[edevinney]

The heat sink came with the board. I picked the Meanwell switching supply because It had a good reputation for low/no RFI and there didn't seem to be any reason not to use a switcher. The $30 price was a boon, too. It also seems to be the right power supply for the preamp upgrade coming next.

[Charlie Stylianos]

Very cool! I just ordered a case to enclose the TPA3251EVM-175W board and meanwell PS I bought a year or so ago. Will be the amp for the bedroom setup.

The Korg tube is pretty neat. Will add some tubey flavor as a preamp. Looking forward to impressions.

[cmartin]

Please share when you get it going, I dont understand what makes it work but the results are just too cool.

[edevinney]

That's some else's pic, still waiting on parts from a group buy but I'll definitely report back.

I have a couple of regular Pass B1 boards and enjoy them, am hoping the Korg can help with the slight shoutiness of some female vocals that comes through the chipamp. Aretha deserves Respect.

[edevinney]

So far, so good: board populated, no smoke on startup, voltages stable at the test points and bias set to Mr Pass's baseline. Sounds very good, have to spend some time listening carefully later.

[jbailey930]

Nice, Ed. I need to do a build. I picked up a pair of free, mint ADS L620s a few weeks back. They don’t need a lot of power.

[edevinney]

Oh, you should - this has been fun, not terribly expensive, and definitely rewarding.

Having listened to this combination for a couple of hours now, I'd recommend the preamp. Adds a nice bit of ambience and soundstage vs the B1 buffer, with the same lovely detail. Aretha and Sister Rosetta Tharpe seem to like it, too. The only down side is that the tube is microphonic, so it turns outside sound into electrical sound. You really need to put the preamp in a sturdy, closed case to keep out vibration or it rings like a bell.

More than you'll ever want to know here: https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass...rg-triode.html

Spent the evening spec'ing out a case and front panel, which will be the largest single cost of the whole thing. Rough total (I reused some parts like the volume pot) about $625:
$70 3e TPA3251 board
$30 Power supply
$30 preamp board and JFETs
$50 Korg NuTube
$75 other preamp parts
$100 front panel w/machining
$180 case

[Croc R]

My inexpensive but good sounding tuner has apparently died. I am looking for recommendations for a replacement.

[BlackTalon]

Price range?

[Croc R]

Originally Posted by BlackTalon

Price range?

Definitely under $1K, preferably under $300.