coltonius
Well-known member
- Build Rating
A few weeks ago, I was contacted about building a Low Tide for someone who saw my first build on Instagram. I’m always happy to make a little extra parts money, so I agreed and he sent me a rad hand-painted enclosure, which became this:
The build itself was pretty straightforward. I only had a few hiccups, like a failed 22uf capacitor that was shorting the power supply to ground and turning off the power at the tap (Cioks PSU).
Fortunately, it was pretty easy to find and replace!
In no time I had it up and running, appropriately biased and sounding beautiful. As a testing measure, I pulled out my personal Low Tide build for a side-by-side, and Dammit! Mine doesn’t sound nearly as lush! The new one has a depth and warmth that I can only describe as watery, and it made mine sound clinical by comparison. I hesitate to use the word sterile, but that’s what mine sounded like.
Of course, I had to pop the top on mine and see if there were any differences. Apart from the CD4046BE and MN3207, nearly everything was the same, down to the brands of capacitors used. (Mine used a TI-branded CD4046BE and a BL3207 combo, the new one used a 4046 sourced from SBP and a Cool Audio V3207 duo).
Okay, I thought. Time to check voltages! Nearly identical, except pins 7 and 8 of the BBD. Pin 7 on mine was 2.35v compared to 3.1v the new build; pin 8 was 2.32v compared to 3.08v on the new one.
Maybe if I swap ICs around and re-bias? Ehh, it helps a little. The new one is still lush, and mine only sounds a bit better.
Without a major teardown, I’m forced to the conclusion that the sum of parts in this new Low Tide came together for something truly beautiful. Am I jealous it’s not mine? Yeah, but I’m also proud to send it off into the world knowing it sounds so kick-ass!
Which leaves one thing left for me to do: Build a third and see what happens!
The build itself was pretty straightforward. I only had a few hiccups, like a failed 22uf capacitor that was shorting the power supply to ground and turning off the power at the tap (Cioks PSU).
Fortunately, it was pretty easy to find and replace!In no time I had it up and running, appropriately biased and sounding beautiful. As a testing measure, I pulled out my personal Low Tide build for a side-by-side, and Dammit! Mine doesn’t sound nearly as lush! The new one has a depth and warmth that I can only describe as watery, and it made mine sound clinical by comparison. I hesitate to use the word sterile, but that’s what mine sounded like.
Of course, I had to pop the top on mine and see if there were any differences. Apart from the CD4046BE and MN3207, nearly everything was the same, down to the brands of capacitors used. (Mine used a TI-branded CD4046BE and a BL3207 combo, the new one used a 4046 sourced from SBP and a Cool Audio V3207 duo).
Okay, I thought. Time to check voltages! Nearly identical, except pins 7 and 8 of the BBD. Pin 7 on mine was 2.35v compared to 3.1v the new build; pin 8 was 2.32v compared to 3.08v on the new one.
Maybe if I swap ICs around and re-bias? Ehh, it helps a little. The new one is still lush, and mine only sounds a bit better.
Without a major teardown, I’m forced to the conclusion that the sum of parts in this new Low Tide came together for something truly beautiful. Am I jealous it’s not mine? Yeah, but I’m also proud to send it off into the world knowing it sounds so kick-ass!
Which leaves one thing left for me to do: Build a third and see what happens!
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