So this is a long overdue update (yes, one could say I took my sweet time, slowly enjoying and savouring the build process!).
I finished gluing, prepping and staining the alder wood (ended up using a wood pre-conditioner, as recommended, followed by a dark walnut stain). It came out relatively well, considering it was my first time doing any kind of woodworking. Afterwards, several polyurethane clear coats (thinned down with some mineral spirits, also as recommended by some helpful folks online) and polishing, and the case was done.
I also finished up the electronic side of things, while waiting for the case to dry. It all came together earlier this week, and I am very excited to report that there were no mishaps along the way (all resistance checks and voltage checks went well, without any hitch). All that soldering practice came in handy
I swapped out the stock potentiometer for a Blue Alps (RK27) that I ordered from Mouser, and thankfully, there were no mishaps there either.
An interesting point that I noted was that the amp was not 'black' (as in, the noise floor seemed high - there was some static/hissing, even with no music playing). Points that I noted were:
- With nothing plugged into the RCA inputs, there was no noise in the headphones, even if I turned the volume knob all the way up
- With a Topping D50 DAC plugged into the RCA input (which was plugged into my computer via USB), there is no noise to around the 10 o'clock position of my pot (no music playing). Then, there is some hissing beyond this point (though, it is worth noting that listening at a volume past 11 o'clock is already intolerable)
- With a portable DAP (digital audio player; Cayin N3) plugged into the RCA input (via 3.5 mm line out), noise is not heard until around the 3 o'clock position
This leads me to conclude that there is nothing wrong with the amp itself, but that most likely, the noise is coming from the DAC (or a likelier culprit, my computer). I haven't installed the C4S upgrade yet, as I'm still listening to the stock S.E.X, but will experiment with it in a month's time or so, to see if the noise floor can be improved upon.
Finally, a question regarding amp usage: when I power on/off the amp, is it OK to leave my headphones plugged in? I have been taught that I should turn on the amp, then plug in my headphones. When turning off the amp, I should unplug the headphones before turning off the amp. However, I'm lazy, so was wondering if I could just leave my headphones plugged in all the time...There is some confusion for me here, as I know there are some amps that also require a resistive load across the jack when turning on, but I am not sure what is the case for the S.E.X
Sorry for the long post/comments/question! As always, I look forward to everyone's replies
Summary of photos:
1) Staining completed
2) A decent shot of the amp
3) The amp in its new home. Excuse the mess of cables (perhaps they might be causing my noise!)
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