Utility and Junction Boxes

[jessemhopkins]

@Joben Magooch posted this in the new wishlist and I'm surprised it's not gaining more traction! This would be sooooo useful for me as a rig builder. The Goodwood Audio versions come with all the features I like to use, they're just overly expensive. Of course, I could DIY something together but it would involve too many individual boards and just be a general pain to build. A single PCB with all the features I like to have (single input buffer, dual output buffer, switches for phase and ground lift) and a corresponding drill template would make life so easy!

Anyway, just wanted to shout into the void. Go upvote it!

 

[Joben Magooch]

Here's something similar that I thought would be nice too:

Vertex DIY Mono Dual Buffer + Audition Interface

The project is not terribly complicated at all (8 jacks, enclosure, DC jack...not a lot going on) except that it's built around these Creation Audio Labs buffered jacks. I'm sure they're nice and all but at roughly $50 each (for what amounts to a jack with a SMD buffer PCB attached) they're a bit steep IMO.

Granted I'm talking out of my rear as I know next to nothing about PCB design, but I'd think it wouldn't be too terribly hard to put together a PCB with all of that right there on-board - board mounted jacks and input/output buffer and I'm SURE it would be considerably more economical than buying a pair of $50 buffered jacks. Could of course put it in a 125B for ease of assembly/standardization, too (the linked one is in a 1590B but the size isn't really a big concern IMO)

Thanks for the shout - would love to see it come to fruition!

 

[jessemhopkins]

Exactly! By the time you buy all of those jacks that you need and spend time drilling out your enclosure, wiring it all up... you might as well have just bought the Goodwood version. A single pcb with board mounted jacks would be perfect.

 

[Feral Feline]

Disagree with a single PCB.

I'm all for PPCB jack-mountable buffer-PCBs ala compact CAL, would be good as SMD practice boards for space-saving builds;
however, I definitely prefer drilling my own pattern on an enclosure and not being locked into a preordained pattern on a single-level PCB, ie...

... I want the PCBs to mount to the jacks, NOT jacks to a PCB.



Individual PCBs for each jack makes for far greater versatility.



Maybe for one project you've got an enclosure that requires all the ins on one side and outs on another with special routing:

OUT — IN








but...
another project requires all jacks on one face of the enclosure and for whatever reason, the enclosure has little length but is tall requiring staggered jacks.


IN
OUT

OR
the ins and outs need to also be in a special order with some other additional consideration:

Voila, comme ci
et comme ça

ETC...