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This was one of the main reasons when I first set out designing the lineup back in 2020 I made sure no soldering was involved: the ability for the end user to either “repair/replace” parts easily if necessary. Along with the ability to upgrade if wanted (such as to a Rack case, etc) without needing to send back to me.
The Fastons are a great, secure connection. Closing in on 1000 total sales orders and never had one slip off during shipment or use. Aside from the steel tab issue, their performance is no different from soldering.
I bypassed the Faston by soldering to the binding post tab and it does not fix the distortion issue.
They are more consistent than soldering. Most notably, soldering to a large metal mass like the binding post can result in cold solder joints or solder potentially spreading on to threads and making it difficult to replace a binding post.
Since it does take a good bit of heat to solder to the binding post, you can also melt the wire’s insulation or the plastic insulating washer. Have done both with the bigger posts so am speaking from experience.
Even if you are creating a high performing amp (like Hypex Nilai), you can see that good connections can be made without needing to solder. @Buckeye Amps use of Fastons is just like many manufacturers do inside speakers and other electrical connections that need to be reliable.
They are more consistent than soldering. Most notably, soldering to a large metal mass like the binding post can result in cold solder joints or solder potentially spreading on to threads and making it difficult to replace a binding post.
I've diagnosed and confirmed the repair on heavy solder joints from the factory(s) that where both in the power supply and at the binding post(s). The joints looked OK but the integrity of the joint(s) was poor and not conducting well. It's the nature of that beast.
Since it does take a good bit of heat to solder to the binding post, you can also melt insulation or the plastic insulating washer. Have done both with the bigger posts so am speaking from experience.
DittO. When I was servicing at component level I had 4 soldering irons. From SMD, through-hole PCBs, heavy gauge copper conductor and heavy PCBs that required some higher wattage irons. Trying to fake out a operation with a improper iron is not being effective.
I’m still surprised that your clientele would deign to mess with lowly binding posts when you provide a much better option.
Not wanting to modify stuff just to upgrade to Speakon is one thing. But when something comes to you with the better in every meaningful way option, why willfully go the other way?
(Not that the difference, or your “distortion issue,” was ever an audible concern - though it’s good you fixed it when made aware of it. But still, better with no real downside is still basically always better.)
It's great news if that's the correct and final diagnosis. A few pennies worth of parts to drop in sure beats having to manufacture new boards. In the end it will have been a scary but ultimately good lesson on the need for up-front assured adequacy of testing procedures. The magnet test is also a great and cheap solution to fix the gap in testing that seems to have produced this issue. Good news for Buckeye Amps, which also showed throughout a commitment to quality, transparency, and customer support and satisfaction. A great little engineering story to tell grandkids! (Phew!)
Also, as an outsider, but a technical person, I'm impressed at how such a small flaw in the signal path showed up so clearly in the tests. Seeing this deepened my confidence in the proposition that this amp really is ultra-clean. Otherwise it'd show up in testing--as it did here. Pretty cool.
Not wanting to modify stuff just to upgrade to Speakon is one thing. But when something comes to you with the better in every meaningful way option, why willfully go the other way?
Once a few 'audiophile' speaker brands start putting them on their speaker terminal plates, others will follow suit and it could be the end of the 4mm banana on amps/speakers.
Speakons also force audiophiles to use sensible gauge cables instead of python-sized wire.
There appears to be several or more peeps looking for a class D amp with big VU meters. A common request although finding suitable big VU meters is apparently not so easy.
If you want VU meters, buy something like this (pics below about $20 from China) to play with. You can easily build it into a box or even an amplifier, the driver circuitry PCB is prebuilt, comes with all the wires and the little 'vu' meters are very cute. They are LED backlit with adjustable brightness and meter range control.
It doesn't tell you anything really useful, but they sure look cool.
If you want VU meters, buy something like this (pics below about $20 from China) to play with. You can easily build it into a box or even an amplifier, the driver circuitry PCB is prebuilt, comes with all the wires and the little 'vu' meters are very cute. They are LED backlit with adjustable brightness and meter range control.
If that is set up as a WATT meter and was reasonably accurate, I don't think that it looks too busy, as it seems to have a way of being able to adjust inputs to the same output level.
I am puzzled by the non-recommendation due to a non audible issue. If not recommended it should mean that there are better options in the price range or similar performance at a lower price.
I am puzzled by the non-recommendation due to a non audible issue. If not recommended it should mean that there are better options in the price range or similar performance at a lower price.
Actually, I think it makes the case for measurements. Without measurements, it perhaps wouldn't have been apparent that the amp wasn't performing to specs. If I was buying a product, say a car for example, and I was told it had 600 hp and a top speed of 200mph, if it in fact only topped out at 180mph, whether I intended to ever go that fast or not, I would not be pleased that it did not live up to the advertising.
Actually, I think it makes the case for measurements. Without measurements, it perhaps wouldn't have been apparent that the amp wasn't performing to specs. If I was buying a product, say a car for example, and I was told it had 600 hp and a top speed of 200mph, if it in fact only topped out at 180mph, whether I intended to ever go that fast or not, I would not be pleased that it did not live up to the advertising.
Measurements absolutely have their value and are a useful data point, just not the only one. Per your analogy, you’re recommending a car that only hits 120mph over the cheaper one that hits 180 because the former performs to spec.
I bypassed the Faston by soldering to the binding post tab and it does not fix the distortion issue.
They are more consistent than soldering. Most notably, soldering to a large metal mass like the binding post can result in cold solder joints or solder potentially spreading on to threads and making it difficult to replace a binding post.
Since it does take a good bit of heat to solder to the binding post, you can also melt the wire’s insulation or the plastic insulating washer. Have done both with the bigger posts so am speaking from experience.
Even if you are creating a high performing amp (like Hypex Nilai), you can see that good connections can be made without needing to solder. @Buckeye Amps use of Fastons is just like many manufacturers do inside speakers and other electrical connections that need to be reliable.
As @Buckeye Amps mentioned, the board designer and I have been going at this diagnosis feverishly. Admittedly, should have found sooner, but I made a critical test error and (as mentioned) the designer had been plagued by a bad dummy load that obscured his measurements until just recently. Since I have been working closely on the troubleshooting, Dylan is allowing me to represent the team to share our finding. In the end, the designer found the cause.
Here, I wrote; If you take a look inside some rather high-end HiFi amplifiers, you'll see that the SP output wiring (and power wiring?) uses non-magnetic terminals and screws made of brass (no iron at all) or pure copper. However, this is also a common-sense measure to prevent sound quality deterioration in HiFi amplifiers. I remember it being pointed out and explained in interviews with a Yamaha amplifier designer and a Rotel engineer.
It is frustrating when working with magnetized screwdrivers because you can't catch the screws, though.
Yamaha's and Rotel's amplifier designers had a hard time persuading the assembly workers at the amplifier factories, but in the end they convinced them to use non-magnetic terminals and screws, giving priority to sound quality; I've also heard that the screwdriver, which uses a chuck to fix screws and bolts to the tip, was devised so that it could be used in factories.
In my DIY audio setup, I have the same thing; I strictly/completely eliminate/avoid any magnetizable metal/screw in my SP cabling/connecting.
Measurements absolutely have their value and are a useful data point, just not the only one. Per your analogy, you’re recommending a car that only hits 120mph over the cheaper one that hits 180 because the former performs to spec.
Actually, I think it makes the case for measurements. Without measurements, it perhaps wouldn't have been apparent that the amp wasn't performing to specs. If I was buying a product, say a car for example, and I was told it had 600 hp and a top speed of 200mph, if it in fact only topped out at 180mph, whether I intended to ever go that fast or not, I would not be pleased that it did not live up to the advertising.
When I worked for the Porsche Factory in the 1980's (as a Quality Assurance Technician), We were told that if we (the factory literature) say that a car will go 175 MPH and it goes 176 MPH or more, we will have another happy customer. But that if the car will only go 174 (or less) we will have a hell of a time getting our reputation back.
Because it performs leaps and bounds better than recommended amps costing multiples more? Why recommend something that performs worse? It’s fine, I’m done arguing the point. Enjoy the to-spec Honda, I’ll take the 174 mph Porsche.
