Redrawing Winner for Burson Play DAC/Amp Giveaway:
After contacting the original winner and giving ample time (over a week) to contact me, we are now drawing another winner of the Burson Play v1.6 Giveaway!
2nd drawing will be tomorrow (9/14/18) at 8PM PST (assuming this hurricane doesn’t knock out power in NC). No more entries are accepted, only those who entered before the cut off are eligible in the 2nd drawing.
To those who missed the cutt-off to enter, you will be able to enter in my next giveaway, roughly a month from now.
Good luck!
Upcoming Review: ELEPAWL EP6 Wired + Wireless Bluetooth Headphones with Active Noise Cancellation
The next on deck HW review is a pair of “EP6” headphones from a company called ELEPAWL (previously unknown to me). These are the first pair of Bluetooth headphones I have tried out in years. They also have noise cancellation that works well for the retail price ($69.99 at Amazon Sep, 2018).
One of my biggest complaints with common headphones is the comfort of wearing them for extended periods. I am one of those people that have sensitive ears, especially with on-the-ear style headphones. If I leave an uncomfortable pair on too long, the pain can take 5 to 10 minutes to reside after removing them!
When I first saw these EP6s I was concerned about comfort, but as I wore them, I found out they are as comfortable as my much larger Audeze EL-8s. Despite the smaller size of the EP6s, my ears don’t touch the inside of the cans like on similar sized headphones I’ve tried. I have worn the EP6s for up to 4 or 5 hours with almost zero discomfort!
There is obviously much more information on the way in the review, so stay tuned to Hallman Labs to hear more! I should have the review posted by Sunday night for those who want to know more.
Update on EDS 88A-II Capacitor Analyzer:
I also wanted to mention that my DIY EDS 88A-II capacitor analyzer is completed and working correctly! I had an issue where the unit wouldn’t calibrate correctly and would only go into InstaESR mode instead. After literally weeks of troubleshooting the device (including re-flowing every solder joint), I found out it was simply a case of the wrong resistor value on the BOM (Bill of Materials)! Ever since I fixed this resistor (R28 from 18k to 15k) the unit has functioned perfectly. The 88A-II has already shown me how much of a time saver it can be at checking components still in a circuit!
I am working on editing the videos and soon I’ll post a start to finish build video, along with a short tutorial on using the device! Thanks to Dave M. for all the assistance he provided in troubleshooting the device. Another thanks to Dave for designing this simple yet powerful capacitor analyzer.
Here is a quick run down of the EDS 88A-II. Surprisingly, this unit has been around in various revisions since the late 90s to early 2000s! This unit can accurately check capacitors ranging from 0.1uF up to around 3000uF!
Most cap analyzers aimed at primarily testing electrolytics caps (in or out of the circuit) are not able to test across that large of range of capacitances. Due to the fact the unit can read down near 0.1uF, you can also use this to check many vintage tone capacitors!
When you turn on the EDS 88A-II it will run a quick calibration where all the lights on the left side will flash once, plus a chime, then it goes into a wait mode. As soon as the device reads an ESR between 0.1 ohm and 20 ohm, it discharges the cap and then checks the DC resistance (same as insulation resistance). The main purpose of having a DCR test that only goes up to 500 ohm is to check for shorted capacitors. If the DCR starts to alarm you simply adjust the DCR alarm control on the unit until the beeping stops and DCR light goes green.
Once the DCR passes the unit will go into the ESR reading part of the 2 part test. This unit uses an auto select test frequency system to give the most accurate ESR reading possible. ESR is one of the most important technical statistics for capacitors. It is also possible to go into InstaESR mode if you short the test leads before turning it on. In InstaESR mode you can check countless capacitors very fast. Now remember, you won’t find shorted caps in this mode!
How can I get more details on the cap tester?
I’ll provide as much detail as I can when I post the build and usage video. I have noticed the EDS website has been down from time to time, but you can also find this device at other retailers. Limited information is given, but I’ll post up one document I have on the device (user manual) in this post and also will show up in the HL Document Roundup.
To buy one pre-built you have to invest $250, but if you go DIY you can do it for under $125. You can find the PCB on Ebay and you have to contact Dave Miga to get the programmed MCUs required in the 88A-II capacitor analyzer.