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Czech Republic 9090DB driver amp pirate posing as ToliToms

tnsilver said:
^ consult Toli via his blog. I find it hard to believe the BOM led is the only one in the world with the correct specs.
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As per @BradWil "For the LEDs, the Vishay VLHW4100 seems unobtainable now so I’ve selected Mouser 710-151033GS03000, Wurth Elektronik 3mm Green. Critically, it has 3.2 Vf @ 20mA which is very similar to Toli’s original Vishay LED."
BradWil had problems, and omitted the LED.

I did send off email to Toli.
 
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Toli wrote back, Seems it's going to be trial and error with the led. Not sure if this is worth the time/frustration.



"The relevant parameter is the voltage at which it will start conducting. Typically this isn't given directly but rather as Vf at some If and that is what you want to get right. It is tricky to get just right as it isn't actually a direct measure of what we care about. It's a compromise between getting good enough protection to having no "false triggering".
With that being said, if you have something close enough to the original in terms of spec, install that as a starting point. If you see it lights up even slightly when the bias is set right you can always remove it or replace it. The LED was an addition I've made for some extra protection, it isn't actually needed for the board to operate. "
 
I finally had some time to assemble Toli's board. Sure is nice to solder on a nice clean double sided board! Grabbed some over priced NOS Sanken STV3's from evil bay. Dialed in the bias and DC offset, they are much more stable than with the original recapped/restored board. @BradWil Installed the above linked blue LED's and they start to turn on at 130 mA bias. I do see them ever so slightly lighted only when viewed in the dark at nite. I guess this is normal (?) Sound wise it seems to have much more detail, and bass seems deeper, so much that I re installed the original to confirm this. Very pleased with the results.
 

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Terrific @Scott Muni !! I'll get hold of some of those LEDs for the 9001 project. Yeah, those boards are such a pleasure to work with and I agree, the sound is very much improved. Are you using the original outputs or MJE's?
 
Cloning on ebay is nothing new. They even build headphone amps with
the designer's name on it. No attempt to even get close to the originals.
They do a Krell as well. And lots of classic stereo gear main boards.
A lot of clones are worse than copies. They are dangerous.
A lot of Amazon cd's aren't originals either. Box sets are almost 100%
fake. Welcome to the 21st century.
 
tnsilver said:
^ eBay took care of it right away. Before they did, I had a chance to toy with that guy for a little bit. It was so easy, I felt sorry for him. I stopped because I got the vibe he's a real limited individual. He had refunded everyone and would never do it again. He did not steal our design, just our listing, pics and links. I think we're even steven.
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1718810635829.pngwould this be the person your talking about?
 
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