av98m 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 (edited) This ra-1 clone was built for me by our very own Firefox, following the original ra-1 values but uber maxed out with the following: Alps Black Beauty potentiometer Neutriks locking headphone jack Cardas rodium plated rca jacks Big fat aluminium knob Neutriks XLR jack Battery connecters terminating in a Neutriks XLR plug ..ok, there's something else but I can't remember what I officially christian it the RA-1PSLE (PSLE= Premium Super Limited Edition) Many thanks again to firefox for taking time out from his veery vveery busy schedule to put this nifty little amp together for me(he's still doing his NS). Enjoy the pics. Edited January 11, 2004 by av98m Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bwtay 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 Wow....not a bad job at all, how does it sound. Have you compared it to an actual RA-1? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Firefox 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 (edited) Full features: Cardas GRFA Rhodium-silver plated RCA jacks Alps Black Beauty Pot. Neutrik Locking Jack Neutrik XLR connections for power input Brushed aluminium knob Vishay Dale RN60D resistors 29ga, teflon insulated, 99.999% pure silver wire used throughout signal paths 24ga, teflon insulated, silver-plated copper wire for power Point to point soldered circuit All opamp & resistor leads filed to base metal for soldering Edited January 11, 2004 by Firefox Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N@Z 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 Very nice av98m/firefox. Caps so huge can hardly see the board! Any special reason for the XLR power plug/socket? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Firefox 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 Very nice av98m/firefox. Caps so huge can hardly see the board! Any special reason for the XLR power plug/socket? There is no board! Everything is hard-wired. Just like in tube amps. Heh... The XLR socket allows an external dual-voltage psu to be used in place of the batteries. =) Of course, I haven't made one for the Grado clones yet. But it shouldn't take too long.... First piece should be out by end of Feb. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rameish 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 Firefox, feb this year? LOL. Yup a hard wired Grado Clone is definately a think of beauty. But wait there's more! Firefox's BB Amp V2 has been officially completed and undergoing 3rd party ;-) auditions. What can I say, a fresh pair of ears would give better insight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N@Z 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 av98m, if you can get some macro shots of the hardwired circuit I'd love to see them. If you can't nevermind maybe you can show it during the meet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
av98m 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 (edited) I'll take a couple of better shots on tuesday. P.S. The psle clone sounds pretty much the same as the orginal ra1 and the naf naf clone(also built by firefox), which is no big suprise, since the opamp and solen caps are the same as the original. Edited January 11, 2004 by av98m Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N@Z 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 Oopss, didn't see the last 2 shots thanks. Enjoy your new toy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rameish 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2004 bwtay, sound wise they are the same. It's just better built and has better balance (left and right channel) because of the pot. It will be far more durable than the original. Everthing that can be made better has been done without straying from the original design. However what this version allows is a future PSU upgrade path. So instead of 2 x 9 volt batteries you could have 2 x 12 volt VDC! Running the amp at optimum. One thing this version allows for is op amp swapping as well. (but then it wouldn't be a Grado Clone). I personally like the idea of using premium parts - I hate junky parts as oftentimes they start to give problems - esp the volume pot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bwtay 0 Report post Posted January 12, 2004 Wow. Sure like to get my hands on one of these, do u make them at all and if you do how much do they retail for? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
av98m 0 Report post Posted January 12, 2004 (edited) Since you already have the original ra-1, and the clone does not sound any different you might as well spend money on a home cd player instead. If I remember correctly, there's a couple of other guys here that have built clones, can't remember their names. If you want firefox to build, and even assuming that he agrees(remember he's doing ns and only books out on weekends), you will likely have to be patient and wait a few months(like I did), or more, because he has a lot of other stuff on his plate. Price will depend on parts used, as well as labour costs(a lot of work involved sourcing the parts and soldering, casework etc etc etc etc). Edited January 12, 2004 by av98m Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bwtay 0 Report post Posted January 12, 2004 Thatz true, I should start saving up for a CDP rather than keep splurging on my headphones and amps. Alright.....u motivated me, I'll shall embark on my journey towards my CDP!!! (any recommendations hehe) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Welly Wu 0 Report post Posted January 12, 2004 Hello all! I am wondering: has anyone actually tried to open up a real Grado RA-1 and do the above modifications to it and "seal" the thing closed? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
av98m 0 Report post Posted January 12, 2004 I wouldn't risk ruining a perfectly good mahagony case by doing that. Besides, the innards are potted, and there's no space to squeeze in stuff like the alps pot anyway. Doesn't make any sense to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
