Murali
Click to expand...

Murali, it is OPA 2134 PA. It works quite well for my Yamaha + Polk RtiA9 speakers (which are quite bright). With the VA1 + Arista combination, I felt that if the bass is reduced, it would be good.
 
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