WD/WAD PSU PHONO II Choke upgrade

[colin.hepburn]

WD/WAD PSU PHONO II Choke upgrade
Choke upgrade
Opps sorry everyone screwed up and deleted the thread
Pleas start again
The choke used Hammond 157G 30H@40mA 595R
If others had done this and other modes pleas, post your views on them to this thread
Hopefully Philip and Graeme will repost there reviews
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[bob orbell]

Fitted the new choke today, and been listening for about three hours, well, the difference is very subtle, a little more fine detail, no hum at all, with volume at max. (CD), so yes it was worth it, but lets not forget that my PSU was already well upgraded. BOB

[colin.hepburn]

Originally Posted by bob orbell

Fitted the new choke today, and been listening for about three hours, well, the difference is very subtle, a little more fine detail, no hum at all, with volume at max. (CD), so yes it was worth it, but lets not forget that my PSU was already well upgraded. BOB

Hi BoB
Yep if I recall you have fitted bigger Rifa Caps, where I have just the build standard Rubycon 100uf caps bypassed the 0.1uf solen polyps
but if you are hearing, an improvement over the smaller choke then is what we want

[Greg.]

OK, I have PSU II which has been upgraded to the following extent. Simple mains filter fitted to back of IEC socket(see FAQ). BR1 has been converted to a bridge of individual diodes. C1-C4 have been bypassed with ceramic disc caps. Thereafter, I followed the CF conversion as per:

http://www.world-designs.co.uk/forum...ead.php?t=7632

I was rather struck by Philip pre 62 claiming it was one of the best £20 he has spent on upgrades.

Fitted the 157G choke yesterday and got the opportunity to listen for a couple of hours today albeit on CD only. I don't know if chokes are affected by run in, but my experience so far has been considerable. Much wider and deeper sound stage. 3 dimensional image is much greater, leading to much more space around instruments/voices etc. Bass and treble extension have been stretched and there is greater reality to the actual sound. I am also realising much more micro detail in recordings compared to before the change. Instruments and voices sound more naturally and obvious. Furthermore, speed and attack on notes has improved making the overall sound very instant. The sound is so real, to be honest, I'll need some time to evaluate it and decide if I can live with it comfortably for domestic listening. Goodness knows how good it will sound when I get the turntable and Phono II back into the system!

I find it hard to understand how just changing the choke can have such a major influence on the sound reproduction. To be honest, I'm a bit gobsmacked!

Maybe after a few more hours it will settle down to the mediocrity we are all used to.

Bob, try different styles of music. I found the change made more significant improvements especially on music with less component parts, ie, better on a four piece band compared to a mass orchestra.

[colin.hepburn]

Nice Wright up Greg I am not good at righting Audio Reviews
But I thing you have done that for me as you descried pretty much as I found when i first fitted the choke

To think I only changed the choke as a way to help drop the HT a bit and I discovered its affect on the sound
I Cant say yet if it will settle down any
As I have not have my system running since I last installed the choke as decorating at the moment
I am pleased you like it so far pour that drink and enjoy

[Desmodromic]

Well I've been running the Hammond choke with PSU 3, Pre 3 and Phono 3 for a while now (I installed it on or before the 26th February I think), and I have not seen a change or drop off in performance. Your ears of course do get used to it. I like the changes that the choke has brought. I should say that my PSU 3 and Phono 3 are very early models, with the PSU II and Phono II boards, so are directly comparable.

[justin brown]

I've been listening for a few hours since I fitted the 157g.
All I can say is that it's nothing short of incredible. The best £20 spent. Ever.
As Greg's comments, the soundstage is much wider and deeper. Vocals have a sense of immediacy, as if I'm standing so close to a performance that I can half hear the 'natural' voice before it is amplified.
The sense of space between instruments is also quite breathtaking. I feel
that I can almost walk around the stage/performance and feel the energy of the music being played. Instruments have taken on a sort of tactile quality, like I can sort of imagine playing them myself. It really is an OMG moment. What a revelation!
It's time to play the whole music collection...
Thank you.

Justin.

[bob orbell]

Well after another 5 hours of music I must agree that this mod is well worth it, and agree with what others have written, now I am thinking of adding a second PSU to power Pre and Phono separately, has anyone done this?. I have today listened to CD with the Phono disconnected, and find the sound very pleasing, I will ask if I can borrow my chum's PSU tomorrow and see if it is worth a go.Watch this space. BOB

[david]

Well, I don't see why you guys should have all the fun and as I have two Danbury chokes sitting around, today I hoiked the original PSU3 choke out and replaced it with a Danbury SP28. Firstly, I had forgotten what a little thing the original choke was. The Danbury core looks around 3 x the size.

I'm powering an Aikido with the PSU3 remember, but I got an immediate improvement as everyone else has been reporting. I then added the second choke inside my Pre3 Case and connected it on the HT line before I split it, as per the CF Tweak thread. Again, I got a decent improvement.

Next experiment: my valve shunt reg PSU with the split HT lines.
David

[Richard]

Originally Posted by bob orbell

I am thinking of adding a second PSU to power Pre and Phono separately, has anyone done this? BOB

Guy runs his with 2 PSUs Bob