Avondale ASR Z Shunt PSU

[laverda]

On the back of the earlier AA FWB2 thread.

Ive just installed one of these in place of Naim reg in a HiCap. It powering a NAC102. (The switching has its own PSU).

It's the best PSU for the NAC Naim range of pre amps and probably any other product that uses 24vdc Ive ever heard or that I can remember.

My NAC102 has been under the soldering iron with some Gyrators added on all the circuits. Ive yet to implement the Mr Tibbs earthing mod on this one yet.

I'm amazed at just how good this 102 now sounds, clarity, 3d imaging and transparency, notes just hang in the air. Brilliant.

 

[martin clark]

Yep, the 102 can be all that.

I did sim for my bro and a close friend over a decade ago; and in both cases, far 'better in the hierarchy' NAC & PSUs went out the door, pronto.

..it's really simple stuff...

 

[Gervais Cote]

Avondale products are always amazingly good.
On the 102, are the mods you did was to add all those little boards and if yes, what brand are they, if I may ask, of course ?

 

[Dan K]

PSU module does look interesting.

 

[laverda]

Avondale products are always amazingly good.
On the 102, are the mods you did was to add all those little boards and if yes, what brand are they, if I may ask, of course ?

 

[martin clark]

I wouldn't waste my time on a 102, there are likely 100's of pre amps that are much better.

1. I don't disagree, yet..
2. It's just so very easy to take this comparatively-unloved lump of Classic Olive Naim era, and deliver the very-best that architecture can - which can be excellent - for bobbins.

What you end -up with, is a very flexible, multiple--input, remote control pre-amp that will drive /anything/ ... for not very much.

Don't let the idea of 'better' be the enemy of '... really enjoyable'

 

[Gervais Cote]

Here you go ! How come did I ask that question ? Thanks for the info.

 

[OzBrit Audio]

I notice those gyrators have more than one semiconductor device, a bit more than a single transistor cap multiplier.

What's in front of the transistor cap multiplier?

 

[martin clark]

..likely configured as 'Darlington' as a minimum; or - well-damped Sziklai topology, FTW.

The latter is what I would do/no: have long done , for this kind of thing .

[and - just TBC -I have zero insight, into what Avondale are actually doing here beyond my own ..thoughts; & all power to 'em.]

 

[OzBrit Audio]

..likely configured as 'Darlington' as a minimum; or - well-damped Sziklai topology, FTW.

The latter is what I would do/no: have long done , for this kind of thing .

[and - just TBC -I have zero insight, into what Avondale are actually doing here beyond my own ..thoughts; & all power to 'em.]

Martin

So are you a fan of using gyrators in the Naim pre amps. Would you recommend for my NAC 42.5 (when I finally get round to putting it in service)?

I intend to get the Avondale shunt supply board but wondering if it's worthwhile filtering the power supply lines as well?

 

[snowlets]

I'm curious, is this an electronic filter?

 

[chris shorter]

@laverda It would be great if we could have a picture of your installation Avondale ASR Z Shunt PSU in to a HiCap. I'm thinking about doing this myself.​

Many thanks

Chris

 

[laverda]

@laverda It would be great if we could have a picture of your installation Avondale ASR Z Shunt PSU in to a HiCap. I'm thinking about doing this myself.​

Many thanks

Chris

Thinking about it? think no more Chris, do it, it's a no brainer.

 

[chris shorter]

@laverda I'm curious about how best to route all the ground cables and "a picture is worth as 1000 words" as they say!

 

[laverda]

@laverda I'm curious about how best to route all the ground cables and "a picture is worth as 1000 words" as they say!

OK, HTH

 

[chris shorter]

@laverda Thanks, it's interesting to see what you've done. I'm planning to keep the original Naim transformer and the output sockets.

Chris

 

[martin clark]

Martin

So are you a fan of using gyrators in the Naim pre amps. Would you recommend for my NAC 42.5 (when I finally get round to putting it in service)?

I intend to get the Avondale shunt supply board but wondering if it's worthwhile filtering the power supply lines as well?

Sorry @OzBrit Audio - I missed this earlier.

I've done similar, one 102 with simple gyrators in principle supply rails, one with simply C-R-C, both owners enjoyed the outcome. There were a few other simple things done identically to both also. For myself - while I've long-owned a Nait 2, I don't use a Naim system; only my long-suffering CD2, which is in daily use.
- So I'm happy to just vicariously-enjoy the adventures of others, here : )

For more on these simple low-pass filters - that is all a 'gyrator' is, it is an RC filter with an added pass device to lower it's output impedance to useful levels - see this parallel and current thread, here:

How much capacitance?

I was going to use an existing HackerCap to power the input stage on an Avondale NCC300 (Voyager config). I just realized that the capacitors in the HackerCap are rated at only 63VDC, so I need to do something different. Additionally, the caps in this module are 10,000 µF, so 60,000 µF total...

pinkfishmedia.net

 

[laverda]

@laverda Thanks, it's interesting to see what you've done. I'm planning to keep the original Naim transformer and the output sockets.

Chris

I did try a 500VA toroidal transformer but preferred the EI open frame as seen in the image above..

 

[Jo Sharp]

On the back of the earlier AA FWB2 thread.

Ive just installed one of these in place of Naim reg in a HiCap. It powering a NAC102. (The switching has its own PSU).

It's the best PSU for the NAC Naim range of pre amps and probably any other product that uses 24vdc Ive ever heard or that I can remember.

My NAC102 has been under the soldering iron with some Gyrators added on all the circuits. Ive yet to implement the Mr Tibbs earthing mod on this one yet.

I'm amazed at just how good this 102 now sounds, clarity, 3d imaging and transparency, notes just hang in the air. Brilliant.

Looks neat as always. Did you change the filter circuits to copy the r/c values in the 82 pre? When I 6-railed my 102 with Andy Weekes' regs the filter mod helped.

 

[laverda]

Looks neat as always. Did you change the filter circuits to copy the r/c values in the 82 pre? When I 6-railed my 102 with Andy Weekes' regs the filter mod helped.

Not yet Jo but it might make it too, the to do list.