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MDAC First Listen (Part 00101010)

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Paul,

I tend to find larger box speakers (especially those with multiple drivers) tend to image poorly - unable to recreate a wide sound stage.

Some smaller box speakers can do a fine job - Apart from the advantage of being Dipole's, ESL also lack a crossover - especially in the critical mid-band region.

I'm not sure what amplifiers you have, but the 8200MB's are really poor at recreating a sound stage - it will be interesting to compare them to modified pairs.

One area that the Toy / Fusion MDAC improved was the L / R sound stage - but I had to compromise the ultimate performance due to other factors (Which really broke my heart).

The FDAC with the MOSFET's input stage will be a totally different beast! :)

The problem with recreating a "wide" L/R soundstage is that every component in the system must perform otherwise the information is lost.
 
John, with VFET and FDAC being 430 wide , how much clearance to the side would you recommend. And likewise with the height being approx 150 plus feet how much clearance above. I'm designing a low level AV cabinet with an open back and slatted front doors. Just working out how big it needs to be to house 2 VFETS , 3 8200mb's , 6 channel power amp , AV processor and lots of AV guff.

Cheers
 
PhilCTTE said:
John, with VFET and FDAC being 430 wide , how much clearance to the side would you recommend. And likewise with the height being approx 150 plus feet how much clearance above. I'm designing a low level AV cabinet with an open back and slatted front doors. Just working out how big it needs to be to house 2 VFETS , 3 8200mb's , 6 channel power amp , AV processor and lots of AV guff.

Cheers
Click to expand...

PhilCTTE,

I've always considered the VFET's positioned by the speakers - really you want the shortest cable to the speakers, then you can run a balanced signal cable to the rest of the system.

The heatsinks are 6.3Kg each (side) - I don't really seem them getting too hot - but you do want some free air around the sides.
 
Ok thanks John , as some manufacturers specify 10cm. And I'm struggling for space. The unit will be about 2m wide so I'm just partitioning up the various components. The unit will be placed center of the summits so 2m should be ok for speaker cable , and system will be fully balanced . I,m going atmos for AV and require 9 or 10 channels of amplification.
I'm sourcing Martin Logan speakers . Trying out the Electromotion EFX wall mounted electrostats :) 8" EM R's for ceiling ...

I might not bother with a door for the vfet's :)
 
You will be able to select Temperature mode to be displayed on the VFET bargraph if you worry things might be getting to roasty... but I really can't see it - I'd worry much more it they where covered.
 
Hubert481 said:
Hello John, is there any new estimation for MDAC2 finishline?
christmas 2015? Q3-2016, ???
Click to expand...

Not sure what question you are asking here.

There is no longer any MDAC2, the board which would have been built into the old box. This has been replaced by the FDAC which uses a new fullwidth box; is that what you mean? If not, maybe you need to check through a few more posts...
 
Hubert481 said:
Hello John, is there any new estimation for MDAC2 finishline?
christmas 2015? Q3-2016, ???
Click to expand...

Hubert,

Around Christmas this year we will have the first units with Analogue PCB and Chassis built.

The plan is to split the "at cost Payments" into 3 sages:-

1. Analogue PCB

2. Full width Chassis, PSU, Display & packaging etc.

3 Digital PCB + shipping

At Christmas it is also planned to have a prototype Digital PCB to allow listening and testing of the units as they are built - once the first 2 stages are complete the digital PCB can be dropped in and the units shipped.

The digital PCB requires about 2-3 months from start of design to production. I'd only like to say that we target the production of the Analogue PCB / Chassis by Christmas - and lets see how far the Digital PCB has progressed at that time.

I'm considering wither to ship the FDAC's for the European / UK market as soon as stages 1 & 2 are completed, then install and test the Digital PCB's here in Czech to reduce the delay, but I need to give consideration to handling and storage etc.

Stages 1 & 2 are the most complex and construction of the chassis is time consuming and labour intensive so for me the completion of these first two stages is a major milestone.

I'm very sorry for the delay, but much is in progress at the moment - especially with arrangements for production etc.
 
seems rude not to enquire about VFET schedule while we're on the subject to keep the info all together for us "Westies"
 
StephenB,

The VFET and FDAC chassis will be manufactured in parallel - I'll start on the VFET prototype PCB as soon as the chassis are complete - I'm looking for someone who can work with me on the PCB design to shorten the development time.

Maybe by next work I'll convert a pair of 8200MB's with the Tube stage to confirm Tube noise and distortion (although the distortion results are not so important as the VFET are a very different design).

If the 8200MB's Tube noise is considered too high then I'll have to parallel tubes in the VFET's (I might parallel two tubes anyway to increase the life span).

I just want to get the Detox released ASAP so that at least we have one project heading towards production - I need to the ball rolling and "infrastructure" in place, the Detox is a simpler project and a great place to start.
 
Hi John, is the MIMP and MAMP still in the pipeline?

If yes, will they still be MDAC sized or full size like the FDAC?
 
cstanpfm said:
Hi John, is the MIMP and MAMP still in the pipeline?
Click to expand...

At this time no, our only project in consideration are the following:-

Detox

Limited number of Modified 8200MB's (dependent upon sonic results)

FDAC

VFET

Once these designs are completed and shipped, I'm not sure what my future plans will be - I'll just follow an "organic" path... :)

Unless the amplifier was a ClassD design and / or used a switching PSU then its near impossible to design a "worthy" power amplifier in MDAC's small footprint.
 
Hi John,

So currently are we aiming for a March/April delivery of the FDAC and VFETS or later ?
I understand this can change..

Best regards,
Ricardo

JohnW said:
Hubert,

Around Christmas this year we will have the first units with Analogue PCB and Chassis built.

The plan is to split the "at cost Payments" into 3 sages:-

1. Analogue PCB

2. Full width Chassis, PSU, Display & packaging etc.

3 Digital PCB + shipping

At Christmas it is also planned to have a prototype Digital PCB to allow listening and testing of the units as they are built - once the first 2 stages are complete the digital PCB can be dropped in and the units shipped.

The digital PCB requires about 2-3 months from start of design to production. I'd only like to say that we target the production of the Analogue PCB / Chassis by Christmas - and lets see how far the Digital PCB has progressed at that time.

I'm considering wither to ship the FDAC's for the European / UK market as soon as stages 1 & 2 are completed, then install and test the Digital PCB's here in Czech to reduce the delay, but I need to give consideration to handling and storage etc.

Stages 1 & 2 are the most complex and construction of the chassis is time consuming and labour intensive so for me the completion of these first two stages is a major milestone.

I'm very sorry for the delay, but much is in progress at the moment - especially with arrangements for production etc.
Click to expand...
 
Rjpcardoso,

The first units (prototype etc.) will start coming on-line line around Christmas, so by the time everything has been debugged, manufactured, tested and shipped your timeline looks reasonable - I worry abort the impact of the Chinese new year in February as its about smack in the middle of production / shipping etc. if nothing else its going to be a very busy time.
 
JohnW said:
The plan is to split the "at cost Payments" into 3 sages:-

1. Analogue PCB

2. Full width Chassis, PSU, Display & packaging etc.

3 Digital PCB + shipping
Click to expand...

John, any idea what the length of time between these three payments will be? Difficult question to answer I know. I won't ask about the cost of the individual payments, as I expect it will depend on what options each individual selects for their unit(s).
 
Steve,

The first two payments will be quite close together as the Analogue PCB and Chassis will be manufactured concurrently, and the 3rd about 2-3 months later once I release the digital PCB to production.
 
Stages 1 & 3 combined (I don't have the exact split at the moment):-

L2 £300 to £400 + Shipping

L3 £350 to £450 + Shipping

Stage 2 (FWC, PSU & Front panel) about £280

I'll try to spread the Stage 1 & 2 payments as much as I can - and possibly 50% up front and 50% when completed if it helps (depending on the OEM manufacturers terms).
 
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