Parks Audio Budgie Phono Preamp

[63pontiacgp]

Wunderbar! Glad it is coming through for you. What is the tube set that came with it? Just curious.

I need to find myself a decent copy of Aja as mine vanished years back (I think there might have been an ex involved). It seems to be one of the standard reference recordings that most have, so in addition to being a favourite I really should have a copy.

I'm running the supplied EH 6922's which sound wonderful. Will be trying some other variations at some point.

Mike

 

[catman]

G'day all, I must be looking at something different perhaps. :scratch2: These are the specs I refer to off the Parks Audio website: http://www.parksaudiollc.com/budgie.html Regards, Felix aka catman.

 

[diytube]

But do be aware that its rated output impedance is rather high @ 6k ohms. This shouldn't be a problem when feeding a typical line stage preamp with an input impedance of 50k ohms. But many portable SD recorders have a lower input impedance (15k ohms for my Edirol R09HR, and others are even lower) and may produce non-optimal results when recording from the Budgie.

This is a good point as a lot of devices can lose performance or even be damaged with the wrong load. With the Budgie you'll lose 6dB gain with a 6k output load, but fortunately the bandwidth (and corresponding RIAA accuracy) as well as linearity (i.e. distortion) aren't affected. Just now I tested with a 9k load and my Budgie went from 38dB gain to 34.5dB gain, but bandwidth and linearity were still in spec. Go ahead and use it with your Edirol if you'd like.

Oh... and a 3 ft Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 interconnect will work nicely to drop the overall system capacitance! 12pF per foot, plus a few pF for each RCA connector. You might even get total capacitance down to 100pF or so if the tonearm wiring is of good quality.

Great advice. Eliminating as much stray capacitance as one can will pay big dividends.

I'm running the supplied EH 6922's which sound wonderful. Will be trying some other variations at some point.

These Electro-Harmonix 6922s are hands down the best tubes from the 6DJ8 family I've ever tested. They have well matched triodes, low noise, high transconductance, low microphonics and high perveance. I love 'em.

Shannon Parks

 

[skriefal]

With the Budgie you'll lose 6dB gain with a 6k output load, but fortunately the bandwidth (and corresponding RIAA accuracy) as well as linearity (i.e. distortion) aren't affected. Just now I tested with a 9k load and my Budgie went from 38dB gain to 34.5dB gain, but bandwidth and linearity were still in spec. Go ahead and use it with your Edirol if you'd like.

Excellent. Bandwidth and linearity is what I was worried about, but it seems that it isn't an issue here. Looks like I'll lose only a few dB, and that might even be counteracted by the somewhat higher-gain Amperex 7308s that I'm using.

 

[fiddlefye]

G'day all, I must be looking at something different perhaps. :scratch2: These are the specs I refer to off the Parks Audio website: http://www.parksaudiollc.com/budgie.html Regards, Felix aka catman.

Hi Felix. The specs I was referring to were for my Opera Consonance PM1, not the Budgie. You were pondering whether a tube phono stage could be all that quiet and I quoted the ones for my own tube phono pre. They are at least equal to any of the SS units I've owned to date and that is a few. Only speaking from what I know and have owned.

 

[skriefal]

Not sure if 63pontiacgp was planning to post any needledrop samples, but I decided to wire in the Edirol recorder and get a quick sample from my Budgie. The source is a Technics SL-1200MK2 (with KAB upgrades, including arm re-wire and fluid damper) and Nagaoka MP30 cartridge. The Budgie is configured at standard 47k resistive loading and is running a pair of Tektronix-tested Amperex 7308s. The total load capacitance is approximately 125 pF.

The sample is from Steely Dan's Aja. This is a bog standard copy in average condition, not the MFSL pressing referenced above. I did apply some light de-clicking in Clickrepair; also a 20-hz high-pass filter in Audacity to reduce tonearm / cartridge resonance induced subsonic noise.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/38firz

I analyzed a brief section of the file before the needle was set down and see some low-level 60-hz noise (down at -77dB). But otherwise clean:

I believe some amount of low-level 60-hz noise is common with tubed phono pres (I've seen the same with Juicy Music's Tercel II). Maybe even with some solid state pres, although I haven't tested that yet.

 

[DC]

I believe some amount of low-level 60-hz noise is common with tubed phono pres (I've seen the same with Juicy Music's Tercel II).

Doesn't the Budgie run on 12VDC? I'm curious where 60Hz AC ripple/noise would be getting in?

EDIT: I also see that the Juicy has DC on the filaments (though an on-board P/S). Are you sure you aren't measuring the 60Hz from someplace else and not the phono pre?

 

[datafone]

Looks very nice!

A friend is sending up his EAR clone for me to compare to my hot-rodded BHL phono.

I'll have to keep an eye out in case anyone local gets one of these Budgies, would be nice to compare it too

 

[skriefal]

Doesn't the Budgie run on 12VDC? I'm curious where 60Hz AC ripple/noise would be getting in?

EDIT: I also see that the Juicy has DC on the filaments (though an on-board P/S). Are you sure you aren't measuring the 60Hz from someplace else and not the phono pre?

Yes, the Budgie uses a DC wall wart. I suppose the 60-hz ripple might be coming from somewhere else (from the turntable perhaps?). I'll need to do more testing to confirm that.

 

[tlarwa]

I have number 003

I've owned my Budgie for quite a while now ... In fact, I'm pretty sure it's S/N 003 as built by Shannon. It's been a great performer, and sounds terrific in my system. I changed the tubes to Amperex Holland 6DJ8's, as recommended. The only issue I had was a slight hum that I couldn't rid through cable or grounding scheme changes. Shannon contacted me a few months back about a modification he developed, and it took care of the hum altogether. Now the unit is dead quiet. Great thing was, Shannon fixed or free of charge and even shipped it back on his dime. And he turned it around in a few days so I wasn't out of service for very long. Being that I have an early build, I'm sure this "fix" is a standard design change on new units. All in all I couldn't be happier with the preamp or with Shannon's service level and willingness to answer my stupid questions (regarding loading tube choices, etc.). I am still considering having him mod it to allow use of MC cartridges, but my Audio Analogue Puccini's phono stage has a MC setting, so I don't need it right now. It's tempting, though, as I'm sure the Budgie is a better phono stage.

Tom

 

[63pontiacgp]

Mine is serial number 0011 and there is absolutely no hum. I've got maybe a good 20 to 30 hours on it now. Still using the stock EH tubes. I've got a pair of Sylvania and Amperex 6DJ8's to try out at some time.

Mike

 

[diytube]

On serial numbers 001 through 003 - including Tom's - I had an alternate grounding scheme related to where the turntable ground referenced the circuit. It only showed up when using an external SUT and mid/lo level moving coil carts. I found a better implementation that really helped after being prompted by Tom. Serial numbers 001 and 002 are in Thailand and Panama, so I haven't upgraded them. I think they're in MM systems so it probably isn't worth the shipping costs for the users.

One trick people can use for noise testing tubes (or noise floor) on their Budgie is to set the Exacta to 0000, which shorts the inputs. I would probably disconnect the turntable inputs and ground reference, too. This is the method I use to set the noise floor baseline for the Budgie specs.

Shannon

 

[BrocLuno]

Really good, but ...

So glad you are here to help with this

Now, for a Budgie with my desired options - front face dial rotary switches for resistive and capacitive loading. Sorry, but I hate DIP switches and as I'll swap cartridge once or twice an evening, I want to be able to dial-up the loading I want without fooling with plugs, dip switches, etc.

I really want the flexibility of the Monk Audio phono stage, but I'll never have a budget for that beast ... And, it's all SS. So maybe an Archivist version of Budgie sometime down the road ??

This is the range of desired settings, except I'd have 62K in lieu of the 56K setting offered by Monk and I'd have a 1K option for some MC's.

 

[fiddlefye]

So glad you are here to help with this

Now, for a Budgie with my desired options - front face dial rotary switches for resistive and capacitive loading. Sorry, but I hate DIP switches and as I'll swap cartridge once or twice an evening, I want to be able to dial-up the loading I want without fooling with plugs, dip switches, etc.

I really want the flexibility of the Monk Audio phono stage, but I'll never have a budget for that beast ... And, it's all SS. So maybe an Archivist version of Budgie sometime down the road ??

This is the range of desired settings, except I'd have 62K in lieu of the 56K setting offered by Monk and I'd have a 1K option for some MC's.

I keep wondering if someone could not design an add-on unit that used some user-frenndly interface and did not degrade the signal path? Surely this is not impossible? I would buy such a thing for my phono stage (which I have no desire to change, probably ever) in a heartbeat.

 

[63pontiacgp]

With the supplied chart, the DIP switches are actually quite easy to use.

Mike

 

[BrocLuno]

I hear you. But the idea of having a stylus/pen/nail to push the little switches when I really want to mostly hide the phono stage under the support shelf and on the side makes it tough.

I'm just a big fan of rotary switches that I can run by tactile feel w/o looking while "dialing up" the sound I want as I listen through the headphones. I'm prolly the only person here who does that? So a customer pool of one is not enough to make a design change ... But I can wish :yes:

And I am really happy that the folks involved in the phono stage are here to help users. That's just first class service all around

 

[63pontiacgp]

The DIP switches on this are not recessed, but slightly raised so you need just a finger to move them. I don't really have a need to change it that often but I do see what you are saying as well.

Mike

 

[fiddlefye]

I hear you. But the idea of having a stylus/pen/nail to push the little switches when I really want to mostly hide the phono stage under the support shelf and on the side makes it tough.

I'm just a big fan of rotary switches that I can run by tactile feel w/o looking while "dialing up" the sound I want as I listen through the headphones. I'm prolly the only person here who does that? So a customer pool of one is not enough to make a design change ... But I can wish :yes:

And I am really happy that the folks involved in the phono stage are here to help users. That's just first class service all around

Broc, I have a feeling that if someone built that sort of system into a quality affordable unit that became popular there might be a whole lot of folks picking up your method and you would scarcely the only one swimming in the customer pool any more. Not to say that you'd no longer be unique. Build a better mouse trap....

 

[skriefal]

One trick people can use for noise testing tubes (or noise floor) on their Budgie is to set the Exacta to 0000, which shorts the inputs. I would probably disconnect the turntable inputs and ground reference, too. This is the method I use to set the noise floor baseline for the Budgie specs.

I tried this on mine. Forgot to disconnect the turntable and ground wire though. Between the Amperex 7308s and the stock Electro-Harmonix 6922s I saw a 10.2 dB difference in the noise/ripple at 60-hz (with the EH 6922s being the victor). Both tube sets were tested with the recorder set to the same input level. I've done other tests that show that the 7308s have about 1.8 dB more gain than the EH 6922s in the Budgie, so the EH 6922s are really 10.2 - 1.8 = 8.4 dB quieter at 60-hz.

Both of these are really below the threshold of audibility, so these results may be of only academic use.

With Amperex 7308s, Shorted inputs:

With Electro-Harmonix 6922s, Shorted inputs:

 

[DC]

Interesting graphs. I'd be curious to see what the measurements look like with the Budgie powered by battery-source DC as opposed to the AC-->DC supply. If they appear to be the same, I'd wager that the 60Hz ripple on those graphs is getting into the measurement system someplace other than through the phono preamp. If it goes away, it might be an indication that the wall-wart P/S is not as filtered as it could be and that a low-ripple supply may net even better performance. Eh? You could also be right, though, and that the level is so low that it is nearly inaudible.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be a piece-of-work, but I just can't get my head wrapped around an AC line buzz (audible or measured) coming from a device that has no AC applied to it.