Moving the RCAs

[royewest]

I've been playing around with some wooden boxes, imagining installing my Quickie kit in them, instead of using the green plastic plate. One approach is simply to duplicate the hole layout of the plastic plate on the top of a lidded box that's about the same size. But I also have another box that would work better if I moved the RCAs off the top.

Are there any issues with simply rewiring the Quickie so that the L/R RCA input and output pairs are further from the other parts of the circuit (on the back side of the box, instead of on top)? I have some shielded Belden wire that is like the stuff that comes with the SEX amp -- would that be a good choice for this?  Any other considerations? Or should it just work if I keep it to, say, less than 6 or 8".

I'd also be curious to hear peoples thoughts about mounting this kit on a thin sheet of ply (the top of one of my boxes) instead of plastic -- I'm assuming it would be good for damping.

Thanks as always,

__Roy

[4krow]

Roy,
  There is no doubt that the Q is ripe for experimentation. I second your ideas about moving the Quickie circuit to a box. Moving the Rca jacks to a more convenient location is fine. Using a shielded cable wont hurt either, but it may not be necc. As for using a piece of thin plywood and hoping for better damping, that just wont be the case. You will have a different set of frequencies that the plywood is prone to transmitting, but probably no more that the plastic anyway. You can damp the ply wood using damping sheets, or a paint on type compound, so vibration shouldn't be much of an issue. 

[galyons]

I'd also be curious to hear peoples thoughts about mounting this kit on a thin sheet of ply (the top of one of my boxes) instead of plastic -- I'm assuming it would be good for damping.

Thanks as always,

__Roy

The biggest issue with the Q is microphonics.  Constrained layer damping is probably the best approach to reduce the solid and airborne vibrations.  Plywood would be good, but use a quality, void free ply such as baltic birch.  Even better would be combining the plywood with a layer of vinyl between the acrylic and/or aluminum sheet. That would give you actual constrained layer damping and a world of choices for the top plate finish.  Moving the RCA's, switches, A/C supply to the back would also rid the biggest flat surface of vibration receiver/transmitter's.  RCA's have interconnects. A/C the cord. Better on a smaller, thicker profile than the top.

Cheers,
Geary

[4krow]

Layering is a good idea. Those tubes really do sing if you give them a little vibration.

Fortunately, the Q is battery operated, so you don't have to worry about an AC cord transmitting vibration. I think that AC cords are a major problem in this regard.