For those intereseted in do-it-yourself Neve preamps...

  • Thread starter Thread starter tubedude
  • Start date Start date
Layout, etc.

Dan's quite right that layout can have an effect on the sound of a preamp. Quantifying the effect that layout has on circuit behavior is a hard problem, however, and translating those effects into subjective listening terms is even harder. CAD software now exists that can help with the first part of this problem, but I don't know of any way to approach the second part except for building the thing and listening to it. I've been laying out boards for audio projects since I was a kid, and I've done a bunch of low-noise, high-precision data acquisition boards for industrial applications, so I've tried to apply what I've learned to the N72 layout. Directly copying the layout of a BA183/283 module seemed a bit pointless to me, since it's just about impossible nowadays to obtain components that are dimensionally equivalent to those Neve used 30 years ago.

The Sowter transformers should work fine with the N72 board, but you might have to do a bit of work to mount them. If you decide to try the kit, and can afford to, why not get a set of Sowter xformers as well and tell us all what the audible differences are, if any? Sowter is much more friendly to one-off orders than Carnhill, BTW.

I'll have to check out Alberta Printed Circuits. I've been using ECD lately. They're convenient and fast, but kinda pricey.
 
Check out Advanced Circuits in Colorado too. Another good, quick and cheap place.

High speed data acquisition should lend a lot of insight to audio, it has all the problems, and none of the psychoaccoustic effects that let us ignore little things like hum and noise. The A-D's just show it up, then you got to fix it anyway.

I've learned a lot about clean audio by trying to make strain gauge pressure transducers work. Same thing with capacitive gas sensors.

Ultimately they all look like mic pre's. Sorta.
 
I might add that at Tims website there is a little message board that has some more info on issue surrounding the assembly of the preamp.

Id build on if I had the time to track everything down to assemble it. Plus my wife would freak if she saw me paying 2 to 3 hundred dollars for something I still have to put together :p... What kinda funky puzzle is that honey? You paid What!! #@*&$^#%


Peace,
Dennis
 
$1000?

You can get going for a measley $380. If you guys want to get together, buy 8 kits, and build them more-or-less simultaneously as Tubedude suggests, then it's only $331.25 per kit. Plus the enclosure and power supply, of course. Figure another $150 for that, depending on how big and/or fancy you want to make it.
 
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