My take on the woody

We appreciate the sound quality, but appearance wise the term I would use is utilitarian. Some I'm sure like the retro stainless look.  In searching out M125 related stuff saw pics where folks have incorporated wood side trim and I thought hey that looks nice. Here's my take, using mostly old materials I had lying around. Nothing fancy, but my wife considers it an improvement!

What about that big metal slab on the bottom shelf?

LOL, I think he means my Marantz PM11S1. Using it as a preamp. It includes a high quality MC phono preamp.

LeGrace wrote:LOL, I think he means my Marantz PM11S1. Using it as a preamp. It includes a high quality MC phono preamp.

That's the one.

corndog71 wrote:

LeGrace wrote:LOL, I think he means my Marantz PM11S1. Using it as a preamp. It includes a high quality MC phono preamp.

That's the one.

Yeah I figured as much, not a lot else on the bottom shelf. Metal slab is actually an apt description, close to 60 lbs of integrated amp there. But doing a great job as a preamp for my M125's!

Nice!

Nice indeed! 
It's an all togather different look. If one did get tired of the metal look you have options. Vice versa you can always go back to metal.

I am assuming Legrace for the wood you just used longer screws.

I counter bore the holes, so the standard screws still work. Now looking into incorporating a push button on/off. I see some nice looking chrome finish ones on Amazon that additionally feature 12v LED accent lighting. Wondering how to power the LED. Bob tells me I can tap 6.3 v off the tube sockets, but I wonder if this will be enough. Suggestions?

I used a push button LED switch on a chip amp build a couple of years ago.  I had really poor luck with quality on several units and the switch became a total PITA in an otherwise straight forward build.   Eventually found this one that is quite robust and good quality:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/19mm-12V-Blue-LED-Light-Self-Locking-Latching-Car-Push-Button-SPDT-Switch-OFF-ON-/221581044765?hash=item3397426c1d

Most of them are made for automobiles and like 12v for the LED is my recollection, but it's been a couple years.  
(Good luck making a 19 mm hole in the stock chassis stainless, that stuff is thick and tough on cutting tools!)

vtshopdog wrote:I used a push button LED switch on a chip amp build a couple of years ago.  I had really poor luck with quality on several units and the switch became a total PITA in an otherwise straight forward build.   Eventually found this one that is quite robust and good quality:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/19mm-12V-Blue-LED-Light-Self-Locking-Latching-Car-Push-Button-SPDT-Switch-OFF-ON-/221581044765?hash=item3397426c1d

Most of them are made for automobiles and like 12v for the LED is my recollection, but it's been a couple years.  
(Good luck making a 19 mm hole in the stock chassis stainless, that stuff is thick and tough on cutting tools!)

Thanks for that. LOL not about to attempt enlarging the hole in the chassis. That would definitely be an exercise in frustration. How did you power the LED?

In that build the PS was ~(+/-) 16vdc and I just put in an appropriate value series resistor to get about 8-9vdc at the switch LED.  I hooked up the switch to a couple combinations of batteries ahead of install to find the voltage that yielded brightness I liked.

M125 is different animal and a source of low voltage DC will be harder to come by, not sure where best you could power this.

Re stainless:
For my M125s I enlarged the speaker binding post openings to permanently install 4 and 8 ohm output taps - about 1x1cm.  Took way too long and wrecked a $30-something bit in a power nibbler tool.  Pain in rear, and not owning the correct tools makes johnny a grumpy DIY'er.  (not sure what the correct tool for cutting SS is actually - I know it work hardens and gets tougher and tougher the longer one drills and cuts)

According to Bob closest is 6.3v AC. Probably could run the LED off this, but how well is the question. I briefly considered a 9v battery, then decided I don't want to deal with batteries. Gotta keep looking for a switch with a lower voltage LED or forget about it.

Nice build ... very tidy!

These the power switches you speak of?



Quite sturdy snick snick feel to them, no transient bumps or pOps when switching, and mine's been doing daily duty for a while now. I did get a spare, just in case.

Considered tapping the low voltage on the amp but was concerned about noise. An LED is technically quiet, but not sure what all else happens inside the switch. Also got an add on power supply, but decided it was a lot of work for a silly little light, as well as adding the possibility of noise. Here's the board test fit to the bottom of the PT ... keep in mind that with a custom chassis, I have a LOT more room to play with.



Seems I can find the switch easily enough in a dark room without the light, so it's all good. I get bored, I may still give that a try, but I'd probably want to cage the power board to minimize any RF leakage, and use shielded wire to feed the lamp. It's NOT a switching supply, so it should be relatively quiet.

If you do decide to give it a try, couldn't hurt I expect. Problem would be getting a 6v light - pretty sure they only go down to 12v, and that would be quite dim if it fired at all.